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Jayco-noslide's avatar
Jayco-noslide
Explorer
Nov 19, 2018

Television problems

We just had a shop remove the ancient TV requiring a converter box from our 2003 Class C MH with a new 24 in. TV. They did a great job of filling in the empty space left around the new one with wood matching the motor home and mounted the TV on a bracket to allow the TV being pulled out and turned a little. I had hoped they could replace the antennae cable which was severed on the roof. Instead they put it back together using the appropriate connector stuff. Great; but little to no reception with it in the driveway at home. I removed the DVD player and that helped from 0 channels to 1. We used to get at least 6 or 8, same location, so something is preventing the signal from reaching the TV. The antennae button is on and the TV comes on fine, just no reception. We are located 40 to 50 miles from transmitters. Any thoughts?
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Nov 19, 2018
    Do you have the power amplifier on? Have you tried rotating the antenna? Have you checked the coax to be sure it is still connected.
    BTW in 12 years I was never able to get OTA channels in my fiver. I never cared because we used satellite all the time.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Nov 19, 2018
    Antenna Power ON

    TV ....Input Menu---set to 'Air' or 'Antenna'

    Antenna raised and head of antenna pointed towards the TV Towers
    (Many websites available to indicate where/distance/which channels available)

    TV ...scan for available channels



    Nothing....
    Go up on roof with a voltmeter and check if coax cable to antenna has 12V DC power
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    Nov 19, 2018
    Check the things Old-biscuit said.

    Analog TVs were better at picking up distant signals than the new digital TVs are. With analog you could usually at least get a snowy picture. Digital is pretty much all or nothing. 40-50 miles may be out of range for your RV antenna depending on the terrain, even with a booster. However, there are typically a number of small market TV stations closer by and scattered outside of the large markets that you can typically get. You might try a portable antenna, if you have one, connected directly to the TV to see if you can get signal. That will at least tell you whether you have an antenna problem, or a signal strength/distance problem.
  • Bill_Satellite's avatar
    Bill_Satellite
    Explorer II
    Nov 19, 2018
    If you were able to receive 6-8 channels (digital channels using the converter box) you should be able to receive 6-8 channels on the new digital TV. However, some TV tuners are not as good as others so if they put in a cheap TV it might also have a cheap tuner. Hopefully, you have the Winegard Batwing antenna AND you have added the Wingman add-on necessary for the best reception of UHF channels (where most of the channels are these days). It's possible the shop did not reconnect things properly or may have created a new issue when moving connections around. You will need to start with the 12V check mentioned above and then trace the wiring to the wall plate power supply and then to the back of the TV to ensure all connections are working and they are secure and in the right place.
  • theoldwizard1's avatar
    theoldwizard1
    Explorer II
    Nov 19, 2018
    Go to Walmart and buy a cheap indoor antenna. Connect it directly to the TV and scan for channels. Some the slightly more expensive ($20-$40) indoor channels achieve amazing results and you may want to consider it for a permanent solution. This will prove that the problem is in the cable (that they did not replace) or the outside antenna.
  • Artum_Snowbird's avatar
    Artum_Snowbird
    Explorer
    Nov 19, 2018
    Yup, you have to get used to using the menu system, then scanning to find the channels. It takes a few minutes, but has to be done at almost every location you park in.
  • jkwilson's avatar
    jkwilson
    Explorer III
    Nov 19, 2018
    How did the antenna cable get cut? If it was accidental, I wouldn't trust that the force of whatever snagged it didn't do more damage. Coax is cheap and easy to work with. I'd replace the length of it and maybe the antenna itself for good measure.
  • 2edgesword's avatar
    2edgesword
    Explorer
    Nov 19, 2018
    Artum Snowbird wrote:
    Yup, you have to get used to using the menu system, then scanning to find the channels. It takes a few minutes, but has to be done at almost every location you park in.


    I don't know if you've done this but as Artum Snowbird mentioned new televisions have a scan for channels as part of the set-up. If your new television has one run the scan and see what you get. Also as mentioned, with newer digital televisions in many cases it's all or nothing with respect to whether or not a channel is displayed. A channel that might have been displayed on the older set (not as discriminating and will display a less then ideal picture) may not come through on the new television at all.
  • rockhillmanor's avatar
    rockhillmanor
    Explorer
    Nov 19, 2018
    Jayco-noslide wrote:
    We just had a shop remove the ancient TV requiring a converter box from our 2003 Class C MH with a new 24 in. TV. They did a great job of filling in the empty space left around the new one with wood matching the motor home and mounted the TV on a bracket to allow the TV being pulled out and turned a little.

    I had hoped they could replace the antennae cable which was severed on the roof. Instead they put it back together using the appropriate connector stuff.

    Great; but little to no reception with it in the driveway at home. I removed the DVD player and that helped from 0 channels to 1. We used to get at least 6 or 8, same location, so something is preventing the signal from reaching the TV.

    That's where your problem is.

    I had trouble getting channels in and the TV guy said that the new digital signals are not as forgiving as the old analog. He suggested replacing my coax cable from booster to TV just because it was old.

    That did the trick.

    Also my older MH had a connection from back to front and same thing digital didn't like the connection. Ran one piece new coax and problem fixed with that.

    I would focus on how/why they spliced the two together. They 'should' have replaced the entire cable. If it was an RV repair shop they know better than to splice coax cable.

    My bet is that is your only problem. I'd rerun a brand new 'one piece' cable from the antenna to the booster box. That should get all your channels back.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Nov 19, 2018
    THey may have bollixed up the splice Since teh LED is on I do not THINK they popped the fuse but.. Might have popped somnethiung.

    GO up to roof. TURN OFF That led first Disconnect and check for good 12 volts at end of cable (Wire positive nut negative BE CAREFUL DO NOT SHORT. Good chance the cable is defective or the connection at the roofline (if it exists) is bad.

    These are common failure points.

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