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NICE AND EASY: What is a multiswitch?

It’s sort of a traffic system for satellite TV signals. Multiswitches were born out of necessity in the early days of satellite television, and they’re still around today. Every modern satellite TV system has one, although they are often built into the dish itself. Let’s take a look at this modern marvel and how it does what it does. More than just a splitter A multiswitch is more than just a splitter, although at its heart it’s basically a splitter. The purpose of a multiswitch is to allow more lines to come out of a dish than it’s designed for, and to allow more programs to be available than are possible with simple satellite reception. Separate signals In the early days of satellite, basically you put up one dish and pointed it...
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If I switch to DISH from DIRECTV on my boat, will I get my local channels back?

A customer asked this question the other day, and I thought it would make for a great article. There’s a good story to tell here and there’s a lot of information that might be helpful to someone trying to make this decision. A little background SInce 2016, DIRECTV has planned to end standard definition local service. The original end date was the end of 2019, but that plan has been pushed back several times. It seems to be going full steam now, and you can get an up-to-date list of which markets have lost standard definition locals here. A lot of those cities are port cities, and that has meant some specific impacts to our marine customers. In order to get high-definition local channels (in fact to get almost all high-definition...
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FUN FRIDAY: Shiny crap into space

A couple of weeks ago I ran into an old article on Gizmodo entitled, “Hey Artists, Stop Putting Shiny Crap Into Space.” The thrust of the article is simple. Putting things into space is now so cheap that we can do it just for art’s sake. They point to this installation, called the Orbital Reflector. The project finally did launch back at the end of 2018, but failed in perhaps the stupidest possible way. According to the official press release, NASA literally lost it. They couldn’t find its radio signature because they couldn’t distinguish it from other things that might have been it. Then, the US Government shut down, putting the whole effort on hold. When things did pick up, NASA still couldn’t find it. The plan was to “deorbit” the...
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Can 5G cellular actually be worse than LTE cellular?

Over the years, we’ve been trained to believe that newer tech is always better tech. 3G was better than 2G, and 4G was better than 3G. We were told that LTE was even newer than 4G so that had to be better as well. Yet, in some cases, we’ve heard over the years that 5G was not as good as LTE even though it was supposed to be better. Before I even start… For several years, there’s been a series of urban legends that linked 5G to a number of different health and security concerns. Although I don’t claim to be a medical or surveillance expert, there’s no reason to believe 5G is anything more than just a way for cell phones to communicate. I go into more detail here. 5G is different from all previous cellular standards 5G was designed...
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What’s the difference between frequency and wavelength?

A little warning before we start: this isn’t going to be a long article full of math and equations that most people will never be able to understand. It’s my goal here at The Solid Signal Blog to provide information that the average person will find useful. Sometimes that means simplifying things a little bit or glossing over details. I want to help you choose the right equipment and feel confident in what you have and how to use it. I know there are a lot of sources for PhD-level information when it comes to RF engineering, and if that’s what you’re looking for I think that’s great. Realistically, this isn’t that. Let’s start with the electromagnetic spectrum We use the term “electromagnetic spectrum” for all the kinds of electrical...
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Looking for better TV reception? Just add height!

Cutting the cord is more popular than ever. If you follow the trends, it’s possible that by 2020, more people will be using TV antennas than ever before. Let that sink in. More people will be using TV antennas than they did in the 1950s, when there was literally no other choice. Wow. Antenna TV gives people options they never knew they had. Most areas have more than 20 different TV stations, and only a handful are on cable or satellite. The picture is pure and pristine, looking better than all but the best streaming or disc images. A lot of people look at antenna TV and assume that it’s already 4K, since they’re used to the pseudo-HD provided by their cable companies. Of course, with the rise in antenna TV comes a rise in problems...
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THROWBACK THURSDAY: When I thought NBC would fail

Yes, it’s fun to be wrong on the internet. Because, the internet never forgets. When I said in 2013 that NBC was on the verge of collapsing, I may have been right. But when I asked if they would be the first broadcast network to collapse, and if that collapse would be soon that turned out to be dead wrong. Flash forward 10 years and you can see that NBC’s been up and down, but they seem to be in a bit of a pickle in 2023 as well: RANK PROGRAM NETWORK AUDIENCE (millions) 1 NCIS CBS 9.9 2 FBI CBS 9.4 3 Young Sheldon CBS 9.3 4 Young Sheldon Special CBS 9.3 5 Blue Bloods CBS 9.3 6 Night Court (Jan. 17 Broadcast) NBC 9.1 7 Chicago Fire NBC 9.1 8 Ghosts CBS 9.0 9 Young Sheldon Thanksgiving Special CBS 8.6 10 Fire...
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Can you run a cable from your satellite dish to your RV?

Let’s say you are going to have an RV parked in your driveway for a while. Maybe mom’s come to town. Maybe you’re having some plumbing issues and you’ve moved the fam into temporary quarters. Perhaps your kid just got back from college and needs a place to stay. There are lots of reasons why you would have an RV at home instead of parked at a storage facility. So as long as that RV is there, the people in it should be able to enjoy the same entertainment as the people in the house, am I right? Let’s talk first about internet and streaming Obviously folks are going to want to use the internet in their RVs. I mean, it’s something we do all the time. But RVs aren’t terribly good for receiving cell signals or Wi-Fi. You can put in a cell...
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Do you need a special antenna for ATSC 3.0?

Well, you’ve been hearing me talk about ATSC 3.0, the proposed next generation of TV broadcasting in the US, for about a decade now. Seriously. Check out all these articles. If it becomes the law of the land, ATSC 3.0 offers on-demand programming, 4K, and interactive features using an off-the-air antenna. (More on that in a minute.) But what kind of antenna will you need? What if you’ve been using the same antenna that a previous homeowner put up in 1960? How could that possibly work for something as technologically advanced as ATSC 3.0? Surprise, surprise, you won’t need a new antenna Most people won’t need a new antenna in order to enjoy ATSC 3.0 if it does happen. An antenna is a surprisingly simple thing. It’s really just a piece...
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Should you build your electronics into a cabinet?

I have this conversation about once a week, and I’ve had it hundreds of times in the last 30 years or so. It goes like this: This is one of the biggest problems with consumer electronics that no one talks about. It’s not new, either. I remember it from the late 1980s. A wealthy fellow hired me to replace his computer, which he had built into an expensive mahogany desk. It took a lot of careful work with a small prybar and several other tools to get that computer out of there, but when I was done the damage to the desk was minimal. Of course, after I replaced the computer I am sure this guy hired his carpenter to enshroud it again, but what are you going to do. Too late to fix the past Today, you’re seeing a lot of people who want to...
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Ken Reid and Chris Morgan

September 19-26, 1998 This week Ken welcomes BACK to the show author of the new book “99 Episodes That Defined the ‘90s: Television Milestones from Arsenio to Homer to Yada Yada Yada, Chris Morgan” Ken and Chris discuss his book, Detroit, Tim Allen, Jack Kavorkian’s lawyer, Cigarette ads, Heidi Klum, Spin City, French Stewart, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Sex with Cindy Crawford, reality TV, the classic SNICK line up, Celebrity Death Match, Mad TV, Baywatch, Night Man, the frequency of Evil, Rising Star Barbie Alan Jackson, commemorative plates, Will & Grace, That 70s Show, Monday Night Football, Holding the Baby, The Marriage Fool, King of Queens, Brian Benben Show, Say What MTV, Superman II, King of the Hill, the greatness of...
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Is it time to upgrade your KVH satellite TV system?

KVH is a company with a long history of innovation. Beginning in 1984, they’ve been on the forefront of marine satellite tech. They debuted their first marine satellite antenna in 1994, just as the direct-to-consumer satellite market was starting to take shape in the United States. Since then, they’ve been on the forefront of satellite communication, not just for marine use and definitely not just for television use. If you look at their timeline, something they have every right to be very proud of, you’ll see that they’ve been right there for every single advancement in marine communications for over 40 years. KVH is well known for creating systems that withstand time and the elements. Chances are if you put in a KVH system during the...
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Podcast #579: Cell service in most commercial buildings is pretty bad. Here’s what you can do about it.

Commercial cell phone signal booster systems are an economical and easy-to-install way to add great cell service to commercial buildings. If you’re a facilities manager for a commercial building, call 888-233-7563 to find out more about how this technology can work for you. Listen to the podcast your way! Just choose one of the following: Option 1: Click on the image above to stream the podcast in your browser. If you use the YouTube player above, be sure to subscribe to get future videos delivered to you! Option 2: The Solid Signal Podcast is available on several podcast aggregators. Search for us, or tap on the links below on your mobile device. If you want us to add another aggregator leave a comment below. Amazon iTunes Overcast...
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Does your cell booster need an LPDA?

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’re probably convinced that cell phone boosters are a great idea. They’re real, they work, and they’re not that expensive. I certainly don’t need to sell you on the idea of having better signal, and cell phone signal boosters provide it. They take weak signal from outside, amplify it, and pump it back to you inside. It’s that simple. If you’re putting together a cell booster system you’ll be happy to know that consumer cell phone booster systems are required by law to give you everything you need. You’ll get cables, antennas, whatever it takes to install on the average building. But let’s say you’re thinking bigger. Commercial customers often upgrade their systems with more antennas or...
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Problems with your marine DIRECTV system? Here’s the one thing you MUST check

I’m always amazed by how well marine satellite systems work. Think about this for a second. You have a satellite in space 22,000 miles away. It’s hard enough to aim at that if you’re in a house. Now think about your boat constantly moving in 3D space, and the fact that your satellite system may be tracking three satellite locations at once. I understand how it’s done and it still boggles my mind. Satellite TV, even marine satellite TV, has an amazing 99% uptime record. But occasionally, you’ll have problems that need looking into. Often times, these can be solved with a quick call to Signal Connect. But even before you do that, there’s something you must do that might help you understand what the problem is. Let’s make sure you have...
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