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All this debate about the pros and cons seem pointless when apparently Humax have included pass-thru in the 1800 and (according to Barry) have a fix for adding it to the 2000. Maybe Humax should inform us of their thinking to settle the matter.
I don’t think it’s pointless at all. As pointed out in this thread, loop through doesn’t suit everyone and bumps up energy use. Very likely we’ll never know for sure why it went AWOL on the T2000 but the discussion about it in this thread has been quite interesting. Loop through may well disappear in future, it’s useful to consider the pros and cons.
Personally I’m now considering switching to passive splitters, after reading this thread.
I am about 30 miles away from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter, which is the most suitable for me, and I used to use a passive splitter with a HDR-FOX. In this case it was also useful as not having the clock switched on prevents the vacuum fluorescent display from fading in the centre. However, this no longer works for me since the new muxes appeared on channels 33 (HD) and 51 (local). These are transmitted on lower power than the other muxes and with a passive splitter the local channels are unwatchable and the new HD channels are only acceptable if the weather conditions are OK. I now use a low gain amplifier to boost the signal slightly without causing too much noise. As these newer muxes are generally transmitted on lower power, there must be others with similar issues.
I read what Graham says about loop through not being a good idea or good practice. He does however not say why and I wonder what the reason is for his assertion.
If it’s simply a power saving issue then surely this should be customer choice. If it is for technical reasons then I am genuinely interested to hear the reasons why.
Faust – 2 minutes ago »
I read what Graham says about loop through not being a good idea or good practice. He does however not say why and I wonder what the reason is for his assertion.
If it’s simply a power saving issue then surely this should be customer choice. If it is for technical reasons then I am genuinely interested to hear the reasons why.
Every amplifier you put in a chain adds noise to the signal. The best place for any amplification required is as close to the aerial as possible (That way you don’t amplify noise picked up on the downlead).
Quote:As the name suggests splitters are used to “split” the signal from the aerial to feed multiple points. If your signal strength allows it I would generally advise the use of a splitter over an amplifier because it is simpler, cheaper, more reliable, introduces less noise and is less likely to give cross modulation problems. The latter was quite significant at DSO when the power of the transmissions was increased markedly. If you use a splitter but discover an unacceptable fall off in signal, you can always add an amplifier in front of it, a mains type like this one for internal splits (near a mains plug), or a 1 way Mast Head for external splits or where there`s no mains plug [e.g. In the loft].
See
We live in an area with fantastic reception. Nearly every channel is hitting 9’s or 10s for everything. I could use a pan lid and still get good reception. Under those circumstances I’m not sure a splitter would add anything.
I certainly don’t think adding one to a 2000T would cause an issue.
MontysEvilTwin – 2 days ago »
I now use a low gain amplifier to boost the signal slightly without causing too much noise. As these newer muxes are generally transmitted on lower power, there must be others with similar issues.
I seem to be having the same problem. Screwing the connections into the splitter helped, but BBC4 HD still comes and goes. Which amplifier do you use?
Nothing fancy, it was a several years old Maxview signal booster that has an aerial input and two outputs. I think the gain on each outlet is about 6-8 dB. The RF cable is crucial as HDMI does interfere, especially at 1080p. If you are on 1080p try switching to 1080i to see if that makes a difference. Also consider making your own flyleads using a good double screened cable like Webro WF100. You can get in 10 metre lengths on eBay for about £8: you will notice the difference.
Link to cable here (eBay)
Link to amp here (Maxview website). This looks similar to the one I have, though both the gain and noise values are a bit higher. I imagine another poster will be able to suggest a better quality alternative.
Thank you – that’s very useful. I’ll certainly try 1080i and/or new RF leads.
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