Wineguard doesn't work. converter doesn't either

[break80]

I am very frustrated with the TV. not that I want to watch it that much, but I did pay for this and want to troubleshoot the issues. I have tried both at camp sites and in our cul de sac to try and receive channels and nothing works. (BTW, my neighbor has the same keystone cougar and same antenae, just a couple model years newer and he can pick up stations on our street and at campsites when we are within 20 yards of each other. I am past my 1 year ownership and just want to do this myself. I'm skeptical that the wingman will do anything, since I can't pick up any channels at all. I'm willing to change the antennae, but don't want to drop a ton of money. I have the oem Jensen tv, and dont' think it's related to hdtv. I also bought a digital converter box from walmart and that doesn't seem to do anything either.

[Festus2]

Have you checked to make sure the small slider switch on the 12v wall receptacle is turned on? You should see a small indicator light come on showing that the amplified wall plate is working in conjunction with your roof antenna to improve picture quality and reception. Your TV set may have to be "programmed" where it performs an Auto Channel Search - a search of TV stations in your area. This is done in the TV setup stage which should be outlined in your manual. On ours, the program sequence is Tuner>Menu>Setup>TV>Auto Channel Search>Air (Antenna).
Your setup may be different.

[break80]

yep, have programmed, re-programmed et al..light is on in the power panel right by the tv. I"m wondering if the cable from the power panel to the roof top winegard is bad? guess it could happen, I'm the 1st owner of this 2010 that I bought last year new.

[hankpage]

A 2010 tv does not need a converter box, it already has a digital tuner in it.
I'm just trying to trouble shoot here:
Is the tv "MODE" or "INPUT" set for tv and not video 1 or video 2???
Is your antenna facing in the same direction as your neighbor's???
Some tvs you must select "ADD DIGITAL CHANNELS" after running "Auto Program"
Has the tv ever worked since you got it??????
How many "F" connectors are on the wall by your tv??? ....... some trailers are wired for "SAT" also.
Have you tried playing a DVD ??? (You must change "INPUT" mentioned above to one of the "VIDEO" selections.

Please don't be insulted by any of these questions ... they are just to help me trouble shoot from hundreds of miles away. Hank

[break80]

No offense. Actually, I never have been able to get over the air channels, but the dvd works fine when we have used it.

Yes, I did do the "add digital channels". No other F connectors. the power booster has only 1 connection to the winegard and out to tv.

[break80]

If I wanted to check the cable from the booster to the winegard antenae, what would I use? ohm meter? what should the reading be on the cable? I guess that's a way to confirm if there is any power actually reaching the roof top antenae.

[Festus2]

break80:
Do you have any printed info about your Winegard Antenna (Installation and Operation Manual)? If you do, p5 outlines steps to follow when your antenna is not working properly. There are diagrams and written instructions - troubleshooting stuff.
If you can't find this manual, you might try going to the Winegard website and downloading it - if it is available on their site.
(I'd give you the instructions but there are diagrams with test points which I can duplicate here).
The manual I have is "Winegard Sensar Antennas - Installation/Operation Manual (All Models).
Hope this helps.

[f6bits]

Here’s my manual:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6037inqm2...wr/Antenna.pdf

[CincyGus]

You saying that you have never been able to get over the air channels says to me two things:

1) Improper setup so your tv can't receive signal

OR

2) Physical connection problem or wire issue so your tv can't receive signal.

Lets try to eliminate the first one since it's easiest.

Hopefully you know what direction the TV's stations broadcast towers in your city are located. For instance, I live on the east side of Cincy and the towers are all near downtown so to get the best reception, I need to point my antenna toward the west, towards the city.

So raise your antenna, grab the little base and turn it until the antenna is facing the direction of your cities broadcast towers.

Then go to your TV and power on. Make sure the amplifier light is on by pressing the little button in the middle of the cover plate where the cable plugs in.

Press the INPUT button to make sure the TV is using the TV function and not one of the "Line in" or AUX inputs. If it's not on the right input, nothing you will do will let you receive the over the air signal.

Use the menu to get to auto programming and let it search for channels. Watch the display while it does this. If it finds digital channels, it will show how many are being found. If it finds any, your antenna is working and your TV is getting signal or they would not register as found channels.

Once it completes tune to one of the local channels that you know broadcasts in your area. In Cincy 5, 9, 12 and 19 are the local ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX affiliates. in the digital format, you usually have to tune to 5.1, 9.1, 12.1, 19.1 on your tv which can be done by pressing 5 and enter and then channel up once to get to 5.1.

So once you have tuned to whatever your local OTA (Over The Air) channel is, go back and press the INPUT button again slowly. Give it about 5-8 seconds between presses as some digital TV's take a few seconds to switch from one input to the next before displaying a picture.

Hopefully, going through this process makes it work for you or turns on the light bulb on the one missing step that was preventing you from getting OTA signal before.

If not, report back, especially if doing the auto programming finds zero or only a few stations as that would indicate their may be a hardware issue somewhere.

[Johnnyfry]

One other item I did not see mentioned here. On my 318SAB there is a wall plate in the bedroom next to the booster wall plate. There is a short jumper between the two F connectors. This bridges the booster signal into the TV wiring and must be in place in order to receive broadcast TV.

Also, you can use an ohmmeter to test the continuity of the coax and to check for a center conductor to shield short.

Best of luck!

John

[break80]

Originally Posted by CincyGus

You saying that you have never been able to get over the air channels says to me two things:

1) Improper setup so your tv can't receive signal

OR

2) Physical connection problem or wire issue so your tv can't receive signal.

Lets try to eliminate the first one since it's easiest.

Hopefully you know what direction the TV's stations broadcast towers in your city are located. For instance, I live on the east side of Cincy and the towers are all near downtown so to get the best reception, I need to point my antenna toward the west, towards the city.

So raise your antenna, grab the little base and turn it until the antenna is facing the direction of your cities broadcast towers.

Then go to your TV and power on. Make sure the amplifier light is on by pressing the little button in the middle of the cover plate where the cable plugs in.

Press the INPUT button to make sure the TV is using the TV function and not one of the "Line in" or AUX inputs. If it's not on the right input, nothing you will do will let you receive the over the air signal.

Use the menu to get to auto programming and let it search for channels. Watch the display while it does this. If it finds digital channels, it will show how many are being found. If it finds any, your antenna is working and your TV is getting signal or they would not register as found channels.

Once it completes tune to one of the local channels that you know broadcasts in your area. In Cincy 5, 9, 12 and 19 are the local ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX affiliates. in the digital format, you usually have to tune to 5.1, 9.1, 12.1, 19.1 on your tv which can be done by pressing 5 and enter and then channel up once to get to 5.1.

So once you have tuned to whatever your local OTA (Over The Air) channel is, go back and press the INPUT button again slowly. Give it about 5-8 seconds between presses as some digital TV's take a few seconds to switch from one input to the next before displaying a picture.

Hopefully, going through this process makes it work for you or turns on the light bulb on the one missing step that was preventing you from getting OTA signal before.

If not, report back, especially if doing the auto programming finds zero or only a few stations as that would indicate their may be a hardware issue somewhere.

I've done all of this step by step in detail many times last year. I'll probably de-winterize the camper in another week and will work thru this again and report back. I think my next step is to get an ohm meter and check the hardware/cable

[hankaye]

ak80, Howdy;

check ALL of the coax connections. When I bought mine last year I had to go behind the Stolffiz' kid as he'd only started them and gave them (maybe), one more twist. That means the ones on and in the roof as well.

hankaye

[break80]

also, what's the little pigtail coax that is above the tv in the cabinet above in my 30bhs cougar??

[hankpage]

Originally Posted by break80

also, what's the little pigtail coax that is above the tv in the cabinet above in my 30bhs cougar??

I think Johnnyfry answered this when he replied to your question earlier :

One other item I did not see mentioned here. On my 318SAB there is a wall plate in the bedroom next to the booster wall plate. There is a short jumper between the two F connectors. This bridges the booster signal into the TV wiring and must be in place in order to receive broadcast TV.

Also, you can use an ohmmeter to test the continuity of the coax and to check for a center conductor to shield short.

Best of luck!

John