RV TV Question

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mudshark

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Nov 15, 2014
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503
Hi All
We bought a 2000 Fleetwood Bounder 36S Class A.
We have never had one before. I need to replace the cassette radio with a CD radio and add a CB for when we are outside cell phone coverage. But I am completely lost with how the TV system works. It has a VHS player that plays some part in how the TV system works. I wanted to replace it with a DVD player but the antenna goes through it. How do I work this system?
Pictures are attached.
 

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If those are the original TVs I assume you realize that they won't work unless you install a digital converter or, preferably, just replace them.
 
Looks like you have box of many buttons (BOMB) that routes RF to TV & VCR. You should just be able to yank VCR out and replace with DVD/BluRay player. You will probably have to connect RGB/Audio cable from player to TV. Like docj said, if that is original you will also need a digital receiver between BOMB TV output and TV.

If you update the TV also, you would want to connect an HDMI cable from player to TV. Note, DVD player will not be usable to rear TV without additional cabling or technology. The TV VCR button would have no use DVD/BluRay players do not have an RF output.
 
Been there, done that. 

If you install a blue ray player it probably won't have anything but HDMI these days.  Unless you're going to replace the TV(s) you'd be better off with a standard DVD player. The TV(s) you have are not capable of displaying HD. 

Fleetwood is pretty good about labeling all the wires connected to the BOMB, it the labels haven't been removed or otherwise messed up.  How you connect things depends on what video equipment you have and which BOMB.  Too many variables.  But if you can snap a picture of the back of the BOMB it will help.

Whatever you do don't start ripping wires out.  Even if you replace the TV(s) you will want to keep most of the cables for OTA(over the air) TV.
 
Have you tried checking things out by playing a VHS tape?  At least you will get some idea of how it works.  Dick nvrver
 
The KISS method.

Leave everything as is and video line in(yellow jack/plug) from new DVD player(out) into VCR Aux (In). You will also use the red and white(audio) jacks to run the audio Out of the DVD to the audio In on the VCR.

You then turn on everything as usual as if you are using the VCR and set the VCR channel to Aux input using the remote control. The DVD signal will run through the VCR. You can put the DVD player in the cabinet above the VCR.

Over the air antenna tv broadcast signals are now digital so old fashion TV tuners in a tube tv or in an old VCR cannot use the new digital signal or an old antenna. If you only use a cable tv hook up at RV parks you don't have to worry about it.
 
Get a DVD recorder instead of a simple player. These are direct replacements for VCRs.

Or you can get a DVR (Records on a hard drive) with LINE IN and feed the DVD in via LINE in.  I do both
 
Frankedj said:
....tv broadcast signals are now digital so old fashion TV tuners in a tube tv or in an old VCR cannot use the new digital signal or an old antenna.
Note...a TV antenna is a TV antenna and does not know digital from non-digital. If you are in an uprade frame of mind you might wish to add a Wingman to your 2000 era Winegard Sensor batwing-style antenna. This will improve UHF reception.
 
Thanks for all the input :)
I forgot to mention the front TV has been replaced with a flat screen and the rear TV has bee replaced with a small TV with a built in DVD so that's OK. Correct me if I am wrong, the set up in my bus is for dish TV?

I did have a cheap DVD player hooked to the front flat screen and it worked fine once I figured it out. I had to return it as it would stop frequently in play.  I have a cheap Toshiba DVD recorder but I believe it needs a VHS as a tuner. That is the the way it is set up in the brick & sticks. Can this be used?

Also, I have no need for satellite TV. Over the air TV is what I would like so I can get the local / national news / weather. Is this possible with what you see in the pictures? I am almost positive it is an old Winegard antenna up on the roof.
 
Correct me if I am wrong, the set up in my bus is for dish TV?

I don't see a satellite tv receiver there, but not sure what that EZTV box is for.  I don't think you have anything for "Dish TV", though. And if there is a satellite dish or dome on the roof, it still could be either Dish or Direct TV

The only EZTV gadget I've heard of was an internet streaming thing, not satellite.
 
Thanks Gary
Not quite sure what the former owners were doing. This is the first time I encountered something like this. In all the documentation I got nothing outside of a cryptic diagram. We can hook up a DVD and watch it. I sure would like to get over air TV for news and weather. I just don't know where to start.
We spend this Saturday night in it in the driveway with both cats. Dry run for next weekend when we do our first overnight away from home, on our own, with the cats.
 
Quote "It has a VHS player that plays some part in how the TV system works. I wanted to replace it with a DVD player but the antenna goes through it. How do I work this system?"
Since most DVD players don't have antenna connections did you connect the 2 antenna cables together that you took off the old VHF player?  Dick
 
nvrver said:
Quote "It has a VHS player that plays some part in how the TV system works. I wanted to replace it with a DVD player but the antenna goes through it. How do I work this system?"
Since most DVD players don't have antenna connections did you connect the 2 antenna cables together that you took off the old VHF player?  Dick

Those of us old enough to remember VHS players know that you connected you coax to the VCR and then connected another piece of coax to the TV.  That enabled the VCR to record a program while passing the signals onto the TV.  When the VCR was put into playback mode its signal was output to the TV usually on channel 3.  For your purposes all you need to do is connect the two pieces of coax together and connect them to the TV.  The DVD or Blu-ray will connect to the TV using HDMI or RCA cables (red, yellow, white).
 
With the BOMB, the VCR should not be in the antenna path at all.
Antenna connects to BOMB.
Selector button routes antenna to TV, to VCR, to 2nd TV.
VCR output connects to BOMB.
Selector switch routes VCR to TV, or 2nd TV.
Park cable connects to BOMB.
Selector switch routes park cable to TV, VCR, 2nd TV.
If you replace VCR with DVD player, the coax cables to it will be unused. DVD will connect via RCA A/V cables or HDMI directly to TV
 
bobsharon
Thanks! Is there any way I can use the old Winegard antenna on the roof with this set up to get "off the air" local broadcast TV news / weather?
 
Yes the antenna you have should get the new digital off the air channels, antennas don't care if signal is digital or analog.  On a previous RV I had a bad batwing and purchased a replacement head for it.  To see if your antenna is working you could run a separate cable run from the antenna thru a window and connect direct to the TV.  That is the way I found out my batwing head was bad, didn't  get a signal. I then hooked the cable to a rabbit ears indoor antenna up on the roof and I got good TV.  Once you get the antenna hooked up you will need to go to the TVs menu and scan for channels.  Dick
 
What Dick said!
Modern fact of life, every time you change TV RF source you must command your TV to scan for channels.
If existing batwing-style is healthy it should work with TV ANT selected on the BOMB for getting over the air signals.
 
nvrver said:
To see if your antenna is working you could run a separate cable run from the antenna thru a window and connect direct to the TV.  That is the way I found out my batwing head was bad, didn't  get a signal. I then hooked the cable to a rabbit ears indoor antenna up on the roof and I got good TV.

Many batwing antennas have an active preamp in the head ... if you connect one of these directly to a TV it will appear to be dead, because the TV doesn't send the DC voltage up the coax needed to operate the preamp.

This voltage comes from from a wall injector.  Usually it includes a 12 volt cigarette lighter socket and a small on off switch.

Or it could be provided by the BOMB.  In this case I'd expect to see a source of power like a wal wart or a 12 volt line going into it.

Usually the point of failure isn't the preamp, it's the coax running from the roof to the antenna.  The coax has a solid center conductor and really isn't made to withstand the repeated flexing it gets every time you raise and lower the antenna.
 
Thanks to all
It is raining here in the northeast so I will have to wait to go out and play with this. I will report back what I find.
Jim
 

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