Loosing OTA channels

aatauses

Well-known member
Hello everyone,
This is a new one for me and need some help. When we arrived in Tucson we had about 15 channels OTA on the TV. However we seem to be loosing them. When we turn to that channel we get nothing, no "weak signal" or "snow"--just nothing. We have reprogramed, unplugged, rotated antenna, and checked connections---no improvement. Is it possible the "booster" in the bedroom is getting weak?? I would appreciate any suggestions.
thanks
al
 

avvidclif

Well-known member
Turn off all the lights in the RV. In one I had a bathroom light (led) that when on killed the main tv. Seemed the coax ran right beside the bathroom and the cheap LEDS emitted enough to kill the signal. Turn off bathroom light and perfect reception, turn it on and nothing.

Also remember the new digital tv's either work or don't, no snow or weak signal any more.
 

Pizzaguy

Well-known member
Was your radio off? We have to have the radio off to get OTA channels. The antenna on the radio uses the same coax as the tv.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 

mlpeloquin

Well-known member
You have lost signal strength. Causes can be a poor crimp that has worked its way loose, a damaged cable, or a now defective booster. It is a process of elimination from the antenna going through all the cabling. First you have got to look at he antenna and its RF connector on the roof to make sure that the cable has not been snagged by a tree branch. Then inside start by removing the booster, and using a F-type feed through, connect directly to the TV without the booster losses splitting the signal. https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-4108...r=8-9&keywords=F-type+feed+through+wall+plate. With out the boosters splitter loss, you should get some stations without amplification. The booster amplifies the signal and splits it before it is sent out to all TV locations. You may have a bad booster, but cables and crimp ends need to be checked.

We too had signal disappear when the bathroom light went on when a marginal signals were present. With all the changes I have made, we do not have the problem anymore. I don't remember what solved it since the changes I made were not the rason I was making changes.

I have added a signal strength meter to the mix among other things. I turn it on and rotate the antenna and find the highest strength quickly.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
I'm not sure if you'll get any signals with the booster bypassed, but I kind of doubt it. If you try that, please let us know how that works.

Check for a blown fuse in the main fuse panel. Many of our coaches have little LEDs next to the fuses to indicate when a fuse is blown. If the device at the other end of the circuit is ON, and the fuse is blown, that LED next to the fuse will be illuminated.

However, that little LED passes just enough power to also light up the LED on the signal booster, making it appear to be working.

If the fuse is ok, you can run a long piece of coax from the bedroom TV coax connector to the living room TV. If you still have a problem, it's either in the antenna, or the connections from antenna to signal booster, or with the signal booster itself. There may be a hidden barrel connector where the antenna coax comes through the roof and connects to the horizontal run to the bedroom wall plate.

If the bedroom connection works, I'd suggest the next place to check would be in the pass through basement storage. If you have a coax wall plate there, check behind it for a splitter.
 

mlpeloquin

Well-known member
I'm not sure if you'll get any signals with the booster bypassed, but I kind of doubt it. If you try that, please let us know how that works.

Purchased the same RV antenna for my son's apartment and set it up in a stand I built. Got four stations and then added an amplifier. He gets seven stations. Antennas, both satellite and OTA, were not allowed to be permanently mounted on the building or roof. So depending on distance from the transmitter, with no splitters, it will/can pull in a strong enough signal. Need to be forty miles or less from the transmitter for a consistent signal and not have a metal building in the way.
 
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