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Hello.

I am not sure if anyone here would have knowledge of this subject but I had some questions about the outside pedestal in regards to cable services.


1. The different levels of cable service are simple a matter of adding/removing the correct filters to the line.


2. Is signal strength determine by any changes in the pedestal or is that amplified after it goes inside the house? In other words, is there are a weak signal would it require changes to the cable once it entered the house( possible with an amp) or would it require a change be made to something inside the pedestal?

3. The wiring between the pedestal and the house consist of 1 coax cable which would be considered the master input feed correct. This input feed must then be distributed to the various cable outlets in the house possible by connecting to a large cable splitter?

That is my understanding on how this entire system works. Please let me know if I have a correct understanding of it or if I am off base.

Thanks.

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Well, ....Yes, but ......No.

As I am a telephone man, not a cable guy (no, my name isn't Larry), I am no expert but normally the main line cable has amplifiers every so far and the signal is "hot" and drops due to distance and load (that is your reciever). Now days the signal allowances are not filters but digital signal allowances. The old days, filters.

Now, if you want the exact info, I'm sure Hal or Ed will be by before long.

wink


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The signal coming out of the pedestal is determined by amps throughout the cable companys system and what kind of tap is in the pedestal. The drop cable that comes to your house is tested to see if it is adequate for your services. If the signal is to low the provider will put in a small house amplifier and hook up all of your tv's and other equipment to a splitter. As far as the different levels of cable service, we use devices called traps to block out services that you do not have. That is pretty much how it works in a nutshell.

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Quote
Originally posted by glacier37:
The signal coming out of the pedestal is determined by amps throughout the cable companys system and what kind of tap is in the pedestal. The drop cable that comes to your house is tested to see if it is adequate for your services. If the signal is to low the provider will put in a small house amplifier and hook up all of your tv's and other equipment to a splitter. As far as the different levels of cable service, we use devices called traps to block out services that you do not have. That is pretty much how it works in a nutshell.
Hello.

Please let me know if I understand it correctly from what I have read from your post.

The cable travels through many amplifiers before it actually reaches the pedestal in front of the house.

There is no individual amplifier inside the each pedestal in front of a house.

The Amplifiers are complete separate boxes from the pedestal which are only used to the amplify the signal and nothing else.

These amplifiers along the way do not have adjustable setting but rather just amplify to their max all the time.

Therefore if the signal coming into your house is too week. The only option is add a personal amplifier inside the house.

There is no option to increase or decrease the signal from the pedestal itself. The feed is simple:
1.Turned on or off
2.Different levels of service(not signal strength) are controlled by various filters/traps on the cable line itself.

Please let me know if this is how it work or if I am still off base on the concept.

Thanks!

Diagram of cable network

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Line extenders (A.K.A. amplifiers) exisist at many points among a CATV route. These are quite different from an amplifier that you buy at Radio Shack, since they do a lot more than just amplify the signal. Line extenders actually repeat the signal and many times, DC power is inserted into the cable run to compensate for voltage drop, hence the name extender
.
These are the fairly large bolted rectangular aluminum housings that you will see along aerial runs near poles. LE's can also be installed in pedestals, but only the larger ones and the pedestals typically include ventilation louvers to aid in heat dissipation. The dinky distribution pedestals (6" square or so) only include taps, or "splitters".

LE's have to be adjusted to compensate for temperature swings on a regular basis. Since metallic conductors offer more resistance when they are hot and less when they are cold, this is a constant maintenance issue for CATV companies.

Filters within pedestals are generally used to simply block subscribers from gaining access to channels or services that they aren't paying for. Nowadays, digital cable is becoming the norm, so the addressing of the cable receiver boxes actually control what you get and what you don't.

If you have more than four cable runs to sets, you probably should consider your own "personal" amplified splitter. Long cable runs, especially when done with low-quality builder's grade COAX cable are usually the culprit for poor signal quality. In addition, the electricians who install these cable runs frequently lack the proper crimping tools. They simply "mash it with their Kleins". This distorts the dielectric insulation and causes all kinds of wacky performance.

You can amplify the signal this way, but if the outgoing cables are bad, or poorly-terminated, you will see random performance. If the incoming signal is bad, then you will experience similar performance from all devices connected behing the amplified splitter.

There is a very good chance that your signal coming in is actually too "hot". An especially strong signal is just as bad as a weak one with regard to picture quality or Internet connectivity.


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Thank you ev607797. That was an extremely detailed explanation on how the system works. I think I have a much greater understanding of how the process works outside the house leading up to the pedestal.

I was wondering if I could ask another question dealing with issues inside the house.

1. Would I be correct is assuming there is a single input cable which feeds cable all outlets in the house?( not multiple cable feeds). This is for a residential setup not a building.

In other words, all cable outlets in the house will eventually go into a common splitter/personal amplifier most likely in a utility room located inside the house. This common splitter probably will have 1 master input cable feed running from the house to the pedestal.
This 1 feed cable is what powers all the television outlets in the house.

2. When wiring additional rooms for cable TV(assuming current TV and cabling setup works fine).

Would there be a need to make any adjustments in the pedestal? I am assuming that if the signal is weakened by the additional load, it would probably require an stronger personal AMP before the splitter correct?

* As a side note: I am not talking about cable that requires a digital box receiver, simple cable plugged into a regular TV.

Thanks.

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The signal coming from the pedestal will always remain roughly the same. From the pedestal, you will have one feeder cable coming to your house. It will usually end up in a utility room. From there, all of the house cabling should go to one splitter. If their is not enough signal for all of the devices, then a house amplifier will need to be added. With a simple 10db amp, we have people running 16 devices with no problems at all. This includes digital phone, internet, and multiple digital boxes.

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Thank you, Shannon. I still think of you as a telephone man, not a new "Larry". smile

You guys are good......


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Still learning the new trade, but I have enough knowledge now to be dangerous. laugh

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Quote
Originally posted by glacier37:
The signal coming from the pedestal will always remain roughly the same. From the pedestal, you will have one feeder cable coming to your house. It will usually end up in a utility room. From there, all of the house cabling should go to one splitter. If their is not enough signal for all of the devices, then a house amplifier will need to be added. With a simple 10db amp, we have people running 16 devices with no problems at all. This includes digital phone, internet, and multiple digital boxes.
That is exactly my understanding of how it works.This is also exactly what I am seeing in the utility room. I had someone tell me once that each outlet has a cable going to the pedestal which did not make any sense.

Anyway, I was wondering does an over amplified signal act the same way as a weak signal in the event that the amp is too powerful?

Thanks for your help.

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