Is an antenna preamplifier required?
This is the first question asked when considering the addition of a preamplifier to the antenna system. A preamplifier can provide considerable improvement where there is excessive distance between the antenna and the home/media distribution panel. Often people will refer to preamplifiers as “boosters” and while the preamplifier does increase signal levels beyond the antenna, it does not improve the quality of the HDTV signal received from the antenna. The function of the preamplifier is to “maintain” the signal quality at the output of the antenna to the media/distribution panel. Therefore the purpose of the preamplifier is to overcome cable system losses by increasing signal levels. Step #1 At this point, you really need a signal level meter to accurately determine if a preamplifier is required and what type of preamplifier should be purchased. Select the channel that yields the lowest HDTV signal level and measure the signal level. Example: DTV Ch 52: -8 dBmV Next, select the channe
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