SATV/CATV, Splitters & Amps - Questions, Questions

[David Meek]

O' mighty Poobahs, once again, I need some education. This time, it's on CATV, RG6 cables, splitters and cable signal amplification.

Here's the deal: I'm running cable to a room in our house that doesn't have it. It's a downstairs room which means I can't easily tie into the CATV cables in the attic. My best choice is to tie in where the underground run from the cable company comes out of the ground and splits into two runs for the up- and down-stairs outlets. From that initial splitter, it's about a 60' run to the rear of the wall outlet I've installed. I'm using RG6, BTW. The splitter installed by the cable company shows to be -3db for each of its two outlets. I cannot find a 3-way splitter to replace that existing 2-way that doesn't show a -7 db or greater loss.

Here's the questions:
1) Is there a 3-way splitter available that has only a -3 db rating for each outlet? If so, where can I find it? This is my first preference.

2) If there isn't one, can I use one of those less sensitive splitters and not experience a visible drop in PQ?

3) How does a signal amp work? If I have a significant loss of db at the splitter, will the amp return the signal to its original form, ie. no data lost?

Thanks gang.

[ThomasW]

There aren't any splitters that have lower insertion losses. As you've found it's either -3dB or -7dB, those are the only choices.

An amp simply boosts the existing signal, noise and all.

Start by removing the existing splitter and put in one 3 or 4 way splitter. Then see how the picture looks throughtout the house. Add a signal amp if needed.

Another option is have the cable people increase the gain to the house. Unfortunately alot of cable companies don't like to do that.

[Clive]

Why not use a second 2-way splitter then? Disconnect one of the outputs from the existing and add a very, very short piece if cable between that output to the input of the second (new) splitter, then reconnect the one cable to one output of the new splitter and connect the new cable run to the other :W

GOOD TO GO!!!! :T

[David Meek]

Hey Uncle, how ya doin'?

I'd really rather not add splitters if I can avoid it. That'd be another 3 or 7 db drop, plus the extra interference from the added cable-to-splitter connections.

Unfortunately, I've not found a single 3-way splitter that is -3 db. I've found lots of -7 db ones though. :evil: I'm going to keep searching for a few more days. Here's hoping. . . .

[Dennis H]

I've not found a single 3-way splitter that is -3 db.

Nor will you. A 2-way split is -3dB. A 3-way split requires a bigger drop on each leg. Most 3-ways are wired internally just like two 2-ways daisy chained. So, one output is -3dB and the other two are -6dB. The best thing might be to use two splitters and send the stronger signal to the component that needs it most. A 3-way would do the same thing if the outputs are clearly labelled so you know which is the stronger but that's often not the case. DIY with two 2-ways leaves no question about which leg has the stronger output.