Where I'm at we actually have strong enough towers that I can get poor MER bleeding straight into the meter or especially bad if I have an amplifier open at the time. Sometimes just sheilding the meter with my body will improve the MER response on the meter. Also, "space blankets" have been used to shield the amplifier or node while working on. To reiterate others; good, tight splicing is key + making sure drops are torqued down properly. Hope it helps!
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