a television question

[cruising_spud]

Could I please get some input? We have a 2002 rv with an old, analog television.

I just bought a new smart tv, which my husband is going to install in the rv.

We have some kind on antennae (batwing?) on the roof which we half-heartedly tried once, didn't get any reception, and decided to not worry about. Up to now, we have always just connected to the campground cable.

I have been reading up on how to get tv stations with the new tv but have a few questions.

Am I right-

We will still be able to connect to campground cable, same way as with the old analog television.

In order to do anything with an antennae, I would probably have to buy a newer model, If so, could anyone give me some input as to which one?

Even though I know we could stream movies, this might me an issue with campground wifi speed/service. Yes?

Anything else I should be thinking about?

Thank you.

[cruising_spud]

Well, we took the tv out to the rv yesterday and decided it was just too big. So, I went out and bought a smaller size. Hoping to find the time to install within a few weeks.

Thanks again for all of the responses.

[mahaney]

It's funny I just found this thread. Last night I installed a tv in my 85 Dolphin and couldn't figure out why I could pick up any channels.....I turned on the switch and went from 1 channel to 26.....Some good, some not. Either way plenty for me especially since I, like most folks grew up on 4...

J

[AllegroD]

rvten wrote:
You need to turn the power button on for the antenna.

. . . and off for cable, unless they are two complete separate cable runs.

[cruising_spud]

Thank you for all of the useful information. I am thinking that the tv installation should work out fine.

Kathy

[westend]

Does your new Smart TV have a built in camera? That would be a nice accessory if you wish to Skype.
I port my laptop through the TV, at times. Connecting to the internet with a website that shows local signal direction and strength is a good way to aim your antenna. I have a DIY array on a mast that picks up signal well. The HD signal is better than my local cable signal in the house.

[rekoj71]

To be able to use the smart features (i.e. Skype, Netflix, Hulu) of your new TV you will need to be hooked up to a Wi-Fi signal some how.
Most campgrounds seem to offer Wi-Fi but signal strength and speed are iffy. Also the fact that when too many people are trying to do that then the whole Wi-Fi network just about shuts down so that nobody can use it. Some people tether their smart phone but doing so eats up data even just assuming it's allowed with your cell plan.

You might be able to Skype with a low resolution setting but maybe not. The streaming services like Netflix also have a way to lower the resolution but it would probably still be very choppy while it's buffering constantly.

[Ron3rd]

cruising spud wrote:
Thank you for all of the input. We are going to spend this week-end checking out our antennae and setting up the tv.

For the booster switch the others mentioned, look for a switch plate that has a little button on it, which will switch on a small LED in most cases. They often have a cigarette lighter 12v plug in the plate too. It's gotta be "on" for the TV to work.

[cruising_spud]

Thank you for all of the input. We are going to spend this week-end checking out our antennae and setting up the tv.

[dwayneb236]

Amen to that SoundGuy. Spent quite a while wondering why reception was so bad when I first got the trailer.

[ddndoug]

SoundGuy wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
The switch does one more thing, it physically switches between the antenna input and the outside cable connection. Some think that it only supplies power. That is why there is virtually no reception when the switch is in the wrong position.

Absolutely true ... thanks for pointing that out. 😄

And make sure that if you're trying to use cable make sure the switch is 'off". (don't ask how long I spent troubleshooting a "bad connection" before I figured out the switch was on)

Doug

[lap527]

We had a "duh" moment several years ago when we started using the antenna on rv, we forgot to scan for newer and different channels when we moved from place to place. :S

[cruising_spud]

Okay, WOW......and this is why I asked all of you.

I have been reading articles on the internet that explain how to get reception, but I had difficulty knowing exactly what to actually do.

I was thinking that maybe we should/need to replace the antennae we have. I'll dig out the manual and see what kind of antennae we have.

I know that we have a brown, on/off switch in one of our cabinets that turns the power to the tv on and off.

Another question-this new television can Skype. Has anyone ever Skyped with a tv while traveling?

Thank you for all of the information.

[MrWizard]

As stated above the bat wing should work, you do need to know in which direction to point it, it can be improved by adding the uhf wingman add on to the front of the antenna

Location location location
If you are sixty miles away on the blindside of a mountain between you and the transmitters..you are not going to get a signal

If you point out the wrong way..no signal
If you don't know which direction ask other campers

Do not rescan unless you are out of your home territory, and pointed in the right direction for the new area

[SoundGuy]

Lynnmor wrote:
The switch does one more thing, it physically switches between the antenna input and the outside cable connection. Some think that it only supplies power. That is why there is virtually no reception when the switch is in the wrong position.

Absolutely true ... thanks for pointing that out. 😄