Can This Be Done?

[r.jones1116]

After Voom, I'm getting cable. I want to keep my OTA antenna (my cable provider doesn't carry our local NBC-DT/HD at present). Will the multiswitch function as a combiner for CATV/OTA. I want to run it on one coax then split the signal (one to cable box and the other to HD tuner for the local NBC).
Does anyone know the answer to this?

 

[CDH]

I'm in a similar predicament and have decided (with heavy heart) to go back to Charter Cable in Greenville. My guess is that in my case this would not work as the lower channels as sent out by my cable company would overlap the frequencies of the OTA signals. I'd like to be wrong, but I think one would need a second cable run just for the OTA signal.

CDH.

 

[bryan27]

What kind of multiswitch is it? If it is a multiswitch for satellite it won't do what you want it to do.

What you want is a splitter/combiner which you can get a Radio Shack for a few bucks. I would advise against combining cable and OTA into a single coax. Both cable and OTA use the same frequencies, so if you combine them both signals will interfere with each other and you will receive nothing but an unwatchable mess on most channels.

Combiners are used to combine two signals on different frequencies. IE: combining a VHF antenna with a UHF antenna.

You will either have to run two different lines or use an A/B switch. The switch will have to be manually flipped when you want to go from cable to OTA or vice versa.