I am just wondering if there is any direct relationship between your bandwith and how many splits you have. Obviously, I know everytime you split the signal it goes down by about 3.5dB for a two-way split. But I am wondering, if you had X number of splits before your modem and it still worked fine, would you probably see an increase in speed if you were able to get rid of one of the splitters. Also, if you added a split but it still got a signal would that mean that you would definatly lose some bandwith. Or is it a kind of thing where you either get enough signal or you don't and your bandwith is restricted by the infrastructure of the system you are connected to. The reason why I am asking, is because I will be connecting a cable modem soon and I am wondering if I should first try going off a split relatively close to my computer and see if I get a signal, or whether it would make a difference to go back as far as I can to get more speed. Thanks for answers
Splitters have no direct relationship at all to bandwidth. Bandwidth is in a config file that you Cable Modem downloads from the CMTS. This file will tell your modem how fast it can go. Splitters or couplers are only to get your modem to "talk" back to the cmts at a decent level between 40-50db on the return path. If you add more or less coupler it can cause very bad performance such as slower speeds and or losing sync with the servers.
Thanks for your help. I just had a different question that your response brought up. I know what decibels are and how to calculate them, but I also know they need to be in reference to a unit i.e. watt, volt. Out of curiousty, I was just wondering what unit dB refers to when measuring signal strength.
Decibels for "absolute" signal strength are measured relative to a millwatt for cable systems i.e. dBm. For other higher levels systems it can be referenced to a Watt i.e. dBW. This should always be stated where it's not obvious. For relative measurements the reference level does not matter i.e. 3 dB down is half power
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