Winnegard antenna doesn't work

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ceemike

ceemike

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Joined
Nov 19, 2009
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Location
Pennsylvania
I went to use my TV antenna (the usual Winnegard "batwing") over the weekend & all I got was a "No Signal" message on the screen.  The message is coming from the Digital to Analog converter box.  I used the antenna last month & it worked OK.  I checked the cable connections at the antenna & converter & they are tight. 

Can the antenna head fail? 
 
It can, but you should look to see if your antenna booster switch got turned off or if your video selector switch got changed.
 
I just had the same thing happen yesterday and found the problem was a bad coax connection on the antenna.  I just loosened it and retightened it and that fixed the problem.  As Tom S. mentioned, the antenna has a built in amp (thus the booster switch) which uses 12v piped along the coax.  A loose or dirty connection will interrupt that real quick.
 
Seilerbird, the amp is on & the video selector for TV 1 is set to antenna.  Molaker, I checked the connection on Saturday.  It was tight but I loosened it & re-tightened it. 

I have a small flat screen TV with a digital tuner at home.  I thought I would connect the antenna cable to the digital TV & bypass the digital converter to see if the antenna works with that TV.  If it doesn't I thought I could next connect the digital TV directly to the antenna to see if the cable between the antenna & the digital converter could be the problem.

Can I get just an antenna head if that's the problem or do I have to buy an entire antenna? 
 
I assume the Digital Converter is between the Amp/Video Switch and the TV and not between the Amp/Video Switch and Antenna.  The Digital Converter will block the DC voltage to the Antenna Amp located at the Antenna Head.
 
If you have a multimeter, remove the cable at the antenna head and with the video/amp switch on and check for 12v on the cable.  If no 12v then the problem s/b back towards the amp - either a cable problem or amp problem - assuming your digital converter is located in the right place like weewum posted.  If 12v is present, the head may be bad.  As for replacing just the head, I can't say for sure unless you can find a used replacement of the same Winegard model.
 
The amp is built into the video selector.  It looks like the converter is wired between the antenna & the amp/video selector.  The digital converter was installed in the coach when I bought it a year ago & it has worked well until now so I'm thinking something failed (the antenna or the coax cable) as opposed to the converter being installed improperly. 

I will check for 12v on the coax when I'm checking the other stuff but it will have to wait until I get home this weekend.
 
If it is a standard Winegard Batwing Antenna, the Amp is in the Batwing Head.  the light on the Vid Switch merely indicates that it is supplying 12v to the Amp on the Antenna.
 
ceemike said:
The amp is built into the video selector. 
Click to expand...

No, it's not.. The power supply is built into the video selector.. The amp is built into the antenna head itself.

I agree with the check all connections and check for 12 volt at the roof.

Also, have you moved the rig?  Are you parked in the exact same spot or have you changed campgrounds

Where I park for 1/3 of the summer I get a lot of NO SIGNAL
Where I park for 2/3 I get decent signals but wife likes Cable TV
When I park near where I used to live I get all networks
Where I"m at now I get most networks
Where I'll be next week.. Depends a lot on the exact parking spot.

 
John & Walt,

My location should be good enough to get some TV signals.  I'm about 40 miles from downtown Philly.  There should be plenty of signals floating around here.  My neighbors all have their antennas up so I figure they're watching TV.

Thanks for the info about the amp & the power supply.  I don't have my multimeter with me so I can't check for voltage here.

Mike
 
Now that I'm home I got up on the roof & checked the antenna connection again.  I unscrewed the cable & put it back on & now everything is OK.  I don't know why it didn't work the first time I did it.  Thanks for all the replies.
 
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