I we the air (free) tv

Mikein · 07-16-2022, 03:46 PM

At some point during the last week something happened to our free tv antenna. We used to have about 10-15 over the air channels at our campgrounds. Now none. I’ve unplugged the tv’s, reprogrammed, checked the antenna mast and cable that is weather exposed and it all looks fine. It does not find anything when I rescan. It is both tvs a small bedroom one and the bigger main tv. I guess this suggests something is probably shorted somewhere and our Jayco Pinnacle is 11 years old so anything is possible I guess. Anyone have any experience with this or have any ideas how to check the signal?

kirkelli · 07-16-2022, 03:55 PM

sounds like either the wall plate amplifier switch behind your tv is off or bad.. You should see a green light on the wall plate light up telling you the amplifier for your antenna is on... Or, the amplifier went bad which is common with those units.. Amazon has them for around $50... should be a model number on the back of yours, search that on Amazon.. They are a little tricky to pull out, in there pretty tight.. you would do a search for Winegaurd - model # Good luck

Mikein · 07-16-2022, 04:12 PM

Thank you. I did find it and the light is still green. Would it be green if it was functional?

kirkelli · 07-16-2022, 04:37 PM

green indicates the amplifier is on but still possible amp is bad. If you have a set of rabbit ears or something you could try to bypass the RV antenna to confirm.. Not sure where you are located but a lot of communities have a volunteer TV Booster club that retransmits certain TV channels, very possible they are having issues, unless you know for certain your signals are direct from the broadcast source. You could also bypass the amp and check.... Being an old Cable guy i'm lucky to own a Sadelco Signal meter that makes troubleshooting much easier.

Mikein · 07-16-2022, 04:50 PM

I do have a small antenna and with that antenna I get about half the channels of the roof mounted one. Thanks for the assist and I will pull it and order new in the morning.

SmokerBill · 07-17-2022, 01:48 PM

The roof antennas can go bad to. I lost channels several years ago and finally removed and disassembled the antenna. There's a circuit board inside the antenna, and it had a scorched area on it. Replaced it with a new one and fixed the problem.

Mikein · 07-17-2022, 01:52 PM

Thanks, will take a better look when it’s not 100+ degrees up there.

RogerR · 07-17-2022, 06:16 PM

Have you done any repairs. I used to install cable and sometimes people put a screw or nail in a wall and pierced the cable. Before replacement pull out the cable connection plate and make sure the connections are tight and clean. There may also be a connection between the cable and the antenna on the roof. In one post it was hidden in a cabinet. Measure where it is on the roof ( inspect the antenna and Dicor around it while you are up there) and see if you can check the inside connection. If the Dicor is loose you could have water seeping in and corrosion on the cable connection.

Make sure the cable to the tv has not been bent to much as that can ruin it. Try one from somewhere else in the house to see if it is the problem. Make sure the little copper cable center is not bent or broken off.

**norty1** · 07-19-2022, 07:17 AM

If you have a dc volt meter you can disconnect the coax coming from the antenna booster and measure from the center conductor to the mesh wire shield. You should see 12vdc there for powering the RC amp on the head of the antenna.
If it’s there then the amp in the head may be bad.

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