Cable internet amplifier
#1
11-01-17, 05:20 PM
Cable internet amplifier
After years of procrastinating, I finally ditched DSL and got cable internet and phone. Very basic; 30 download, 5 upload huge increase over DSL. The technician rested the speed after installation, and wasn't happy with speed. So he installed a powered amplifier (he called it) at the computer. It is plugged into 120VAC and has a single co-ax joining it to a splitter, with one cable being the source and the other going to the computer. Before he installed the amp, he did a curious thing....thus my curiosity:
He scrounged around his truck and came up with about 50-75 feet of additional co-ax, and spliced it in at the utility pole between the supply manifold and the line going to my house. He said for the amplifier to work, it required a longer cable run to my house.
I can't complain, I"m getting consistently better speed than promised. But being only familiar with Ohm's Law, I wonder why MORE cable, thereby slightly more resistance and loss would be "required" for use with an amplifier??
He scrounged around his truck and came up with about 50-75 feet of additional co-ax, and spliced it in at the utility pole between the supply manifold and the line going to my house. He said for the amplifier to work, it required a longer cable run to my house.
I can't complain, I"m getting consistently better speed than promised. But being only familiar with Ohm's Law, I wonder why MORE cable, thereby slightly more resistance and loss would be "required" for use with an amplifier??
#2
11-01-17, 06:03 PM
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Wet side of Washington state.
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I really don't know how Internet service is "piggy-backed" on to cable TV service but just off the top of my head I suspect that the extra cable is acting as an attenuator and reducing the signal to the amplifier. This is because otherwise the amplifier inlet would be overloaded with too high an incoming signal. I know this is a problem with RF television signals.
#3
11-01-17, 08:48 PM
Group Moderator
The usual standard followed when installing cable for TV's and internet is to bring the cable into a two port splitter. One port goes directly to the modem. The other port goes to a splitter with enough taps to serve the house. I have customers with better than 10 locations and if an amp is used..... it goes between the two port splitter and the large house splitter(s).
#4
11-05-17, 09:57 AM
Thank you Furd, seems counter-productive to increase the resistance then amplify the result.....why not just amplify the original signal just enough to do the job? But shoot, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
To PJ, I've got one telephone and one computer on my new cable, so amplifier was not needed for multiple taps. Apparently I'm far enough from the distribution node/office that the signal was too weak to support one computer at 30Mbs download speed.
To PJ, I've got one telephone and one computer on my new cable, so amplifier was not needed for multiple taps. Apparently I'm far enough from the distribution node/office that the signal was too weak to support one computer at 30Mbs download speed.
#5
11-05-17, 11:36 AM
It's possible that the signal was too weak to support the computer at the higher speeds, but too strong to be amplified without distortion. It's possible that if the original signal was amplified then it would be too strong/hot and would overload the receiver in the modem. I'm surprised he didn't have an inline attenuator to do the job though.
