Quote:
Originally Posted by GroundUrMast
There is some variation between loss calculators. However, a conservative estimate of loss at the top of the UHF band would be about 6 dB / 100' of RG-6. RG-11 would come in at about 4 dB / 100'. As the frequency gets lower, so does the loss. By the time you're down to the H-VHF range, the losses are about half that of the upper UHF band.
There's going to be some minor amount of loss associated with a splice, but if you use quality parts and good technique during assembly, there's no advantage or need to provide additional shielding. The estimated losses cited would account for the connectors. Good practice would include protecting connections from water intrusion when they may be exposed.
The best 2-way split is going to come in at about 3.5 dB of insertion loss. 3 dB is the theoretical perfect split of power (no losses in the components). For example, if you put 1 milli-watt of power into a splitter and got 0.5 milli-watts of power out each of the two output ports, the loss inside the splitter would be zero, the sum of the power output would equal the input. But the difference between the input and either output would be 3 dB (a factor of 2 or 1/2 depending on the direction you view it from). 0.5 dB of loss in real world components is doing very well. If your system can't tolerate 3.5 dB of loss, you'll need to add an amplifier ahead of the loss.
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Thanks for the info all around. What I was considering using to combine the antenna signals was something like a diplexer this that has a low signal loss.
http://www.hollandelectronics.com/ca...-Diplexers.pdf
If I'm understanding the specs properly, I would only be loosing about 0.5 to 0.7db by combining the two antenna's. Is that correct? So if a standard splitter looses 3.5db, would that leave a stronger signal to be amplified by the preamp? I already have a Kitztech Preamp which I've connected directly after combining the signals.
I'd have to evaluate if it would be worth the effort to swap out the cable but by combining that with a lower signal loss in combining the antennas I could add an extra 5db to signal reaching my tuner...is that correct?
I'm also curious what you meant by good technique during assembly. Anything I should know? I'm not a pro...just someone trying to maximize my signal strength and minimize my signal loss.