The Motorola Signal Booster just plain works!
Written: Mar 23 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to install, works as advertised
Cons: Very high MSRP, can overdrive your cable modem.
The Bottom Line: If you have bad TV reception this is for you. It may or may not help your Internet connection.
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| cspu's Full Review: Motorola (484095-001-00) |
I've had DirecTV for the last seven years, my house didn't even have cable run to it! Where I live the only high speed Internet option for me is from the cable company. I had the lines installed and decided it would be more economical to have cable TV than pay for Internet and DirecTV. Imagine my surprise when I went from crystal clear satellite TV to grainy cable with lines in the screen! The modem worked fine, but television reception was ok at best and unacceptable on some channels.
I bought the Motorola Signal Booster based on earlier reviews at this site. Installation was a snap, there are three coaxial connections, one for input signal, one for output, and the final one is for... power? That seems kind of odd to me, a power supply that uses coaxial cable. It works fine though, anyone can install the booster in a few minutes.
Originally I put it in line before any of my splitters, television reception was noticeably better but my cable modem would not sync up at all. My Motorola Surfboard 5100 modem will work with a signal that is between -15db and +15db, without the signal booster I have +2 db (after a -3.5db splitter) so I was probably over driving the modem. I put a Monster Cable Splitter before the signal booster so that the modem gets an unamplified signal and it works perfectly. **It's true, cheap splitters wreak havoc, do yourself a favor and spend the money on the good ones!
Television reception was very good on one TV and still pretty bad on the other with a $2 splitter from Wal-mart. I went to Best Buy and got a second $9 Monster Cable Splitter and put it in line after the Signal Booster and viola, both TV's now have near satellite quality picture! Every channel shows drastic improvement, the absolute worst channel was 13, our local NBC affiliate. After installing the Motorola Signal Booster channel 13 only shows a slight hint of a vertical line. All of the other channels are near perfect.
Summary
The Motorola Signal Booster works as advertised. It changed my TV reception from terrible to very good. It's plug and play and a very high quality product. I'd recommend it, but save yourself some money and get it online for half the MSRP!
P.S
The Motorola Signal Booster WILL NOT increase your Internet bandwidth! All it does is amplify the signal like turning the volume up on your stereo. You may notice an increase in speed because of less signal loss, but you won't get more than your cable company has alloted you.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cspu
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 in Electronics |
 - Top 500 |
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Location: The Island of Misfit Toys (Alabama)
Reviews written: 116
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About Me:
Sarcastic car audio enthusiast, motorcycle rider, and hunter... and I make NO apologies for it!
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