Trying to track the TV/cable/satellite/DVD wiring

[NorthOrSouth]

Just bought our first diesel pusher, a widebody 92 Monaco Crown Royale in premium shape with only 16,000 miles on it. It was babied by the first owner for 22 years and we plan to do the same for many years to come. Just took a 3 week trip and now we're wondering how we ever 'got by' in a Class C.

Now the fun begins. Almost everything on the coach works perfectly but since the owner needed his cable box back, there's some entertainment center issues to figure out. The wires aren't labelled so its more than a little confusing what goes where. To add to the confusion we have a DVD player, an older DVD/VHS player, a 5 disc CD/DVD player and a receiver up front and then there's a 32" flat screen added on the ceiling as well as the original 20" on the front floor plus the 13" in the back.

I can get the newest DVD player to play to the flat screen, which is what we will use 90% of the time, but I'd still like to know how to hook up the rest. So question 1 is how do you trace what cable goes where? I don't think the original manual is going to cover all his additions. Whats the most efficient way to track cable routing?

Part 2: We rarely stay where there are cable hookups so using the satellite would be the other option we'd like working, but I'm not really thrilled about paying a monthly cable fee since we just cancelled cable for our house (use Netflix instead). But on the road it might be nice to watch the news or a movie occasionally since we don't have unlimited data plans for Netflix. Is there a cable box that doesn't require a monthly subscription? Or do most places still have a over the air TV signals if we change something to use the old antenna?

[NorthOrSouth]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
If you have a multimeter you can just intentionally short one end of the coax and then use the meter to find the other end of the coax. Only one will show a short. Label both ends and you are done.

Well that's just so darn logical. I definitely have a multimeter and probably a buzzer and 9v battery leads, and now I can get right to the job at hand. Thanks for the tip!

[Bill_Satellite]

If you have a multimeter you can just intentionally short one end of the coax and then use the meter to find the other end of the coax. Only one will show a short. Label both ends and you are done.
You can do this with a piece of alum. foil stuck between the center wire and the connecting collar or with metal clip that will hold the center wire against the housing.
You can even make one with a 9-volt battery connected to a piece of coax center wire and ground and then a buzzer (Radio Shack $3) connected to another piece of coax the same way. Add a couple of barrel connectors and you can check either a cable or a wall plate depending upon the setup.
One of these:
Battery wiring
and one of these:
Buzzer

[NorthOrSouth]

falconman wrote:
satpro.com and others have a pocket coax toner tester for $12.50. I have one and works great. It has a LED light and audible buzzer to confirm continuity.

Like this one?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pocket-Toner-Cable-Tester-Coaxial-DC-Continuity-Perfusion-Short-Detector-AAA-Bat-/271552410401?pt=US_Signal_Finders&hash=item3f39c8f321

That one says "short detector", so can I just touch the other end of the cable to ground and listen for the tone?

[falconman]

satpro.com and others have a pocket coax toner tester for $12.50. I have one and works great. It has a LED light and audible buzzer to confirm continuity.

[TechWriter]

I had the same issue -- wires everywhere. I used a VCR and small TV to test each connection. Slow but sure.

[Executive45]

Best way is to get a Coax Toner/Mapper and you'll have your answer is just a few short minutes.....about $35 but you can find some cheaper...good luck...Dennis

Coax Toner/Tracer/Mapper