Splitting my cable signal...is this gonna kill it?

O

Operaghost

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 4, 2004
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Not sure if this is the right forum or not but here goes.

I want to move my modem up a floor in my house so that I can go back to a wired connection.

The only cable jack on this floor however is where my nice tv is at. So, can I split this cable jack and have 1 run to the modem and 1 to the cable box? Will it weaken the signal? If so will it be negligible? Do I need a specific type of splitter to try to minimize the signal loss?

I remember a long time ago a friend of mine doing this and I think I still have that actual splitter, so I may already have my solution, but I don't know anything about cable signals and all that jazz so figured I should ask the pros before I hose my tv cable and/or internet connections.

Thanks folks, preciate it.
 
Your cable box should have no problem with the splitter. Your internet connection may degrade a little bit, but you probably won't even notice it. One recommendation is to make sure you use a higher quality splitter and not one of those cheap $5 types.
 
Splitting it shouldn't be a problem. The cable is split hundreds of times along the way. After all... it's not like there is one wire going from the cable company directly to your house. :)
 
Try going into your modems internal web page, by browsing to 192.168.100.1, most cable modems will have that page available.

Once you pull that up, try to locate your signal levels. Looks for the downstream and upstream signal levels. Every splitter you put between your modem and the cable coming into your house will cause both of those levels to change. The downstream will decrease, anything below a -12dBmv is too low and your modem may loose connectivity. The upstream will increase its' levels, and anything above 55dBmv is too high and your modem can drop offline due to that as well.

So yes, putting a splitter in can cause your cable modem to have problems, but if you have enough signal and use a good splitter you shouldn't have any problems.
 
It's usually recommended to leave the cable modem off of any amps and such. if the rest of your home is amped this can cause issues for the modem.

Right now, your levels are excellent.

Basically for down, anything in the -5/5 is great. -10/10 is acceptable, 0dB being optimal.
Up you want your signal to be within 35/55dB.

If you move the modem and these levels fluctuate a lot you can be in for some issues. Cable techs use splitters and such devices to LOWER the dB rating that goes into boxes. Cable boxes dont operate at the same levels as modems
 
That's actually pretty good...

If you put a two way splitter on it, expect those numbers to to to -5 and 51, which is still a good operating range.
 
A good splitter can make all the difference. I recently moved into a new apartment in an older building on the 20th floor. When the cable guy came into install we checked the signal and it was borderline. He went to the wiring closet and found an ancient splitter. He switched out the splitters with the good quality ones the cable company gave him for "special" installs and it worked great. My signal is always around 5 down and 35 up.
 
I have a powered splitter for my house. Cable going into the house goes to the splitter then out from there. The signal gets amplified allowing it to be split multiple times. It works great for me.
 
Operaghost said:
What type of splitter, specifically by name should I be looking for?
Click to expand...

As stated, don't buy the cheapest one.... Basically you won't be able to buy the same "brands" the cable companies have as those are retail items.
 
call your cable company, see if they give out free splitters, go to the nearest office and get one. TWC gave me one for free because the one I got at Home Depot sucks.
 
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