[GroundUrMast]

My general complaint re. RS product stems from the lack of access to relevant specifications. Gain, Noise Figure & Overload Point are the main items I need to know when specifying an amplifier of any type.

The amplifiers sold under the RS brand rarely have anything other than gain published. As I've gained personal experience with RS products and read others experience and results, giving credence to the reports based on tests performed with lab grade gear, I've developed the opinion that RS branded preamps and DA's have poor noise figures compared to competing products.

FWIW: Gain in excess of the cable, splitter losses & tuner noise-figure in your system is of little or no benefit, and can cause trouble in some situations. That means an amp with 12 dB of gain may be better than one with 29 dB... or vice versa.

A good amplifier has a low noise-figure. RS branded amplifiers are known as noisy amplifiers. The lower the NF, the less damage an amplifier will do to your hard won signal.

Maximum output, maximum input or third-order-intercept are all variations of ways to help you understand how much signal an amp can handle without overload. Often you are left with an ad copy statement in loo of an engineering grade spec. If you are in the city, close to strong signal sources, avoid using any amplifier if you can. If you prove the need for an amp, avoid one sold as 'for deep fringe' or 'weak signal'... again, when faced with strong signals.

And last, antenna gain is always better than amplifier gain. Antennas don't overload and they have a NF of 0.0 dB. A high gain antenna is generally more directional than a low gain antenna, thus a high gain antenna is able to receive more desired signal while receiving less interfering signal from directions other than the point of aim.

Hope this helps a bit...

Cheers