No ota tv.... How to diagnose?

NHCelt

Well-known member
I have long suspected an issue with the ota antenna, and an finally getting around to it... And confirm no signal at either living room or bedroom tv. The red light is on and the back of the booster looks like the attached photo, which seems to agree with the diagram found in the HUG. I don't know how to test this. I do have an analog meyer with me. Help :) IMG_20160917_122857493.jpg

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danemayer

Well-known member
Check the fuse in the main fuse box. The LED on the signal booster draws so little current that it will light up even when the fuse is blown.

There is a LED next to each fuse in the main fuse box to let you know when a fuse is blown (if there's a load on the circuit). The tiny bit of current flowing through that LED is enough to light up the signal booster LED.
 

mlpeloquin

Well-known member
You may have to chase down all the splitters that the signal goes through. Both the coax connectors, and splitters maybe the source of the problem. Some have found bad connectors and others found output and input swapped on the splitters. You can get a barrel connector, get one from a TV cable wall plate at the hardware store, and attached the coax from the antenna directly to the bedroom TV to see if it is good. Another trouble shooting item I used is a 75 ohm terminator. Connect it on one end and measure 75 ohms on the other. If it is open, then the cable is bad or the wrong cable. If it is short, the cable is bad, but most of the time it is a shield wire touching the center conductor in one of the connectors. With the 75 ohm terminator you can make sure which cable is the one going to your TV from the amplifier. Since the LED indicator turns on, you are getting power to the amplifier. In my old class C, I did have an amplifier go bad, but they are usually long lasting. I do remember one post that had a nail going through the coax.
 

wdk450

Well-known member
The booster supplies 12 VDC to the amplifier actually located in the antenna head. With the antenna power switch ON, unscrew the F connector at the antenna and see if the 12 VDC is present.

Next you need to check the system for shorts and open circuits. With the cable from the antenna head to the wallplate disconnected at both ends, measure for short circuits (0 ohms) with a DVM, then have a helper short between the center conductor and shield on one end of the cable and now look for 0 ohms on the meter. Anything else indicates an open circuit, or bad connection. You can repeat this for every coax cable if you can figure out where the 2 ends of the cable are.

An alternative is to get a long (50 - 100 foot) piece of coax and swap it in for the disconnected pieces of cable seeing if this improves reception.

This Google search may help you if you want to get an inexpensive TV signal detector: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=OTA+TV+signal+detector

Good Luck!!!
 

NHCelt

Well-known member
More info.... Thanks to an older post,
I checked the roof connection. The white wire for the signsl commander pulled right out of the roof. Unconnected to anything.

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NHCelt

Well-known member
Oh.... It gets better. Fished around from the inside. What workmanship!

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NHCelt

Well-known member
Wire has no connector on the end. Nice job heartland.

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wdk450

Well-known member
All of these antenna amplifiers I know use 15 VDC sent up the COAX (which shares with the VHF/UHF radiofrequency AC TV signals sent down to the wallplate and the TV's). I don't know of a separate white wire in these. Do you have the Weingard Wingman antenna?
 
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