I'm not a custom installer but I thought maybe I could pick the brain(s) of someone in this forum.

I am having a slight weak signal problem. I live in a condo so I cannot get access to the cable system at anything near the distribution point, only at the wall jack. I have one cable outlet split to three outputs using the cableco supplied splitter. One output is a cable modem, the other two are my home theatre. I have one split running to my VCR and to the TV. The signal strength coming off this split is fine (crystal clear signal to the TV on all channels). The second split runs to my Motorola digital cable box as I use the SPDIF/S-Video/Composite outputs to my TV and audio system. It is off this split that I get poor picture quality. It is classic low signal symptoms ... very bad on channels 3,4 and 5 (9 and up are fine ... digital are perfect). I have swapped out cables, splitter ports, etc. and the problem does not lie in anything faulty from that end.

I have fought with my cable company and would love to switch but I have no real options. My strata corp won't allow a satellite dish (bylaws) and the cableco has a monopoly.

So ... I think all I need to do is bump my signal strength coming out of the wall by a few dB. Given that the strength is strong enough for the TV (even after the VCR signal loss) it can't be too much off what the cable box needs. Any recommendations on cable amps for this purpose? Will Radio Shack's stuff be good enough quality (as opposed to compounding my problem?)?

Thanks for any help!!!

Johnny, I would take a different approach: complain about the lousy reception on your cable box. Is it theirs? Don't ask for more decibels, just demand a better picture. In other words, a less-technical complaint.

Larry

Thanks Larry ...

You think it's the box? I did purchase it from the cableco but it does have a replacement warranty for five years ... it's just a hassle to disappear from work and go fight with them!

No, no don't tell them it's the box. Just say your picture is no good. Be non-technical but firm. You will eventually get a better signal out of the wall. Amplifiers can't make a weak signal look good. All they can do is maintain a strong signal to start with. Your cable company can fix. Just be diplomatic and non-technical.

Except ... it is coming out of the wall crystal clear (pic quality is fine off the split through the VCR to the TV (I always thought VCR's caused a pretty stiff signal loss). If I did amp it, I would be amping a good signal.

The problem with trying to resolve with the cableco is the time (a minimum 30 minute hold on the phone ... they demand you stay at home a whole day to wait for them ... and the cable store refuses to swap a box if the repair service (that you have to stay on hold for) has not pre-approved the swap.

Have you inspected your connectors?

Here's a mind-blower:
I had exactly this same problem once with a room in an audio/video store. Everything was beautiful in the entire store except the lower channels in one section of one room.

After some thought, I realized that bad reception on the lower channels looked like someone had put a high-pass filter in the line; that the simplest high-pass filter is a capacitor; that if I had an F-connector somewhere where the wire was just a micron too short, so it did not actually connect to the F-connector, THAT would constitute a capacitor...

So I went looking, and I found an F connector with a really really short wire. I replaced the connector, with about 1/8" of wire poking out of it, and all was well.

You may want to read the FCC regulations regarding satellite dishes. There are many situations where homeowner's associations cannot forbid you from installing a dish or any other antenna.

Go to [Link: fcc.gov]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the replies.

Turned out to be the cable box. Replaced it today and the signal is crystal clear.

Just as a comment to deb ... I live in a condo so the roof and so on is common property. My deck is legally described as limited common property so the strata corp has the right to set rules about the use (as long as they are reasonable and non-discriminatory).

Thanks again! This place rocks!