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Dave Lehnert
03-27-2011, 11:33 PM
I have the cable tv split where it comes into the house. One to the living room, the other to a bed room on the other side of the house.

My question. Can i do another split on the bedroom line about midway to connect another tv in a patio room? Or do I need to do a 3 way split at the main. One to living room, one to the bed room, one to the patio room.
Being able to split on the bedroom line would save me a lot of wire.

David G Baker
03-28-2011, 12:07 AM
I have the same split you are trying to do and it works fine. I have only one cable box so I get the premium channels on only the tv that is hooked up directly to the box. One tv in the living room hooked to the box, one TV in the bedroom cable only and a split off of the bedroom TV goes to an upstairs TV. Mixed in there is my high speed INTERNET and my modem for telephone service. The Internet and phone are split at the outside box and have their own hook up.

Dan Friedrichs
03-28-2011, 12:26 AM
It shouldn't matter - either will work.

Dave Lehnert
03-28-2011, 12:54 AM
Thanks for the info.

John Baranowski
03-28-2011, 10:30 AM
Just an FYI, the more splits, the more degradation in signal. for normal 480i, it won't be a problem. For digital TV, especially HD, it may cause some issues. Just something to be aware of.

paul cottingham
03-28-2011, 1:48 PM
I would split near the source, and not add a new splitter further down. In other words, if you need 4 feeds, get a 4 way splitter, put it as close as possible to the source, and home run all your feeds. much easier to trouble shoot if there is a problem.

I'm just sayin'

Ruhi Arslan
03-28-2011, 1:58 PM
Also, make sure to get the right splitter, i.e., right frequency range. Take a look at the one you have already better you hit the road to the Radio Sheyt. Better yet, if you happen to see one of the your cable company service trucks, ask the tech to give you one. It worked for me before.

Dan Hintz
03-28-2011, 2:28 PM
The lines take a surprising amount of abuse. When my active 8-way splitter took a dump, I pumped everything through a cheapy Radio Shack-style 3-way splitter to get the main TVs up and running. Still a great picture. Everything is RG-6, and the splitters were designed with RG-59 in mind.

Ken Fitzgerald
03-28-2011, 2:30 PM
When we went to digital cable from analog and got high speed internet service too, the cable company installed an amplifier and did all the splits. I was cautioned about adding any others as it would degrade the signal.

You might want to buy a splitter and cable, try the new set up before drilling holes to run the cable to your patio room.

If it doesn't work, you haven't done any thing that would require repairing.

Scott Shepherd
03-28-2011, 2:53 PM
While we're on the subject, I have one that's split and it gives me problems, so maybe someone can help!

I have one line into the house, it splits with a splitter, and goes to 2 tvs, both have their own cable box and I pay for 2 boxes. However, when watching either one, it will flip from normal tv to widescreeen on my normal tv, which means I lose part of my screen on the left and right because it's making it all larger for the different ratio. It happens on both tvs, totally different brands, models, sizes. Cable says they have no clue what's causing it. However, I think I stumbled onto part of the issue. If it flips to widescreen, I can go over and unplug the cable at the splitter for that tv, screw it back in and the screen is back to the right size. It might last all night or it might switch back in 5 minutes. I walked over to it one time and touched it and it got the static spark, and it fixed it right away without unplugging it.

I've been through 3 or 4 of the splitters and new splitters don't seem to resolve the problem. There is a ground rod outside, 15 feet away and the original box is grounded to that ground rod.

Any ideas? I'm sick of getting up to fix it!

Ken Garlock
03-28-2011, 3:23 PM
Gentlemen, As Milton Friedman was fond of saying, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Every time you install a splitter you divide the signal in half. A two-way splits the signal so that half goes down one output connection and half down the other. It gets worse in a three-way. one leg of the already half connection is once again cut half. The result is one output connector has 1/2 the original signal strength, the other two outputs have 1/4 the original signal strength. Go to a four way, and all outputs have 1/4 the original strength. It is a little worse than that due to losses in the splitter.

So where do you want your splitter? I vote for running the entrance cable out as far as possible and only split off a 'drop' at the place closest to the destination.

Better yet, get a signal distribution amplifier, and not worry about splitters, just run a separate coax to each TV.

Greg Portland
03-28-2011, 4:27 PM
I've been through 3 or 4 of the splitters and new splitters don't seem to resolve the problem. There is a ground rod outside, 15 feet away and the original box is grounded to that ground rod.What splitters have you tried? The ones sold at Radio Shack are complete garbage. If you are having the problems with a ChannelMaster splitter then try the following:

1) Measure the resistance between the cable connector & the outlet ground pin (ohmmeter, etc.). If it is not very low then your ground is not as good as you think it is. The fact that your touch is affecting the picture screams out "connectivity issue" to me.
2) Check the cable connection along the entire route (BOTH sides of the wall plate, etc.).
3) Google your problem + Cable box model and see if other people are having the same HW issue. Of course the cable company is going to claim it's not their fault!

David G Baker
03-28-2011, 5:20 PM
Scott,
I had a similar problem when I had two TVs hooked up in my bedroom. The TVs were plugged into different circuits wired into opposite sides of my electric panel box. I moved the TVs so they were both on the same circuit and the sparks went away. Think it may have been a ground loop but I am not that familiar with that side of electricity. Sparks would be 1/4 inch long when I tried to fasten my cable wires to a splitter that the other set was fastened to.

Dave Wagner
03-28-2011, 5:42 PM
Depending on your signal strength, but splitting at at source would be the best route. Some analog TV's won't even notice lower signal strength.
I know I tried it before the cable box, to record one channel and play another and the digital cable box would go nuts and some of the channels would pixelize, etc...we would loose channels on the cable box, etc...I changed the to the source and it works much better. Yes, get one rated for you digital signal as suggested.

Larry Frank
03-28-2011, 9:22 PM
The cable company put in an amplifier where the cable comes into the house and then I have run separate lines to each TV. I have also converted all of the coax to RG-6Q with compression fittings made for that cable. It was kind of a pain to run the new cable and install the ends but it has all been worth the effort.

Victor Skellett
03-29-2011, 12:25 AM
Hey Scott, If your cable lines are the only thing using that ground rod then that is likely to be your problem. What you are describing sounds like stray voltage. With all lines disconnected from the splitter measure, using a VOM, the AC voltage between the outer conductor of the input cable and the outer conductor of each output cable in turn. Any measurable voltage (I've seen 110 vac) indicates a problem somewhere in your electrical system's ground. If you are seeing or feeling sparks (denotes amperage) this is a serious issue. Inspect your grounds for loose, broken or corroded connections. All utility grounds should be bonded together at the point of entry into the building.

Scott Shepherd
03-29-2011, 8:20 AM
Interesting! It is actually the only thing the ground rod is for. It's in a different place than the electrical into the house, which is all at the back. This ground rod is at the side of the house, where the cable box is located. I attributed the spark to me walking across the carpet. It doesn't spark every time I touch it, nor will me touching it fix it every time. 90% of the time, I have to unscrew the connection and screw it back in to correct the issue.

I have googled the problem in the past with no luck. I'll also look for a good splitter. I guess I'll have to order one as everyone around here seem to sell the same cheap ones.

Dan Friedrichs
03-29-2011, 10:53 AM
Every time you install a splitter you divide the signal in half.

Ehh....I don't think that's true. More loading on the cable just pulls more power from the CATV distribution amp down the line.

It is correct that longer cables with more splits cause more loss of signal. BUT - if it works, it works. Especially if it's digital, it doesn't matter if you have 100dB of signal or 30dB of signal - you get the exact same picture, either way.