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strange signal spittler; bad reception on last tv in a row.

Reception at a remote TV** has degraded and I thought maybe a splitter connection had gotten bad, even though they are all indoors.

No electronics stores in town anymore. Home Depot has normal ones but Google came up with

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And my question is, 90db!!! I'd think it was a typo, but there's a picture of it and it says it in big letters. This is loss, right? Typical loss is 3.5db. With 90db loss, there's be almost nothing left.

Is this meant to fool suckers? Even if this were meant to fool suckers, would anyone even make a splitter with 90db loss? (It also says 2.4GHz)

(It also says this, twice in a row: "With this splitter being capable of frequencies up to 2GHz, there's no need to worry about signal loss or degradation of runs up to 100 ft.")

Also, I've thought about replacing the first amplifier too. It seems to be warmer than it used to be. IIRC it used to be just barely warm and now it's warm to the touch. Similar looking amps claim 20db and 36db and unspecified. Because of the splitter above, I'm suspeciaous that

36db might be phoney and actually no more than 20db. I can find the links if you want them.

|--- 4 tvs in a row with an amplifier after the 2nd DVDR-[**]-| |--- 2 tvs in a row. Good reception at all 6 tv's except the

2nd one in this string.

**a splitter to 1 tv and an amp to all the others.

This had all been working fine for over 30 years. The problem tv started giving problems a few years ago. Changing the tv didn't help. (All but one are 14" CRT tvs.)

Back to splitters,

1) Any reason to buy a gold-plated splitter? Outdoor use? 2) Besides the extra $2 charge, is there any reason to NOT buy a power-passing splitter if I'm not sending any power?
Reply to
micky
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Probably 90db isolation between output ports

KenW

Reply to
KenW

That is return loss or isolation between the output ports, not the insertion loss.

2GHZ rating is for Sat TV use between the antenna and the receivers.
36 dB would overdrive your TVs unless the feed is really weak. You have a worst case loss of 10.5 dB in the splitters. The coaxial cable loss depends on the type, the length and the quality.

Swap the two outputs of the two way splitter and see if the same set sfill has problems, or if at moved to he other TV.

Gold plating never tested better in the lab, and you don't need power passing for this application.

Reply to
Michael Terrell

Wild guess: Look for mouse or rat eaten coax cable. Not so wild guess: Look for badly installed (loose) crimp type F-connectors.

90 dB might be the isolation between ports. The typical loss is 3.5dB per port.

It's easier to attribute such screwups to sloppiness than to intentional fraud.

That's pure balony. There little difference in loss between different flavors of 2 port splitters that would have any effect on coax cable loss. Also, 100ft of RG-6/u has a loss of about 10dB.

What amplfier?

Find the maker, model, and links if you want a sanity check on the specs.

Sorry, but I can't decode your drawing or where you put the amplifier. Make a sketch and post it to one of the public image sites. Ignoring the amp, splitting the power between 6 loads is a 7.8dB loss. Add another 0.5dB loss per port, and you have a 8.3dB loss for each port. That's quite a bit of loss and might cause problems if your TV has a sensitivity problem. Hard to tell from here without signal levels and measurements.

That's what they all say. "It was working great until something happened" or something like that is the usual intro. Past performance is not an indicator of future results. Incidentally, some coax cable dielectric does tend to deteriorate after 30 years. If you're using RG-59/u for your coax, think about replacing all of it with RG-6/u.

Try temporarily moving one of the working TV's in place of the non-working TV. If that works, the TV is sick. If it looks the same, the cable, splitters, amp, coax, or connectors might be the problem. Also, unterminated ports can cause weird problems. If you have any, plug them with 75 ohm terminations.

Also, try moving the problem TV closer to the "DVDR" (whatever that might be), removing the cables and splitter from the equation. If that works, look for something broken between the DVDR and where the TV was originally located.

No. The difference in surface conductivity beween the various metals and gold will not produce any visible (or easily measurable) difference.

Gold might help prevent corrosion, if it were thick and pure enough. Instead, look for a splitter that is totally sealed waterproof. Shove a paper clip into the center of the 3 F-connectors. If it stops, the hole is plugged and water won't get in. If the paper clip goes in past the connector, water will be a problem. Also, put some effort into making your installation look semi-professional and use drip loops for anything you don't want to get soaked in water.

Why do you need a splitter that will pass DC? Are you powering any amplifiers through the splitter? If so, you'll need the DC pass. If not, you can use a DC pass splitter, but the DC pass doesn't do anything beneficial to the RF.

Notice that it's really easy to buy crap splitters:

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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

......

That accounts for it. Thanks.

Reply to
micky

They put anything on the packaging if it makes a sale,

I have a 50 ohm keyboard

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Adrian C
Reply to
Adrian Caspersz

In message , micky writes

90dB is highly optimistic. 40 dB would be more typical (but still adequate), and maybe a bit less at 2GHz.

If they do mean 90dB, it's probably the screening factor (a measure of signal leakage and ingress). 90dB would be good.

--
Ian
Reply to
Ian Jackson

Could be 90dB/Hz?

CH

Reply to
Clifford Heath

Just found this one with google. It has 90dB RFI shielding:

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Now it makes sense

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Reply to
Tony

The 2.4 GHz is for wireless signals for the internet (like a cable modem and router) and also work for TV's- just that they run on different bandwidths. TV's run at about 1 GHz maximum. The decibel level for signal amplification is usually between 6-9 dB (decibels). The 90 dB rating is for audio output on devices with digital audio output (up to 90 dB on playback).

True for wired signals. Wireless is an entirely different matter. You can have architectural issues that interfere with the signals getting from one point to another (example is someone only getting signals downstairs and not upstairs). This goes into a different line of discussion.

The gold plating offers lower resistance, but that is all. Other than that, there is not much difference there.

The reason for bypass on the power is if you are not driving a tuner on the outboard side of one of the legs of a splitter (i.e. you are running a cable modem and then router on one of the legs of the splitter).

I would also suggest you look at the placement and the configuration of the wiring. amps, splitter/(s), devices, the routing of the wiring, etc.., where you placed the splitter (and signal amps), check gain controls and AGC (where applicable). Make sure all wiring is good, the connections are good, firm, and securely connected. Make sure the proper signal path is followed.

Reply to
Charles Lucas

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