Splitting a cable feed 10 ways

[jsmetona]

Whats the best way to split a cable tv feed 10 ways, assuming there is no cable already in place? One large splitter or multiple small ones? How about thinker cable, like rg8? I want to preserve the feed as much as possible. Thanks.

 

[GlocksRock]

I think you would need some sort of signal amplifier with that many splits.

 

[markw]

Almost perfect, GlocksRock. Off by only one word

I KNOW you would need some sort of signal amplifier with that many splits.

But, basically you're 110% correct. I was just being a pedantic buttead.

As for the splits, that depends on the routing of those ten legs. What I did was to run one line to an area and then use a splitter for the local taps. Any loss from those passive splitters should be more than compensated for by the amp that preceeds it.

...just get a good, quite amp and terminate any opem "F" jacks, both on the amp and the splitters.

Also. since you're saying "cable", make sure that the amp has adequate bandwidth to pass the entre spectrum of channels. Check with whoever sells you the amp but I'm assuming you'll buy it from someone who knows these things, not just the local Rat Shack, where access to someone who knows something is hit and miss anymore.

 

[MDS]

Whats the best way to split a cable tv feed 10 ways, assuming there is no cable already in place? One large splitter or multiple small ones?

An amplifier or two will definitely be needed but there are many other considerations and you'll have to do some planning and maybe even a little trial and error.

- All splitters are not created equal. The more splits you have the higher the loss per leg (in general). Usually the loss per leg is specified right on the splitter. The one in my wiring closet is a 4-way and each leg is marked -7 dB. If you pay more you can get splitters with less loss per leg.

- The bandwidth will have to be at least 5 MHz - 1000 MHz (1 GHz) if you have digital cable.

- If you will have a cable modem, you do not want to amplify the signal going to the modem. If you have a single feed into the house, you would want a 1 to 2 splitter with one leg going to the modem and the other leg going to an amplifier and then one or more splitters.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...just get a good, quite amp .

What kind an amp 'quite' would that be?

 

[obscbyclouds]

But, basically you're 110% correct. I was just being a pedantic buttead. /QUOTE]

If you're gonna use a difficult word like pedantic, make sure you spell the simple one after it properly.

 

[bitperfect101]

ohhhh, where can i get one? and how much do they cost?

I live in a 4 br house with a tv in every bedroom,1 in the living room and a cable modem(6 cable devices). The worst is in my room, it is split 3 ways. The next bedroom over doesnt have a cable out the wall, so we drilled a hole and split mine. So i got a triple splitter with one going to my tv,the next room and a cable modem. Low network channels like NBC look horrible, all fuzzy. It doesnt look good untill you get into cable channels like MTV.

 

[markw]

That's the story of my life!

But, basically you're 110% correct. I was just being a pedantic buttead.

If you're gonna use a difficult word like pedantic, make sure you spell the simple one after it properly.

I always get the hard ones. It's the simple ones that trip me up.

But, FYI, that's a perfectly acceptable phonetic spelling of the word in the UK. Now, if you buy that, I've got a bridge to sell ya

As you read my posts, you'll notice that I do make a lot of tyops.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I run cable to about 10 locations throughout my home.

What is out there is an amplified cable splitter that is designed for this purpose. A single input, to mulitple outputs. The outputs have a signal 'gain' adjustment so you can amplify the channels as needed for longer runs in the home or for runs where you then split it out to a few different televisions.

It also automatically handles open-ended cables so that it doesn't affect the quality of the other cable runs in the home.

I think this may be the actual model I have, but I'm not at home now to double check. I have had ZERO cable issues in my home in the last two years of usage.
http://www.smarthome.com/865112.html

 

[Frugal]

Whats the best way to split a cable tv feed 10 ways, assuming there is no cable already in place? One large splitter or multiple small ones? How about thinker cable, like rg8? I want to preserve the feed as much as possible. Thanks.

Not sure what thinker cable is but use RG6. The biggest splitter I've used is 8 way. Anyway, best to split as close to the source as possible (where it comes in from outside). Use a good quality (try to find a satillite supplier) 2 way then two 5 ways and run the cables to rest of the house. If you get noise phone the cable company and ask them to boost the signal. This should give a cleaner signal than using your own cable booster.