Help! TV Problems

Hi All, I need your help.
The attached picture shows what my coach came with when I bought it. I replaced the old TV with a 21 inch Visio TV manufactured in April 2008 according to the sticker on the back. We also put in the Sony DVD player. The paperwork I got with the coach doesn't explain squat about what is going on. Basically, all we really ever watch is news and weather and Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

We get almost no reception when we put the old Winegard "bat wing" up on the roof and power it up. We might get 3 channels, which don't have what we are looking for. Even in a city location we get nothing of importance. If we are in a campground with cable, like we are now, things work well with the cable attached. The cable is out here now so I am trying to pull in OTA stations.

I haven't a clue what to do now. I was looking online at MOHU inside antennas but they don't reach very far but the price is reasonable. The amount of antennas is staggering and I am lost trying to figure out what to do. I am even afraid to rip out the VCR and toss it. Anyone have any ideas for me? We will be heading east in the spring and will want to stay on top of the spring weather.
Thanks

First it is important the wires be run properly

From the antenna it should run to someting I did not see. the Winegard Wall Plate with LIght. Switch 12 volt outlet and antenna connection. then to the box of several (8 I think) buttons and make sure the ANT buttons are pushed. all 3 of them just to be sure. tehn to teh TV.

Then scan

Improvements
Add Wingman to Winegard antenna if not already there
Swap that wall plate for a SENSAR PRO

I like my setup (Seer above)

Finally where you are parked DOES make a difference. Even different sites in the same RV park will give different results.

Another weak point is the coax running from the F connector jack on the roof up to the preamp on the antenna head.  It's buried under all of the sealant where the coax goes through the roof.  Coax really isn't meant to stand up to repeated flexing and that section flexes back and forth every time you raise or lower the antenna.

DC power to the preamp is sent up that cable, if it opens up the voltage can't get to the preamp.

One more possible suspect..  And the story behind it. NOTE NOT ALL RV"s have this one.

2x a year I mop my roof. well after a mopping back in about 2015/6 NO OTA tv. Cable still cabled but NO OTA (My system allows me to mix)

In the roof or at the roof line on some RV's is a connector.. Mine was under a clamshell in the roof.  Two new cable ends (Compression type waterproof) and a new barrel connector later back in service.

Another RV.. same issue only his was upright (mine lays flat) and buried in Caulking. still bad though.

Thanks Guys
Should I go with one of the new inside antennas?

John and Lou raised some good points on the Antenna /cables on the roof.

My focus will be inside the RV
I would get back to the basics...
Find the cable that comes off the antenna make sure it is connected to the power supply. then connect straight to the TV.
Re scan you TV channels. If you don't get enough channels try turning the antenna and re-scan.

If you can live without the switch box I would take it out of the setup. They are fine with a strong signal but as the strength of the signal weakens they could keep stations from coming in.

I would lose the VCR...And connect the DVD straight to the TV using a HDMI connection.
I would hold off buying anything including a inside antenna( They don't usually work as well as the outdoor)

All of this is based on you having only one TV...If you have a 2nd TV then adjustments may have to be made

Thanks Gizmo100
We do have a second TV in the bedroom but only use that one when I want to watch a western or war movie. (My wife doesn't like the violence.)
She puts in a DVD while I enjoy the "shoot em ups". The push button box does account for the second TV but since I have always had trouble with this TV I never looked into it.

Without taking the Winegard apart, is there any way I can test the antenna cable with a meter to make sure there is no break in the coax?

I googled the Wingman and Sensar Pro and they look good. I can get the Wingman and see if it makes a difference. I am a bit hesitant to get the Sensar Pro as we are on the road wintering in Arizona. My tool selection is a bit limited.

Should I go with one of the new inside antennas?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't. TV signal strength/quality is often poor enough at best in RV park locations, and handicapping the antenna with a box box around it adds to the problem.

I had this problem once.

The box of many buttons (BOMB) may be the problem.  If it has a power lead it may have an inline fuse.  Check the fuse.  In my coach the BOMB supplies power to the antenna amp.

If you’re running the OTA signal through the VCR that could be the problem.  Or through the DVD player.  Or both.  There’s so many ways of doing it wrong and only a few of getting it right.

The best way to watch the DVD player is through HDMI, completely bypassing the BOMB.  Assuming the DVD has HDMI.
The best way to watch the VCR is through the RCA connector.  (Yellow, white, red), or audio + S-Video.

The BOMB doesn't supply power to the antenna. The antenna switch has an indicator light so I can see when it is on.
I have the DVD player hooked directly to the TV with the red, yellow, white connectors.

mudshark said:

We get almost no reception when we put the old Winegard "bat wing" up on the roof and power it up. We might get 3 channels, which don't have what we are looking for. Even in a city location we get nothing of importance. If we are in a campground with cable, like we are now, things work well with the cable attached. The cable is out here now so I am trying to pull in OTA stations.

Click to expand...

How do you "power up" the Winegard?  Is it by pushing the button on the white cover on the left side of your picture?  When you turn it off does that let the cable connection get to the TV?

If so, that eliminates the Winegard wall panel, VCR, BOMB, etc. from the discussion.  About the only things left are the DC voltage going up to the antenna and whether or not it's reaching the preamp in the antenna.

mudshark said:

We do have a second TV in the bedroom but only use that one when I want to watch a western or war movie. (My wife doesn't like the violence.)
She puts in a DVD while I enjoy the "shoot em ups". The push button box does account for the second TV but since I have always had trouble with this TV I never looked into it.

Click to expand...

I still recommend connecting straight to the TV to verify if you have any issues with the antenna.
I don't know of a way to check the cables unless you just happen to have some advanced signal tools.

The 2nd TV
Are you getting more Channels on TV2?
You will  need to keep a switch box in order to share the DVD and antenna.
However if it's the original box to the RV then the internal connections are probability oxidized and need cleaning or it may need to be replaced.

The previous owners replaced whatever was in the rear bedroom with a CRT portable that has a DVD player built in. Never had a reason to use the rear TV but I will as I troubleshoot this situation. As soon as I have some free time I will be tearing this whole mess apart.    I did order the Winegard Wingman today. I figure for $29 it couldn't hurt.

Hi Lou
Yes, I assume the antenna is powered by the button on the white switch plate. I push the button and an indicator light comes on. I assume that is powering the preamp. The word "Winegard" is embossed into the plastic. The mystery to me is what is the function of the box that is marked
"EZTV'?

mudshark said:

The mystery to me is what is the function of the box that is marked
"EZTV'?

Click to expand...

If the rig had an older analog TV, my guess is it is a DTV converter to let the analog TV receive the new DTV over the air broadcasts.  Does it have a coax connection going in and out of it (antenna -- EZTV -- TV), or an antenna connection going in and RCA jacks to go out to a TV?

If so, there should also be a remote control associated with it to select channels, etc.

mudshark said:

The previous owners replaced whatever was in the rear bedroom with a CRT portable that has a DVD player built in. Never had a reason to use the rear TV but I will as I troubleshoot this situation. As soon as I have some free time I will be tearing this whole mess apart.    I did order the Winegard Wingman today. I figure for $29 it couldn't hurt.

Hi Lou
Yes, I assume the antenna is powered by the button on the white switch plate. I push the button and an indicator light comes on. I assume that is powering the preamp. The word "Winegard" is embossed into the plastic. The mystery to me is what is the function of the box that is marked
"EZTV'?

Click to expand...

Best I could find the EZTV was a service that provided TV signals ....I'm guessing it was streamed over the internet..2015 it had been taken over by another company. Not sure if it still works and or if it's legal to use..

You may want to check with some of your neighbors to see what channels are available. At home with our TT I can get 5 channels. Although we live in town, We sit at a low elevation and the towers are in different directions. While staying in AR we picked up over 30 channels...But all the towers were south of us and we were sitting a lot higher elevation

mudshark said:

Thanks Guys
Should I go with one of the new inside antennas?

Click to expand...

I would not.. First the higher the antenna the better and 2nd what is your RV made of (Siding) if it's aluminum no joy with an indoor antenna.

However for "Short term"  you can try it.

OK, I am not going with the inside antenna. I will put on the Wingman when it arrives. I will soon tear this whole mess apart to see what is going on. The VHS will go in the dumpster and I will see what is going on with the bedroom TV. We can't travel in the turbulent springtime without knowing the weather we are heading into.

For traveling information on weather,WX, there are 2 good methods, one the weather radios that receive information directly from the weather service and secondly the Ham radio frequencies as they provide the weather service information as it happens through their weather watch activities

Jim Godward said:

For traveling information on weather,WX, there are 2 good methods, one the weather radios that receive information directly from the weather service and secondly the Ham radio frequencies as they provide the weather service information as it happens through their weather watch activities

Click to expand...

Not to mention that between my laptop and my cell phone I've got about 4 different weather apps.  Accuweather is good, MSN weather does okay, and I've got a new one on my phone called "My Weather Radar" that I like.  It has current conditions and temps, however it doesn't have forecasts and such, but I like the radar display better than any of the others.

Thanks! I will check those out.