Loose Coax Cable

[CoronaGirl]

1999 Winnebago Chieftain 33B
3 TVs: 1)Corner of kitchen 2)Rear bedroom 3)Outside entertainment center. Location of main cable connections is over the dinette.

I am having problems with the reception on my outside TV. The reception WAS great, now horrible. The first sign was when entering the RV or closing the door, the picture on the TV would get distorted. The TV has a beautiful and clear picture at all other cable connections. So that rules out the TV. The other TV's have a great clear picture. All cable connections are tight on the back of the cable box. After reading other posts and looking at the Coax cable diagrams, there is a splitter located between the box and the rear TV. This has led me to believe that the coax cable to the outside entertainment center is loose at the splitter, probably from vibration. NOW....I can't find the splitter. Can anyone tell me where this is located .... maybe under the refrigerator?? If so, how do I get to it??

My husband and I are newbies, our first camping experience and we are having a great time!! We purchased this MH in January of this year and have had zero problems until this. This Chieftain is in excellent condition. I am the "fix-it" person around our house (and RV)and this has me stumped. Any help or other ideas concerning my problem would be appreciated!!

[CoronaGirl]

1999 Winnebago Chieftain 33B
3 TVs: 1)Corner of kitchen 2)Rear bedroom 3)Outside entertainment center. Location of main cable connections is over the dinette.

I am having problems with the reception on my outside TV. The reception WAS great, now horrible. The first sign was when entering the RV or closing the door, the picture on the TV would get distorted. The TV has a beautiful and clear picture at all other cable connections. So that rules out the TV. The other TV's have a great clear picture. All cable connections are tight on the back of the cable box. After reading other posts and looking at the Coax cable diagrams, there is a splitter located between the box and the rear TV. This has led me to believe that the coax cable to the outside entertainment center is loose at the splitter, probably from vibration. NOW....I can't find the splitter. Can anyone tell me where this is located .... maybe under the refrigerator?? If so, how do I get to it??

My husband and I are newbies, our first camping experience and we are having a great time!! We purchased this MH in January of this year and have had zero problems until this. This Chieftain is in excellent condition. I am the "fix-it" person around our house (and RV)and this has me stumped. Any help or other ideas concerning my problem would be appreciated!!

[dirko]

HI HO: I can't specifically answer your question, but can tell you that the problem may lie in the connector. I assume you have a standard coax with type "F" connector. If so, the center connection is just the center wire of the coax. It should protrude past the end of the coax connector. But, the likely problem is that the outer conductor (braid) is not making contact. You could simply replace the connector. (It is probably a crimp connector and is not reuseable) You can get a replacement from any electronics supplier. e.g. Radio Shack. The coax could be damaged, but this is less likely. I hope somebody will answer that has specifics for you MH. Good luck from Jena, Germany.

[peter griffin]

what are you running on this tv? direct tv ?

also are you on shore power or inverter when this happens..

I have noticed that a lot of wiring is cheap in the RV industry and may need to be replaced...also in my middle control panel where all the switches are there is a splitter in there...I would run a wire from the source to the tv and see if it makes it better...just lay it on the ground then it will confirm if it is a wire and or splitter..

one last thing...the box (multiswitch) that comes with the rv...if one of those buttons is not pressed correctly sometimes the tv will still work but it will come in fuzy..(plus those CABLE wires are cheap from this box)

hope this helps

good luck

[John_Canfield]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

One of the major advantages of Winnie ownership is the ability to download plumbing and wiring diagrams. Go to the Winnie web site and find yours and on one diagram will be the audio/visual wiring.

One problem with a solid center conductor coax is that it is very intolerant of repeated bending and it can crack and work fine in one orientation and the slightest movement can cause an open.

If you can't find the faulty F-connector/coax/splitter/whatever, you might be money ahead to bypass a bad leg and run new coax.

[jimandsue60]

Our main tv does the same thing now and then when the coach door is closed hard. The picture will be perfect and then it gets fuzzy. I tap on the side of the tv and the picture goes back to perfect. I assume I have a loose connector somewhere. Sounds like another project for a rainy day.

Jim

[Clay L]

The splitter for the outside entertainment center and rear TV in my MH is behind the microwave.
The microwave is easy to remove if you want to check.