Antenna works, cable doesn't

[linux3]

We don't often have campground sites with cable TV.
Couple of days ago we did and some stations were clear and some had a lot of "snow".
Today we have cable. When I scanned the channels the Contex TV only found 2 of 25 stations. One was very snowy and the other was clear.

I bought a new cable and now the scan finds all the stations but only one is clear. The rest are snowy.
Pulled the plug from the back of the RV, it's good.
Checked the cables to the TV and from the overhead, they are good.
Campground brought a small TV over and connected it to my site and everything was very clear.

Any thoughts?
I'm using the antenna and get 30 very nice stations.

[travelin texans]

Turn off the antenna booster. The booster MUST be "on", has a small led lit when on, for antenna watching & MUST be "off" for cable or satellite. Every time you move & change inputs you must go to tv set up menu & scan the channels.

[JimSchwenk]

At least you found your booster. We never talked about TV on our walk through at the dealer. We had a Dutchman camper and the antenna extended and rotated, and there was a booster switch. It was decent.
We "upgraded" to a new 2016 Keystone Campfire and to this day have not been able to find the booster, nor is there any indication that the antenna raises or rotates. Tv reception is non-existent. There are satellite and cable connections outside and inside, so I rigged up a cheap antenna which I keep at the campground it's parked at. But the TV (and FM) absolutely are pretty useless. Nobody at the dealer can tell us where the booster switch might be, nor why the antenna on the roof has no crank anywhere to be found.
Did you look here? Did you look there? I've looked everywhere, even in the outside kitchen. 2 TV's, big disappointment.

[moodman]

Originally Posted by JimSchwenk

Nobody at the dealer can tell us where the booster switch might be, nor why the antenna on the roof has no crank anywhere to be found.
Did you look here? Did you look there? I've looked everywhere, even in the outside kitchen. 2 TV's, big disappointment.

My previous RV had the booster inside the antenna on the roof. That is why there was no crank. The antenna was omnidirectional and didn't have to be aimed.

My hunch is that the power being sent to the rooftop antenna is somehow not being sent. Either that, or the booster in the antenna is bad. One other thing to check would be the connection right at the antenna. To check it would require you to go on the roof and pull the antenna. Inspect it closely. After you take it off the roof, use a multimeter to check the voltages being supplied. If you have a length of coax, hook it directly to the antenna's output and then to a TV. If you don't get a signal, then you have proven it's the antenna.
Good luck

[JimSchwenk]

I'll be doing just that. Thanks. It's never been a big irritation because only in bad weather do I think about even watching TV. I camp to get away from that kind of thing. But I still sometimes like to check out the weather while having my coffee in the morning.

[linux3]

I did not turn the booster ON. When traveling it's off.
I even tried turning it on and then off again.
No joy.

[craiggemt]

Cable box needed?

My TH has an input for satellite and one for cable. If yours does, try the other input.

[notanlines]

I don't think cable box is the answer. To expound on Texan's answer, assuming your green light is off and you have the park cable in the proper connection, I'll bet it is in the setup of the TV. When scanning be sure to set the antenna/input to "cable."

[Mikendebbie]

Sounds like you could have a bad splitter. If you were able to find it/ them - did you make sure all connections were tight? I have an issue with splitters in my Montana and the satellite connection. Until I get motivated to dig in and possibly re-wire the coach to provide direct dedicated coax for satellite (bypassing all splitters) - i will run a direct cable thru a nearby window. The cable connex and antenna feed works fine but my tailgater for Dish does not like splitters.

[Dave W]

Did you 'tune' the TV for local stations? Also, you need to set the TV to cable from antenna. I had a brain fade after buying this 5er - then read the instructions

[flybouy]

Was this a new condition? Has the tv ever worked correctly on cable? You don't list the make or model of the tv so that may help. Some of the tv's provided by the trailer mnf do not a QUAM tuner and will not rec cable without a cable box if the cable provider doesn't convert the signal. If you do a search on this forum you will find many posts on this issue.

[DocWMB]

Just a thought, as we've had this problem. Turn off all your LED lights to see if reception gets better. They are notorious for causing RF Interference. It may only be one of the fixtures.

[JimQ]

∆∆∆ Excellent suggestion. One of my interior lights causes interference and the bathroom light actually freezes the picture when I'm on the antenna.

[Hapycmpr]

I had a similar issue. The dealer claimed to have replaced the "bad" coax cable running from the exterior connector to the inside plate, still didn't work. I discovered a coax connector wasn't properly pressed on tight behind the plate with the short "jumper" cable. I installed a new connector and my problem was solved.

[Dave W]

Ah yes, LED lights. I can't use them on my truck either as they send a couple engine fault codes, a TPMS problem then tells me that the DEF reductant heater isn't working. It only makes sense that they can affect RV electronics.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Dave W

Ah yes, LED lights. I can't use them on my truck either as they send a couple engine fault codes, a TPMS problem then tells me that the DEF reductant heater isn't working. It only makes sense that they can affect RV electronics.

I would have to think that either the led's you are using are seriously flawed or the truck is. I have changed over several vehicles to led without issue. On my sig truck and our 150 King Ranch require a resistor on the turn signal to prevent a lamp out warning but that's all. If your truck is that sensitive to spurious rf then every trucker using his cb radio next to you should trip the codes.

[Nuke]

I had a similar problem that I chased for an entire season (OK, I wasn't very persistent). I replaced cable and end/parts until I was blue in the face. Finally chuckster57 (I think it was him - he's getting credit for it anyway) suggested that it was the antenna booster that was bad. I replaced the booster (bought a couple off of e-bay real cheap) and it solved the issue. After I removed the booster, I looked at it on my workbench (designed for electronics) and saw that several of the solder joints on the 'cable in' side were not making connection and ALL of the solder joints were less than acceptable. So what was included in the camper was of inferior quality to the cheap china junk I bought on eBay...

[Wagnfixr]

Check your coax jumper wire. The ends of mine weren't crimped. Had TV trouble on our first trip out this year and when I checked the connections at the jumper, it fell apart!

[linux3]

We have been traveling trying to get out of the rain so this response is kinda late:
1) Booster light is off.
2) TV was set to "Cable" and then scanned.
3) Using the antenna the picture is good so I'm assuming the QAM tuner is OK.
4) Next campground channels 2 - ~9 were snowy. Rest were clear.
5) Campground after that all channels were clear.

First campground it was raining like hell, less at next ones.
Could the issue be water in the connection? It was just a cable on a post at the first site.

The TV brand is a.... I forget, begins with a "C" and is common in TT's.
Do I need some kind of bypass filter or maybe a better TV. TeleVision not Tow Vehicle.

[Irv gates]

If you have problems at every location you have cable, its looks like its your cabling or hookup. I it only happens once in a while it could point toward the camp sites cabling . As you cable channels go higher so does the Frequency. Problems in the lower area only points to poor cable quality or connections. Try another conn at another site if you can. IG