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btritch

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I asked this question in the General Scanning forum, I was told to search for my answer since it'd been answered before several times but I searched and found TONS of answers but none for what I needed... Can anyone tell me Is it possible for me to split off to two scanners where the lead out comes off the antenna by putting two lead out's off the antenna or should I invest in a splitter to split them off? I'm currently using a cable TV splitter and my scanners are interfereing with each other badly..I have ordered some LMR 400 cable, How do I hook it to the lead out? Adapter from RS?
Thanks For The Help In Advance!
 

thewenk

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btritch said:
I asked this question in the General Scanning forum, I was told to search for my answer since it'd been answered before several times but I searched and found TONS of answers but none for what I needed... Can anyone tell me Is it possible for me to split off to two scanners where the lead out comes off the antenna by putting two lead out's off the antenna or should I invest in a splitter to split them off? I'm currently using a cable TV splitter and my scanners are interfereing with each other badly..I have ordered some LMR 400 cable, How do I hook it to the lead out? Adapter from RS?
Thanks For The Help In Advance!
I am not sure that splitting the output at the antenna would be any better than splitting it later which it seems you are doing now. I am also not sure why the cable tv splitter should cause your scanners to interfere with each other. I have done that many times and never suffered any interference, just a little signal loss from the splitter. I don't think that LMR400 will necessarily help you solve your problem either. Maybe we need to understand how your scanners are "interferring" with each other to provide better help.

Does the interference go away if you disconnect one of the scanners and how are your scanners connected to your antenna now.?

Dave
 

btritch

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They're currently connected now with RG 6 Cable coming into the house and then going into a 1000mhz cable tv splitter. With both of them on at the same time, when one talks the other one will pick up the same conversation on a totally different frequency but it's the same conversation from the same department just as bleedover..When you turn one scanner off then the other one will work fine...it just does it when both of them are on...I have ordered some LMR 400 cable to go from the antenna into the splitter then run RG 6 from the splitter to the radio's.. I'll have some signal loss but not as much as RG 6 will necessarily.. I'll have to get some N to cable TV adapters to hook to the antenna lead and to the splitter. I'm thinking about hooking TWO leads to the antenna and running RG 6 to one and LMR to the other to cut down on loss completely on the main room but is it possible to split it twice off the antenna? Or is that the best? how's the best way to do it? LMR to the splitter than split it from there? or twice off the antenna etc.?
 
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ke5ldo

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just a suggestion. replace the splitter with a common 75 ohm splitter with F connectors, then buy some N adapters. Would be less than 15.00 dollars.
 

thewenk

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I'd run the LMR400 from the antenna to the splitter and then the RG6 to the scanners. It sounds like the scanners are interferring with each other which is more of an rf sheilding problem with the scanners and not a cable or splitter problem.

I've had scanners that were situated too close to each other cause some interference between themselves, but that was on older scanners and 20 years ago. I have my present scanners right next to each other and I don't seem to have any interference problems, but it sound like your scanners are in different rooms. I'm assuming the splitter you're using has F connectors since you said it was a cable tv splitter. Am I wrong?

Dave
 

btritch

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no, that's right and they're in seperate ends of the house, about 50 feet or so apart..ran with RG 6 cable..I'm going to do the LMR from the antenna to the splitter and then do the suggested 70 ohm splitter and RG 6 to the radio's and see what happens.. That won't be as much loss that way as there would be going all the way with RG 6.. Should work that way a little better than now anyway..I'm trying to hook both scanners up so that everyone can monitor but I'm trying to get the best possible signal without any losses too, LOL I can't think of anything else to do, LOL
 

scanbc780

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You may try a better or different splitter. Some splitters are terrible in port to port isolation. I have been using a Radio Shack 2-way splitter #15-2582 for a couple of years now with no problems.
 

btritch

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No, It's the two in the signature aside from the pro 97...It could be the splitter, I'd change but the only other one I have is a five way, I guess I could try it, long as all five aren't hooked up I guess..
 

mrsvensven

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If you are only using one scanner at a time, why not just make a patch panel, so you aren't losing half your signal from the splitter?

I have used 2 regular cable tv splitters, and I never had a problem with the scanners interfering with each other.

If you use a 5 way splitter, you are going to lose 80% your signal.
 

btritch

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That's the problem, 99% of the time I'm using both of them at same time, I changed two ways just now, Better to use a 1000 mhz or a 900 mhz splitter? Is RG 6 the best to run from the splitter? and lengths? I may be to far...
 

hoser147

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If you have any open ports you need to cap them. I have 6 scanners going off of a radio shack 4 port and BNC Ts jumping to a couple of other scanners. Im running RG 62 to all of the scanners............Hoser
 

btritch

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NO open ports, I'm using two scanners, Two ports coming in..I am hoping when I get that LMR 400 I ordered going from the antenna to the splitter it will help me pick up somewhat further, I'm hearing a Sheriff's department now that is 140 miles away but I can barely make it out...I hope I lose some of the loss with the LMR cable everybody raves about, But I'm still going to have to use RG 6 from the splitter to the radio...Maybe I won't lose as much gain as I am now..I tried changing splitters to cut down the interference between radio's, We'll see if that helps.. Besides Changing splitters with no open ports, Running RG 6 from the splitter to the Radio's and running LMR 400 from the antenna to the splitter, is there anything else I can do to maximize my reception range..I'm already about 48 feet high with the antenna so I don't think that's the problem.. LOL Apprecieate the help so far, Anymore help, tips, suggestions, etc. will be appreciated...BTW, Does RS carry N to F connectors?
 

Airdorn

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I used one of those simple BNC T-connectors to split the antenna to go to two scanners.. I didn't notice any signal degradation at all on a lot of different bands.
 

thewenk

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To take the splitter loss away, you can use a unity gain active (powered) splitter such as the Electroline EDA UG2402.
http://www.cabletvamps.com/drop%20amps.htm
This type of splitter doesn't amplify the signal other than to compensate for the loss in a passive splitter and make loss in the splitter be zero. I use one of these myself to distribute to my various scanners. These amps are also available on ebay.
 
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