Today I made the 200 mile trip to have the tvs worked on, the fourth time in the year we have had this bh They work fine in a town or at the dealer today after channel search it worked fine. Came home, channel search no signal. Any time I am over 20 miles from town I can not get a signal. I take it in to be worked on ,which is always in a town it works fine before they touch it.On our last trip I had no signal all my friends could get at least 20 channels.I live 12 miles from town, this is the fourth trailer I have had here, this is the only one I haven't been able to watch tv in my drivewayWhen I got home today I borrowed a set of rabbet ears put them on the kitchen counter by the small widow hooked it to tv and got three channelsDealer thinks it all right because it works fine at his place, if I wanted to camp in the middle of a city I would be happy camperAny ideas
SOLVED - No TV signal in Bighorn 3585
- Thread starter FARMER45
- Start date
wdk450
Well-known member
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
Farmer 45
I can only guess how frustrated you feel. I hope I can be of some help in solving this problem, but I am afraid that you need to do it at your location, so YOU will have to be the warranty servicer.
First of all I am going to suggest you see how the signal is from start to the tv antenna connector. First step is to get to the rooftop with the antenna up aimed in the approxamate direction of the TV transmitter. Bring the TV, a live power cord, a female to female F connector adapter, a digital voltohmmeter, and a short length of RG-58 tv coaxial cable. The idea here is to disconnect the antenna signal cable at the antenna on the roof, take a resistance measurement between the center and outer cable connector going into the antenna. I BELIEVE (without knowing if there is an active amplifier IN the antenna) that you should be reading maximum, infinity, open circuit resistance. This is also true of any coax cable that is disconnected at both ends. Any other reading indicates a shorted circuit. Next, use the adapter and the short coax to connect your TV. How is the reception? If it is bad here, you need the antenna replaced. If the reception is good here proceed to the next paragraph.
Next you need to substitute a good, external piece of coax for that installed in the trailer from the antenna to the back side input of the TV wall connector plate/amplifier (where the red button is you must turn on to get an over the air TV signal). If you need to trace the installed cable you can leave the rooftop connection apart, and put an intentional short with a jumper wire across the end of the cable going to the amplifier wallplate. Then you can unscrew the cables from the wallplate one at a time until you locate the shorted cable to the antenna. Connect your external coax cable to where the trailer's cable to the antenna was connected. Hook up your TV to the cable wallplate as usual, turn on the amplifier, and see how your reception is now. If it is better, you have a trailer coax problem. If it is still bad, you most likely have an an antenna amplifier (on the wallplate) problem.
On the "Tools" Tab at the top of every forum page there is a link to "Heartland Owners Manuals". Here is a direct link: http://manuals.heartlandowners.org/
If you click on "Electronics" the first listing in the submenu is "Antennas". There you will find manuals for the 2 brands of TV antennas Heartland has used.
I hope that this posting will help you solve your problem.
Farmer 45
I can only guess how frustrated you feel. I hope I can be of some help in solving this problem, but I am afraid that you need to do it at your location, so YOU will have to be the warranty servicer.
First of all I am going to suggest you see how the signal is from start to the tv antenna connector. First step is to get to the rooftop with the antenna up aimed in the approxamate direction of the TV transmitter. Bring the TV, a live power cord, a female to female F connector adapter, a digital voltohmmeter, and a short length of RG-58 tv coaxial cable. The idea here is to disconnect the antenna signal cable at the antenna on the roof, take a resistance measurement between the center and outer cable connector going into the antenna. I BELIEVE (without knowing if there is an active amplifier IN the antenna) that you should be reading maximum, infinity, open circuit resistance. This is also true of any coax cable that is disconnected at both ends. Any other reading indicates a shorted circuit. Next, use the adapter and the short coax to connect your TV. How is the reception? If it is bad here, you need the antenna replaced. If the reception is good here proceed to the next paragraph.
Next you need to substitute a good, external piece of coax for that installed in the trailer from the antenna to the back side input of the TV wall connector plate/amplifier (where the red button is you must turn on to get an over the air TV signal). If you need to trace the installed cable you can leave the rooftop connection apart, and put an intentional short with a jumper wire across the end of the cable going to the amplifier wallplate. Then you can unscrew the cables from the wallplate one at a time until you locate the shorted cable to the antenna. Connect your external coax cable to where the trailer's cable to the antenna was connected. Hook up your TV to the cable wallplate as usual, turn on the amplifier, and see how your reception is now. If it is better, you have a trailer coax problem. If it is still bad, you most likely have an an antenna amplifier (on the wallplate) problem.
On the "Tools" Tab at the top of every forum page there is a link to "Heartland Owners Manuals". Here is a direct link: http://manuals.heartlandowners.org/
If you click on "Electronics" the first listing in the submenu is "Antennas". There you will find manuals for the 2 brands of TV antennas Heartland has used.
I hope that this posting will help you solve your problem.
danemayer
Well-known member
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
Sounds like you have a bad connection somewhere. If you have a bedroom TV connection at the amplifier, run a good coax line from that connector to your living room TV and see if reception improves. That would let you know that there's a problem at or downstream from the amplifier.
The antenna signal goes from the antenna, to the amplifier, to the basement where it goes thru a splitter, and on to the living room. If your TV is in a slide, there may be a connector underneath the slide.
Another approach is to just visually check all of the coax connectors to see if they're loose or if there are strands of ground wire shorting the signal.
I'm attaching a diagram that shows the general coax layout.
Sounds like you have a bad connection somewhere. If you have a bedroom TV connection at the amplifier, run a good coax line from that connector to your living room TV and see if reception improves. That would let you know that there's a problem at or downstream from the amplifier.
The antenna signal goes from the antenna, to the amplifier, to the basement where it goes thru a splitter, and on to the living room. If your TV is in a slide, there may be a connector underneath the slide.
Another approach is to just visually check all of the coax connectors to see if they're loose or if there are strands of ground wire shorting the signal.
I'm attaching a diagram that shows the general coax layout.
Attachments
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
I have ran a cable from bedroom tv to living room tv that did not help I have not tried to run one from the basement I will try that too, bed room tv does not have channels except in town alsoWdk450 I will do the test you suggest after this week in thanks for all the helpThis has been a big problem from day one
I have ran a cable from bedroom tv to living room tv that did not help I have not tried to run one from the basement I will try that too, bed room tv does not have channels except in town alsoWdk450 I will do the test you suggest after this week in thanks for all the helpThis has been a big problem from day one
FordMan1966
Well-known member
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
The 2010 Montana that I traded in on the 2013 Landmark had to have the Amp. on the TV replaced. Even on Cable the TV was real snowy. It worked fine after that.
The 2010 Montana that I traded in on the 2013 Landmark had to have the Amp. on the TV replaced. Even on Cable the TV was real snowy. It worked fine after that.
danemayer
Well-known member
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
Could be a bad amp. More likely a bad connection at the amp - probably the one coming from the antenna since both output paths have the problem. Could be the connector on the roof where the antenna is connected.
If the bedroom TV has the same problem, there's no immediate need to check in the basement as that's downstream on the way to the living room. The problem is upstream.
Could be a bad amp. More likely a bad connection at the amp - probably the one coming from the antenna since both output paths have the problem. Could be the connector on the roof where the antenna is connected.
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
One more thought, because I know West Texas is vast, maybe you are just too far out from the TV station transmitters, but in town is not? A more powerful antenna head may be the answer. I looked into the Jack TV antenna, (click here) and most of the reviews said they got better reception than their OEM antenna. We will be installing ours soon, so we'll see.
Erika
One more thought, because I know West Texas is vast, maybe you are just too far out from the TV station transmitters, but in town is not? A more powerful antenna head may be the answer. I looked into the Jack TV antenna, (click here) and most of the reviews said they got better reception than their OEM antenna. We will be installing ours soon, so we'll see.
Erika
PeternLiane
Well-known member
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
I've installed Jack antennas on my SOB and now my North Trail. We would receive 5 or 6 stations with the old antenna. Once we installed the Jack antenna we received over 20 stations. I would highly recommend on. They have just the antenna head or the whole antenna stand. I've installed both. On our last install the coax connector came off right in my hand. Thank god I already had all the connector heads and tools. Everything else went great.
Since your system works in-town and not out of town, I think that your system works. You will either need to replace the power booster or the antenna head and/or both the antenna head and power booster. The Jack antenna head takes about 15 minutes to replace and costs about 50 bucks. The wall plate booster takes about 15 minutes to install and costs about 30 bucks. The Jack antenna stand you don't have to put up and down. It will take about 3 hours to install. It also come with a new wall plate booster. It does cost about 150 bucks. But going with the Jack antenna was the best move we ever made.
I've installed Jack antennas on my SOB and now my North Trail. We would receive 5 or 6 stations with the old antenna. Once we installed the Jack antenna we received over 20 stations. I would highly recommend on. They have just the antenna head or the whole antenna stand. I've installed both. On our last install the coax connector came off right in my hand. Thank god I already had all the connector heads and tools. Everything else went great.
Since your system works in-town and not out of town, I think that your system works. You will either need to replace the power booster or the antenna head and/or both the antenna head and power booster. The Jack antenna head takes about 15 minutes to replace and costs about 50 bucks. The wall plate booster takes about 15 minutes to install and costs about 30 bucks. The Jack antenna stand you don't have to put up and down. It will take about 3 hours to install. It also come with a new wall plate booster. It does cost about 150 bucks. But going with the Jack antenna was the best move we ever made.
CliffP
Well-known member
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
That Jack TV antennae sounds like a big improvement. It's something we'll look into if we have trouble down the road.
FARMER45, have you checked all your connections? I sold and installed Dish Network for years. I have run into a connection where one strand of the outer sheilding is touching the center wire. This can be hard to see. It can happen when the cable is stripped to prep it for crimping on the f fitting. With satellite it'll make it impossible (my experience at least) to get a usable signal. I don't know if you'd get an bad off air signal or no signal at all.
If you have a connection like that, take a knife and cut the little strand. There should be no need to replace the whole cable.
Loose connections can also cause problem.
Check these while you are doing your other tests and please post your findings.
Good luck,
Cliff
That Jack TV antennae sounds like a big improvement. It's something we'll look into if we have trouble down the road.
FARMER45, have you checked all your connections? I sold and installed Dish Network for years. I have run into a connection where one strand of the outer sheilding is touching the center wire. This can be hard to see. It can happen when the cable is stripped to prep it for crimping on the f fitting. With satellite it'll make it impossible (my experience at least) to get a usable signal. I don't know if you'd get an bad off air signal or no signal at all.
If you have a connection like that, take a knife and cut the little strand. There should be no need to replace the whole cable.
Loose connections can also cause problem.
Check these while you are doing your other tests and please post your findings.
Good luck,
Cliff
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
Well I figered out that if I bypass the coax from the antenna to the booster with my cable ,ever thing works great
now how do you replace that wire??? Or find all the connections In the roof. There must be a splitter somewhere,the wire at the antenna is white, wire coming in to booster is gray
thanks for your ideals on how to trace this out
Well I figered out that if I bypass the coax from the antenna to the booster with my cable ,ever thing works great
now how do you replace that wire??? Or find all the connections In the roof. There must be a splitter somewhere,the wire at the antenna is white, wire coming in to booster is gray
thanks for your ideals on how to trace this out
wdk450
Well-known member
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
Farmer 45:
Well replacing that cable is quite a chore, and I think you have all the evidence you need to have a professional repair/replace it under warranty, if you want to go that route. Otherwise you could try replacing the end connectors, but there may be hidden splices in the roof somewhere, or the cable may be crimped by a tight cable tie or staple, or even pierced by a screw.
If you have any warranty claim problems, remember the referral I made in my PM to you.
Good luck!!!
Farmer 45:
Well replacing that cable is quite a chore, and I think you have all the evidence you need to have a professional repair/replace it under warranty, if you want to go that route. Otherwise you could try replacing the end connectors, but there may be hidden splices in the roof somewhere, or the cable may be crimped by a tight cable tie or staple, or even pierced by a screw.
If you have any warranty claim problems, remember the referral I made in my PM to you.
Good luck!!!
danemayer
Well-known member
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
John,
I got the pdf file from the tools section of the forum, http://manuals.heartlandowners.org/?Major=Electronics&Minor=Coax_Layouts&Brand=Landmark
Had to convert it from pdf to jpg to modify for something else I was doing.
John,
I got the pdf file from the tools section of the forum, http://manuals.heartlandowners.org/?Major=Electronics&Minor=Coax_Layouts&Brand=Landmark
Had to convert it from pdf to jpg to modify for something else I was doing.
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
PeternLiane
Well-known member
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
What I understand from your previous post, was that you ran a piece of coax from the antenna head straight to the booster and everything worked.
With that being said, There are two pieces of coax between the antenna head and the booster. The two pieces of coax have five possible problems, four connectors and one coupler. These two pieces of coax are connected with a coupler under the rubber cap at the base of the antenna on the roof. Those couplers do go bad. The coax goes through this rubber cap. Remove the rubber cap by pulling up slowly, pull the coax up through the hole slowly (don't tug on it). This is where I discovered that my connector and coupler were bad. I just barley moved the coax up and the connector came right off. I replaced the coax connector with a coax compression connector (With what you described I feel that this is your problem too.). I reassembled the coax connection. However, I still had a problem. I checked the connection again. I found that the coupler connecting the two connectors was bad. I then replaced the coupler. Now everything works great. Also since I had to pull everything apart on the roof. I just added the Jack antenna stand up there.
Out of all of the antennas that I've taken apart, I have never seen one coax connection in the cranking area inside of the trailer.
I've also have never seen a splitter before the booster. The splitters are normally after the booster. This way all of the TV connections are boosted by the booster.
I hope this helps.
What I understand from your previous post, was that you ran a piece of coax from the antenna head straight to the booster and everything worked.
With that being said, There are two pieces of coax between the antenna head and the booster. The two pieces of coax have five possible problems, four connectors and one coupler. These two pieces of coax are connected with a coupler under the rubber cap at the base of the antenna on the roof. Those couplers do go bad. The coax goes through this rubber cap. Remove the rubber cap by pulling up slowly, pull the coax up through the hole slowly (don't tug on it). This is where I discovered that my connector and coupler were bad. I just barley moved the coax up and the connector came right off. I replaced the coax connector with a coax compression connector (With what you described I feel that this is your problem too.). I reassembled the coax connection. However, I still had a problem. I checked the connection again. I found that the coupler connecting the two connectors was bad. I then replaced the coupler. Now everything works great. Also since I had to pull everything apart on the roof. I just added the Jack antenna stand up there.
Out of all of the antennas that I've taken apart, I have never seen one coax connection in the cranking area inside of the trailer.
I've also have never seen a splitter before the booster. The splitters are normally after the booster. This way all of the TV connections are boosted by the booster.
I hope this helps.
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Re: Still no tv on bh 3585
Well, unfortunately, we discovered we are in the same boat... tried to install the replacement Jack Antenna head, and could not get the light on the antenna head (meaning no power) and no TV reception. We did not test the old antenna before we started the replacement, so we had to try many things to figure out our issue. We replaced the coax connector at the Jack Antenna head, three times. We went back and replaced the new antenna with the old, with no difference. We checked all the connections at the booster, all are well-attached. We finally tried to hook the Jack antenna head to the booster with a new piece of coax inside the rig, and voila! we had power to the Jack Antenna head (light came on) and after scanning for channels, it worked perfectly. So we believe the problem lies within the coax from the booster to the antenna, just like Farmer45.
Any thoughts on this, we are listening. A 5 min. project took all day, and no solution yet.
Well, unfortunately, we discovered we are in the same boat... tried to install the replacement Jack Antenna head, and could not get the light on the antenna head (meaning no power) and no TV reception. We did not test the old antenna before we started the replacement, so we had to try many things to figure out our issue. We replaced the coax connector at the Jack Antenna head, three times. We went back and replaced the new antenna with the old, with no difference. We checked all the connections at the booster, all are well-attached. We finally tried to hook the Jack antenna head to the booster with a new piece of coax inside the rig, and voila! we had power to the Jack Antenna head (light came on) and after scanning for channels, it worked perfectly. So we believe the problem lies within the coax from the booster to the antenna, just like Farmer45.
Any thoughts on this, we are listening. A 5 min. project took all day, and no solution yet.
