Need advice - changing Cable connections

[Mike]

When the cable company installed cable in my house over 10 years ago
they set it up so that there are three 2-way splitters for 4 wall
outlets. The one outlet we never use so I'd like to change the setup
so that there are only two 2-way splitters and 3 wall outlets
therefore increasing the picture quality (hopefully). Is this
something I can do myself or do I need to call them to do it?
I know what connections aren't needed and what connections are. I was
just concerned that maybe a signal might be too high and mess up the
TVs or something like that or that I might need to ground myself first
or something. Does the cable company need to know that I'm doing this
so they can make changes at their office or anything?

Another thing is that the first split is right outside the house. One
split goes into a bedroom and the other down into the basement. I
would have to take away that splitter and get one of those those
little pieces that will connect two cables together. I've done this
before for inside the house but not outside. Is there anything special
I need to do? If it gets wet like if it rains will that cause a
problem? I mean it's fine now but if I change things, will that cause
a problem?

 

[Mark]

In article <3e7445e7.0311261343.620cc7f@posting.google.com>,
littleboyblu87@yahoo.com says...

When the cable company installed cable in my house over 10 years ago
they set it up so that there are three 2-way splitters for 4 wall
outlets. The one outlet we never use so I'd like to change the setup
so that there are only two 2-way splitters and 3 wall outlets
therefore increasing the picture quality (hopefully).

Maybe. First thing to do is call out the cable company
(at no charge to you) to verify adequate signal strength (0
to + 10 dB) entering your home. They are responsible for
delivering this.

Is this
something I can do myself or do I need to call them to do it?

If you have modest mechanical ability, you can do it.

I know what connections aren't needed and what connections are. I was
just concerned that maybe a signal might be too high and mess up the
TVs or something like that

Unless it's entering the house substantially higher than
+10, you won't hurt anything.

or that I might need to ground myself first
or something.

Nope.

Does the cable company need to know that I'm doing this
so they can make changes at their office or anything?

Nope.

Another thing is that the first split is right outside the house. One
split goes into a bedroom and the other down into the basement. I
would have to take away that splitter and get one of those those
little pieces that will connect two cables together. I've done this
before for inside the house but not outside. Is there anything special
I need to do? If it gets wet like if it rains will that cause a
problem? I mean it's fine now but if I change things, will that cause
a problem?

If the original installation was done right, the connectors
are weather resistant, and that's what's important. Go
right ahead and change the splitter for a barrel.
--
Mark

The truth as I perceive it to be.
Your perception may be different.

Triple Z is spam control.

 

[jakdedert]

My advice would be to get *one* three way splitter and feed your remaining
three outlets from its three outs. That way you have a consistant signal to
each outlet, with minimal loss. Cascading splitters seems like a bad idea.
It sounds like the output of one splitter is fed to two more, then fed to
the individual outlets. I guess that's okay, if there's enough signal in
the first place...sounds a little hinky.

Ideally, each individual feed from a splitter should be terminated (hooked
up to something--either a TV or a dedicated termination resistor made for
the purpose) to reduce reflections. In practice, this is often not done,
but it's possible that the unterminated line could be a source of problems.

If you have picture quality issues, delete *all* the splitters, and feed the
main line into one of the outlets (using a male to male 'barrel'
connector--it won't hurt your TV) and see if the problem goes away. If not,
you have a poor quality signal from the pole. Changing the distribution is
not going to fix that; only a call to the cable company.

jak

"Mike" <littleboyblu87@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3e7445e7.0311261343.620cc7f@posting.google.com...

When the cable company installed cable in my house over 10 years ago
they set it up so that there are three 2-way splitters for 4 wall
outlets. The one outlet we never use so I'd like to change the setup
so that there are only two 2-way splitters and 3 wall outlets
therefore increasing the picture quality (hopefully). Is this
something I can do myself or do I need to call them to do it?
I know what connections aren't needed and what connections are. I was
just concerned that maybe a signal might be too high and mess up the
TVs or something like that or that I might need to ground myself first
or something. Does the cable company need to know that I'm doing this
so they can make changes at their office or anything?

Another thing is that the first split is right outside the house. One
split goes into a bedroom and the other down into the basement. I
would have to take away that splitter and get one of those those
little pieces that will connect two cables together. I've done this
before for inside the house but not outside. Is there anything special
I need to do? If it gets wet like if it rains will that cause a
problem? I mean it's fine now but if I change things, will that cause
a problem?