Motorola Signal Booster 4-Port BDA-S4 Cable Modem TV HDTV Amplifier

 

Motorola Signal Booster 4-Port BDA-S4 Cable Modem TV HDTV Amplifier

 

Price : $56.90

Product Description

There is nothing worse than having a great TV to watch your favorite programs, while having a grainy or pixilated (digital cable) picture. Motorola BDA amplifiers give your TV signal a boost while maintaining full compatibility with all of your cable services. Simply install the BDA-S4 where your cable or antenna comes into your house and begin enjoying a better picture, faster downloads, and a more reliable HD or Digital TV signal. With a name like Motorola, how can you go wrong? The BDA-S4 is fully compatible with all cable TV standards, cable boxes, cable modems, routers, HDTV and more.

Product Details

• Item Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000WPGRKK
  

Technical Details

• The BDA-S4 is a bi-directional cable TV amplifier designed for use in homes. Boosts signal by 12x.
• This is the 4-port commercial version of the Motorola Signal Booster 484095-001-00.
• A passive return path supports multiple broadband devices such as set-top boxes and cable modems.
• Meets all applicable IEEE surge standards for all output ports, which enhances system reliability.
• Weather seal and protective coating allow use of the amplifier for indoor or outdoor applications.

Customer Reviews

This amplifier is well made, durable and meets all of the requirements for professional use. It's is widely used in the cable industry (contrary to some of the reviews here). There are several companies that make these and they all meet the frequency requirements (5-1000 MHz) for modern HFC cable systems. It is provided and installed by cable guys and it costs $40-$50 on average.
First of all this device should only be used for your TV service. Do NOT amplify the modem line. You need to use the splitter to split one line to the modem and the other should feed the amplifier and the rest of your outlets. This amplifier will increase your modem upstream return level. Read the print on the amplifier : RTN(return) -8 dBmV. Your upstream power level will increase and your modem will have to work harder to communicate out. Also it will sometimes decrease your upstream signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
The amplifier is not a do-it-all miracle device that will solve all of your problems. It simply amplifies the incoming signal. It does not filter the noise. This means your incoming signal needs to be clean and at acceptable level before the amplifier. So if you have 4 or more TVs (on average, but this may vary) you will most likely benefit from this purchase. If you have more than that you should buy the single port version (cheaper) and use an 8 way splitter. In fact if you buy a single port version and use a 4 way splitter you will get the same signal levels.
However if you have problems I strongly recommend calling your local cable co and get a tech out. If you are a DIY person, make sure you do some research first and use quality equipment (like this amplifier), RG6 60% braid shielded or better cable (quad shield is better), compression fittings (like PPC, Thomas;Betts) and not crimp fittings (don't apply pressure on the coax), splitters that do not have glue on the back cover and are rated 5-1000 MHz. By investing more money and getting quality equipment it will help you have trouble-free service and will most likely save you some money in the long run.
PS If you can get a power inserter (it looks like a regular splitter but it's not) you can use it to back feed the power on one line so you don't need tn have a power outlet right next to the amplifier (make sure you connect it to the "REMOTE POWER" (sometimes "DC IN/RF OUT") port on the amplifier).

This dramatically improved the reception in my house. I have Insight Cable (Ohio) and have always had several snowy channels. The cable company had been out but said there was nothing they could do, as some channels just get poor reception. To make matters worse, I recently added five new splices for a total of 10. Several TV's had terrible reception. I chose this model so I could run the main cable input into the booster and then each output to a splitter. The main cable line enters the house into a finished office so I also liked how the unit was powered, too. It works absolutely fantastic. All TV's now have excellent reception. I just cannot believe that this solved my issues. It seems very well made and sturdy and it's actually pretty neat how it works. The power source is an inverter that translates the house electric to 12V. You plug it into your outlet and then run an R59 or R6 coaxial cable from the power source to the amplifier/booster. So I just fished a new cable line in the wall near my outlet to power it, as opposed to having to deal with installing a new outlet near my cable input. I have broadband internet coming through my cable and have seen no interference or problems with that. It was always pretty good so I'm unsure if there was any improvement. To me this was well worth the money. I have several LCD TV's around and it sucked to have spent the money on them but have bad reception.