Reduced OTA signal strength passing through 4-way diplexer?

[jeffbags]

Would anyone have any ideas on this issue?

To summarize, I am sending my antenna signal to a two-way splitter. From there, one antenna signal goes straight to one of my satellite receivers and has a very good OTA signal strength. The other antenna signal leads into a 4-way diplexer and from there the combined OTA and satellite signal travels to 3 more receivers. The OTA signal strength on these receivers is not near as good as the single receiver connected directly to the antenna. Does this indicate that I need to amplify the antenna signal? If so, would I do this before or after the 4-way diplexer? Would I need a separate amplifier for each of the signals running to the three receivers and should 10db be adequate?

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[PALL MALL]

Hi, your problem could possibly be the splitter. If you can take out the splitter and hook your antenna directly to the multi-switch. See if you get any better results on the other receivers. If so I would suggest getting a diplexer for the other receiver. My setup is like this and I get the same signal quality on both my digital converter boxes. Also the length of the cable run will greatly affect your signal.

 

[jeffbags]

Thanks "Paul Mall"...I will give that a try and see what the outcome is.

Just out of curiosity has anyone had experience with amplifying a combined OTA/Satellite signal and if so, did you put the amplifier before or after the diplexer (4-way diplexer located at the distribution panel in my case)? If it is possible to place the amplifier on the antenna cable just before entering the 4-way diplexer I would assume that the amplifier would be split among the 4 outputs (10/4=2.5 db per output). If I cannot amplify the antenna signal before entering the diplexer, would it be best to utilize a separate amplifier (10 db?) for each individual cable coming out of the 4-way diplexer?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[boba]

Yes you can amplify before multiswitch and it is preferred to amplifying after splitting.

 

[jeffbags]

Boba,

My antenna does not go through my multiswitch. The four outputs of the multiswitch run into a 4-way diplexer. I also have an antenna cable running through a two way splitter, with one cable going directly to a receiver and the other antenna cable going into the 4-way diplexer. The receiver hooked directly to the antenna seems to have better OTA reception. So for clarification, would I amplify just before the 4-way diplexer (after the multiswitch) or amplify each individual cable coming out of the 4-way diplexer(carrying both the OTA and satellite signal)? If I amplify befor the diplexer how much amplification is safe (30 db?) since it is being divided into 4 cables?

Thanks for your help,
Jeff