well B.J , a splitter rated at 1000 Mhz still allows higher frecuency signals to go through just that the losess will be higher than 3.5 dB (for a 2-way) so it can not guarantee performance above 1 GHz. Maybe in your case signal levels were acctually quite high due to optimal system setup therefore you never had an issue but I bet if you use a signal meter or a SA you will notice the difference specially after the splitter has aged.
in other words i would recommend using the proper splitters rated up to 2.3 Ghz
to the OP , you do not need a splitter to slave the c band receiver off the pansat. I beleive the pansat has a loop out no?.
One quick comment re loop out before the {sorry} lengthy response, and that is that those loop outs are not all the same. Some seem to be basically like a splitter, some seem to be a splitter combined with some amplification, but the bottom line is that some splitters perform very well and others seem to make things much worse than the original. Looking at the spectrum, you wouldn't recognize the signal coming out of some loop thru outputs. I used to prefer using loop thru's, but over the years I've changed my mind, and now I prefer to use splitters.
Secondly, the mention above about the 3.5dB loss expected with a splitter, this is VERY dependent upon the receiver. I have seen situations where you do get such losses, and other cases where you can't detect any difference between the direct signal and the split signal. I _THINK_ that the 3.5 dB loss spec you're quoting depends upon the impedance of every device connected to the splitter. It the receivers are relatively high impedance, they won't affect the signal coming from the LNB, and you won't see much loss, but if the impedances of the receivers are relatively low, then you're drawing power from the source, and it would be split up between the receivers, sort of like putting a high impedance FET-VOM type voltmeter on a voltage source. It won't affect the source much, whereas if you put an old fashioned 20,000 ohms/volt type on a circuit, the voltmeter will draw power from the circuit and affect the voltage reading.
Anyway, I thought this would be a good time to do an experiment. I put my C-band dish on G17, and ran a series of spectrum scans on horizontal.
Basically, I did 4 different scans using my Broadlogic 1030 with Hans blscan.exe program, and displayed data using a VB program I wrote. The 4 scans were:
(1) No splitter, ie direct to LNB (through a channel master meter to insert power)
(2) Using sat rated splitter, power pass to analog receiver.
(3) Using 30 year old RS Archer TV splitter UHF rated
(4) Using a sat rated 4 way splitter, power pass to analog receiver.
Each scan is displayed with a vertical range of zero-100%, horizontal 3700-4200 MHz. I could have zoomed in on the vertical, but wanted to show the raw images.
Ok, then the 4 scans shown below:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
Now, looking at the various scans, the first thing I'd comment on, is that while the 4 scans look almost identical, scan (3) with the cheap TV splitter does show a drop off for the first 40 MHz, but it's primarily a dropoff of the background noise, not the signal itself. Also, there is a slight decrease in scan (4) relative to the signal-background level, but it is no where near what you'd expect from the loss ratings of the splitter. They are really hardly noticeable.
Also, I compared the UHF splitter to the sat rated splitter relative to S/N readings with my TT3200 receiver on the first (CW) signal to the left, and with the UHF, I got 18.2 dB S/N and the sat rated splitter gave 18.8 dB. Again, hardly any difference, and in fact both were varying more than the difference between the two. So basically, the only transponder where there is any difference in the appearance of the spectra doesn't give any issues with respect to locking the transponder, as 18.2 is extremely high for the TT3200. It will generally lock signals down below 5 dB, and will lock S2 signals above 9dB. So I really don't see much problems with respect to using this extremely old TV style splitter.
OK, that's the results. Now my opinion is that would I recommend using a splitter rated above the 1450 MHz top of the band coming down from the LNB? Yes.
Do I think that the splitters rated to 2300 MHz are any better than a TV splitter rated to 800 MHz?
Yes, but only very slightly if you're talking about using them with FTA receivers, and the one I tested is probably a worst case. I really think that most cheap splitters are probably not much different from the fancy sat rated splitters. I am 99% sure that if tested with sophisticated test equipment, that the cheap splitters can be shown to be inferior, but I really believe that this is because the sophisticated equipment would probably be testing the splitters using impedances that aren't realistically comparable to impedances that exist in our consumer equipment.
Finally, do I think that the ratings given to these splitters actually mean anything?
No. But that's just my opinion. And despite my opinion, given the choice, I always choose the more expensive sat rated splitter, but I really think that it's analogous to paying 3 times the money for gold plated audio cables.
I guess that destroys any credibility I have left relative to knowing what I'm doing, as I just wasted an hour trying to troubleshoot a problem I caused myself.
