Keystone Coaxial Connections

[Otiss]

Hello, I just bought a 2014 Cougar 5th wheel. The TV doesn't work in the living room on "Air". Behind the LR TV there are 2 coax ports in one faceplate, neither are labelled that I can see. In the bedroom ceiling, there is one port with the booster button. I assume that is for the rooftop antenna. Next to that plate id another plate with 2 coax ports, someone has installed a small coax jumper from one to the other. I can't get any air reception in the LR TV, I've scanned several times in the menu. I get air TV in my house 50' away, so I'm confused. Any idea what the ports in the LR and BR should be? Thanks Otiss!

[Nankipoo]

I’d say keep swapping coaxial ports and re scan. There is usually air, cable and satellite ports. I gave up on the factory satellite port working and ran my own.

[LHaven]

The only confusing part here is that "behind the LR TV there are 2 coax ports in one faceplate." I have no idea what the second is for, but one of them should run your TV.

The "loop" in the other room is to shunt the cable decoder box connections in the absence of a decoder box. This is proper, and is factory.

To diagnose your problem, you should remove the shunt loop, turn on the antenna power, then connect your TV to one or the other shunt connector (one won't work, the other should). Try scanning for air on each. If it doesn't work on either connector, your antenna is probably not getting power.

If it works in one connector, verify that the short shunt cable has continuity on each conductor, then test continuity (both conductors) between the "other" shunt connector and the TV connector in that room. If you have it, then reinstall the shunt, plug the TV into the real TV connector, and everything should still work.

Then, if you can reach (this may help [link]), disconnect the TV again, and check continuity between the TV connector in that room and the TV connectors in the LR. Again, only one should show continuity, and I have no idea what the other is there for. If you get that, you should be able to hook your LR TV to it and it should work.

Since nothing works now, chances are you're going to find no continuity in at least one of these places, and/or no antenna power to the roof.

[wrvond]

Every coaxial plate I’ve ever removed had all the interior connectors labeled.

[JRTJH]

Reading the OP's initial post several times, he states that the LR TV doesn't receive OTA channels, but he never says if the bedroom TV receives OTA channels or not. If, as he says, "on the BR ceiling are two plates, one with a coax loop and one with a push button" that is the power button for the rooftop antenna amplifier (located in the antenna head, on the roof) and the loop should be in place (it's a satellite/cable decoder connection when used)...

The "confusing part" for me is the statement, "Behind the LR TV is a faceplate with two coax connections"... Most only have one connection, since the "guts of the system are located in the bedroom ceiling"....

The process should be the same, provided both of those LR faceplate coax connectors are live and functioning (pull the faceplate to see if both are connected, or better yet, remove the faceplate and connect the television to the coax that feeds that faceplate. THEN, push the button so the green light in the bedroom booster switch is on, set up the LR TV for OTA reception, run a channel scan and see if it works... If so, great. If it does not work, remove the TV from the trailer and take it somewhere (in the house, etc) where there is "known good OTA reception", hook up the TV there and verify that it will receive OTA channels. If so, troubleshoot the trailer wiring. If not, (no TV reception in the house) then replace the TV in the trailer and see if that works.

[flybouy]

John's advice is spot on. You state you "just bought" an 8 year old trailer. You have 2 unknowns, the TV and the wireing. You don't know what the PO may have done. The first step I would take is confirm the antenna booster is energized by pushing in the button and see if the led illuminates. You will need 12v dc for it to work so either a connected battery or a working converter plugged into shore power.

Does the antenna outside look like a bat wing or a UFO? If it's a batwing style then inside directly under the antenna location there will be a crank to raise the antenna. Concentric with the crank handle is a ring up against the ceiling. That ring is for rotating the antenna. It's directional and with digital TV it must be raised and pointed at the broadcast station to recieve a signal. Just having the camper beside the house can easily block all reception if the broadcast stations are on the opposite side of the house. Realize that digital TV signals are line of sight and easily blocked by buildings, trees, hills, etc. And while your antenna on the house may be "only 50' away" I would guess that it's much higher off the ground than the 12' or so that the camper antenna is.

[jsb5717]

There is a coax plate behind my living room TV as well with 2 coax connectors. They are labeled…one says “Cable” the other says “Satelite”. It does seem redundant to me since there’s only one cable feeding the box behind the plate. I’m always connected to the one that says “Cable” and it works with both local cable or OTA depending on whether the antenna booster by the bedroom TV is on or not.

I had problems with cable connectivity until I pulled every coax wall plate and tightened every connection as well as locating the hub/splitter and tightening all the connections there as well. All were loose from the factory.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

There is a coax plate behind my living room TV as well with 2 coax connectors. They are labeled…one says “Cable” the other says “Satelite”. It does seem redundant to me since there’s only one cable feeding the box behind the plate.

That's the wallplate that is installed with KeyTV. I see you have a 2018 rig so you may have that. The OP has a 2014 rig and a booster button, so clearly does not. Hence our puzzlement.

[vampress_me]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

There is a coax plate behind my living room TV as well with 2 coax connectors. They are labeled…one says “Cable” the other says “Satelite”. It does seem redundant to me since there’s only one cable feeding the box behind the plate. I’m always connected to the one that says “Cable” and it works with both local cable or OTA depending on whether the antenna booster by the bedroom TV is on or not.

I had problems with cable connectivity until I pulled every coax wall plate and tightened every connection as well as locating the hub/splitter and tightening all the connections there as well. All were loose from the factory.

This is how our 2014 Cougar 28RDB was set up as well. It had a coax plate behind the TV with 2 connectors. They weren’t labeled, but one was for cable and the other was for satellite. The “cable” one also worked with OTA. Satellite was specific for the satellite connection on the exterior in the water bay. To watch OTA, I believe all we had to do was ensure the TV had the cable run from the “cable” coax connection to the TV itself, put up the antenna, point it, check in the bedroom on the ceiling for the correct red light (can’t remember if it was supposed to be on or off right now) booster button, and use the scan feature on the TV. We never did have a TV in the bedroom, so never had any connection up there.

The part someone else may have to help my memory on is: do you have to mess with the radio/ DVD/ speaker all in one Linear system also to get the TV to the right setting? I honestly cannot remember if we had to do anything with that.

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by LHaven

That's the wallplate that is installed with KeyTV. I see you have a 2018 rig so you may have that. The OP has a 2014 rig and a booster button, so clearly does not. Hence our puzzlement.

Hmmm…I don’t have KeyTv. It doesn’t (or didn’t) come installed in the High Countrys. I have a set up very much like the OP behind the LR TV. And I have the Winegard setup with the booster button behind the TV in the bedroom along with the same setup as the LR.

Here’s a pic of the plate behind the LR TV, which is also in the BR. The other is the kind of booster button plate that is also in the BR. My setup which I think is like the OP’s, seems to work. I just needed to tighten every coax cable connection.

[gearhead]

This may help:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076DP1534...lig_dp_it&th=1