Community Forums

Doodles · 11-27-2009, 05:21 PM

have a 07 mh and do have cable and sat hook up and there is a box inside that has buttons ant cable sat vcr tried to use the ant and did not work. I thought that box would be ok but I guess not. do I need something else?
Jim

GaryKD · 11-27-2009, 05:32 PM

Hi Doodles,
There are a few things you can check.

1. Is the TV capable of receiving a digital Off/Air station? Either the TV was made to receive digital transmissions or you would have purchased a converter box.

2. The off/air antenna will need a 12 VDC booster. The booster on/off switch could be on the wall, in a cabinet, or near the crank up handle or power up switch. The booster may also be included in the distribution box mentioned in your OP. Where ever the booster is located, there should be a small red light to let you know it is on.

Please let us know what you find.

Doodles · 11-27-2009, 05:41 PM

have that booster box and yes have the red light. I think I need the converter box as I think these are not digital ready. I do have sat but have it turn off on this trip. the campground did not have cable.
Jim

GaryKD · 11-27-2009, 06:26 PM

Hi Jim,
Many of the electronic stores have the converter boxes. Wal-Mart, etc also sells them. It is very important to purchase a converter box with the "pass through" feature. This feature will be mentioned on the box. The converter box should be the last thing before the TV. This means the cable/Sat signals need to "pass through" the converter box when you have chosen one of those inputs.

hillbilly3 · 11-28-2009, 06:11 AM

When acessing the setup mode on your tv, if it is digital ready, the menu will usually give you a choice of Analog or Digital channel search. If it does not, and just says channel search, then it probally does not have the digital tuner built in. If it does, select digital channel seach, with the input on the menu set as "Antenna", not "Cable". Since it is an 07', It may or may not have the tuner, If it is a flat screen LCD or Plasma, it is very likely it is digital ready. A quick internet search on the brand and model should give you this info. (also if it has multiple input capability, make sure it is set to "ANT")

wa8yxm · 11-28-2009, 08:24 AM

You said you tried to use the antenna and it did not work.. Three thoughts

1: Did you press the POWER button on the switch box (normally it is on the left, and may be above the other buttons) it will turn on a light.. If the light is not on the antenna pre-amplifier (Which is in the antenna) does NOT have power and will not work.. NOTE that a blown fuse can keep it off as well

2: Are your televisions capable of receiving the new ATSC Digital transmissions?

3: You have a problem.. Answer 1 and 2 and then we will go to troubleshooting.

Doodles · 11-29-2009, 04:57 PM

Thanks
I do not think the tv is digital ready. had the 12 volt box on were it will say ant, vcr, sat, cable. with the converter box I guess I will need two as the box goes befor the tv? and I need a pass through converter.
This is 07 mh and they are not flat screen so I do think I need the converter box.
Thanks for the help
Jim ( a shrine clown)

Baby Bear · 11-29-2009, 06:07 PM

Check the local PBS station for reception. There are quite a few public stations that were not required to convert yet.

hillbilly3 · 11-30-2009, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doodles

Thanks
I do not think the tv is digital ready. had the 12 volt box on were it will say ant, vcr, sat, cable. with the converter box I guess I will need two as the box goes befor the tv? and I need a pass through converter.
This is 07 mh and they are not flat screen so I do think I need the converter box.
Thanks for the help
Jim ( a shrine clown)

Yes, you will need one for each TV, unless you want to watch the same channel on all TV's. If you put it before the ant input on the switch,(unless the switch controls both the front and rear TV's like mine) you will not need the pass through feature, though I think it is a standard feature. This will make hook up easier, but using the pass through feature you could put in the cable, sat or vcr input, and be able to use the remote control to toggle between the two instead of having to get up and manually push the button on the switch. The picture you get will be better than satelite or cable!