Hi The original splitters mentioned most certainly do *NOT* short the DC to ground. I have used those splitters for decades to power GPS gear. We have used them in production for runs of thousands of parts ….
Before anybody goes off and spends $1,000 on a splitter, think very hard about what bands you will need it for over the next few years …. also what levels and what antenna voltages. This stuff does change and that’s a lot of money to sink in something that may be a boat anchor in a couple years. Bob > On Apr 30, 2020, at 4:36 PM, Arthur Dent <[email protected]> wrote: > > Most of the regular splitters first mentioned are basically transformers > with one side if each winding connected to the case ground so they don’t > work because they short out the 5 VDC on the receiver’s antenna coax. You > have to be aware of the D.C. voltage to power the antenna plus have fake > antenna load resistors on the other ports to prevent error messages. > > The cheapest non-powered splitter is probably the F connector Steren 4-way > 2.4Ghz splitter made for TV use at $6-$9 each (like eBay # 254474121010). > Their model 201-234 passes 1 port and couples the other 3 ports with > capacitors. I found I could just pry the back cover off the splitter and > solder a 200-330 ohm resistor across each isolated outputs to prevent the > receivers on those ports from giving an open antenna alarm. Those receivers > would still work without the resistors but I couldn’t stand the error > message so I installed the load resistors. > > Mini-Circuits has made dedicated GPS splitters that have built-in amps to > compensate for losses and the ones I have work quite well. The 5 port one > has a Lucent part number and was made for Telco use with 2 power ports and > 3 isolated ports to which I added 280 ohm resistors. You will find these on > eBay occasionally for far less than the HP versions. One of my GPS > antennas goes to a WR Incorporated 8-way externally powered splitter with > load resistors built in. > > So there are a number of options for GPS splitters but they may not be that > common. However, just today I bought another of the 5 port Mini-Circuits > ones on eBay so they do turn up. > > https://oi906.photobucket.com/albums/ac262/rjb1998/GPS%20splitters%202_zpspobtp7cf.jpg > > https://oi906.photobucket.com/albums/ac262/rjb1998/GPS%20splitters_zpsbitr26xx.jpg > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe, go to > http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com > and follow the instructions there. _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com and follow the instructions there.
