Bad Coax Cable from Roof Antenna - Help

Question

Hi,I have a 2003 Skyline Aljo (250 TL) 26 footer.  The antenna wiring (Coax Cable) from the roof to the interior is bad.  We know it is bad as we ran a new cable directly from the back of the antenna to the TV and were able to pick up about 20 additional channels.How do we replace the cabling that is bad on the roof that is currently there?  The cable is gray in color and when we pull the face place off with the coax connection on the interior (the plate that has the booster) and there are 3 white coax wires going into the place.  There are 3 coax outputs in the trailer, one in the kitchen, bedroom and one on the outside. I would like the replace the damaged coax from the roof with a new "healthy" wire.  The question is how do we it?  I feel like simply pulling the wire will not work as there is some sort of splitter converting the exterior gray cable into 3 white interior cables?Does any have any insight into this and how it could be done without ripping paneling or roof?Thanks

akrv · Answer

Are you sure you have the antenna amplifier turned so it is not hooked to cable?

enblethen · Answer

Odds are it is not the cable but a crappy connector.
The antenna cable should go directly from the power supply to the antenna head.
The wall plate is not the booster. It is a power supply that induces 12 volts DC on to the coaxial cable. Booster is in the head.
It is possible that the cables are not connected to the proper location in the wall plate.

campingn_c_ · Answer

Agree, highly doubt it's the cable itself. Change out the fittings with good quality compression style, not crimp or screw on. Make sure there is no braided wire touching the center conductor. Just one will give you a picture problem.
Replacing the cable good be a real pain, at least try the easiest thing first.

westend · Answer

If you get a coaxial cable union, connect the temporary cable you were using to get a good picture to the union and the union to one of the connections in the trailer. By process of elimination, you should be able to tell if one of the cables is bad.

Check for 12V at the antenna. If you have power and one of the connections inside does not get a good picture but the others do, then you know you have a problem with that cable. Most likely, it is at the connector ends of this cable. Sometimes, either the inside conductor will break or the outside sheath loses connection. It is very improbable that the cable is broken anywhere between the connectors.

You also want to make sure you have good connections between the splitter and all cables. Any discoloration or powdery oxide should be cleaned. I use Caig brand, Deoxit 5, a deoxidising cleaner for spots like that. A good electronic cleaner in a spray can will work also.

Good luck with the TV connections.

rwbradley · Answer

Most good Coax cable is guaranteed for 10 years and without trauma will easily last 25 years.  If it is the cable itself it will likely fail due to trauma, usually where there is movement ie where the antenna goes up/down.  I would inspect it carefully on the roof, particularly near the base of the antenna.  If the shielding appears to be intact, I would focus on the ends instead.  It is easy to crimp on new ends.  Compression is much better (as previously stated) but the ends and the compression tools are expensive.  You can get a cheap stripper, crimper and box of crimp ends at Home Depot for very little money to do a quick fix.  But if you know someone in telecom offer them a few beers to put new ends on with a compression tool.

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Bad Coax Cable from Roof Antenna - Help

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