Thread: recommend a good reverse path drop amp

I'm looking to buy a good cheap drop amp. Specifically, I'm looking for return path. Forward isn't necessary. Currently, I'm having about 32-35snr and -1 to 1 downstream. but the reverse, i'm 54-56. Done everything I could with my end of things. No splitters in place. Don't really get dropouts, but have poor speeds compared to what they should be. Could just be overloaded cmts though? Latency to first hop is 6-8ms during offpeak, 12ms under load during offpeak, and upwards of 30ms under load and during peak. QOS set up on my end, and also to prioritize icmp. Takes a long time to connect the cable modem as well.

Any ideas? Hoping to spend no more than $30.

Even if the poor upstream isn't responsible for low speed (for instance, cmts to blame), I'd still like to correct the upstream levels since I run a small homeserver and would like to know that possible dropouts from my end can be potentially avoided.

If your return transmit level is high, you could have problems with ingress, where noise and/or interfering signals are getting in, and your cable modem has to work harder to shout above the noise floor. Last year, when I had a problem like this, a tech came over and replaced the drop to my house; the shielding had deteriorated on the old cable over the years. Probably best to have your ISP send someone over to check things out; if an amp is indeed needed, he will probably install one for you free, and it will most likely be something at a higher quality level than you will find in the stores.

If you are getting ingress, an amp would likely be a bad thing to add, since it will amplify the interference and send it out over the whole system