Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Cable Splitter

Most houses, nowadays, have multiple devices such as televisions, phones, stereo equipment, and more than one Internet connection. And one of the basic necessities for these devices to receive and relay information are cables. For your information, a cable comprises two or more wires which are bonded together.

As mentioned, for multiple devices which have only one signal source, having one cable may not be enough. And bringing in multiple cable sources may be pricey, and it may make your house look like a power station. So, a convenient way to deal with this problem is to use what is known as a cable splitter.

True to its name, this device is designed to split the cable signal in equal magnitude between two or more devices. For someone who is not tech-savvy, keeping a few important FAQs may come in handy while installing the device, or dealing with certain problems that may arise in its working.

As mentioned already, this device does the work of splitting cable signals across two or more devices. The basic type of this device consists of one port at one end that receives the input, and two ports at the other, for delivering output to two devices.

The most basic one has one input port (which of course all the types would have), and two output ports. Some people make use of splitters with three outputs, and for some purposes, some splitters are available that split a single signal into 8 or even 16 ports.

The types of these splitters are also determined by the degree of attenuation they produce. Attenuation here, is defined is the gradual loss in intensity in the signal strength that occurs when the cable signal is divided into two or more signals.

Some types of splitters work on transformers, and have an attenuation of 3 ½ db at each output port. And some have resistors as their working components. Attenuation for these devices is 6 dB, and these are less expensive than the types with the transformers.

A major problem with using this device is the degradation of the output. The main signal that comes out of the cable source remains the same, and gets degraded at the points where it is getting split. So this may produce a poor viewing experience on a television, or slow Internet connection.

In some devices, however, there is signal boosting technology which helps to nullify this problem, but to some extent. General advice is not to split the signal too many times.

Here are a few things you can keep in mind before going for the buy.

• The first point to consider is the number of devices that work on cable signal in your house. Discuss it with the storekeeper, and decide on the appropriate size of the device.

• The next point to consider is to decide whether to buy a transformer-based cable splitter or resistor-based one. From what we have discussed, the former is a better choice as it causes less attenuation thus, better signal output.

• The wires of the splitter must be separately double-shielded as then there would be lower magnitude of interfering noise. This is more important if the splitter is going to be used for producing images that are sharp and finely detailed. Ones with OFC braided shield and aluminum are good choices.

And to conclude with another deciding factor to invest in a particular splitter is the factor of durability. Look for one that has a cover which is highly flexible, strong connectors that are meant for heavy duty (fully molded connectors are the strongest), and shields that are corrosion resistant.