Class A Cable TV Hook-up

[ARCHER]

I'm stumped! :dead: I have a 31Ft Winn, Chieftain and it has a place in the rear electrical compartment (where the shorepower is stored) for hooking up cable tv where it is available. I tried this on the way home from Florida this Spring and no go. I turned the switch to cable versus antenna up near the dash which should have given me cable tv at that hookup at least. No go. I also have a tv hook up in the bedroom but no reception there either. I can get regular TV from my antenna when I turn the switch to antenna. I could run the cable from the campground hook-up through the side window and hook it directly to the TV and received cable just fine.
Anyone have any ideas as to how I can figure out what is wrong wtih this? I lubricated the plug (in the aft area where cable connects), but it did not help. Could it be the cable/antenna switch bad or ????? I have cable tv at home, so I can run a line to the MH for troubleshooting it.... :dead: :dead:

 

[Gary B]

Class A Cable TV Hook-up

Hi Archer, does it have a switch control box or are you just switching the TV ant. booster off? If you have a switch box then there will be two leadin cables attached to the back of the box one will be from the ant/booster and the other will be a direct cable from the cable connection. If it doesn't have a switch box then the cable coax will be attached to the booster/amp assy, if you remove the screws from the face plate it will pull out, as you are looking at it the leadin / coax on the left should be the ant one the one in the center will be cable on the one onb the right should go to th bedroom. if it doesn't have three coax's then the cable connection isn't there. If it does you have to turn the amp/booster off to get cable to feed. Hope this helps. :laugh: :bleh: :approve:

 

[ARCHER]

Class A Cable TV Hook-up

Gary,
thanks. I have not yet taken the faceplate off to check the coaxial lines behind the switch hookup area. There is no separate switch or box for cable in the cabin area. I have turned the switch to cable from antenna (power booster, light on). My switch/hook up area above the passenger seat has a connection for plug in for 12 volt, a regular two plug in outlet for 110, a switch that says antenna / cable and a little light when I'm using the power booster. I'm not sure yet, but would have thought that if there is a connection back in the shorepower storage area that actually has a connection that says "cable" that it is wired for cable tv and all I had to do was turn the switch to cable and hookup to cable.
I'll check the coax behind the switch plate and let you know what I find. Of course, if I find what you described (three cable wires), I'm back to square one). Maybe the switch is bad?? The booster does work and light comes on when switched to antenna.
tks again

 

[hertig]

Class A Cable TV Hook-up

Make sure the booster is off when you are trying to use cable. If you are switched to cable and the booster is off, then you probably have a wiring problem.

First thing I'd try is see if I could get a peek behind that external connection. It is possible that the cable to that is missing or disconnected. Once I insure that the external jack is wired to SOMETHING, I'd try to find the other end. One way to do this is to use small alligator clips to connect a small resistance across it, say 240 ohms. Then when you find another end of cable which may be it (like on the back of the switch), you can measure the resistance and see if that is indeed the cable connected to the external jack.

If you don't have a resistor lying around (doesn't everybody? , you can just short the cable; if you use this method, you have the additional step of removing the short and rechecking the resistance to insure that your problem ISN'T a shorted connection.

When you find a cable which measures about what the resistor value is (or a little higher; wires have some resistance), you know the wiring is intact to that point. Next check the resistance at the output of the switch, with the switch in the correct position. This shows the switch is intact. Now go to your TV input wire and measure the resistance there. One of these tests should have failed to show you where the problem is (jack to switch, switch, switch to TV).

Before measuring any impedance, measure the voltage to ensure it is 0. Any voltage in a circuit which you are measuring resistance in can fry your meter.