OTHER TECH

Step 3: Locate the Home Run To "inject" a signal into your home's TV distribution system, find the place where all the wiring begins, called the home run. If an electrician wired your home, the wiring is likely stubbed outside of the house, where the cable company has its service. If it was "professionally" wired, the home run is likely in a structured-wiring panel, often inside the house or garage.

Step 4: Choose a Modulator Modulators are available from several companies, including Channel Plus and Channel Vision. They come in one-, two-, three-, and four-channel models, based on the number of sources they accommodate. (To view a DVD player and two cameras, you need a three-channel modulator.) Some models carry infrared-control signals over the coax line, letting you operate the remotely located source. If you'll be watching the modulated channels on a home theater system, consider buying a modulator that retains the MTS stereo signal, allowing you to enjoy Dolby Surround soundtracks.

Step 5: Install the Modulator Equipment connects to the modulator via standard red/white/yellow A/V cabling. Consumer modulators need at least one "empty" channel on either side to produce the best results, though there are pro models that don't require any spacing. You can modulate to any unused channel from 14 to 125, except for 95 to 99, the FM band. The upper end of the range is best. The modulator tranmits all the channels on a single coax cable that goes back to the home run.

To get analog cable channels along with the newly created channels, you'll need either a low-pass or a notch filter. Low-pass filters block all channels above a given frequency. (I like the Channel Plus LPF-750, which filters signals above Channel 116.) Notch filters carve out a segment of channels - say, from 75 to 80. Install the filter on the coax wire carrying the cable-TV feed and then combine the filtered cable feed with the coax cable coming from the modulator. The signal coming out will have both cable-TV and the modulated channels.

Step 6: Filter and Combine Use your TV's setup menu to scan for channels. The tuner should pick up your modulated channels just as if they're coming from the cable company. If the images aren't clear, modulate to a different channel. If that doesn't help, add an amplifier at the home run to boost the signal strength. Now, if there's nothing good on TV, you have no one to blame but yourself!

Back to Homepage What's New on S&V