Community Forums

alpinedrvr · 10-18-2013, 11:11 AM

Has anyone tried one of these?? If so how does it work??

Geoff

RickO · 10-18-2013, 12:40 PM

I'm not familiar with this antenna but if you don't get useful responses here on the Alpine Coach forum... PM me and I'd be happy to move it to our technology forum.

Good luck

Rick

Algoma · 10-18-2013, 04:31 PM

Not sure why you would want to try one of these as your rooftop antenna will work much better.

wa8yxm · 10-18-2013, 04:44 PM

I have looked at it... And passed it by. Two reasons.

Most TV today is on the UHF band which is kind of "Delicate" when it comes to "Stuff" (Like the sides of your RV) between the Station and you. An outdoor antenna is .. Well outdoor, less "Stuff".

ALso HEIGHT IS MIGHT. and I have personally proven it.

THe higher the antenna, the farther it can see.

gmar4718 · 10-18-2013, 05:00 PM

Geoff
My wife bought me one for Christmas and it worked very well for us.. I now have the Dish tailgater so don't use it much anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpinedrvr

Has anyone tried one of these?? If so how does it work??

Geoff

alpinedrvr · 10-18-2013, 05:28 PM

THX for the replies...John the reason I'm looking at this is because the PO did a lot of improvising and adding to the coax cables and has created a rat's nest in the overhead cabinets and behind and I doubt that I can ever unravel it to connect the TV

Geoff

alpinedrvr · 10-19-2013, 09:20 AM

Problem solved!

Out of desperation I changed the coax from the antenna to the splitter on the roof (why would the splitter be on the roof?? Did WRV do this?) and put in a new splitter. Came down and turned the TV on and got a nice picture

So I won't be getting the Razor after all.

Geoff

daveshan · 10-19-2013, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpinedrvr

THX for the replies...John the reason I'm looking at this is because the PO did a lot of improvising and adding to the coax cables and has created a rat's nest in the overhead cabinets and behind and I doubt that I can ever unravel it to connect the TV

Geoff

Geoff,
Glad you got it fixed, if you want to unravel the rest of that rat's nest try one of these LINK. When we got our coach the only thing that did work was the park cable hookup and the switcher box was gone, I got a box from Camping World and used the Home Depot tester to figure out (and label) what was what with the cables. Got everything working plus some additional outlets that I ran.

alpinedrvr · 10-19-2013, 10:38 AM

Hi Dave

Thanks for the link. I have a cable finder but the instructions say if the wires are in a bundle (read rat's nest!!) separate the cables from one another to test! I get a signal loud and clear but from all of the cables so my tester is useless! I'll try your coax tester.

Geoff

daveshan · 10-19-2013, 10:44 AM

It will work, it's based on resistance. Each of the "caps" have a different resistance and the main unit is just a primitive ohm meter with 4 lights for the different ranges and one for open. No interference from looped wires. I also have a "frequency" tester and it does "bleed" if the cables are looped.

Have fun

Dave

Algoma · 10-19-2013, 10:55 AM

I am sure WRV did not put a splitter on the roof. The antenna needs to be connected directly to the power unit in the cabinet as this supplies the current to drive the amplifier in the antenna. Like yours my coach was also a rat's nest so I ripped the whole lot out and started again. Identifying which coax went where in the coach, label and then attach to a new switch box. I probably had 20' of cable left over.

JWJ · 10-19-2013, 06:33 PM

Geoff

I have used this Rayzor antenna as a quick fix until i too had to straghten the rats nest of wires and coax in my coach.
It worked better than any other portable antenna.
I would not suggest that it works better than an antenna mounted on the roof.

Jim

alpinedrvr · 10-20-2013, 08:45 AM

Thx again for the comments. I am happy that I now have OTA TV using the roof antenna . I won't be using the Rayzar.

I was sure also that WRV didn't use splitters on the roof. It doesn't make sense. I have no idea what the PO was thinking when he split the cable up there! I still can't get the bedroom tv to work but I'll work on it sometime in the future along with unravelling the can of worms in the 3 overhead cabinets.

Geoff

Jim A · 10-20-2013, 09:18 AM

I have the same tester that Dave referenced. It works well. Consider buying a good compression tool and compression connectors and make your own coax cables the length you need. Every little bit helps.

You might consider using minicoax cables. It does add some to the rat's nest of wires, but it makes it easier to move things around up there.

I took 5 splitters out of a friend's coach, and went from getting 7 OTA stations to 65 stations. Avoid splitters wherever possible. Take advantage of your TVs ability to switch inputs if you can.