CE LABS 6001 Prograde 1 GHz Bi-Directional RF Amplifier
By: Cable Electronics Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 10
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 On: 2008-09-11
Item was dead on arrival, so I sent it back for a refund. I ordered a Motorola unit the 2nd time, which is working fine. The refund was processed quickly without problems.
 On: 2008-08-30
I live in the greater Los Angeles area and get great over the air analogue reception but my over the air High Definition signal reception is much to be desired. Trusty PBS comes in great but all other channels worth watching come in weak, resulting in those beautiful choppy cubes on the screen, and but when the oh so fickle ionosphere wants to behave Im reminded why I dont need cable. If you havent heard analogue signals are going away February 2009. As a result, if you do not get good over the air HDTV reception youre going to need to buy cable or satellite TV service. Why? Because unlike trusty old analogue, a weak signal will have a lot of noise/snow but with a week HDTV signal you will get nothing but choppy "cubes" or no audio and visual at all.
That is where this nifty little device comes in. I have had it for a few months now and it does exactly what it is marketed to do: RF Signal Amplification. Im not in a position to comment on its performance when hooked up to a cable or satellite box because I do not have subscription TV. Ever since I got my HDTV two years ago, Ive been tried everything under the sun to get consistent over the air reception to no avail. I embarrassed to mention how much I have spent on antennas and so-called signal boosters but given my aversion to cable rates, lack of a la carte, and paying for commercials, I thought Id try the CE Labs 6001 Bi-Directional 1 GHz RF Amplifier.
Due to constraints, I am not able to set up a large scale or rooftop antenna. As a result, Ive been dependent on rabbit ears, active and passive. I had a really good RCA UHF/VHF antenna but I wasnt 100% satisfied with its performance and I didnt like aesthetic. The main thing that attracted me to this device is the fact that it can attenuate RF (over the air) signals and its price. Many of the "signal boosters" sold here on Amazon are actually designed for cable boxes not for handling over the air UHF and VHF signals. The 6001 model boasts the following: an adjustable attenuator, adjustable from 0 to 20dB forward Gain. Very decent low and high pass bandwidth.
I have my 6001 connected to a passive antenna, a DB2 Multi Directional antenna by Antennas Direct. The results are amazing. Before, CBS (channel 2) and ABC (channel 7) came in at 15% and 28% signal strength leaving me with pixilation artifacts and image stuttering. Now, I get strong and stable signals across the UHF and VHF spectrum. CBS now comes in at 45% and ABC comes in at 60% and PBS comes in at very nice 92% signal strength based upon the internal signal meter in HDTV.
Based upon my experience with this unit, I highly recommend it. Its at a great price, has a very solid metal build, and does what its marketed to do. I found that the 6001 works most efficiently when connected to a passive antenna, there can be significant interference/poor signal quality when connected to an active antenna. My conclusions:
Pros:
1. Excellent performance for its Price
2. Actually works with over the air signals (UHF and VHF)
3. Solid Build (all metal casing)
4. Adjustable attenuator, aka amplification.
Cons:
1. A flathead screwdriver is required to adjust attenuator/amplification.
On: 2008-07-09
This amp is built like a tank and meets specs. Dont even consider a Radio Shack or Best Buy amp because you will be waisting your money. Since this is an adjustable amp make sure you dont overdrive your TV sets.
On: 2008-03-13
Immediate difference with my cable signal once I plugged in the CE Labs 6001 Prograde Amplifier!!
I recently built a new home and wired all my low voltage, including cable, cat6 data, and cat5e for phone, into a wiring closet in the basement -- big DIY job, but worth it. I had an 8-way cable module combined with a 4-way module, in addition to several RG6 runs of over 100 feet. Needless to say, one splitter on any of the cable jacks would degrade the cable signal beyond use, hence my need for a good quality, powerful bidirectional amplifier. If you use a cable modem and want to amplify the cable signal throughout your entire house, you MUST go with a bidirectional amplifier, or your cable modem wont work.
After connecting and plugging in the CE Labs Prograde 6001 amplifier, the DTV/QAM channels are all registering at maximum reception (95% plus); prior to the amplifier being installed, I was lucky to get 50%-60% strength on the signal bars (displayed by my LCD HDTV set). The cable modem also syncs much faster, and I get extremely reliable performance now that the cable signal to the modem is boosted.
The casing is rigid, solid metal, very heavy duty, and will easily mount to a wall with the screw holes provided. The amp can be adjusted (from 0-20dB) using the adjuster on the bottom-left of the unit, youll need a jewelers screwdriver to get at it. Overall, the CE Labs 6001 Prograde Amp is one of the best options out there, and one of few that can boost +20dB for under $50. The Radio Shack amps dont even come close to this one in terms of quality and reliability.
 On: 2008-02-10
I needed an amplifier for my Comcast cable which is split into eight junctions and it totally improved my signal especially the CW and Fox if you live in the Bay Area you will know what I mean and when you call Comcast those jackasses always say you have your own stuff wired up wrong. I tried an amplifier from Lowes made by Philips but it just didnt have enought juice.
I only gave 4 stars because my unit didnt come with instructions and the guy answering the phone told me how the unit works but was kind of leary like I was the Feds or something. The unit itself is tiny, slightly larger than a 4X6 picture but it does the job and stays cool because it is on 24/7. When you look at the picture on Amazon in the lower left hand corner at about 7 oclock there is a shiny silver bolt but it is really an opening, that is where you insert your tiny, flat screw driver to make adjustments clockwise for more power and counter clockwise for less power. It will click at the end which means there is no more adjustment allowed and it also prevents you from damaging the unit.
If you get buzzing when words are streaming across the screen then you need to back off the power otherwise no problems with this amplifier.
Great little unit for the price especially when you look at what is available.
On: 2008-02-08
Immediate results after installation. My QAM tuners are all registering a 5-10% increase in signal strength and the HDTV picture quality is excellent. The adjustable gain is an excellent feature and the product is well made. Definitely worthy of the "Prograde" label. The only potential "gotcha" is the cable company will see the increased signal strength at your cable box and/or cable modem and try to adjust it. Had to call my cable company and have them undo their perceived improvements.
 On: 2008-01-18
One of the better cable/HDTV amps around. Very sharp image, with good contrast especially on lower cable channels. Higher digital channels tend to generate visible noise with this amp that most cable box filters will display as mosquito noise and slight smearing around objects and on movement. There are better amps in this price range; I finally settled on a PDI 2-port amp that has a slightly cleaner image, especially on big TVs 32" and larger. Because digital cable typically transmits a lot of annoying digital artifacts because of too high MPEG compression (not a problem with analog channels), you might not like this products image on large LCD sets, which tend to amplify digital noise. My CE Labs s-video distribution amp has much cleanr output but wont work directly with cable. Hint: for best results if you have a cable line and internet cable modem, split your cable line BEFORE you feed the line to this amp, feeding one split to the cable modem and the other end to the 6001. Like many amps of this type, feedback from the cable modem causes image deterioration on the video side. If you hook it up this way, youll need an extra piece of coax cable to go from the splitter to the 6001. Most cable signals have enough power to handle the internet when split this way -- if your cable signals is too weak to begin with, no amplifier will help, you should talk to your cable provider about a better signal. In any case, I did use the 6001 for several months with no problems and with much improved reception. Runs circles around Radio Shacks similar amp (no surprise!) and Terks amp, both of which look horrible but cost a little more.
On: 2007-12-18
I have been having trouble for over two years with poor analog TV quality and Internet cable modem dropping off-line over and over. I have numerous TV/Internet cable outlets all over the house. I finally figured out that because of the number of these cable splitters throughout the house has depleted my signal to a level that the cable modem would not work reliably and TV reception was snowy and of poor quality. After purchasing the CE Labs CE 6001 RF amplifier, all my problems disappeared. The Cable TV analog signals responded to the 20 dB of gain by providing me OUTSTANDING picture quality on my TVs and the Cable Internet signal improved to the point that there are NO drop outs and going off-line. What a great product!! Why dont the cable companies know about these great amplifiers?
Dave
On: 2007-11-17
Awesome product. Had a 12db amp which showed minimal improvement on cable signal. This is built better, shows an incredible improvement on picture quality and u can use a cable modem with it as well. 300% better than anything you can pick up at Radio Shack.
On: 2007-02-21
I am using this for my CATV that has three splitters after it. The incoming signal was not very strong and after the third splitter, the picture was terrible on one tv. After installing the RF amp, it was beautiful. The CE 6001 has 20 db of gain (more than most other RF amps). I ended up turning the gain down a little (a very useful feature although you need a very small screwdriver to do it) to be sure it did not overload the front end of my tv off the first splitter. I had an RS version (15-2505) previously and it did ok but added a little noise on the weakest signals. That was all plastic and certainly not weatherproof. In contrast, the CE 6001 is a nice, sturdy sealed aluminum case and I could not see any evidence of additional noise on even the weakest channels.
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