PCT International CM7777 Titan 2 Signal Amplifier
by PCT International, Inc.
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of PCT International CM7777 Titan 2 Signal Amplifier
Customer Review: Low noise figure, this is one of the best
Summary: 4 Stars
UPDATE 1 May 2010: With the analog shutoff now history, and every analog TV without a converter box or cable showing 68 channels of snow, the local strong station WMBC is now gone. I replaced the antennacraft 10G212 preamp with the CM7777. Due to three stations (7,11,13) moving back to high VHF I had to get a high VHF antenna. I got a Winegard YA1713. The 7777 has a separate VHF input which allows you to combine the two antennas with less loss than if you used a splitter.
The lower noise figure of 2dB allows me to get a stronger signal on my weak station (WNYW FOX 5). It still drops out a bit but it is better than with the Antennacraft preamp.
One more thing - just be careful when tightening the screws in the preamp (if you've opened it to switch from combined VHF/UHF to separate or to switch off the FM trap). I broke one screw because I tightened it too much.
Also don't use the rubber boots if you are using compression F connectors. They won't fit. Discard the boots and get some self vulcanizing silicone tape (rescue tape) instead to seal off your connectors. Compression F connectors are pretty water resistant anyway but the silicone tape adds that extra layer of protection.
Old review:
I live in Northwest NJ (Sussex/Wantage), which is a deep fringe area because it is blocked by hills and 49 miles from the empire state building.
I am a ham radio operator and have an 86 foot tower for ham radio use. My CM4228 is there, as is this CM7777 preamp.
Build quality of this preamp is good. The casing is made of metal unlike many of the others which are cheap and made of plastic.
Performance is good. It helps me overcome the cable loss of 210' of RG6 cable and helps pull in the weak signals from New York and Philadelphia.
I like that it has separate inputs for VHF/UHF.
But this pre-amp made me lose channel 25-1 (physical 24) and gave me dropouts on some other channels which were previously dropout free. No matter how I adjusted the antenna it did not pick up these lost channels. Previously I had an Antennacraft 10G212 which pulled in almost everything. The Antennacraft is also about half the price of the CM7777. I suspect it can't handle the overload from the nearby (~15mi) WMBC analog which contains zero programming that interests me. The good news is that WMBC is moving away come 02/17/09 so hopefully it will get a little better.
Channel Master used to be a great company that had some really great products, when they were owned by Andrew Corp. I have quite a few products from Andrew and their build quality is excellent. But CM had to be sold off when Commscope bought out Andrew, and last I heard CM closed their last US plant this year. So unfortunately I think the once great company Channel Master will be gone soon. The name will remain, but the products just won't be the same anymore.
Customer Review: One unit DOA, one unit works
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought two of these units for use in a fringe area. One works as advertised and provides me with signal strength sufficient to lock stations from over 90 Km distant (line of sight) using a 19 dB Yagi antenna for the UHF combined with a 15 dB antenna for high-band VHF. I replaced a 15 dB antenna amplifier with the Channelmaster unit because of its higher advertised gain (23 dB).
Without any feed-line amplifier I get no usable signals. With the 15 dB amplifier I lock most but not all of the OTA signals in the UHF band but nothing in the VHF high-band. In particular I cannot lock the ABC and CBS affiliates that put their HDTV signals into the VHF high-band (7.1 and 13.1), and I cannot even detect the two VHF feeds from the PBS station (9.1 and 9.2) that are low-power and intended for local reception.
With the higher gain 7777 amplifier I can lock all the signals. Surprisingly I can lock the two PBS feeds in the VHF high-band. These are transmited at 100W ERP yet I get decent lock on both feeds!
The problem I had with the amplifier was that the first unit I received was DOA. Being a long ways away from vendors it is a pain to return for replacement. I noticed the F-connector on the power box was loose so I opened the box and determined that there are cold solder joints on the board. I resoldered these and now get 23VDC on the line, but the amplifier doesn't pass any signal. Opening up this box shows was a lousy piece of S&*t is inside. Surface mount components and sloppy solder joints all over the board. The Chinese manufacturer is evidently not doing any quality control. I kept this unit (for the spare PS) and tried again with a different supplier. The second unit works fine as described above.
If it works, fine. If not then be prepared to return it for a replacement and hope that you get one that was assembled on a day when the assembly slaves got a hot breakfast.
Customer Review: Tired of paying for free tv, Get a Channel Master preamp.
Summary: 4 Stars
Hi, I am someone who had been paying for tv for about the last 20 years. Only now after going from basic tv for only $20 a month to now of $60 a month for basic. Plus the cabel and satalite companies constantly switching up taking away what is viewed as basic and then 2nd level. Always splitting up the most popular tv stations in order to force people to pay more for what they were already recieving. I had finally had enough. Just like there will come a day when America decides to stop oil companies from running the world.
With that said, I like many of you, have read feed back from different sources in order to purchase something I knew nothing about. I had a old cheap antinna that worked every now and then ,but never got a picture without snow. So instead of doing more resurch years ago why. I like many of my nieghbors who prefer to live in the country simply paid for tv. Throwing away money.
I purchase what seemed to be a high end preamplifier cause I was now determined to make this work. Went to radio shack and bought a high end big antennia. First like everyone else tried to go without a pre amplifier only to get channels for a few minutes then nothing but squares of colors. Installed the Channel Master the same day I recieved it. Wham hd tv without paying. Beautiful picture and clearity without cable. I would have never belief this possible.
my recomandation is, spend the money on a channel master and don't play around. However, if you just are to strapped then read about all the other preamps and decide whats best for you. Just remmember chances are this is going to be a one time exspense for a couple of years.
Customer Review: It made all the difference in getting DTV channels at 30 miles
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll keep this review short and simple.
At 30 miles from the tower, I bought this and connected one part up in the attic, near the DB4 antenna and the other part is plugged in down in the central wiring panel, where one cable goes to the other part of 7777 in the attic and the output cable goes to the Dish OTA tuner (or AV hub in the house).
Without this preamp, the signal (after going from attic, the basement, back to Dish OTA tuner) .... was too weak.
With this preamp, the signal was great 75-95 on all DTV local channels.
I had to (of course) properly point the antenna in the attic, but this unit is the key to it all working for me.
I was originally viewing it as a 'nice to have' option, but after seeing how it worked for me ... mandatory equipment, especially if you live a ways from town.
My only slight complaint is that I wish it had a power LED on it, so you could know when its on.
I like the fact that it has both UHF and VHF inputs, so you don't need to buy a combiner if you have both a UHF and VHF antenna.
Customer Review: The Channel Master 7777 antenna preamp was a huge success for me
Summary: 5 Stars
I live in Auburn, AL and most of my nearby TV broadcasters are either in Columbus,GA (40+ miles away) or Montgomery, AL (50+ miles away). I bought a Channel Master 4228 UHF antenna last fall and installed it on my deck. I pointed it between the two cities. It's maybe eight feet off the ground. By itself, I received some stations (all digital now of course). I tried rotating the antenna some but the "sweet" spot is when I point the antenna between the two cities. I had an ancient GALAXY antenna preamp which I installed on the antenna. This added a few stations that I could receive. I was fairly happy with this setup but occasionally I would lose my signal due to weather conditions, and plus I knew there were more stations out there, so I eventually ordered the CM-7777. It arrived yesterday and I installed it. Suddenly I can see some more stations. Plus there are a few more stations that are almost watchable (pixelated). I am very happy so far.
I guess I need to install the antenna on the roof of the house now and see if I am able to receive those pixelated stations .