This is a very interesting scenario that you posted KeepItSimple~. It is a good "study guide" for use while troubleshooting. Thank You for posting it.

SteveSH, yours is a good reminder that dB is exponential, which I tend to forget. (Still can't do the math without a cheat sheet, 2 pencils and a whole stack of scrap paper)

The antenna you pictured NSASpook may be what we really need here. It might be able to be higher than the house next door's ridge. Trees, no- House, probably. But, I'll try to avoid that project if possible (and there are 9" of snow on the roof, so I dodged that project at lest for a while.)

Hopefully my experimenting can begin soon. I'll certainly be referring back to this thread often, as I forget stuff quickly these days.

 

SteveSH, yours is a good reminder that dB is exponential, which I tend to forget. (Still can't do the math without a cheat sheet, 2 pencils and a whole stack of scrap paper)

A couple of things I keep in mind when dealing with dBs.
1. dB is the ratio of two powers
2. a 2X change in power is 3 dB, so a 4X change in power is 6 dB, an 8X change is 9 dB, etc.

 

I see no mention of replacing splitters with couplers. ALL splitters reduce the individual signal power by dividing it among the outputs, that is how it works.