Topband: Re: splitters

[Tom Rauch]

Hi Mauri,

I agree.

I have dozens and dozens of CATV and MATV splitters here, and 
NONE are acceptable at HF. I used to do some design work for 
three CATV equipment manufacturers, so I am well up on how the 
splitters work.

The VHF only models sometimes work OK at maybe ten MHz or 
so, but never 160 or even 80 meters.
 
> In many years of RF transformers design and testing, it never occurred to
> me a single combiner, or impedance transformer, performing like it should
> out of the range of few octaves. With some (heavy) compromise in
> performances, like wrong impedance transformation, losses, poor
> directionality and so on, it's possble to talk about devices "working"
> somehow into a maximum of 10 -12 octaves. 

I think the reason why some may think they work at HF, is 
because they have an application that does not really require a 
splitter. If splitter port-to-port isolation and return loss is not 
important in the application they have, then they might consider the 
splitter "works fine" even though it is very poor at that frequency.

73, Tom W8JI
w8ji@contesting.com


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