Patent ID: 8667550

Claim:
A communication system comprising: a house amplifier comprising: a first port configured to connect to a cable network; a second port configured to connect directly to a home coaxial outlet; a forward signal path coupled between the first port and the second port to pass a forward signal received through the first port; a reverse signal path coupled between the first port and the second port to pass a reverse signal received through the second port, wherein the reverse signal path comprises: a gate coupled between the first port and the second port and configured to selectively pass the reverse signal; a detector circuit configured detect when the reverse signal is received from the second port and to activate the gate when the reverse signal is present and to deactivate the gate when the reverse signal is not present, the detector circuit including: a timing circuit configured to activate the gate when the reverse signal is detected and to provide a delay before deactivating the gate when the reverse signal is no longer detected; wherein at least one of the forward signal path or the reverse signal path includes a radio frequency signal amplifier.