What is a Master Antenna System?
MATV stands for Master Antenna Television. It is the means by which many apartment houses1 hotels, schools and other multi-unit buildings distribute TV and FM signals to a number of receivers. In order to accomplish this without a loss of signal quality, these systems must be carefully planned and engineered through the effective use of MATV equipment and techniques.
An MATV system is basically a network of cables and specially designed components that process and amplify TV and FM signals and distribute them from one central location . If there were 100 TV sets in a building, it would be extremely expensive to Install and maintain l00 separate antennas. Not only would It be unsightly, but reception would suffer because that many antennas would interact with each other, causing interference problems.
The MATV system concept can be separated into two divisions: the Head End and the Distribution System
The Head End normally consists of an antenna Installation to receive the desired signals to, processing equipment to filter the signals and remove interference, and a distribution amplifier to amplify the signals to the level required to provide an adequate signal to every receiver in the system. Antenna amplifiers, traps, filters, antenna mixing units, and UHF converters are among the equipment used in t~is portion of the system.
A welt-designed Distribution System is necessary to guarantee that an adequate signal will be delivered to every receiver. It should provide a clean signal to the sets by isolating each receiver from the system and by delivering the proper amount of signal to each set. This portion of the system consists of trunk lines, splitters, feeder lines, and tapoffs. Some of the other equipment used includes tine taps, variable isolation wall taps, coaxial cable, and band separators.
It is important to design your distribution system first. Usually, the requirements of the distribution system will determine the type and size of the amplifier that will be necessary at the head end. The actual layout of the system, of course, will depend upon the dimensions and requirements of the building in which it Is installed.
