Antenna & Cable Questions

[WebErika]

Hopefully I am keeping this on topic...
So we've been trying to figure out little issues with Cable and Antenna. Campground we are at has Cable and we've managed to hook up ok to that.

Setup:
Brand new LED TVs.
2017 Prowler P326 5er.
We have not connected a TV in the bedroom. Only living room, and bunk house. the bunk house TV we use outside when we want TV out there.

Edited to add: We did the auto scans on each setting, for each TV. (but not with booster button in for antenna, since it cuts the connection entirely)

Questions:
1. On Antenna, the picture is awful. Full of snow, and no matter which way we point antenna, it doesn't get any better.
2. When we push the button in (I assume this is the antenna booster?) we get no signal at all. Shuts signal right off.
3. The outside TV gets different cable channels than the inside living room TV. Same cable connection. Why would that happen?
4. In the hookup section (where the cable from the outside connects, in the compartment with water, etc) which of the two do you hook to?
5. Under the living room TV, which of those two do you hook the cable from the TV to?

I saw a post by John (another Prowler) that we should check the splitter behind the built in radio?
And we'll go into the basement and check all the fittings on the splitter.

Color me confused.

Thank you!

 

[danemayer]

Hi WebErika,

If I'm following, you're currently hooked up to campground cable. The signal booster button is not pushed in and there's no red light illuminated at the signal booster.

When talking about 'on antenna' you didn't mention if there are over the air TV stations close by, or if other campers are able to watch over the air TV. I'm assuming by 'on antenna' you mean you've gone into the TV menu and changed from cable to antenna. Did you do a channel scan? And yes, the signal booster has to be ON while using antenna, and OFF while using cable.

If you're receiving cable channels, you're plugged into the correct coax connector outside. The other is likely for satellite. It also means your TV is plugged into the correct connector in the living room.

The 2 TVs don't get the same channels. Maybe that means 1 gets more than the other. It could be a problem with the coax connections between living room and outside location. But it could be a difference at the TV, although that's less likely with cable channels. Do you see that difference when the outside TV is used in the bunkhouse?

 

[Lou_and_Bette]

You must run an "Auto Scan" on each TV, on each feed system, (one for cable, and a new one for antenna.). When I am setting up in a new location, after connecting the cable feed and raising the OTA antenna, I use the auto scan set for cable to program the available stations with the antenna booster OFF (no red light.). I then point my OTA antenna in the direction I think the strongest signals will come from, turn the antenna booster ON (red light on,) and run another autoscan set for "air." If I am not happy with the number of stations I get, or the quality of the signals, I move the antenna and rescan. Once I have the best possible position for the OTA antenna, then I will use the same procedure for each of the other TVs I want to use, except moving the OTA antenna since I have it hopefully pointing in the best direction. After all this, when I watch something on cable, the booster is off and turn the booster on to watch TV over the airwaves.

Dan beat me to the answer.

 

[WebErika]

Re: Antenna & Cable Questions

Hi WebErika,
If I'm following, you're currently hooked up to campground cable. The signal booster button is not pushed in and there's no red light illuminated at the signal booster.

We are hooked up to campground cable.
The signal booster is not pushed in. No light at all. (When we push it in, it turns green)

When talking about 'on antenna' you didn't mention if there are over the air TV stations close by, or if other campers are able to watch over the air TV. I'm assuming by 'on antenna' you mean you've gone into the TV menu and changed from cable to antenna. Did you do a channel scan? And yes, the signal booster has to be ON while using antenna, and OFF while using cable.

Yes, there are over the air channels available. We had a Prowler behind us that was on Antenna only because the cable connection for their spot was busted. At the time, we didn't think to ask him any questions about hooking up. Christmas and all.

And yes, we switched from Cable to Antenna on the TV, doing channels scans.

If you're receiving cable channels, you're plugged into the correct coax connector outside. The other is likely for satellite. It also means your TV is plugged into the correct connector in the living room.

Yay! We guessed good. But what is the second one in the living room for? Also satellite?

The 2 TVs don't get the same channels. Maybe that means 1 gets more than the other. It could be a problem with the coax connections between living room and outside location. But it could be a difference at the TV, although that's less likely with cable channels. Do you see that difference when the outside TV is used in the bunkhouse?

Cable only at this point, since we can't seem to get a decent Antenna connection.

The outside and inside location of the back TV (bunkhouse/outdoor kitchen) get totally different channels than the living room TV and between each location. I know it sounds insane. For example hubby was watching football on channel 17-5, but when he moved it from outside to inside, 17-5 no longer worked.

Thank you for your time.

- - - Updated - - -

You must run an "Auto Scan" on each TV, on each feed system, (one for cable, and a new one for antenna.). When I am setting up in a new location, after connecting the cable feed and raising the OTA antenna, I use the auto scan set for cable to program the available stations with the antenna booster OFF (no red light.). I then point my OTA antenna in the direction I think the strongest signals will come from, turn the antenna booster ON (red light on,) and run another autoscan set for "air." If I am not happy with the number of stations I get, or the quality of the signals, I move the antenna and rescan. Once I have the best possible position for the OTA antenna, then I will use the same procedure for each of the other TVs I want to use, except moving the OTA antenna since I have it hopefully pointing in the best direction. After all this, when I watch something on cable, the booster is off and turn the booster on to watch TV over the airwaves.

Dan beat me to the answer.

We ran the auto scans for each when we first setup, trying to see what was available. Cable was no problem, but the antenna channels are all snow. When we push the booster button in, there is no signal whatsoever. No snow. It literally says, "No Signal" on the TV.

 

[danemayer]

Yay! We guessed good. But what is the second one in the living room for? Also satellite?



Cable only at this point, since we can't seem to get a decent Antenna connection.

The outside and inside location of the back TV (bunkhouse/outdoor kitchen) get totally different channels than the living room TV and between each location. I know it sounds insane. For example hubby was watching football on channel 17-5, but when he moved it from outside to inside, 17-5 no longer worked.

The second connector in the living room is tied to the 2nd connector outside and would be for satellite.

If one or more channels shows up in one location but not in the others, you'll probably have to start looking for causes of a weak signal to the locations where the channel is missing.

The location of the signal booster is typically the 1st stop in the coax system. If that's the location that works best, you may have a loose coax connector, or a loose barrel connector somewhere downstream from the signal booster. Start by checking the coax connectors to 1) make sure they're tight and 2) that there are no loose strands of wire from the ground shield that might be touching the center conductor.

After doing the channel scans (with signal booster ON), let us know whether you get over the air signals.

 

[WebErika]

After doing the channel scans (with signal booster ON), let us know whether you get over the air signals.

We'll get into the basement this week and check all the connections and try everything again.

On antenna after a channel scan, without the booster button pushed in, there is a signal, albeit unwatchable.
As I said though, when I push this button in, the TV goes black with a "No signal" message, nothing works.

We'll give it another shot though.

Thank you!

 

[danemayer]

On antenna after a channel scan, without the booster button pushed in, there is a signal, albeit unwatchable.

If you run the channel scan with the button OUT, you'll never have any success. The button has to be IN before you start the scan.

 

[FARMER45]

Re: Antenna & Cable Questions

Make sure the input on tv is set to tv not hdmi or DVD player

- - - Updated - - -

Make sure the input on tv is set to tv not hdmi or DVD player

 

[gasman]

We had similar issues with our Big Country. As we investigated, we found the the cables were connected to the wrong terminals on the back of the booster. After I changed them around, everything was great.

 

[JohnD]

If you want to get at the splitter behind the stereo you'll have to pull the stereo out of the cabinet as it is behind the stereo in the web of wires back there.

Once you find that splitter look to see if the radio antenna is hooked to it.

If it is . . . unplug that from the splitter and try running a scan again.

This was shorting out the signal we were getting.

Also, at one of our regular campgrounds we like to go to there is no cable TV service (up in the mountains and 15 miles from town) even though they offer cable hookup.

What I discovered (but they didn't tell us) was that they are running a feed from their SAT signal over their cable system in the park, so once I tried scanning the cable with the TV in the 'antenna' mode with the amp off and I got a perfect picture.

 

[Apropdoc]

Coax cabling can be very finicky and noise is a problem if there are too many connections (Db signal loss). The first and foremost thing to do is to check the connection at the antenna for cleanliness, freedom of corrosion and moisture, and the condition of the connector and wiring for kinks. If the shielding (silver wires under the outer covering) wires are contacting anything or are touching the center wire inside the connector, then you will get no/bad signal (this goes for all connectors). When you verify that the outside connectors are good, wrap them well with silicone or nylon electrical tape to keep out the elements. When you are inside, look to see if there are any junction blocks with a resistance value on it (splitters and the like) as they also reduce signal strength and should not be used in OTA runs, just satellite runs that have a dish antenna. Hope this helps you chase the problem down...