<br><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="im">
> Putting the amp at "the ingress" is the safest place to put one...<br>
<br>
</div>Yes, and no. Depending on the amp (and the internal splitter),<br>
there may be large return losses that impact two-way services<br>
such as cable modems and cableco STBs due to the upstream<br>
signal being attenuated. As with all else, your signal will vary.<br>
If you are using a Cable Modem, and want an amp for a largish<br>
number of downstream devices, it is often suggested that you<br>
use a passive two-way splitter with one going to the CM and<br>
the other going to the amp. This is not needed if you use<br>
MATV/CATV quality amps with appropriate return path<br>
designs, but those amps are a lot more money than most<br>
want to invest (and are often hard to source). btw, also be<br>
careful about the supported frequencies. Some cablecos<br>
are starting to use frequencies towards 1Ghz (and some<br>
amps top out at the (older) 850Mhz levels).<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Just did a quick search, and it appears that good amps with support for upstream devices are not that difficult to source.</div><div><br></div>
<div>I'm not sure about these from RatShack... I would never buy an amp that doesn't advertise the noise it produces:</div><div><a href="http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103093&filterName=Type&filterValue=Amplifiers">http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103093&filterName=Type&filterValue=Amplifiers</a></div>
<div><a href="http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103092&filterName=Category">http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103092&filterName=Category</a></div><div><br></div><div>But there are higher end devices readily available:</div>
<div><a href="http://www.pctstore.com/RF_Amplifiers_s/26.htm">http://www.pctstore.com/RF_Amplifiers_s/26.htm</a></div><div><br></div><div>The PCT amps have a lot of options, some will amplify the upstream, or just pass it through, some have power fail modes so that your battery back up cable phone service doesn't die if power fails, etc. Takes a bit of research to understand all the features, but they do exist.</div>
</div>