Cable Splitter
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Cable Splitter
Alright, I already have a cable splitter in my room to split the cable coming from the wall to my TV and to my Cable Modem at the same time, but I need to attach something else to the cable now too. So, I was just wondering if I was to go out and buy another cable splitter and attach it to the cable going to my TV now, will the signal weaken too much or would everything still work fine?
Re: Cable Splitter
You should actually be able to find a 3-way splitter. i think I've actually seen up to a four or five way.
As far as the signal goes, as long as you have an amp (which most modern installs do) you should be fine.
EDIT: Something like this is what you would need : http://www.yourbroadbandstore.com/produ ... pid=149273
As far as the signal goes, as long as you have an amp (which most modern installs do) you should be fine.
EDIT: Something like this is what you would need : http://www.yourbroadbandstore.com/produ ... pid=149273
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Re: Cable Splitter
I never thought of looking for a 3-way splitter. That splitter is perfect for me, thanks for the help.ZN13 wrote:You should actually be able to find a 3-way splitter. i think I've actually seen up to a four or five way.
As far as the signal goes, as long as you have an amp (which most modern installs do) you should be fine.
EDIT: Something like this is what you would need : http://www.yourbroadbandstore.com/produ ... pid=149273
Re: Cable Splitter
A 3-way splitter just attenuates the signal more than a 2-way one would.
Generally you loose 3.5dB (which, in terms of signal strength, is half the power. which makes sense) per split. With three ways you are losing 7dB IIRC. It should say right on it.
Furthermore, you are NEVER supposed to put your modem behind ANY splits. Im sure you know that. First, your speed will decrease with signal strength, and also, some crappy $1 splitters do not pass high enough frequencies for the modem to work. You want to pass up to at least 1Ghz, I.e. get a special splitter for satellite TV and the internet
Obviously you have to put the modem behind at least one split if you want to watch TV. the cable company already made that split with the correct tap, DONT TOUCH IT. put more taps behind it.
If you want, you can buy an amplifier for you signal, put it in front of all the taps, and it will balance out the signal loss (you want to boost the signal /before/ the filters, not after. Boosting the already weakened signal would result in poorer quality (more noise)). Most cable amplifiers actually only amplify the signal coming INTO your house, not out of it. So if you put your modem behind the amp, you will still loose upstream bandwidth. I chose to put my amp after the modem split, but before the other three splits in my house, so that I didnt mess with the internet at all.
The link provided is a digital tap (check), however you can clearly see that each output has "7db" written above each one. This means each TV and the modem will lose 7dB (one third) of its strength. If you were to instead daisy-chain two 2-way splitters, the modem would only loose 3dB, and the TVs would both loose 9dB or something. This is how the cable company would wire it if you asked them to.
Generally you loose 3.5dB (which, in terms of signal strength, is half the power. which makes sense) per split. With three ways you are losing 7dB IIRC. It should say right on it.
Furthermore, you are NEVER supposed to put your modem behind ANY splits. Im sure you know that. First, your speed will decrease with signal strength, and also, some crappy $1 splitters do not pass high enough frequencies for the modem to work. You want to pass up to at least 1Ghz, I.e. get a special splitter for satellite TV and the internet
Obviously you have to put the modem behind at least one split if you want to watch TV. the cable company already made that split with the correct tap, DONT TOUCH IT. put more taps behind it.
If you want, you can buy an amplifier for you signal, put it in front of all the taps, and it will balance out the signal loss (you want to boost the signal /before/ the filters, not after. Boosting the already weakened signal would result in poorer quality (more noise)). Most cable amplifiers actually only amplify the signal coming INTO your house, not out of it. So if you put your modem behind the amp, you will still loose upstream bandwidth. I chose to put my amp after the modem split, but before the other three splits in my house, so that I didnt mess with the internet at all.
The link provided is a digital tap (check), however you can clearly see that each output has "7db" written above each one. This means each TV and the modem will lose 7dB (one third) of its strength. If you were to instead daisy-chain two 2-way splitters, the modem would only loose 3dB, and the TVs would both loose 9dB or something. This is how the cable company would wire it if you asked them to.
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Re: Cable Splitter
Thanks for your detailed explination timmeh87. I see your point, I'll leave the cable modem side untouched and simply add another one to the TV side so I don't slow down my connection.