Stridsburg Multicoupler worth it?

[btlacer]

I'm looking at doing some upgrades to my setup. I was looking at buying the Stridsberg MCA780M for my digital scanners that monitor my digital frequencies. Then buy the Stridsberg MCA204M for my non digital scanners to monitor Air band and other systems. I am currently using a cable drop amp 8 port Elctroline 2802. It seems to do ok but really wanted to know if it really makes a difference to drop that much money on Stridsberg? Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[gmclam]

Tough question as evey situation is unique. While a Stridsberg can be a "one item solution', there are other options. Some people don't like cable (TV) amps, but they're not all created equal either. If quality (of signal) is your main interest, certainly you must pay attention to the noise figure of the amplifier. If you're feeding multiple receivers, you'll want enough gain to cover line loss and splitting.

I think for the average consumer, it is worth it. For those wanting something better, and willing to put in the effort, there's other options. I originally set up my system with an 8 port Stridsberg, but after it was apparently damaged by lighning (even with proper grounding and arrestors), I found another amp with a lower noise figure and added splitters that could handle the frequencies. Not a solution for everyone, but it turned out to be better and cheaper.

Note that Stridsberg has repaired my units for free, but it got annoying to deal with after it happened once. The new solution is on the same antenna (same grounding, arrestor, etc.) and hasn't had the same failure after numerous years.

 

[bearcatrp]

I have the 204 for both analog and digital reception. Works great. Why get 2 when 1 will do. 4 port or 8 port will take care of your needs.

 

[dave3825]

I have an 8 in one location and going to run a line from that to another 4 or 8 in another room.

 

[btlacer]

I have the 204 for both analog and digital reception. Works great. Why get 2 when 1 will do. 4 port or 8 port will take care of your needs.

Well I thought maybe just having one dedicated to 700-800 would work better. Think it would be over kill to buy a separate one?

 

[sallen07]

Well I thought maybe just having one dedicated to 700-800 would work better. Think it would be over kill to buy a separate one?

I have a MCA208M and use it for everything I monitor ... 700/800, UHF, VHF Hi, even some VHF Lo. For me it works great. But I haven't tried the MCA780M so I have no idea if that would work even better for those systems.

Going back to your original question, there are a variety of opinions here on RR about them. There are definitely a couple people who I consider haters ... they will give you a long drawn-out explanation of how you can buy this and that and something else and make your own and the noise floor will be lower and you can use a pre-amp and blah blah blah.

For me *personally*, when I finally put up an external antenna to replace the forest of crappy "bought off Amazon, sitting on a little mount in my window" antennas, I wanted to be able to go to a website belonging to a vendor I'd heard good things about and hit the button and have a good multicoupler in a couple days. So that's what I did and I've been very happy with it.

 

[btlacer]

I have a MCA208M and use it for everything I monitor ... 700/800, UHF, VHF Hi, even some VHF Lo. For me it works great. But I haven't tried the MCA780M so I have no idea if that would work even better for those systems.

Going back to your original question, there are a variety of opinions here on RR about them. There are definitely a couple people who I consider haters ... they will give you a long drawn-out explanation of how you can buy this and that and something else and make your own and the noise floor will be lower and you can use a pre-amp and blah blah blah.

For me *personally*, when I finally put up an external antenna to replace the forest of crappy "bought off Amazon, sitting on a little mount in my window" antennas, I wanted to be able to go to a website belonging to a vendor I'd heard good things about and hit the button and have a good multicoupler in a couple days. So that's what I did and I've been very happy with it.

Well I have a old Radio Shack spudnik antenna and a centerfire 700/800 dipole in my attic. Fed with rg 11 coax at about 20 feet. Both antennas are fed with the same type coax. I hope not having a powered multicoupller will provide better results.

 

[Ubbe]

Stridsberg MCA780M
Stridsberg MCA204M
8 port Elctroline 2802.
It seems to do ok but really wanted to know if it really makes a difference to drop that much money on Stridsberg?

Isn't all those pretty much equal in performance and data? Stridsberg are a plug&play unit that doesn't need you to figure things out and spend time on the installation, just connect cables and you're done. But as you already have a working Electroline setup, will a $370 investment give a noticeable better result? It could be a marginal improvement, but worth the investment, no.

/Ubbe

 

[bearcatrp]

Well I thought maybe just having one dedicated to 700-800 would work better. Think it would be over kill to buy a separate one?

Buy the 204 first. Try it out. If it’s working to your satisfaction then you’re done. If not, then get the other one.

 

[rf_patriot200]

Buy the 204 first. Try it out. If it’s working to your satisfaction then you’re done. If not, then get the other one.

I have the 204 MIL which has a limiter for nearby transmitters, never looked back... Stridsberg will also let you pick your choice of connectors to avoid using adapters.

 

[skywarrior]

Hi All,
I have an 8 port version that has died. I have tried to email Stridsberg and call but to no avail. Has anyone made contact with them and do I dare send the unit back to them without hearing from them? I know things have greatly changed since the death of the owner.
Thanks for your help