Coaxial/TV cables basic layout?

[SuperDad]

I'm need to redo the coaxial/TV cables in my RV. Anyone have a diagram of a basic layout?

Both my TV's are HDTV with DVD players built in, so I won't be using a satellite box or anything else.

Just the park in inlet, Antenna booster, Batwing Antenna, front TV and rear TV

If your wondering why I'm doing this it's because I have a short somewhere in the lines. I keep melting coaxial cables right at the park inlet!

[wa8yxm]

You keep melting cables at the park INLET, there should be no power there to melt them

Basic layout

ON your wall plate (The one with the 12 volt outlet, switch, light, and antenna connection) on the back there are 3 or 4 coax connections,

Looking at them (From the back) with the 12 volt outlet at the top they are
1: Antenna
2: Park cable inlet
3: TV 2
optional 4 TV 3
TV 1 is the front outlet

Park cable inlet runs direct to #2
Line to antenna is #1
Remaing lines to televisions

Truth table

Switch on 12 volt to roof line (Connection #1) to power amplifier in mast head.. INPUT one selected (Antenna)

Switch off, No power to anything save the 12 volt convience outlet (Which is not up to much load) and input 2 (Park cable) connected,

Under no conditions should you have power on the park cable lead

And clearly, not enough to melt coax.. Something else has to be melting it.

[SuperDad]

It's weird! This RV is new to us and we never used the park cable inlet before this past weekend. Anyway, cable was working fine for about an hour, picture on TV started cutting, went outside only to fins the cable smoking. Tried to unscrew it but it was to hot to touch. Unhooked it at the park cable pole. At first I thought I had a bad coaxial cable. Hooked up another one. It lasted about 3 hours then it melted too. TV works find on just the Antenna, so it's got to be something in the cable inlet plate outside the RV, I'm guess at this?

[MJ56]

The switch and light on the wall plate indicate 12v present for amplifier.
It is supposed to take cable input out of the circuit when power is on.
When cable input is connected, make sure switch and light are off on the wall plate.
Is there 12v present at the cable input? With switch on, or off.
All i can imagine is a short or leak to ground in that connector. That should drain a battery if constant. Certainly odd that it melts cable coming in. shouldn't be resistance there.
I can't imagine that connection getting 120v. Big trouble if it is.

[SuperDad]

I went a head and replaced the Antenna booster today (had an extra one). Then went outside the RV to look at the cable inlet. This is what I found today. Park cable inlet in melted. Here's pictures of the front side and the back side of it.

[puttin]

SuperDad,

Have you tested the pedestal electrical connection for polarity? Here is the process:

RV Electric

[Thebaldeagle]

Before you do anything else I would get in touch with the RV Park and have them take a look at it. Sounds to me like they have some kind of electrical feed going thru the cable where it definitely should not be! Possibly due to a bad ground. Could be more serious.

If it's melting the cable wire you may be looking at the real possibility of a fire.

[SuperDad]

After looking at the park cable inlet real good. It does look like some type of hard plastic or hot glue stick is melted inside of it? I took a small piece of wire I pushed it in the outside of the inlet like I was attaching the coaxial cable. When the small cable goes thru the hard plastic it starts in the middle (like it should) but then comes out the back side and rubs up against the threaded part of the coaxial cable inlet? IS MIGHT BE THE PROBLEM?

[marcham]

Have you contacted the RV park staff? I'd suggest they test their pedestal first ... who knows, they might be liable for damage to your RV?

[SuperDad]

Originally Posted by marcham

Have you contacted the RV park staff? I'd suggest they test their pedestal first ... who knows, they might be liable for damage to your RV?

Yes I did, They came out with a multi meter and checked both the park cable box and the inlet on my RV. Said they didn't get a reading from either of them.

[CJ7ole]

Whatever you do, run everything with RG6 cable, quad-shield if possible.

I was able to simplify mine setup as I downgraded to just one TV and I only use a cable connection, no satellite and forget the antenna. But I needed a lead to a cable modem so I could get internet good enough for consistent streaming. Using my coaches RG 59 cable and it's switching center, after putting a splitter in the electrical bay left me with a poor signal for the new HDTV. And the cable guy said no way could they pull a good signal off the distribution switch box anyway. So the cable guy left me with enough of their RG6 cable, properly terminated, to allow me to move the new splitter up to the location of the old distribution box, above the right side windshield. I ran the cable from the electrical bay, along the chassis and up to the new location where I had my Blu-ray player (used for streaming), the cable modem and my Netgear wireless router. One cable then goes from the splitter to the modem, the other directly to the TV. All are RG6 cables provided by the cable company. All old RG59 cable and the old distribution switch box is now abandoned.

[JohnQ]

here's a link to another RV Website -- Hooking up the TV for cable, DTV and antenna - Satellite TV and Radio on the Road - Escapees Discussion Forum I posted a thumbnail file of how I reconfigured my "entertainment" cables, connections, receivers (*Sat), TV's, etc when I upgraded to DTV HD from DTV SD, plus eliminated that !@#$%^& troublesome switch box. Hope it helps.

[CountryFit]

John, your attached file on the forum requires a user id. Could you attach it here directly to make us easier to access? thanks.

[JohnQ]

Originally Posted by CountryFit

John, your attached file on the forum requires a user id. Could you attach it here directly to make us easier to access? thanks.

Here goes, . .