Forum Discussion

kgie1217's avatar
kgie1217
Explorer
Nov 06, 2016

Cable TV fuzzy...trouble shooting..

I have a 2016 Crossroads Sunset Trail 250RB. Took our camper out this weekend and the site we were at has cable TV hookups. I hooked up the cable to the camper and it was very snowy and fuzzy. I tried two more cables and the same issue. I had one of the camp hosts come over and check their signal and it was good. I even bypassed the camper all together and ran the cable to the back of our outside TV and it was crystal clear. So, below is what I did to trouble shoot the problem:

1. Took the cable connection box off of the back of the camper and tightened all cables. Tested the cable inside the camper and still fuzzy.

2. Removed the splitter from inside the cabin and tightened all connections. Tested cable again and still fuzzy.

3. For kicks I swapped the cable from the back of the camper to satellite and connected the satellite cable to the TV. That cleared up the cable considerably.

4. The TV splitter inside the cabin has some electronic board on it. So, I bypassed all that and hooked the cable up directly to a standard home style two to one cable splitter. When I did that the cable cleared up and no issues. So, it seems the splitter inside the cabin may be bad.

Below is the picture of the splitter inside my camper. As you can see it has an electronic board on it that splits up the signal to the cable or TV antenna. My feeling is that this splitter is bad. Biggest question is...where can I get one of these? My local dealer is backed up until December on service work. Since I'm camping in two weeks and the week of Thanksgiving I'd like to get this resolved before the 18th. Any ideas or suggestions would be highly recommended.



  • Tyandkate's avatar
    Tyandkate
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2016
    Dumb question here but are you making sure your signal booster is turned off? If not that will do it
  • Johno02's avatar
    Johno02
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2016
    That does have a splitter built into it, but what it is actually is the power supply for your rooftop antenna amplifier. Since you don't really want the 12v on the line to your TV, it also removes the 12v on the line to the tvs... It is possible that it is bad, you can get one for about $30 at just about any place that has RV parts. Also, notice the little red button on it. it is a button that turns the power on of off, and also operates the switch between the cable in or the antenna. It it is on, then it is set to the antenna, and you will get no or very little signal from the cable. Just push the button to turn it off and connect the cable, and you probably will be OK. But, there is the possibility that it is bad. Has been known to happen, but in you picture it appears to be on. if so, that is you problem. It is working just like it is supposed to.
  • kgie1217's avatar
    kgie1217
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2016
    The signal booster to the antenna is off. The red light is off just looks like it's on in the picture. It's very frustrating but by passing the factory splitter clears everything up which leads me to believe that the factory splitter is bad.
  • punomatic's avatar
    punomatic
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2016
    kgie1217 wrote:
    Biggest question is...where can I get one of these? My local dealer is backed up until December on service work. Since I'm camping in two weeks and the week of Thanksgiving I'd like to get this resolved before the 18th. Any ideas or suggestions would be highly recommended.

    Here's one like yours in white. I don't know if they have black. If you are handy enough to have done all this troubleshooting, you should be able to install a replacement amplifier. If you have Amazon Prime, you should be able to get one in a couple of days...way before the 18th. First, however, check to make sure the amplifier on your current unit is switched OFF when using cable. FWIW, I had a similar problem in my coach and it turned out to be just a standard splitter; they do go bad.
  • Johno02's avatar
    Johno02
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2016
    If you are in Knoxville, there is a Camping world and several other RV places on I-40. Any of them should have what you need. Put in a new one, if it works, that't your problem, if not, then look elsewhere. probably don't need a service call, it looks like you have replacement halfway done already. Just buy one off the counter and put it in.
  • kgie1217's avatar
    kgie1217
    Explorer
    Nov 06, 2016
    punomatic wrote:
    kgie1217 wrote:
    Biggest question is...where can I get one of these? My local dealer is backed up until December on service work. Since I'm camping in two weeks and the week of Thanksgiving I'd like to get this resolved before the 18th. Any ideas or suggestions would be highly recommended.

    Here's one like yours in white. I don't know if they have black. If you are handy enough to have done all this troubleshooting, you should be able to install a replacement amplifier. If you have Amazon Prime, you should be able to get one in a couple of days...way before the 18th. First, however, check to make sure the amplifier on your current unit is switched OFF when using cable. FWIW, I had a similar problem in my coach and it turned out to be just a standard splitter; they do go bad.

    I saw that one earlier today but it's for a non-amplified antenna unfortunately.
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Nov 07, 2016
    For the best reception to the park supplied cable signal, you shouldn't connect your screen's input wire through the amplifier. It should be a direct connection to the park cable. You can split the signal before that amplifier board and have one connection to a new male connector on the wall plate.
  • budwich's avatar
    budwich
    Explorer
    Nov 07, 2016
    I guess the first question would be ... has it ever worked properly?
    Just for kicks, disconnect the 12v supply lead... does that help?
  • kgie1217's avatar
    kgie1217
    Explorer
    Nov 07, 2016
    It has worked perfectly since we bought the camper in February. It started acting up this past weekend. I bypassed it with a normal splitter and it worked perfectly. So, the amplifier must be bad or is failing.
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Nov 07, 2016
    If it has a switch and has been operating with cable signal acceptable in the past, I'd guess that the switch is failing. Still, having a signal path through the amplifier board can't be the optimum connection. You may be losing signal strength because of the path through the board. The health of the amplifier board could be assessed by using the antenna for local stations and having the switch "on". If local stations are picked up, the amplifier may be OK.

About Travel Trailer Group

44,029 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 13, 2025