Ch. 3 or 4 combiner question

[TuxCoder]

I'm going to buy a channel 3 (or 4) combiner, such as one of these: Ch. 3 Ch. 4 (they appear to be the same as the Eagle Aspen ones here).

I'm just curious what your experiences are with these, and what reasoning you might give for which one to get, Ch. 3 or Ch. 4, given my scenario. I currently distribute the 921's output on channel 4, which currently goes into the 3-band combiner, with no other signals on the VHF Low feed. I would like to combine the 522's TV1 output as channel 3 with this one, for two VHF Low signals. My area has a broadcast station on channel 2 but as I said, this feed from the 921 currently has no other "intentional" signals (no antenna or CATV connected, but just a little of channel 2 is inherent in the line). See my diagram in my Home Theater area (link in my signature), or just click here for the image.

So, given the above, my instinct tells me to get the channel 3 version so a nice gap between 2 and 4 is filtered by the combiner, into which channel 3 is injected. With filters in both directions around channel 3 to achieve the isolation, bleeding over should NOT occur in any of the following cases, right?

• from 3 onto 4 or 2
• from 4 onto 3 (and definitely not onto 2)
• from 2 onto 3 (and definitely not onto 4)

If you think I should get the channel 4 combiner instead, I would appreciate your reasoning. Or, I'd just like to hear your experiences using a similar one-channel combiner like these--how well they worked, etc.

 

[Mr Tony]

I've got one of the Eagle Aspen ones (bought from the good MN company you linked to)

I am using it to output my StarChoice system and outdoor antenna to the spare bedroom/computer room/Sanford & Son’s satellite shop.
I have used these for about 4 years now with no issues. Here in Minneapolis, we have Ch 2 & 4 and neither one have issues with interference. I’ve used both Ch 3 and Ch 4 output models (Ch 4 was when I lived in Duluth and was 8 blocks from Ch 3 studios) and I never had any issues.

The picture on the Ch 3 output looks just like the OTA channels…nice and clear with no interference : )

They work real good and are inexpensive add on’s instead of running 2 lines

Reason why I use it? Mainly so I can watch something on SC and still get computer stuff done.

 

[TuxCoder]

Sounds good Iceberg, I admit I took the skydeals link from a real old post of yours that turned up in a Google search.

Skydeals has some very nice prices. The combiner is cheaper there than at Parts Express. But Parts Express is about a 20-minute drive away and seems like a good place to get stuff from. They have a fascinating showroom. I bought my ChannelPlus 4-input modulator from them.

 

[Mr Tony]

Skydeals is about a 20 minute drive for me

The box has a fine tuning knob on it if there is some interference...however I have never used it

I need one of the multiple inputs/multiple channel outputs one. Wuld like to run SC/FTA/Dish to the other rooms