1 antenna and 8 way splitter (cheap)

[45SigSauer]

I am thinking about using this splitter: Ace® 8-Way Coax Splitter - Television Accessories - Ace Hardware
I'm wondering if this will work? Most of what I will be listening/recording is within a 30 mile radius. so basically what the setup will be is: A discone antenna with 25 feet rg6 to this splitter, then out to 6-8 pro-163's.
Tight budget as you can guess.

 

[hoser147]

I dont believe you will have any issues at all with that setup. Pretty well what I have on a few scanners works fine for me. Hope this helps ya. Good luck.

 

[45SigSauer]

Thanks for the fast response! I'll give it a try. Thanks again.

 

[TheJerk]

You will have 11dB signal attenuation on each of the eight outputs...

 

[jim202]

Remember that a 3 db loss is half the power. A 6 db loss is 1/4 of the original power. A 9 db loss
is 1/8 of the original power.

Have fun with a deaf receiver. Don't just add an amplifier to make up for the loss without some
sort of a filter to limit the band width of what your going to amplify. You will overload any amp
you put inline without the band pass filter.

Jim

You will have 11dB signal attenuation on each of the eight outputs...

 

[NYRHKY94]

You may want to consider giving the Electroline EDA-UG 2802 8-way splitter a try. It provides a 0 dB loss after splitting the signal 8 ways. I use one in my shack and run 8 scanners off of 1 Scantenna mounted at 35'. I got my Electroline via an E-Bay auction for $36. This unity gain model (non amplified) doesn't come up for auction that often, however it's well buying one if you can find it.

 

[N9JIG]

I would stick with a decent powered multicoupler, there is enough loss present in the cheap TV multicouplers to seriously degrade signal strength. There are several powered TV splitters (multicouplers) that the amp is enough to overcome the insertion loss. Some actually provide gain, but you then run the risk of increased interference from local broadcast, paging and data signals.

I was at the local Menards a while back and got a decent powered TV splitter for about $30 that worked great for multiple scanners until I replaced it with a Stridsberg. I had an advantage however in that I have a cable maker so I could make custom F-BNC cables to avoid the use of lossy adapters.

 

[prcguy]

If the splitter has unity gain then its got an amplifier. These Electroline amplified splitters also have very high noise figure (around 5dB) because there intended to amplify and distribute high level cable TV signals, not weak signals from antennas. A cable system also has a known amount of signals that are confined to a predictable and constant level, use these amplified splitters with an antenna that has much more stuff at higher levels and you invite Intermod over for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
prcguy

You may want to consider giving the Electroline EDA-UG 2802 8-way splitter a try. It provides a 0 dB loss after splitting the signal 8 ways. I use one in my shack and run 8 scanners off of 1 Scantenna mounted at 35'. I got my Electroline via an E-Bay auction for $36. This unity gain model (non amplified) doesn't come up for auction that often, however it's well buying one if you can find it.

 

[hoser147]

Thats the great thing about this site, sharing the info. and there is a great bunch of knowledgeable people here. Some use a single scanner others use multiple, just depends on the budget and how far into the hobby a person wants to take it. There are alot of factors that come into play with the antenna, coax etc. and we have alot of experts in the field here. But remember all the OP wrote in the original post that he is working with a tight budget and is working with what is in his reach.

 

[K8PBX]

Electroline EDA-UG2802 and EDA-UG2402

You may want to consider giving the Electroline EDA-UG 2802 8-way splitter a try. It provides a 0 dB loss after splitting the signal 8 ways. I use one in my shack and run 8 scanners off of 1 Scantenna mounted at 35'. I got my Electroline via an E-Bay auction for $36. This unity gain model (non amplified) doesn't come up for auction that often, however it's well buying one if you can find it.

+1

I agree 100%. I've used the Electroline EDA-UG2802 and EDA-UG2402 models for years and remain very pleased with their performance.

More info here: Electroline Website

 

[N_Jay]

Remember that a 3 db loss is half the power. A 6 db loss is 1/4 of the original power. A 9 db loss
is 1/8 of the original power.

Don't worry about the loss unless there is something you can hear clearly without the splitter, that you don't hear well with it.

11dB sounds like a lot, but remember most people can't detect 6 dB.

Also, there is no magic about amplified splitters with 0dB gain.

What matters is the noise figure of the amplifier, and most amplified splitters suck in that regard because they are designed for CATV distribution.

Start with a good non-amplified splitter, then IF you need more signal buy the lowest noise amplifier you can find.

 

[45SigSauer]

Thats the great thing about this site, sharing the info. and there is a great bunch of knowledgeable people here. Some use a single scanner others use multiple, just depends on the budget and how far into the hobby a person wants to take it. There are alot of factors that come into play with the antenna, coax etc. and we have alot of experts in the field here. But remember all the OP wrote in the original post that he is working with a tight budget and is working with what is in his reach.

Thanks again for the input.
You are right Hoser147, this site is full of a lot of advice, some good some bad, you get a whole range of ideas and suggestion, all of which is appreciated.
As you pointed out, I am on a very tight budget, so I will start with the cheapest route and work my up from there if something doesn't work.
Thanks again to all that responded!

P.S Hoser147, clear out your inbox! LOL

 

[TheJerk]

Just FYI, the 11 dB figure is from an Extreme Engineering cable splitter (generally thought of as high end), and not a generic store brand...make sure you know what you're buying as splitter can either be high quality or complete junk, with everything in between.

Typically the poorer the quality, the higher the signal degradation. In the tv world, 11 dB is a lot.

 

[prcguy]

I've tested bunches of TV/satellite splitters with a dedicated 75ohm HP vector network analyzer and there is really not much difference between brands. I find 89c 2-way TV splitters can work slightly better than those that retail for 6-8 bucks. Its mostly the same stuff and you pay more for the brand name.

An 8-way TV splitter has a theoretical loss of about 9dB but the loss can vary from a little over 9dB at some freqs to over 11dB as mentioned. An 8-way splitter advertised for satellite use up to 2GHz can have 5 or 6dB loss over theoretical.

Buy a Mini Circuits or other commercial quality 50ohm splitter and the loss will be within a few tenths of a dB of advertised across its specified range unlike the TV/satellite crap.
prcguy

Just FYI, the 11 dB figure is from an Extreme Engineering cable splitter (generally thought of as high end), and not a generic store brand...make sure you know what you're buying as splitter can either be high quality or complete junk, with everything in between.

Typically the poorer the quality, the higher the signal degradation. In the tv world, 11 dB is a lot.