What kind of splitter do I want? Cable Modems and Wiring Issues

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What kind of splitter do I want?

If you can flag down a cable guy and convince him to give you some free splitters, then good for you. If you can't, then be prepared to spend some money.

Those cheap looking splitters they sell at Radio Shack are NO GOOD. Do NOT use combiner/splitters. Combiners trash digital signal and make it almost impossible for cable modems and digital boxes to talk back to your provider.

You want at least a 1GHz splitter. 900MHz usually work as well (unless your cable company actually goes above a gig, which I seriously doubt).
The 1GHz means that the splitter is designed to pass signals all the way up to 1GHz. You can use a splitter that says signals up to 2.5GHz instead of 1ghz however you wont need that expanded bandwidth for cable signals.

You may also have the option of buying power passing or not. You most likely do not need a power passing splitter. These are generally for special purpose applications (such as powering a signal amplifier that's in your attic from the outlet in your bedroom without running a power cord to it).

Also, do not get a bigger splitter than you NEED. The more ports a splitter has, the less signal it passes along to each port. Plus, they are more expensive.

Splitters are NOT made to connect wires together. I've been to many houses where people used an old crappy splitter they had laying around to hook up 2 or more short wires to each other because they didn't want to go out and buy a longer wire. SPLITTERS LOSE SIGNAL.

Good brands that I personally have dealt with are Monster (expensive), Regal, and Cablevision. I'm not incredibly fond of Magnavox splitters (usually found at K-Mart).

got feedback?

What happens if I use a splitter that says signals up to 2.5GHz instead of 1ghz

2007-09-20 16:41:12 (molina0331 )

poor splitters will also give your local channels a ghosting effect. this is when a tv is tuning in two carriers for the same channel (Cable, and over the air transmission)

2007-09-22 02:53:16

I deal with Regal and Antronix brands. Both are really good for div2, 3, 4, 8, but regal taps are a tiny bit better than antronix.

2011-07-09 20:22:44

On service calls, I order and use the Extreme 5-1000 MHz splitters with my customers, work good with video, digital phone and HSD. I stay away from the Digi-max.

2009-01-13 20:30:20

That's really good information. Haven't played with the wiring lately, but if I do, I know where to start if there are junk splitters.

2009-02-27 21:16:45 (jmc56 )

Heres is a link to a Cable Splitter Solution Center, it goes over everything from Seizure Mechanisms to Back Plate Design. I noticed none of these were mentioned in this FAQ http://www.yourbroadbandstore.com/solutions/when-to-use-a-cable-splitter.php?r=FRM02

2009-05-21 10:23:30 (urbroadband )

I got bored tonight and decided to search around the internet for the best splitters for digital cable and the range of prices that they come in. I was quite surprised at the simplicity and clarification that the Extreme brand comes with http://www.extreme-broadband.com/cable-splitters.php plus it�s easy for both civilians and cable employees to order after making a free account. I've thought about getting the Monster Cable splitters but I just can't justify the $30 dollars for a 4 way splitter that I can get from Extreme for $12. I've been trained that when it comes to splitters with powerpass, that unless satellites are being used, that it will pass through dangerous surges that will fry the customer-premises equipment and cause fires, and generally the use of non powerpass splitters could act as fuse instead of passing it along.

2011-10-29 05:40:59 (Mike Wolf )

you are so right, i installed splitters from walmart, initially they worked, then the system degraded, then crashed, resulting in no internet for 3 days till cable guy told me it was the splitters! now internet is faster, TV is clearer. I have learned from this experience.

2010-02-03 23:36:50

As a general rule splitters only attenuate 1/2 DB of signal.

2010-09-03 11:03:28

Will a 2-way video/cable tv splitter work between tv and cable modem?

2011-02-05 13:37:18

A few weeks ago, I installed a monster 2 way splitter for my tv and modem. At first everything worked beautifully, but now I find myself constantly resetting the modem (power and receive lights are on, while send light is blinking). Any idea what is going on? If I connect my modem to the cable directly, things are ok as well. Is the Splitter defective? Thanks!

2011-08-25 00:11:36

When I�m out in the field I come across a wide variety of setups customers have created for themselves in the past, from running ancient wires to hooking up ancient $4 splitters that max out at like 200Mhz and I think were designed for aerial antennas in the 1970�s. Obviously the signal quality and overall performance was less then acceptable. After I fixed everything up, I�ve actually seen a huge improvement in response time with on demand, optimal signal strength with high definition channels, and a co worker of mine called it �plant pristine� whatever that means lol. I definitely recommend checking out the Antronix CMC 3000 CamPort series. http://www.antronix.net/Products/camport.php It's a really really good price, you can order it through Amazon, and its pure perfection.

2011-11-20 05:46:04 (Mike Wolf )

As a general rule splitters only attenuate 1/2 DB of signal. 2010-09-03 11:03:28 WRONG! A 2WAY loses a minimum of 3.5dB, a 4WAY loses 7dB and an 8WAY loses 10.5dB

2012-10-22 13:24:49

by Raydr edited by Axilla
last modified: 2007-09-20 18:13:49

All FAQs » Cable Modems and Wiring Issues » 4. Splitters

What kind of splitter do I want?