stridsberg question

[scannersnstuff]

after reading many thread's and review's about the stridsberg 4 port amplified multicoupler,i got one. i hooked it up today.i'm running 3 base scanner's off of it.i did a little bit of comparison testing between the receiver's <2 bct15's and a pro-2006>.almost everything seem's to be working the same as before.here's my question's.i did notice that on the one trunked radio system i listen to,the data control channel alway's came in a bit crappy.i almost never had a problem with the signal dropping in and out.now it's degraded to the point that it cannot alway's track the system.i was sold 3 bnc to bnc patch cable's,rg58 50 ohm.

1.am i using the right patch cable's ?.
2.if i am, would getting the 3 ft.run instead of 6 foot help the signal ?.
3.would terminating the one open bnc port with a cap like the metal radioshack one help ?.

any help greatly appreciated.

 

[N_Jay]

after reading many thread's and review's about the stridsberg 4 port amplified multicoupler,i got one. i hooked it up today.i'm running 3 base scanner's off of it.i did a little bit of comparison testing between the receiver's <2 bct15's and a pro-2006>.almost everything seem's to be working the same as before.here's my question's.i did notice that on the one trunked radio system i listen too,the data control channel alway's came in a bit crappy.i almost never had a problem with the signal dropping in and out.now it's degraded to the point that it cannot alway's track the system.i was sold 3 bnc to bnc patch cable's,rg58 50 ohm.

1.am i using the right patch cable's ?.
2.if i am would getting the 3 ft.run instead of 6 foot help the signal ?.
3.would terminating the one open bnc port with a cap like the metal radioshack one help ?.

any help greatly appreciated.

Get rid of it.

Use a plain old cheap splitter.

Maybe add a proper receive amp if you find you need it.

 

[scannersnstuff]

n jay do you mean get rid of the stridsberg ?. for the most part it's doing it's job.it's just one frequency.
i tried the scannermaster and grove multicoupler. that didn't work out too well.that killed the 800 mhz.frequency completely.i'm afraid with a preamp that i'll kill the front end's.i have a high powered fm station at 200' about 1 air mile away from my house. i can see the top of it when i leave my driveway.thank's for the input.
edit - did a little research.the fm station is putting out 5,000 watts !.

 

[W6KRU]

i have a high powered fm station at 200' about 1 air mile away from my house. i can see the top of it when i leave my driveway.thank's for the input.

Have you tried a filter to get rid of the FM broadcast signals?

 

[scannersnstuff]

i was going to try the filter.would you connect that inline with the multicoupler ?. are the more expensive tuned filter's better than the generic one's ?.

 

[kinfolk]

I have the same Stridsberg 4 port multicoupler that you have and have had great success with it. Originally I was only using 3 of the 4 ports so I capped the unused one with a dummy load. That did not seem to make any difference. I too have two closeby FM stations so I hooked up an HPN-30118 notch filter from Scannermaster and that has helped tremendously. It is hooked inline just before the Stridsberg. If you are concerned that the Stridsberg is harming the reception of the one control channel that you are having difficulty with, just try the antenna direct temporarily to see. I also am using 6 ft. RG 58 jumpers and they are not bothereing my 800 MHZ signals at all. I hope that this helps you. I think that the Stridsberg multicouplers do a terrific job.

 

[N_Jay]

n jay do you mean get rid of the stridsberg ?. for the most part it's doing it's job.it's just one frequency.
i tried the scannermaster and grove multicoupler. that didn't work out too well.that killed the 800 mhz.frequency completely.i'm afraid with a preamp that i'll kill the front end's.i have a high powered fm station at 200' about 1 air mile away from my house. i can see the top of it when i leave my driveway.thank's for the input.
edit - did a little research.the fm station is putting out 5,000 watts !.

A preamp will not hurt your front end. However used in the wrong application it can reduce reception.

Amplified splitters and NO DIFFERENT than a preamp and a splitter in one box. The fact it is reducing the reception on one frequency is a good indication that it is probably reducing reception on many frequencies (noticeably or not).

Have you tried a regular ordinary TV type splitter?

 

[zz0468]

It's all about the noise figure of the amplifier inside the Stridsberg coupler. If the noise figure is higher than that of the receiver behind it, then it will harm, not help, weak signal reception. If you see it make strong signals stronger, and weak signals seem weaker, that's exactly what's going on. This would explain why some people swear by these things and say they help.

I've noticed that their data sheets spec noise figure at 3.5 db. That's "fair", but not great. If you attempt to put a filter in front of it, the insertion loss adds directly to the noise figure of the entire setup... i.e. a filter with 2 db of loss in front of a preamp with a 3.5 db noise figure would give that combination a noise figure of 5.5 db, which is likely to be noticeably worse than the receiver itself is. The feedline from the antenna adds to that, so 1 db of loss would give that whole setup a 6.5 db noise figure, which is getting downright crappy. And the net effect would be "more bars" on the signal strength, and marginally weak signals would sound even weaker.

 

[scannersnstuff]

now i'm really miffed.the signal's that i used to get "clean" are now mostly coming in with image's.i did a search thru some scanner range's,and the scanner is locking up on a slew of frequencie's. i'm 99.9 % sure the multicoupler is going back.scanner master is checking with stridsberg on tuesday for a possible solution.if not they said i could send it back under their money back policy.

 

[scannersnstuff]

well even a dumb ass can admit when he made a mistake.i had switched the cables from my 2 antenna's,and ran the wrong one to the multicoupler.the signal's have basically all cleaned up.my comment's on the one 800 mhz.trunk i listen too still stand.no noticeable improvement.my thank's once again to scanner master,and especially Sumner.you guy's and gal's really stand behind what you sell.always nice to your customer's also.

 

[N_Jay]

now i'm really miffed.the signal's that i used to get "clean" are now mostly coming in with image's.i did a search thru some scanner range's,and the scanner is locking up on a slew of frequencie's. i'm 99.9 % sure the multicoupler is going back.scanner master is checking with stridsberg on tuesday for a possible solution.if not they said i could send it back under their money back policy.

Send it back.

But don't think it is bad. I am sure it is just doing what it does best.

Have you tried a plain old TV splitter?

If so, what indicated that you needed an amp?

 

[ka5lqj]

I want one!

Gee!

When I can afford it, I *want* one of John's (Stridesburg)'s couplers/splitters. John lives here in town and I know him. He's not "dumb" my any means as he's designed the antennas, etc. on the Space Shuttles for NASA. They seem to work well, LOL!

Now, as far as the cable company "splitter", that's one way to "po-boy" it, until you can afford better. I've used them both ways, as multi-port splitters and they do work of a fashion. But, I live within a mile and a half of a commercial two way radio shop that has a 1,000 watt paging transmitter. :-( It's going off every five seconds, it seems.

Now, if I had Warren Buffet's money, I have a place in the Wyoming mountains, near a mountain top with all kinds of towers, antennas, and the finest coax money could buy, LOL! But, I'm not him, so I have do what I can and just "enjoy" LIFE. ;-)

MAKE it a GREAT DAY! It's YOUR "choice", afterall.

Respectfully,
73,

Don/KA5LQJ/8W2308 Unit 3

 

[N_Jay]

Gee!

When I can afford it, I *want* one of John's (Stridesburg)'s couplers/splitters.

Why?

What do they do that a decent low noise amplifier ($25 to $75) and a quality TV splitter (<$10) would not accomplish??