signal strength is to strong


	FORUM HOME	SEARCH POSTS	WHO'S ONLINE	LOG IN	RULES F.A.Q.

TV Forums: Cable TV Forums: Pay TV Systems: Cable TV Forum:
signal strength is to strong

Print Thread

todd2112
New User

May 22, 2005, 12:00 AM

Post #1 of 3 (1304 views)
Shortcut

signal strength is to strong	Can't Post

Hello all. I am new here. I was wondering if I might get some expertise from someone on my cable problem. Here it goes. I just had my local cable company come out to install a high def dvr box at my place. It is the scientific atlanta 8300d. Anyways, the guy checked my signal strength first before he hooked up the box. He said my signal strength was way to strong. It was around 23dbv's. He said it should be around 3 or 4 or something like that. So he proceeded to check the signal out at the box coming in to my building. He said this was fine. So he asked me if I had a booster installed anywhere in my place. I said no. So he went up into my attic and looked for a booster attached to my cable line, or some reason why the line was testing so strong. He couldn't find any problem. He then proceeded to call a maintenance guy, assuming it was a problem with the actual line, and not something he could handle. The maintenance guy came out and said there was nothing wrong with the line, and proceeded to call a regular tech guy out again. By this time I was getting a little annoyed. The tech came back out, and couldn't figure anything out. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what might be the problem, or what I can do to fix the problem myself maybe. My HD channels come in great, and my analog stations seem to be fine. The digital channels, such as VH1 classic, and the military channel, etc. are somewhat pixellated though. I tend to get a headache if I watch them to long. It's just such a pain in the @#$% to deal with the cable company. It's like pulling teeth. Half the time the person they send out knows less than I do about stuff. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

cablejobs
Novice

May 27, 2005, 2:49 PM

Post #2 of 3 (1284 views)
Shortcut

Re: [todd2112] signal strength is to strong [In reply to]	Can't Post

Well this is a problem that happens to often, The cable installer is usually an entry level employee that has little or no training in some cases, They often don’t know how to use there test equipment. A signal level meter depending on what type have test point compensation settings that can effect the reading as well as they check other things that just signal level. So if the meter was not being used properly this could be the cause of a fails reading. The tech did do the right thing by calling a maintenance tech (hopefully someone with more experience) to assist. If he is telling you every thing is fine than you should be ok, especially since your reception is fine.

Regarding your digital channels being pixilated this can be caused by many things in the cable system. Check with the folks next door and see if they are having the same problem. Ill bet they are. Then contact the cable company. The digital channels run on a QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) package and require special test equipment to look at the channels that an install will not have.

I could go into QAM and how it works but it would be like watching grass grow lol. Wink

Dennis C Jones II
21 years in the cable industry.

todd2112
New User

May 27, 2005, 3:51 PM

Post #3 of 3 (1282 views)
Shortcut

Re: [todd2112] signal strength is to strong [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks for the info sir. I had some more techs come out. They tested it again, and it was testing at 21db's this time. They put a little splitter on it that says in on one side, out on the other, and tap at the third opening. It says -120db on the in side, and 5-1000mhz on the out side. They tested it again, and it is down to 11dbs now. That is within acceptable limits I guess. The guy told me anywhere from -15db - 15db is alright. He said if he put another splitter on it, the signal might degrade. Everything works fine now, but VH1 classic is really pixellated. That sucks, because I really love that channel. I don't want to deal with the hassle of having someone come out again though.

In your experience, have you noticed that VH1 classic is just a worse channel than alot of the other digital channels? That is the only one that I really notice any pixellation on. The sound is fine, so the signal must be alright. You can see those invisible blocks all over the place though. My digital music-choice channels are all coming in perfect as well. HD channels are great. If I could fix VH1 classic I would be set. Oh well, I guess I can't have everything. Thanks again for the response.

Print Thread

Search for (options)

Web Design by Web Ideas - Page loaded in: 0.10 s on (CGI/1.1)