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dalepa
join:2012-03-19
Houston, TX

dalepa

Member

Re: [DVR] Can someone explain this?

Looks like I found the problem.

There is a 1 in to 4 out way splitter in the attic, and when I unplug 2 of the out cables, the signal is better...

So can anyone suggest a better 4 way splitter, or other ideas?
dishrich
join:2006-05-12
Springfield, IL

dishrich

Member

said by dalepa:

Looks like I found the problem.

There is a 1 in to 4 out way splitter in the attic, and when I unplug 2 of the out cables, the signal is better...

So can anyone suggest a better 4 way splitter, or other ideas?

Well first of all, the fact it gets better JUST by unplugging 2 other cables, tells me it may NOT be a splitter problem, per se. Regardless of how many (active) cables you have connected to a splitter, it STILL "draws" the total signal down to whatever (remaining) sets you have connected. The fact it gets better by disco'g lines, tells me you might have some sort of issues on those other drops. (bad cabling, connectors, shorts, etc.) Those kind of issues (on other lines) can cause problems back through the splitter, & through the other lines/sets.

Assuming you really use those other (2) drops, you're going to need to thoroughly check those outs; maybe replace bad connectors, wall plates. Maybe it's old cable that should be totally replaced in the first place.

If you are NOT using all 4 ports on the splitter, then you should get a smaller, appropriate splitter & ONLY connect the drops you're actively using. That right there alone might solve your problems...

SeaSeaTee5
join:2010-05-06
Maryland

SeaSeaTee5 to dalepa

Member

to dalepa
Here's one of the 4-way splitters Comcast uses:

»www.amazon.com/Antronix- ··· splitter

A suck-out may only affect 1 QAM, but can easily affect more. 1 QAM can carry anywhere up to 12 channels. If it has all HD channels on the QAM, it might only affect 3 channels. The adjacent QAMs could be affected as well, but they may be channel numbers that are nowhere near to the channels you are noticing.

Hopefully it's just the splitter. A service call would find out for sure and the tech will replace the splitter with a good quality one like the one above.
dalepa
join:2012-03-19
Houston, TX

dalepa to dishrich

Member

to dishrich
yep, looks like i might have bad cables and/or connectors... i bet the splitter is fine..

Do rats like to chew cables? one cable had several places that metal is showings and it looks like something has been chewing on it.

I'm showing -8 now and no problems... Is -8 normal, or should that be higher with 2/1 split?

SeaSeaTee5
join:2010-05-06
Maryland

SeaSeaTee5

Member

Yes, rodents like to chew on cable to keep their teeth sharp. Squirrel chew on outside cable is pretty common.

Your signal will double when you go from a 4 way to a 2 way splitter. Generally -10dBmV is the minimum amount of signal needed for a digital signal. You are right on that threshold so I'm not surprised that your picture would go in and out depending on which splitter you are using.

If you have damaged cable you are possibly letting in ingress as well. Not only could this affect your picture quality, but it can also add upstream interference on the cable plant. This could not only affect your modem performance, but can affect others in your node as well. If it's bad enough, your service could be interrupted until it is corrected.
dishrich
join:2006-05-12
Springfield, IL

dishrich to dalepa

Member

to dalepa
said by dalepa:

one cable had several places that metal is showings and it looks like something has been chewing on it.

If you still need those locs active, you then MUST replace that cable somehow...ANY metal showing is not good.