# Forum Home Renovation Television, Computers & Phones  TV antenna splitter/tap advice sought

## FlyingDuck

I am installing a new TV antenna system, which will have 5 runs to various outlets throughout the house.  I intend to use a 5 or 6 way splitter in the roof to do this.   
Looking at various manufacturer's catalogs, they sell splitters & taps, which seem to do the same thing.  What is the basic difference between a splitter & a tap, and what situations would call for each?

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## knucklehead

A splitter, as the name suggests simple splits the signal. i.e 2 way splitter will give approximately 1/2 (3dB) the amount of input signal to each output. 
A tap will cause a specified loss in the amount of signal. i.e a 6dB tap will mean that the output ports of the tap are all 6dB lower than the input. 
There are two things to consider for taps.
1. the loss through to the output ports, xxdB
2. how many output ports.
For example you could have a 25dB 6way tap. That is it splits the signal in 6 ways and each of the outputs will be 25dB lower than the input. You could also buy a 12dB 6 way tap, which will also have 6 outputs but a higher level at each port (13dB higher)  
In your case you just need a splitter. Unless you are in a very high reception area you will want maximum signal at each output.

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## FlyingDuck

Thanks for the reply knucklehead, but this is a bit confusing. Yesterday I also contacted Matchmaster and asked them the same question, and they recommended a tap, like the one shown in picture attached (actually the model they recommended was the 07MM-TM41, which has a 10dB side loss as oppossed to the 20dB on this one, but I don't have a picture of that one). 
I also don't understand what is the difference between the four "TAPs" and the one "OUT" on this device - is the "OUT" a splitter? Is this device suitable for five TV outlets? - what is the difference between using the "TAP" and the "OUT" connections?

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## knucklehead

Yeah it is a bit of both. 
What the picture shows is tap with a through port (out) which has a lower loss than the tap. What this would normally be used for is drive another tap further down the line or as a high output port.
A typical tap like this would have about 4dB of loss on the "out" and the sticker says that the taps are 20dB. 
Without knowing what levels you are receiving it is hard to tell if this is the right devices for you. If you are going to use an amp then the tap is probably the way to go. If not stick to a low loss splitter. 
The pictures attached don't specify their loss but it should be between 12 and 18dB.

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## knucklehead

Lets see if the pictures stuck this time

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## FlyingDuck

Thanks again knucklehead.

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## Barry_White

Flying Duck  
If you put in a six way splitter you may need to install a distribution Amplifier like the on I posted in this thread.  http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ht=Connections

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