Equipment drawings-post yours

[Cadsulfide]

Hello all;

This is a very crude drawing of my equipment setup. I put everything in the utlity room to keep peace with spousal unit. Would be interested in seeiing others solutions to what to do with the signal once you have it.

 

[tvropro]

If I posted mine it would take me a month to draw. Too many pieces or equipment, cables, etc. The whole house is wired for SMATV.

 

[Mr Tony]

Hello all;

This is a very crude drawing of my equipment setup. I put everything in the utlity room to keep peace with spousal unit. Would be interested in seeiing others solutions to what to do with the signal once you have it.

dang...very nice. Lemme see if I can draw something up...most of my stuff is now situated in the living room

 

[guapoharry]

There's no point to submit my equipment drawing... I'm still trying to figure how best to integrate multiple motorized dishes into a switched setup, if you can...

Wow, Cadsulfide. Thank you for posting that. I had not heard about directional taps and channel combiners before. :


Now I have to find out more about SMATV. How about a little sample, tvropro? Is your setup like a cable headend, or what?

 

[tvropro]

Now I have to find out more about SMATV. How about a little sample, tvropro? Is your setup like a cable headend, or what?

SMATV stands for Satellite Master Antenna System. It's like a mini cable system. I combine my TV antennas and modulate 4DTV, DVB, ATSC OTA, and XM radio into my in house antenna system. This all feeds a powerful distribution amp and splitters which sends the signals to every tv. You have to be able to balance and mix the signals, adjust tilt, deal with adjacent channel interference and shoot for a +14dbmv signal at each tv for perfect pictures. When setup right it's cool. I've been messing with Matv since the 70's and Smatv since the 80's. If your interested get some books and read up on it it's very interesting to design a build a system for your home.

 

[Cadsulfide]

There's no point to submit my equipment drawing... I'm still trying to figure how best to integrate multiple motorized dishes into a switched setup, if you can...

Wow, Cadsulfide. Thank you for posting that. I had not heard about directional taps and channel combiners before. :


Now I have to find out more about SMATV. How about a little sample, tvropro? Is your setup like a cable headend, or what?

I spent a lot of time reading before hooking stuff up, nowhere as elaborate as McGuyvers, or as slick as TVROPRO's, but it works. I forgot to show the misc stuff in the drawing like assorted 3db and 10db attenuators to keep from saturating the system. With a little fussing around you can turn your FTA setup into a whole house system, no equipment in plain sight. The only thing visible is an X-10 powermid transmitter at each tv

 

[guapoharry]

OK, I have been working on trying to get a clue about this cable RF distribution thing for about a week now. The idea about getting some books seemed hit-or-miss after searching for SMATV on Amazon. Some of the books are ancient (1980s-90s) and the newer books are $100. I'll be reviewing manufacturer reference guides, catalogs and looking for library reads unless someone recommends an author or book.

The idea of putting most of the working parts in a rack outside of the living room sounds great. But maybe someone could clue me in on the following:

I want to place video sources like DVD recorders in the living room in order to change media. Whether I use the integrated modulators with agile processors in the back room, or use add-on modulators in the living room, I plan to send cables back to the equipment rack so those signals can be viewed by any TV or recorder.

Let's say the cable length is 50 feet between the viewing area and the equipment rack. And, I want three DVD signal sources. But I would like a small as practicable footprint in the living room. Is this do-able?

How much power would a DVD recorder or VCR produce?

I looked around on Sat Guys and on AvsForum for places that focus on this stuff but didn't find too much. Presumably dishretailer.com is out of the question for an amateur. Is there some place else to chat about stuff like this?

What I'd like to avoid is buying a bunch of stuff and then find out it is crummy residential stuff that is limited in capacity or feature....

Is there a preferred method of measuring signal level without spending $500 on a meter?

I'm working on trying to do a design.

:

 

[Cadsulfide]

Use agile modulators for the DVD players, you can also use an isolated splitter backwards as a cheapie channel combiner. I've gotten most of my modulators on fleabay (had to add power supplies) cheap. MCM electronics is a good source for splitters/attenuators, etc. If you see herringbone and lots of spots on the remote TV's try a 3db or a 10 db attenuator between the modulator output and the combiner. I don't have any good metering equipment for rf levels either, I found if I keep my channel spacing wide (6 or better) no bleeding or splash to adjacent channels.

 

[JHHowland]

Maybe you could help me...

Hello all;

This is a very crude drawing of my equipment setup. I put everything in the utlity room to keep peace with spousal unit. Would be interested in seeiing others solutions to what to do with the signal once you have it.

I am new and checked out your drawing. With the scope and depth of your setup I am hoping you might offer some suggestions for the FTA system I am adding to my Class A Motorhome. Take a look at my attachment of how I hope to utilize a single cable feed for my DN 311 and a SV360 Elite. I am not sure if I have it right.

Your comments would be appreciated.