We are on our first trip with our new 2015 Coachmen Freedeom Express 23QTX. We chose a campground just a half mile from home for the first trip to make sure all was well. Thankfully all has been well for the first 2 nights!The only issue may or may not be an issue at all. Im not sure why, but I never assumed to check the Television antenna when we bought the RV. It doesnt have the typical crank-up, rotatable bat-wing antenna. It has the bat-wing antenna, however its static. I didnt think this would be a problem, but maybe it is. I found what seems to be the antenna "booster" or amplifier on/off switch but it does not help at all... like nothing noticeable. Because we are a half mile from home, I now the local OTA television stations well and actually use the same bat-wing antenna at my home up 30' on a chimney mount mast and it pulls in all the local digital stations without any issue. I do have an amplifier in line for that antenna as well and its running to two televisions with roughly 100' of coax.So I am perplexed as to why im only getting half the channels on the new Coachmen and that this on/off switch with a little red light does not do anything. So I removed the faceplate with this on/off switch and found there are three coax connections in there, and one is labled "ant" and one "TV1" and the "iv1". For grins, I unplugged all three to see if I lost reception to the television but I did not lose reception at all! So I am hoping someone here can guide me. I have attached two pics. One with the faceplate off showeing the coax connections behind it, and one of the front with the switch and red light. Can someone tell me what it does? Is it possible this is the on off switch for the amplifier and it was wired wrong? Perhaps the television is split inside the wall and coming directly from the antenna?

That is not the booster, but the power supply that induces 12 volts DC onto the coaxial cable. The booster is in the antenna head.Your TV is picking up the signal through the coaxial cable in the rig which is acting as an antenna.I would verify which cable goes to antenna and to the TVs. Check to insure the cable connection at the antenna head is tight.

I have about the same set up as you. When I try to watch TV with bedroom/bath room lights or fans on the signal is lost. When I turn off lights and fans, TV signal is perfect. Just a thought. Good luck.Lakeside

First You have to be using a digital HDTV set... We use the VIZIO 22-inch HDTV LCD TV from Walmart... Turn the antenna boost switch on. This will power up the pre-amp in the antenna.Then you have to point the antenna to the direction of the National Broadcast transmitter town.Goto to menu on the TV set and select ANTENNA... Then do the digital scan...If it doesn't pick up digital stations then move the antenna slightly one direction or the other and do the scan again..I usually get anywhere from 6-36 digital HDTV stations just about anywhere we go here on the East side of the US...I would try the TV connector first on your antenna wall panel.Roy Ken

The comment about turning off the bedroom light is referring to using the LED LIGHTS in the bedroom ceiling lights. Some of the LED brands that have a regulator chip in the LED Board or BULB seems to interfere with the TV sets. The regulator chip produces RFI that will wipe out the incoming HDTV signal.So when scanning for digital signals be sure to turn off the bedroom light. I would turn off all the ceiling lights if it were me... Once you see some digital stations then you can experiment with the lights to see if they prevent you from seeing your TV.You should start seeing digital stations start being counted right away.Roy ken

First trip... you likely haven't found the menu setting on your TV yet that asks what input you want to use. Once you find that, and correctly set it to antenna, then you will have to do a channel scan to find all the available channels with the antenna booster on.In the old days, the channels were just there, and the TV set saw them immediately. Now the TV has to ask you to perform duties first. Once you have found the available channels, and you move to a new city, you have to look for available channels again.Crazy how technology gets more and more difficult.

Antenna "Booster" question | Good Sam Community

27 Replies

rockhillmanor
Explorer II
Jun 17, 2014
Digital signal is very narrow unlike the old analog. You can't just get in and spin the antenna and have an array of all the channels. You have to inch it to get the channels. AND you have to 'scan' the channels each time you change the direction.

AND it is very sensitive to trees. Make that it can't receive the signal if tree limbs are in the way.:(

I had to change my way of choosing a CG site when the TV's went digital. You need a clean shot to the sky with digital.
Water-Bug
Explorer II
Jun 17, 2014
Artum Snowbird wrote:

Crazy how technology gets more and more difficult.

Yup!! For the first 60 years I knew how to use a phone. :)
Artum_Snowbird
Explorer
Jun 17, 2014
First trip... you likely haven't found the menu setting on your TV yet that asks what input you want to use. Once you find that, and correctly set it to antenna, then you will have to do a channel scan to find all the available channels with the antenna booster on.

In the old days, the channels were just there, and the TV set saw them immediately. Now the TV has to ask you to perform duties first.

Once you have found the available channels, and you move to a new city, you have to look for available channels again.

Crazy how technology gets more and more difficult.
RoyB
Explorer II
Jun 17, 2014
The comment about turning off the bedroom light is referring to using the LED LIGHTS in the bedroom ceiling lights. Some of the LED brands that have a regulator chip in the LED Board or BULB seems to interfere with the TV sets. The regulator chip produces RFI that will wipe out the incoming HDTV signal.

So when scanning for digital signals be sure to turn off the bedroom light. I would turn off all the ceiling lights if it were me... Once you see some digital stations then you can experiment with the lights to see if they prevent you from seeing your TV.

You should start seeing digital stations start being counted right away.

Roy ken
RoyB
Explorer II
Jun 17, 2014
First You have to be using a digital HDTV set... We use the VIZIO 22-inch HDTV LCD TV from Walmart...

Turn the antenna boost switch on. This will power up the pre-amp in the antenna.

Then you have to point the antenna to the direction of the National Broadcast transmitter town.

Goto to menu on the TV set and select ANTENNA... Then do the digital scan...
If it doesn't pick up digital stations then move the antenna slightly one direction or the other and do the scan again..

I usually get anywhere from 6-36 digital HDTV stations just about anywhere we go here on the East side of the US...

I would try the TV connector first on your antenna wall panel.

Roy Ken
lakeside013104
Explorer
Jun 17, 2014
I have about the same set up as you. When I try to watch TV with bedroom/bath room lights or fans on the signal is lost. When I turn off lights and fans, TV signal is perfect. Just a thought. Good luck.

Lakeside
enblethen
Nomad
Jun 17, 2014
That is not the booster, but the power supply that induces 12 volts DC onto the coaxial cable. The booster is in the antenna head.
Your TV is picking up the signal through the coaxial cable in the rig which is acting as an antenna.
I would verify which cable goes to antenna and to the TVs.
Check to insure the cable connection at the antenna head is tight.

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Antenna "Booster" question

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