# Will An Amplifier Really Help My Reception? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-an-amplifier-really-help-my-reception/321000 "2005-09-10T17:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-an-amplifier-really-help-my-reception/321000/1 "2005-09-10T17:08:09Z")
The place I’m renting has got an antenna wired into the house. There is an outlet into the living room but there is sometimes a fair amount of noise/broken picture/lines and so on on the various channels. I used to have an amplified indoor antenna but after a few years it stopped working and RadioShack no longer makes one like it. So I was thinking about getting an in-line amplifier like [this Motorola](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000066E6Y/qid=1126372409/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-0015604-1364947?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846). This would be nice because besides the TV in the living room I have a TV card in my computer and need a powered signal for the card to work right. Whoever did the coax also put an outlet in the room I am in but I don’t know if it works properly because when I plug in the coax in this room to the phone card I don’t get any signal except for a broken-up signal of the local PBS station. So I figure I could either put the amplifier in the living room and run some coax along the ceiling to the room I’m in (I’ve already had to do this for the DSL) or see if I can clean up the signal with the inline amplifier (which might be the problem the old antenna was having) from my old antenna and put the new amplifier back here. Does anyone know if these actually work or are they a waste of money like those cell phone “amplifiers”? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-an-amplifier-really-help-my-reception/321000/2 "2005-09-10T17:27:09Z")
Amplifiers work on TV since it’s an FM signal. We had an antenna at work that would barely pick up a signal and put a Radio Shack cable amplifier on the line and could pick up broadcast TV and a lot more FM stations. It was a 4 output amplifier and we ran coax to several offices for radios. What we used was similar to [This](http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F003%5F001&product%5Fid=15%2D2507), but with 4 outputs. I have a spare one I could send you, but you’ll need one of these [terminators](http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F001%5F003%5F001&product%5Fid=15%2D1156) for each unused output. Let me know if you’re interested, I can turn AIM on and get your address. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-an-amplifier-really-help-my-reception/321000/3 "2005-09-10T17:38:06Z")
Sounds interesting. I know something about electronics (basically what I’ve had to learn in my analytical and physics classes), so I figured that it would be possible, but I didn’t know if anyone has found them useful. I was worried about basically amplifying noise instead of signal. I just thought that I’d rather try a one-time $50 purchase than getting basic cable at $14 a month. Doesn’t the signal start to weaken with cable length? The antenna is behind the house, probably 30 feet from where I am, and probably at least 75 feet from where the TV is. So depending on how the guy ran the cable, it could easily be a run of 100 feet or more. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-an-amplifier-really-help-my-reception/321000/4 "2005-09-10T17:49:26Z")
Oh, I guess I should also ask if I should try to shield the cable as it nears the computer. The coax feeds into the TV card and gooes by/around/through lots of other cables. Since any cable carrying electricity creates a magnetic field and can cause interference, would shielding be worth it or is it overkill? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-an-amplifier-really-help-my-reception/321000/5 "2005-09-10T17:53:33Z")
That’s basically what this thing does, it is used for long cable runs to boost the signal, but we found it made a difference in reception as well. It won’t cost you anything to try it (except maybe a couple of terminators), you can have it. If it doesn’t work, sell it on Ebay and put the funds in your PokerTropolis account. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-an-amplifier-really-help-my-reception/321000/6 "2005-09-10T17:55:39Z")
All right. I’d send you an email, but it’s blocked. AIM is on.