zxello

Didnt know where to put this so I thought i'd throw it in here, any mods think it should be moved, feel free to!

Ok i have a 2-way splitter on my cable atm, its split to my internet and the TV next to me, great signal, no problems. I need to split it one more time to go to my internet, my tv, and a tv tuner card in my computer. Anyone know if there is a big difference in the signal degredation while using a single 3-way splitter vs. 2x 2-ways (daisy-chaning them)?

help is appreciated!

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Cycler

I didn't notice degredation with this when I split it at a house I used to live is between the tvs split three ways. I put in an eight way spliter at my parent's house to multiple tvs and cable internet to one computer and no problems at all. Spend a little bit on a good spliter and you should have no issues. I would go with a traditional three way spliter before a daisy chain affair, it increases the chance for intereference issues.

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splck

My old place was full of splitters (2 and 3 way) and I never noticed any loss of signal.

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RallyEX

I used to be in cable modem tech support for a cable company. This was a pretty frequently asked question by some of our customers.

Based on my training, it is most important for the cable modem to receive as much signal as possible. The cable modem is much more sensitive to signal loss issues than the television is, and a 3 way splitter will only drop the amount of signal the cable modem is getting now. Think of it as division.. Signal = 100%... With a 3 way splitter, each outlet gets ~33%.

Rather than a three way splitter, I'd suggest purchasing another 2way splitter and daisy chaining it from the single outlet that your television is currently plugged into. Your cable modem will receive 50% total signal, and the two television outlets will receive 25% (which is more than enough).

Perhaps it is overkill to care as you do not have 4 or more outlets in your home, and that is usually when signal issues develop, it'll be to your advantage should you ever encounter a signal loss/problem in your home.

2sheds

electricity doesn't really work like that. in either case (3-way splitter or 2 2-way splitters) all three end points get the same level of signal. the reason splitting the cable degrades the signal is because of the interference and loss introduced into the signal by the splitter itself. using a 3-way splitter would result in one split in front of each endpoint, and they all would experience about the same signal degradation. using 2 2-way splitters would result in one split in front of the cable modem (same as above), but now two splits in front of the other two endpoints. the net effect would be zero on the cable modem, but roughly twice as much interference on the other two.

whether you'd notice a difference in either case is doubtful, but i'd recommend a single 3-way splitter.

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edmos1

other than gold plating connections, what is a good way to determine what is a good splitter?

flat5

Use what the cable company uses. Cost is also a guide to quality.

I was going to say:
Cheap splitters use nothing (wire) or resistors and caps.
Good splitters use ballums. (toroid inductors).

but here is a link to a good splitter that uses caps and is not expensive.

http://www.mjsales.net/items.asp?Fam...=265&Cat2ID=93

Aladdin Sane

I just split my cable so that I could have internet and TV on my computer. I bought the best splitter I could find, but it still didn't deliver enough power to get both TV and internet at the same time. Finally, I got the cable guy to come out. He put a signal booster on my cable, then split the cable. It works perfectly now.

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flat5

So, the booster allowes (sp?) data to pass in both directions. (upload & download)

Aladdin Sane

Yep. I have no problem, up or down.

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jujueye

What kind of cable modem do you have? For most types, there is a signal checker onboard. My motorola SB5100 is accessed this way:

http://192.168.100.1/startup.html. Yes, I'm behind a nice firewall....

But what I get is some options, one of which is Signal. On the signal page, I get Frequency, S/N, and Upstream/Downstream power levels. My downstream is 5 dBmV, upstream is 51 dBmV. Check the items with the modem directly into the wall, then recheck after adding splitters.

Anexkahn

I'd also recommend a 3 way splitter instead of two 2 way's. Each tap will degrade your signal by roughly 3db. Most typical residential installs can loose about 18db (6ish taps) before you will notice problems. Cable modem tolerences are a bit less, but usually a 9-12db swing wont make them have issues.

Also, signal problems with your modem will be most noticable if you cant maintain a solid a acquisition of the HFC network, not upload or download speed. Your biggest sign of problems with splitters is where you loose link every couple of minutes then will re-establish it.

As to buying a splitter -- make sure what you're buying is capible of passing the band your cable modem works in. Most cable providers use modems which are sending their signals at a much lower frequency than what your TV channels are using (cable modems operate in the sub-VHF spectrum), and a splitter won't necessarily be rated to pass those frequencies. They can split your normal TV fine because its within its range, but your cable modem won't have much of a singal through it. So just make sure what you are buying is rated for frequencies low enough for your cable modem.

Gold plating is mostly a marketing scheme on RF connectors, and performance gains are minimal.

the420star

i would say you should go with a single 3 way splitter. If you look at a daisy chain the noise coming off the second splitter will be the noise gain times the inputed noise from the first. so looking at that you know the more elements you use in series the more noise you create. Also to clear up what was said before all L and Cs are bi directional with a sinisodial input. And lastly by using no resistors the splitter attenuates the signal less. If the modem is sensitive about loss then i would say you might want to look for a splitter with an amplifier. once again... dont go cheap

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catback

Electricity really does work that way. Splitters don't introduce interference or loss, unless you use a piece of crap splitter. Interference problems arise when the signal to noise ratio on the line drops. The loss comes from dividing the signal and sending it down more than one pathway. A good 2-way splitter will have a 3 db loss for each outlet, using some algebra and formulas this equates to each outlet getting 50% of the total power/signal.

If there wasn't a cable modem I would recommend a 3-way splitter so that all three taps would get an equal level rather than the 50%,25%,25% that you would get with 2 2-way's, but there is a cable modem and it benefits from having a strong signal so 2 2-ways are better suited.

Catdaddy33

Had two run-ins with outside cable splitters in the past month. We built a house in a new subdivision and was the first house in our area.

About a month ago I was playing WoW on the computer when all the sudden the cable went out. I called Comcast and they said I had "a major problem" they said a tech has to come out to fix as its a wiring problem. After I hang up I look out front and see a cable truck in front of my new neighbors home, and go out and tell the tech that my cable modem just went out. He said "oh, must be this splitter I put on" he takes off the splitter and my modem comes back on. I call and cancel the service call and lodge a complaint about this (the guy worked for a subcontractor and not Comcast).

Last week, I come home and my daughter informs me the cable was out. So I check to see if there are any cable trucks in the area since the 2 houses across the street were just completed, and didn't see any. I set up a call and they come out the next day, we have underground wires and they go across the street what do they find? My cable coming from the main line had a 3-way splitter on it. These guys had to redo all the work the previous tech did. They were pretty ticked since it took them almost 2 hours to straighten out the mess they had.

catback

Gotta love them cable guys that don't know much about modern cable service, their skill is pretty much limited to installing wire ends and screwing on splitters.

Catdaddy33

The guys that installed were sub-contractors, the guys that fixed it actually worked for Comcast. They said the installer were "lazy" and "it happens often"...

I'm just glad all the homes around me are done and hopefully wont have anyone jacking my signal anymore...

Ninjasideshow

I think that 2x2 should be fine. I got one of the ultra 5way splitters and woud not recommend it.