Hi all,

I live in a condo where I have limited access to the cabling used in the building. Specifically, my unit has one coax cable coming into it, and in the unit itself, there are 2 cable outlets (two per the one line). One of the outlets has a splitter inside it, and the other is the "terminal" end of the coax line.

My problem is that the lazy contractors who built the place did it using a standard splitter in the non-terminal outlet, and they connected it improperly, like this:


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|-------|
. === Line from outside === > == (out) |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| . . . |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| ( in) == > Exterior of outlet
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| . . . |
. == Line to second outlet= < == (out) |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|-------|


As you can see, they plugged the "input" line into one of the output ports, and the input port is being used for an output line. Their reason for this was simply that the box behind the outlet is tiny, and they had very little room to do anything else - in fact, the "exterior of outlet" port is actually the plug that sticks out of the outlet. It is not possible to connect the splitter properly as the geometry of the box forbids it.

The problem with this scheme, of course, is that those "input" and "output" ports actually matter, and when it's connected improperly like this, there's a lot of noise and interference entering the system - noise that goes away when I connect it correctly. Unfortunately, my correct connection was only done experimentally, as it could only be done by having longer cables dangling out of the wall.

What I'd like to do is find a splitter that has the ports in a different orientation, or possibly find a regular splitter that I can open up and do surgery on to make it the way I wanted to, such that it looks like this:


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|-------|
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . > == (in ) |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| . . . |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| (out) == >
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .| . . . |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . < == (out) |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|-------|


Any ideas where I could lay my hands on this grail?

-Steve

Depending on your signal strength, a "Directional coupler" fits the configuration you need, I say depending on the signal strength because whereas a standard 2 way splitter takes out 3.5 dbs of signal on each out leg, the dc( depending on type) takes out a minimum of 6 db on the out leg ( the leg that is the "in" on a normal 2 way) ...drop me a pm w/ your address and I can send ya one.
Aj

They must have used a closed-back box instead of a low-voltage bracket behind the wall plate. Since you're in a condo, this is probably a "no-no", but might it be possible to cut out the back of the box? That would give you more room to work with and hook things up correctly.

It's your home even though it's a condo.

Get a piece of 2x4 (about a foot or 2) and hammer then remove the wall plate. Get the 2X4 inside the box at an angle away from the stud it is attached to. You might need a studfinder or try to look at the angle of the nails securing it, the angle furtherst back is towards the stud. If it is a metal or regular plastic box you will be able to knock it loose and pull out. If it's a hard plastic box it will most likely break apart but will most likely be easier to remove and hopefully not require any wall patching. Wall patching would most likely be some simple joint compound.

Then you can use an "existing construction low voltage box" which is open for you to do your connections easily and you can secure the plate to. Good luck.