Partially Bad Cable TV Reception

[brunsje]

Folks,

Love your great advice!

We are at an RV Park and our reception has been below average overall.

Some channels are clear, some channels are snowy.

I hooked up an old Analog TV to the RV Park connection; The picture is perfect.

I tested two different RG6 cables between the RV and the Park, same results.

Channels 2 through 6 are perfect. Snowy on 7 through 14. The reminder of the channels are either perfect or snowy.

I need your help for this odd 'channel dependent' problem.

Your ideas would be appreciated!

Thanks, JohnnyB

[adamfolger]

Press your tv remote menu and tell it to search both analog and digital...may solve the issue, but it may just be the parks connection to service. Does the park have a channel guide? Hook up to the next available park pedestal if you have enough cable.

[Jim A]

If you can get to it, disconnect the coax at the TV, and connect it to that old analog TV. If it still works perfectly, then you problem might be the TV itself, as that will show if there is a problem in the wiring. If not, it is something in your wiring/switches/splitters in the coach.

Either way, it helps narrow down the search.

You already eliminated the RV park pedestal, since your analog TV works when you connected that directly to it. And you used two different cables from there to your RV. That should eliminate that, especially if you used one of those to connect to your analog TV, as you know that coax is good.

[shiggs68]

When connected to your newer TV, check if there are different types of cable connections in the menu and scan again.

[georgetown350]

Had the same problem. Hooked tv directly
to the park s cable and it was perfect, but inside
was a tv snowstorm. My fix was an easy one.
and was to do with not pressing cable button
firmly enough on the wineguard. Click one of
the other selection s and then back to cable firmly.
Maybe you will get lucky like me

[kennersonf]

I once had a similar problem as you. Ran a cable directly from the park box to the back of the video switch box to trouble shoot and the picture was perfect. On my MH, National ran the RG-6 through the left rear wheel well. Turns out the butt connector in the wheel well was all corroded even though it had been all taped up. Cleaned everything and installed a new butt connector. Solved the problem. My advice - Check your connections if you can locate them.

[adamfolger]

In the phone /tv section, Lowes sells what is called a "toner". A toner connects a signal sender on one end of a coax cable and a tone signal receiver on the other end. The toner tells you if cables have good continuity (no breaks). You can test the entire cable run thru cabinets, walls and hidden places or one cable at a time. Takes all the guess work out of the process. Easy to use...

[Jim A]

Adam,

Since he is getting some channels perfectly, I don't think a "toner" will help in this case. He obviously has continuity through the cables in the RV. Maybe not clean continuity, but likely enough for the toner signal to go through.

But it is a good tool to have!

[Monacoach]

Perhaps the parks cable signal is weak. Strong enough to run directly to an outside tv but not strong enough to run through the rvs wiring and splitters.

[wa8yxm]

My guess is a bad splitter inside the motor home there are other possible causes too but that is my guess,,

The Splitter: IF you have a wall plate, with a switch, light, 12 volt outlet and antenna connection: this is it (NOTE SWITCH and LIGHT must be OFF for cable to work).

If you have a Matrix Switch (Box of Many Buttons) this is it,

NOTE: on a matrix switch sometimes exercising the switch a couple dozen times helps clean the contacts.

[gemini5362]

I guess you could have someone with a TDR hook it up to the cable to check the condition of the cable out. This post is slightly in jest as it might be hard to find someone with that just laying around but if you can find a cable guy that has one have it hook it up.