Saturday, October 8, 2011

TV Antenna Booster

Tired of spotty signals, breaking sound and jumpy pictures on your television, when all you want to do is sit back and enjoy your favorite show? Well then, TV antenna boosters will help you in getting rid of these. These boosters are equipment that strengthen the signals received by your TV. Generally as the signals travel from your TV antenna through the coax cables of your television the signal weakens. The more the signal has to travel the weaker it becomes. The TV antenna boosters job is to strengthen this signal by widening the signal beam. There are different ways and places where these boosters can be installed. Read more to know about how and where to install a TV antenna booster.

Installation of the TV Antenna Booster

As mentioned earlier the longer the path of the signal to reach your television set, the weaker it gets. Another reason for these signals to weaken is the splitters. The VHF (very high frequency) or UHF (ultra-high frequency) splitters also cause signal loss. It is therefore beneficial if you fit the boosters before such devices that cause signal loss. The amplified signal will be more than what it would be, if the booster was installed after the splitter. Even if the antenna is inside the house or outside boosters function effectively when fixed before cable splitters.

The ideal booster for your television should be selected by calculating the total signal loss that occurs, this loss is measured in dB. This loss has to incorporate the loss that occurs due to the length of the coax cable and also the splitters. Splitters are of various types such as 2 way, 3 way, 4 way, 6 way and 8 way splitters incurring different losses in signal. Once this is known, select the television antenna booster that provides a gain in signal that is 5 to 10dB more than the loss. Just choosing an antenna booster randomly may cause overloading and damage the TV.

Indoor antennas are to be connected to a power supply, the outlet supply of the antenna is connected to the outlet of the TV antenna booster. Amplifiers or boosters for outdoor antennas are placed very close to the base of the antenna. Such signal boosters are provided with bolts and screws to secure it to the pole of the antenna. This booster also has an electrical extension. The electric current that flows through the boosters catch the signals from the antennas nearby. At this point it is important to know that outdoor boosters are more efficient than the indoor ones mounted on the TV set.

TV Antenna Booster for RV

TV antenna boosters are similar to those available for homes. These also require a power supply. This power is obtained from the battery of the RV when on the move or then it is connected to power supply on land or a generator when the engine is off. The following is are a few TV antenna booster reviews to help you choose the right one for you.

Motorola Signal Booster 484095-001-00 Bi-Directional RF Amplifier
This is a TV antenna booster amplifier, that boasts of amplifying signals 32 times (up to 15dB). You can optimize this device to televisions, cable set-top box and digital radios. It has an easy to install method without you having to fetch your tools. This booster comes with an AC adapter, two coaxial cables and a user's manual. The cost of this device is around $100.

Winegard AP-8700 Preamplifier
The Winegard AP-8700 preamplifier is designed to amplify dish network TV signals. It amplifies 17dB on VHF and 19dB on UHF. It also has an FM trap that prevents an overload from local FM stations. The market price of this booster is around $60-65.

Radio Shack 15-2507 High Gain Signal Amplifier
This one of the TV antenna booster radio shack is a booster that amplifies signals up to 30 dB. It is good for strengthening signals for HDTV even in remote place. It is protected against cable shorts and therefore prevent extensive damage if shorts do occur to the TV antenna booster. Radio Shack also provides FM traps of 20 dB at 98MHz. The cost of this device is between $45-50.

TV antenna boosters amplify signals, this does not imply that these boosters will amplify signals which are originally weak. It is like a filter for preventing signal loss due to various factors. If the original signals that you receive itself are weak, boosters or amplifiers will not solve your problem.