Digital/Analog Coax

[Pop-Pop_C]

Just switched from a MH. to a Travel Trailer. Using a Wineguard Playmaker.
Coax is probably 5-6 years old. 2-25' lengths joined together with a adapter. Picture is not clear. Is there a difference in coaxes? Have went thru the picture settings., not much change. Using one receiver and splitting for three TVS. Know have to watch the same thing on all TVS. Grand design 297rsts.

[wa8yxm]

SCVJeff wrote:

wa8yxm wrote:
I support BB. But there is more

FIrst, since you are using SAT TV you should have been using good RG-6 all along, Oh the RV makers say "RG_59 won't matter for that short run) but on the average RG-58 has FOUR TIMES the loss of RG-6.. ---snip---

That's because RG-58 is 50ohm.. 🙂

Opps that was a typo (I said 59 in the part you quoted, but typoed in the other part) I meant to say 59 has, on the average, about 4 times the loss of six.

NOTE: 58 does too but. as you said, different impeadence.

OH, here is a shocker,, Did you know if you have the proper length of cable (An exact half wave or multiple thereof) the cable impedance basically does not matter? Of course odds you will hit a half wave exactly without a lab to measure the length of cable electronically.. Zero or darn close to it.

[theoldwizard1]

Pop-Pop C wrote:
Just switched from a MH. to a Travel Trailer. Using a Wineguard Playmaker.
Coax is probably 5-6 years old. 2-25' lengths joined together with a adapter. Picture is not clear. Is there a difference in coaxes? Have went thru the picture settings., not much change. Using one receiver and splitting for three TVS.

As stated, wire doesn't care if it is analog or digital (technically it is all analog until it get to the set top box/TV, but don't be concerned about that). The coax from the Playmaker antenna should be one continuous piece of RG6 (this is what came in the box with the Playmaker). No junctions or splitters.

How are your splitting the signal out of the set top box (I am assuming you are using a Wally which only has one output) ?

[Tom_M1]

It sounds like the coax going from the Playmaker to the receiver is okay. If it was bad you would have no reception or reception would come and go. The likely issue is how the signal is distributed from the receiver to the TV sets. I see that you trailer is a 2017 model, so the coax installed by the manufacturer is most likely RG-6. Even if it is RG-59 the lengths involved would make little difference in cable losses. Check all the connectors and make sure none are loose and they are installed correctly. If all looks good, then as Jeff says, you may need some amplification.

The RF output from the receiver is not the best choice if video quality is a factor. In order of best to worst picture quality:

HDMI
Component (red, green, blue connectors)
Composite (yellow connector)
RF (F-type threaded connector)

RF is the easiest and cheapest to distribute. If you opt to use HDMI you will have to run new cables if there are none already installed. You also will need an HDMI splitter. There are wireless HDMI and HDMI over coax options, but this would be a major expense.

[SCVJeff]

If you're splitting an analog modulator to three TVs it's entirely possible that the modulator simply doesn't have the output needed through the splitter. The quick fix is to replace the passive splitter with an active one. You can find active splitters as cheap as $10 anymore since they are essentually obsolete

[SCVJeff]

wa8yxm wrote:
I support BB. But there is more

FIrst, since you are using SAT TV you should have been using good RG-6 all along, Oh the RV makers say "RG_59 won't matter for that short run) but on the average RG-58 has FOUR TIMES the loss of RG-6.. ---snip---

That's because RG-58 is 50ohm.. 🙂

[BB_TX]

How old is the TT and TV?

[Bill_Satellite]

A clear picture is not in the wiring between the antenna and the receiver. A fuzzzy picture is caused by a problem between the receiver and the TV. The digital signal is either perfect, breaking up into pixels or nothing at all.

[wa8yxm]

I support BB. But there is more

FIrst, since you are using SAT TV you should have been using good RG-6 all along, Oh the RV makers say "RG_59 won't matter for that short run) but on the average RG-58 has FOUR TIMES the loss of RG-6.. And if you go to lowest bidder.. That goes UP.

So I would replace all coax antenna to Receiver with a SINGLE run of RG-6

Next. Antenna placement is critical.. The antenna MUST have a clear view of the Sat.. if there is a tree in the way. or your RV, or a building, or a power iine.. Moving it a few feet can make a BIG difference.

[BB_TX]

RG59 coax generally works. But RG6 coax is a better choice. I went a step farther and bought a quad shielded RG6 cable to minimize losses.

But to know for sure if you have a cable problem, run that existing cable directly to your TV bypassing any internal RV wiring. If the TV works well like that then the cable is OK and you have an internal wiring issue.

[kerrlakeRoo]

Wire doesnt know the difference , analog vs Digital, neither does the antenna. If you are not getting a usable signal digital does have the annoying tendency to not allow any viewing in fringe areas, whereas analog would let you watch a snowy picture. But if old cable, (or an old antenna) has corroded fittings or a poorly designed unit it will perform equally poorly with both digital and analog signals.
Are you using the same TV? Some do better with weaker signals. Your Dish system should work equally well with either RV but view of the sky and TV quality will vary.