Television reception

[Sledgehammer]

Hello everybody, I'm new here. We just got our first RV, a Puma unleashed toy hauler. It has an antenna on the top and we like Galveston Island State Park. There should be plenty of strong local stations broadcasting. I guess I'll have to buy a converter to covert the digital signal then go up and aim the antenna while my wife tells me how I'm doing. It has an outdoor cable attachment and plug so we can sit under the canopy and watch the game outside. My wife is a really big Texan fan.

I also didn't see a splitter so you can go from DVD to antenna, but there has to be one there. If not, I'll add one.

[Clay L]

Usually the antenna can be raised and rotated from the inside. Is yours different?

[wa8yxm]

IF your antenna is the standard Winegard "Batwing" job. (Looks like a wing) then you crank it up and aim it from inside.

There is an accessory called a "Wingman" adding it to the antenna will improve directionality and performance on most Digital channels.

NOTE: To the antenna, there is nothing special about digital, whatever worked in the analog days should work for digital as well.. HOWEVER.. Many stations changed to a higher frequency and lower power which makes it harder to "See" them.

[lllkrob]

As to pointing the antenna, this web site makes it a lot easier. You just need a compass, or a real good sense of direction, and log on to www.dtv.gov and click on reception maps on the right side and put in your zip code. it will tell you where to point the antenna and which stations you should be receiving. As others have mentioned the new digital frequencies are not as strong as the old analog.

[frankdamp]

Because we live in the grandaddy of all RF "black holes" at our fixed abode, we have to have Comcast cable. They went digital, so we have one of their converters on each TV set in the house. We never had to navigate the "converter box" minefield until we got our RV three months ago.

It has "steam gauge" TV sets (one up front, one in the bedroom). They don't even have RCA audio and video sockets - just a 75-ohm antenna socket.

I've hooked up a VCR and a DVD which play through the distribution box to either TV. I was agreeably surprised to find that I can run the audio/video RCA cables from the DVD player into the VCR's "Line-In" sockets and it will put out an antenna-compatible signal on its coax output, so we are able to watch DVDs. The next thing to find out is whether Red Box allows you to rent in one town and drop off in another!

We don't watch much over-the-air TV, so I'm not sure we need a D/A converter. If I can find a cheap one at one of the charity shops in town, I'll give it a try. I looked at a couple of Zenith units on eBay, but they went for nearly $60, more than a new converter at Radio Shack.

[Sledgehammer]

Ole dumb me, both of my TVs are digital so there is no problem. Yes, there is a crank on the ceiling, but I haven't looked to see what shape my antenna is. Galveston should have a lot of channels, Houston is nearby also. That will be our first destination, as soon as the weather clears.

[wa8yxm]

Regarding a splitter so you can go from DVD to antenna

Such a device does not exist

DVD's as a rule have no RF output.. Just Video out, they may have HDMI or it may be RCA plugs of one of two types but they only have video out

You can get a device called a Modulator.. Many of these have a built in RF switch, they are very tiny analog TV stations that broadcast on either channel 3 or 4 at a level consistant with what an Over the Air antenna might receive.

Usually they have an ANT-IN and a TV-out jack. Plug Right/Left audio and VIdeo

You plug in, and when you turn it on and tune TV to 3 or 4 (Depending on the switch on the box) you are watching DVD.

In bigger motor homes you will have a box of many buttons... They are grouped MAIN-TV, (The television nearest the box) VCR, TV-2, TV-3 and perhaps TV-4.

Under each group are buttons: TV/ANT, VCR, DVD, CABLE, SAT, AUX (Save no VCR button under VCR)

This box includes the modulator. it is also the power supply for the antenna amplifier (Which is built into the antenna)

Other RV's have a wall plate.. Usually it has a 12 volt outlet, an antenna connector, a LED and a switch. That switches between ANTENNA (LED ON) and it also provides power to the mast-head pre-amp (means at the antenna) and Park Cable. Has no DVD in. I have seen one RV where this was two wall plates, One had the outlet/connection and the other the switch and the LED.

IF you have but one Television and it has an option for direct A/V input (May be called AV in or LINE in) then that is most likely your DVD switch.. DVD feeds it direct.

[hamguy]

I bought a Radio Shack Digital -> RF modulator to put between my DVD recorders and the TV RF inputs.