Taylor Channel Filters / levelers - re-tuneable?

Hi, all.

My current domestic head-end has a pair of Taylor 5-way channel filter /
levelers. They are currently tuned to the 5 analog channels, and the
current muxes.

Post-DSO, ( I've not checked the channel allocations )I may well need to
change the channels which pass.

Do they offer a service to re-tune these, or will I have to purchase new?

I could phone them, of course...

--
Ron

On Jan 21, 9:23*pm, Ron Lowe wrote:
Hi, all.

My current domestic head-end has a pair of Taylor 5-way channel filter /
levelers. * They are currently tuned to the 5 analog channels, and the
current muxes.

Post-DSO, ( I've not checked the channel allocations )I may well need to
change the channels which pass.

Do they offer a service to re-tune these, or will I have to purchase new?

I could phone them, of course...

--
Ron

The filters are re-tunable within limits; I'd guess within 100MHz.
Taylors will do it. You can do it yourself but really you need a noise
generator and analyser.

Bill

On Jan 22, 12:36*am, "
wrote:
On Jan 21, 9:23*pm, Ron Lowe wrote:

Hi, all.

My current domestic head-end has a pair of Taylor 5-way channel filter /
levelers. * They are currently tuned to the 5 analog channels, and the
current muxes.

Post-DSO, ( I've not checked the channel allocations )I may well need to
change the channels which pass.

Do they offer a service to re-tune these, or will I have to purchase new?

I could phone them, of course...

--
Ron

The filters are re-tunable within limits; I'd guess within 100MHz.
Taylors will do it. You can do it yourself but really you need a noise
generator and analyser.

Bill

I've done them with a scalar analyser, but you can only move them
about 2 channels up or down without having to fiddle with the
coupling. between stages.

It's also difficult to get them flat across 8MHz without introducing a
lot of loss.

I'd get Taylors to retune them (if the channel groups permit), but to
be honest It may be just as cheap to buy a new one with the channels
you need.

Tell Taylors it's for UK DTTV so that they set the bandwidth
correctly.

UKM

In message
,
UKMonitor writes
On Jan 22, 12:36*am, "
wrote:
On Jan 21, 9:23*pm, Ron Lowe wrote:

Hi, all.

My current domestic head-end has a pair of Taylor 5-way channel filter /
levelers. * They are currently tuned to the 5 analog channels, and the
current muxes.

Post-DSO, ( I've not checked the channel allocations )I may well need to
change the channels which pass.

Do they offer a service to re-tune these, or will I have to purchase new?

I could phone them, of course...

--
Ron

The filters are re-tunable within limits; I'd guess within 100MHz.
Taylors will do it. You can do it yourself but really you need a noise
generator and analyser.

Bill

I've done them with a scalar analyser, but you can only move them
about 2 channels up or down without having to fiddle with the
coupling. between stages.

It's also difficult to get them flat across 8MHz without introducing a
lot of loss.

I'd get Taylors to retune them (if the channel groups permit), but to
be honest It may be just as cheap to buy a new one with the channels
you need.

Tell Taylors it's for UK DTTV so that they set the bandwidth
correctly.

Tuning this type of multi-channel splitter-filter is very much a
'green-fingered' exercise. It is one of those things which, when
compiling the documentation for the factory alignment procedure, is
sometimes difficult to describe concisely (especially when starting with
a virgin unit). It is one of those things best left to the experts.
--
Ian

On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:53:15 +0000, Ian Jackson
wrote:

It is one of those things best left to the experts.

- preferably using a Polyskop.

On 22/01/2010 15:30, lid wrote:
On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:53:15 +0000, Ian Jackson
wrote:

It is one of those things best left to the experts.

- preferably using a Polyskop.

Didn't know that R&S still made them, the last time I remember using one
was in the late 70's. Went over to HP spectrum analyser with tracking
generator.

Phil

On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:58:14 +0000, phil
wrote:

On 22/01/2010 15:30, lid wrote:
On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:53:15 +0000, Ian Jackson
wrote:

It is one of those things best left to the experts.

- preferably using a Polyskop.

Didn't know that R&S still made them, the last time I remember using one
was in the late 70's. Went over to HP spectrum analyser with tracking
generator.

I don't think they do, but I always think of the old SWOB when a
filter has to be tweaked. It was a great piece of kit.

In message , phil
writes
On 22/01/2010 15:30, lid wrote:
On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:53:15 +0000, Ian Jackson
wrote:

It is one of those things best left to the experts.

- preferably using a Polyskop.

Didn't know that R&S still made them, the last time I remember using
one was in the late 70's. Went over to HP spectrum analyser with
tracking generator.

For the first few years at work, I used a Polyskop 2 almost every day
(and often for all of the day). It was a true workhorse. Long
afterwards, I 'acquired' it, but then donated it to someone who wanted
it more than I did.

It had two annoying 'faults'. One was that the bearings of the fan motor
would keep drying out, and had to be re-lubricated. The other was that
dust would build-up in the EHT department. Every now and then, soon
after switch-on (presumably before the CRT heater had got properly
going, and there was little beam current), there would be an almighty
heart-stopping CRACK as the EHT arced over. But, deep down, I really did
love it.
--
Ian

On Jan 22, 5:31*pm, Ian Jackson
wrote:
In message , phil
writesOn 22/01/2010 15:30, wrote:
On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:53:15 +0000, Ian Jackson
*wrote:

It is one of those things best left to the experts.

I thought I'd just add a bit of detail to my earlier answer. We
routinely retune these filters using a Promax spectrum analyser and a
noise generator. We also alter the input configuration. It is a bit of
a knack, but really there isn't much to it once you get used to it.
The results we get are good in terms of through loss and correct
response. Certainly we don't get problems from filters we've re-tuned,
and I suppose 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'.

We have to accept that these simple passive filters have their
limitations. Certainly a filter that has to be broadly tuned in order
to accept a cluster of four adjacent channels can be problematic.

At Taylors the 'tuner-in-chief' is Mike Rae's daughter, by the way.

Bill

On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:31:46 +0000, Ian Jackson
wrote:

In message , phil
writes
On 22/01/2010 15:30, lid wrote:
On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:53:15 +0000, Ian Jackson
wrote:

It is one of those things best left to the experts.

- preferably using a Polyskop.

Didn't know that R&S still made them, the last time I remember using
one was in the late 70's. Went over to HP spectrum analyser with
tracking generator.

For the first few years at work, I used a Polyskop 2 almost every day
(and often for all of the day). It was a true workhorse. Long
afterwards, I 'acquired' it, but then donated it to someone who wanted
it more than I did.

It had two annoying 'faults'. One was that the bearings of the fan motor
would keep drying out, and had to be re-lubricated. The other was that
dust would build-up in the EHT department. Every now and then, soon
after switch-on (presumably before the CRT heater had got properly
going, and there was little beam current), there would be an almighty
heart-stopping CRACK as the EHT arced over. But, deep down, I really did
love it.

It was a brute to carry about though.