Just bought a Blonder-Tongue AM60-860 from eBay, and it works great. Got it for less than $40. It has an LED channel/band/power level display with simple pushbutton setup, which is much nicer than the DIP switch arrangement on earlier models. Handles stereo audio, and even provides for EAS input (this is ONLY a test....)
Only mods it needed were a BNC to replace the F connector they used for video input (this was a factory option, BTW), and a front panel power switch to shut it off when not in use. Only 1 rack unit high, for a standard 19" rack mount.
EASILY covers the whole house (and well down the block) on VHF Ch3 using a simple dipole antenna tacked to the ceiling in a basement shop. This is at the minimum RF output level setting.
Could be the heart of a nice pirate TV station if one were so inclined.
Puts out 60+dBm unmodified, and I'm thinking that the output level could easily be increased by replacing the BGY885 output amplifier with the higher power BGY888, which would be a plug-in swap.
B-T also made 8 and 12 channel combiners to go with these units, which would be PERFECT for setting up your own private CATV system. Also available cheap on eBay, as cable systems are scrapping all their analog headend stuff.