What is the nominal RF levels in DBuv into the Tablo -4T

[smilingbubba]

I have an attic antenna, 30 miles from the antenna farm, Clearwater, Fla, have an amp inline, but I need to know the recommended RF level into the Table 4-tuner, and does the internal amplifier really work, and how much gain does it add or subtract? I am using a Leader RF Signal Level meter, and experimenting to get good local coverage when the next hurricane shows up and I lose Internet and Hulu-Tv-Live…My ISP internet usually dies quickly during these storms!..Thanks…Larry

[KimchiGUN]

The closer to -0 the better… But at the same time you don’t want to push too much signal to the tuner. You will come in too “hot” and the tuner will flip out. Like opening the oven door at that heat hits you in the face, tuners feel the same way.

RF tuners they want a “balanced” connection. Where it gets good signal. The tuner can work, operate, and play happy. if it comes in too “hot”, the tuner thinks it doesn’t needs to fire up. But that is a bad thing. It needs to “work” for the signal.

[smilingbubba]

Ok…thanks…Looks like I am a little hot. I have a few in-line attenuators, 2, 6, 10, 12db, so I’ll try taming it down!..Thanks…

[khaver]

Be aware, the gen 4 Tablo requires an internet connection for practically every function. I don’t believe live tv will even work without it.

[classicrockguy]

A while back did a lot of work figuring out proper RF signal levels to feed the 4th gen Tablo. Here’s a link that summarizes most of it …

Recast User Switching to Tablo

I just wanted to circle back one more time on the topic of signal levels for the Tablo. I now have a proper signal meter, and have confirmed all of my signal levels throughout my system, starting with the Televes amplified roof antenna, down to the Televes Avant x signal processor, and finally out to the Tablo coax input, are appropriate. Nothing is being “overdriven” in the signal chain. My detailed measurements for just the Tablo inputs are as follows: [image] Note these figures do not incl…

Make sure to pay attention to the signal level units. Also, the Tablo internal amp is easily overdriven. Turn it off unless you absolutely need it. The Tablo tuners themselves are ATSC 1.0 spec, so they can handle a pretty big range of signal levels per that spec before they are overdriven. I have verified this through my testing.

One more thing … s/n ratio is way more important than absolute signal strength for reliable signal decoding. Look for s/n ratios above 30dB for really solid decoding. Of course, 20-25dB may allow signal lock by most tuners, but it won’t necessarily be reliable. Anything less than that will be crappy if it works at all.

[smilingbubba]

yeah…know that…I have an extender about 10’ from the Tablo, in the garage, with a hi CFM 4" blower fan right up against it, and my Tablo is on 5G, cool as a cucumber in 90deg weather, here, now!!

[smilingbubba]

Thanks…Great Info!..