By Robert L. Pace
The one place where a CATV Technician can still really be an individualist is inside his head-end. Some head-end installations get the floor scrubbed twice a week while others in the 'industry are virtually rats nests. Recently I called a Chief Technician's attention to the disorderly tangle of wires behind his head-end equipment racks. He said, "Oh, no man, I'm not going to do anything about that! That's my job security. They don't dare get rid of me because no one else could ever figure this mess out."
Every CATV Technician has his own special way of processing off air signals. I would like to pass on some of the methods which I have learned from helpful associates and many long nights spent in head-ends.
Nowhere in a cable system can money be more wisely spent than on well engineered and properly installed antennas. Antennas are an involved subject in themselves so I will not attempt to cover them in this paper.
Every piece of signal processing equipment should be checked for proper alignment prior to installation. This is especially important for equipment that is frequency selective. Although processing equipment may be carefully aligned at the factory it is often received in poor alignment after a few thousand miles of bouncing around in a freight truck.