Line Amplifier

leespencer

Member
My Satellite Setup
1.2m Dish with twin Chess LNB. Humax Foxsat HDR. Laptop computer.
My Location
Andalucia, Spain
I want to run fairly long 7mm cable runs from a 1.2m dish with a Quad LNB and am concerned about signal loss, can I use Line Amplifiers with the free to air channels on Astra 2?
 
That depends upon how marginal the signal at the dish is for your worst Channels.

Line Amplifiers add noise (inevitably) and can lose marginal signals as a result.

But if you've got decent signal and are aware that Line Amps can only restore in an imperfect way losses on the cable run, then perhaps it'll be ok.
 
How long are the runs?

You should be able to work out the losses based on 0.3dB /Mtr at 2Ghz.
 
I have never seen 7mm cable for satellite, normal stuff round here is 8mm, or 5.5mm in dual runs. Can you give details of the cable type ?
 
Assume he's referring to standard 1mm type cable approx 6.8mm outer sheath.
 
hello
usually standard 1.13 mm center conducter.
1.0 mm and .9 is small.
we need to know how long is the lenth from the dish to the receiver.
amp will add some noise for sure
ralph
 
Diseqc motors will also add noise, if you are going to use one or a vbox.

Both together could easily drown some weaker signals in noise.

Try the cable run with and without the amplifiers and see what happens.

At worst you could upgrade the dish to a 1.5m.
 
Also worth trying the amps at different places - empirical results in this respect often belie theory.
 
Without knowing the actual length of the required run, useful advice cannot be given. Though it is better to use lower loss cable than put an amp in. Fibre could also be an option, with pre-made lengths of 500m readily available, with perfect results.
 
How long is the run anyway?

Some people think 30-50m is long when it isn't usually a problem.
 
What I am trying to do is this; I have a 1.5m (thought it was a 1.2 at first) dish and have 4 appartment to supply a combined Sat and Freeview signal. The dish has to be mounted on an out building which is 35m away from the 1st appartment. From that point the 2nd appartment is a further 20m away, the 3rd another 30m away and the 4th another 20m after that. So, the furthest appartment is about 100m from the dish.

I did think of using a multi switch but can't fins any with less that 8 outputs which seems abit over the top for just 4 appartment, which will never need a second feed.

The cable I use here is a 7mm outer diameter (according to my measure) and is Beta Cavi Digisat N85. I use this because it has a comparably lower loss over different frequencies than other cables i've compared, apart from one from Televes.

What's the best way for me to get a reliable signal into these 4 appartment?
 
also keep in mind, if you are getting those window passthrough cables, get a good quality one as you could lose a lot in that small 20cm cable passthrough if the quality is not up to par
 
Are you sure they'll never need a second feed?

I don't have a PVR myself, but they are increasingly popular - presumably in Andalucia the same as in the UK?

Edit: You have one yourself, I see!
 
These appartments are short term campo holiday lets, and the owners say no to a record facility.

What is a Window Pass Through Cable?
 
Consider using cascade multiswitches, even if it is only for four dwellings, this will also give you an option for additional feeds if needed. You launch the input signals and the outputs will tap off each switch with a low through loss to other switch.
 
Well I would advise using a good quality quad LNB, perhaps the Invacom, run 1.25mm core cable minimum to the first two properties, then 2.25mm core cable to the third and fourth, adding a line amp if required, probably best somewhere in the middle of the run.
 
hello to all
and now we know the rest of the story.
if astra 2 d comes in ok in this area with a 1.5 m dish the for 4 appartments a 4 output lnb going to all you should need.
use the best low loss cable and make sure the scew is correct as well.
at max the longest run at 35 meters may need a small amp but probally not.
a window pass is a adapter that is flat with two connectors on each end.
so window can be closed and it being flat will not interfear with closing the window.
it is about 30 cm long and 2 female connectors for the male f connectors.

ralph
 
Ralph, the longest run is 100m + if running along a single course, see post #11, whether the other runs can be shortened by taking different routes for each cable if another thing altogether.

PS. I can find nowhere in the OPs posts where he says he is going to use flat window adapters.
 
If it wasn't for the terrestrial feed I'd use the Fibre optic LNB,and fibre, as it would just work, no messing about, with the option to add additional feeds at a later date, without needing any more external cable runs.
 
Something else I forgot to mention, the other 3 appartments all have a cable (continuous cable with no connections) of unknown quality running to their respective TV points (one in each appartment) from the 1st appartment, this is why I thought a Multi Switch was the right way to go, Quattro LNB, 4 cables to Multi Switch in 1st appartment then connect the appartments via their existing cable from the Multi Switch. Feasable?
The furthest appartment is about 70m from where the Multi Switch would be in the 1st appartment. Is 70m cable run (1.25mm core) OK for a Multi Switch?
 
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