Audio Systems: fm antenna, rf amplifiers, signal clarity

Question
QUESTION: I have a Yamaha home theater, the fm signal reception is lousy, I installed a HD antenna on roof, and now I need to split the incoming signal to 3 receivers?  The splitter says IN and OUT -7db, -7db and -3.5db? Does it matter where each receiver gets into which coax terminal?

ANSWER: How many outputs are on the splitter? Regardless - it shouldn't make much of a difference which goes to which receiver. There might be a slight difference between -7db and -3.5db, but more than likely, it won't be noticeable.

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QUESTION: What does the -db stand for?  How is it measured?  3 Outlets on splitter.

ANSWER: Basically - on any passive (non-powered) splitter, you're going to have an approximate loss of -3dB to -4dB on any "leg" of a split. If that is split again, each leg would have another loss of 3 to 4dB.

It looks like on your splitter, instead of an equal 3-way split, you have one leg being split again.. thus the -3.5dB and two -7db.

This loss is just a result of physics... there's nothing wrong with the splitter. This is just what happens to signals when they are passively split, and there's no escaping it.

Whether this loss is going to affect you depends on the strength of the signal being split. For example -  A 100dB signal would be about 97dB on a single split, and about 93db on a double split and so on down the line. Depending on the strength of the signal, and the input sensitivity of the receiving circuitry of the various devices - you're signal clarity can vary. Typically, it's best to keep the splits to a bare minimum, or use active line distribution units in case of weak signals that don't do well when passively split.

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QUESTION: hi
is there an active split or powered?

Answer
Yes - although they might be marketed under the name "distribution amplifier". You can also find RF amplifiers that you can use after a split.
In general - you don't have to worry about the dB losses during a spilt. the newer HD antennas typically provide a fairly hot signal.