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Digital cable signal strength meter

How to Check the Digital Signal Strength of a Coaxial Cable


With high-speed Internet's greater bandwidth requirements being put on traditional cable systems, home users are putting much greater demand on coaxial cable than they were in the late 1990s. If coaxial cable deteriorates through exposure to the elements or traffic in the home, television and computer system performance suffers, even to the point of rendering both media inoperable. While coaxial failure is a rather low-tech problem, it's difficult to diagnose without the proper tools.

Things You'll Need

  • Digital cable signal strength meter

Step 1

Check signal strength at the source. Trace your cable system back to the point at which the cable enters your local network. Unscrew the coaxial cable from the network side of the box, and attach it to the cable signal meter.

Step 2

Record the signal strength as a baseline. Your meter reports signal strength in dbmV (decibel-millivolts). Digital meters may automatically switch between orders of magnitude, reporting in the hundreds or thousands of dbmV using the same level of output, so make sure to notice the scale at which the meter is measuring.

Step 3

Reattach the source cable to your cable box, and trace the cable to its first terminating end. This could be either at a split, junction, television or modem.

Step 4

Unscrew the cable from the terminal into which it connects, then attach it to the signal strength meter.

Step 5

Take a measurement of signal strength. Although minor signal deterioration is expected along the cable, your signal strength should be roughly similar to the baseline reading. If it is not, the coaxial cable needs to be replaced.

Step 6

Trace the rest of your cable network, repeating steps 2-5 for each length of coaxial cable on your network. Signal strength will deplete with each passing junction and length of cable, though any large degradation indicates a splitter or cable failure. These failed cables and splitters need to be replaced to maintain signal integrity.



M&A INSTRUMENTS INC RY-S200D TV Signal Level Meter CATV Cable Testing 5-870MHZ MER BER for both Digital & Analog Signal Measurement
Home Improvement (M&A INSTRUMENTS INC)
  • The lead time is about 3 days. FedEx/DHL shipping time is about 5-7 days.
  • If any questions, please contact us.
M&A INSTRUMENTS INC RY-S200D TV Signal Level Meter CATV Cable Testing 5-870MHZ MER BER for both Digital & Analog Signal Measurement
Home Improvement (M&A INSTRUMENTS INC)
  • The lead time is about 3 days. FedEx/DHL shipping time is about 5-7 days.
  • If any questions, please contact us.
Antennas Direct, Inc. Digital TV Signal Meter
Speakers (Antennas Direct, Inc.)
  • Connect to any TV antenna with a coaxial cable and use as pointing aid [NOTE: use in combination with free tower location information from antennapoint.com]
  • Simple, cost effective design for DIY installations
  • 4 segment indicator shows rough combined UHF / VHF signal strength
  • Includes signal meter, internal 9V battery, and instructions
  • 90 day warranty on parts
LeaningTech SF-9505A Mini Digital TV Antenna Satellite Signal Finder Meter, TV Signal Strength Meter, TV Reception Systems, with LCD Display and Compass, Black&White
Speakers (LeaningTech)
  • LeaningTech SF-9505A is reliable and accurate, because it is microprocessor controlled.
  • Signal strength is showed on the LCD-display in the form of thermometer scales and in the numbers 0~99.
  • In-line IF signal strength meter. Built-in light and electric buzzer.
  • LeaningTech SF-9505A is able to show pitch of tones on a buzzer. The higher tone, the better signal.
  • LeaningTech SF-9505A is so sensitive that even can detect the weakest signals.
Seesii Seesii 3.5" LCD CCTV Camera Tester Video Monitor SDI/CVI/TVI/AHD/ Cable Tester/Video Level Meter HD-2800ADHS Coaxial Tester CVBS Test PTZ Control
Home Improvement (Seesii)
  • he new HD coaxial tester ,built-in high definition 3.5 LCD-TFT 480(RGB)x320 resolution, view the image, easy and directly displays the camera image , support PAL/NTSCLCD...
  • Coaxial signal test, support 720p 25/30fps/ 1080p 25/30fps, the tester will display camera image, coaxial PTZ control and call up the camera OSD menu.
  • Test video signal strength attenuation, longer video signal cable will cause the image to be dim, and reduce the image dynamic range, video signal is too strong...
  • Display the input video images. Pan/tilt the P/T unit and zoom in/ out the image. Setup the controlling parameters like protocol, communication port, baud rate...
  • The tester sends out color bars via its BNC output to the monitor. This is used to test for a problem in the cable going from the camera back to the monitoring area



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