CATV: Part 5
Splitters & Directional Couplers
Splitters are utilized on feeder cables and are passive devices that divide incoming signal into lesser but equal amounts of signal. Two-way splitters are most common, but there may be the occasional use for a four-way splitter. A directional coupler is similar to a splitter, but it is used to send the majority of the signal in one direction with a minimal amount in another direction (Figure 40). There is virtually no loss as the radio-frequency signal passes though a directional coupler.
While splitting the signal equally in two directions, a splitter can pass AC power in one direction but not the other. If one feeder has an amplifier downstream and the other does not, AC power only goes in the direction it is needed and is blocked from going the other direction (Figure 41).
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Splitters & Directional Couplers
Splitters are utilized on feeder cables and are passive devices that divide incoming signal into lesser but equal amounts of signal. Two-way splitters are most common, but there may be the occasional use for a four-way splitter. A directional coupler is similar to a splitter, but it is used to send the majority of the signal in one direction with a minimal amount in another direction (Figure 40). There is virtually no loss as the radio-frequency signal passes though a directional coupler.
While splitting the signal equally in two directions, a splitter can pass AC power in one direction but not the other. If one feeder has an amplifier downstream and the other does not, AC power only goes in the direction it is needed and is blocked from going the other direction (Figure 41).
