Jim,
I agree with Mike that an insertion loss like you measured (3.5 dB) is
quite high. If you meant a splitting loss of 3 db (which is the nominal
value for a two-way splitter since power is divided in half) with an
insertion loss of 0.5 dB, that would be a decent splitter. If the
splitter was outside, I would suspect that the cause of the failure was
its physical environment. Moisture ingress and/or thermal cycling being
most likely. Electrical overstress due to transient differential
voltages being much less likely, but possible.
Stu
W3STU
-----Original Message-----
From: rfi-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:rfi-bounces@contesting.com] On
Behalf Of Mike Martin
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 7:03 PM
To: jimjarvis@ieee.org; rfi@contesting.com
Subject: RE: [RFI] TV cable splitters
I often find the cause of signal degradation and TVI, associated with
cable TV, to be the outdoor splitter installed by the local provider.
When responding to a complaint, if the system is suspect, one of my
first steps is to bypass the outdoor splitter with a male to male
connector. I use a signal level meter to test the loss through
components. The typical loss through a two way splitter is just under
1.5db in the VHF range. A loss of 3db is high. Also, I haven't found the
more expensive splitters to be more reliable than the cheaper type I
purchase by the bag full. You are fortunate to be able to figure this
out. Some of us take this simple task for granted. Readers would be
surprised at the number of very upset cable customers I assist with TVI
caused by such an easy thing to troubleshoot. Mike Martin RFI Services
mike@rfiservices.com
_______________________________________________
RFI mailing list
RFI@contesting.com http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
_______________________________________________
RFI mailing list
RFI@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
|