Jack TV antenna problem

[stratos175]

Hello All,
I searched this first but could not find anything covering my issue so was hoping someone could help.

The green light is coming on the wall mounted plate but there is no power going to the unit mounted on the ceiling. When I took the cover off there was red wire that was thicker gauge tying the black wire with the screw in coaxle piece so questioned what purpose that would serve so took that off and wired it straight and still did not work. My business partners, way smarter then me, said this is a ^^%&& sorry don:t remember but it has wire that wraps the small antenna wire and they said that's the problem. They said best fix was running new wire but on first inspection we were not sure how to do that since it looks like it goes through headliner. Has anyone else had this problem or can someone help with suggested way to fix please.

BIG THANKS and safe travels to all,

Steve

[cpaharley2008]

There is a power button on the base side, if I remember correct.

[Chris & Patricia]

Steve, is your trailer still under warranty? If so, call ETI and ask them how they are going to take care of it for you?

[stratos175]

Unfortunately no not under warranty.

The button on the wall plate is working because its turning on the green light its the part that's in the interior ceiling that is not getting power and it has to be because that wire is broken. Can that wire be spliced back together some how? To bad Radio Shack went out of business figure they would be help with this.
Again hard to see how wire is fished through and would have to be through ceiling and would not mess with the liner in fear of result. That's why I was hoping someone would have some advice.

Take care and safe travels,

Steve

[Chris & Patricia]

Originally Posted by stratos175

Unfortunately no not under warranty.

The button on the wall plate is working because its turning on the green light its the part that's in the interior ceiling that is not getting power and it has to be because that wire is broken. Can that wire be spliced back together some how? To bad Radio Shack went out of business figure they would be help with this.
Again hard to see how wire is fished through and would have to be through ceiling and would not mess with the liner in fear of result. That's why I was hoping someone would have some advice.

Take care and safe travels,

Steve

Sorry, was originally looking at this on my phone and didn't see the year of your trailer and then I would have realized that it was out of warranty. Unfortunately have no experience in running wires through the headliner on the trailer. Currently running hidden wires for my home surround sound system, which is not much use here. I'm sure someone of these super experienced guys will have some suggestion somewhere. Good luck.

[cpaharley2008]

The power button is blue led....

[CADreamin]

Steve - I would call the ETI technicians anyway. We purchased our trailer with the Jack Antenna, TV/Cable-ready and the DVD. Well, when we tried hooking up the cable from the outside, nada ... nothing. We called ETI and someone got back to us right away and told us exactly what we needed to do to make sure we had access to everything. It took a bit of rewiring but now everything works. Chances are, ETI has come across your issue before and could give you some insight on how it can be remedied without tearing the trailer apart.

[Chris & Patricia]

Interestingly I tend to get better picture quality through the Jack TV antenna than on the cable at most of the RV Parks we have visited, not that we have been to that many. I think most of the RV Park cable channels are Standard Definition, whereas some TV signals can be broadcast in slightly higher quality such as 720.

[elongest]

The wall panel supplies voltage to the antenna and signal meter ( Blue light box.) through the antenna cable. Like Jim said there is a switch for the signal meter which turns on/off the blue lights after the optimum signal is found. The amplifier is in the antenna head. There should be a red light on the antenna head (outside) if the antenna is receiving power. The red light can be better seen at night. There is a T connector in the antenna line that connects the antenna and signal meter. In a stock configuration the T connection is sealed under the base of the antenna on the roof. There should be no regular wires (non RF) needed for the antenna operation at the antenna. The regular power wires for the system go to the wall panel. Do you have a red light on the antenna?
Eddie

[stratos175]

Hello,
I thought I would restart this threat and include pictures this time.
Really not sure best way to fix this and hoping someone can make some suggestions. The wall plate is getting power, that green light comes on when you push button on same wall plate see photo
I will assume the ceiling mounted part is not getting power because of the wire that's broken. see photo
Does anyone know if you can splice this type of wire back together since in includes the antenna and power? If not what would be best course of action to fix?

BIG THANKS for the help,

Steve

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by stratos175

Hello,
I thought I would restart this threat and include pictures this time.
Really not sure best way to fix this and hoping someone can make some suggestions. The wall plate is getting power, that green light comes on when you push button on same wall plate see photo
I will assume the ceiling mounted part is not getting power because of the wire that's broken. see photo
Does anyone know if you can splice this type of wire back together since in includes the antenna and power? If not what would be best course of action to fix?

BIG THANKS for the help,

Steve

The cable pictured is the antennas coaxial cable probably RG 6
You can buy ends for the RG 6 cable either crimp or screw on The ends or terminations will then screw on to a coaxial coupling . The solid bare wire is the antenna , the stranded wire is the shield to prevent interference . The coaxial cable does not supply power to the antenna , it is the wire that carries the TV signal .

[Brian B-P]

It is coaxial cable, and the way the outer braid is twisted it looks like it was not connected properly, or an improper repair has been attempted. The centre conductor and the braid are not just a pair of wires; to work properly with radio frequency signals the braid needs to surround the centre conductor, and a proper connector maintains that coaxial arrangement. That cable is much smaller than RG6, so it might be difficult to find a proper connector set.

Judging from the diagrams in the owner's manual for a current model of Jack antenna, it looks like that cable is from the antenna to the signal meter (the box with the broken-off cable attached to it). If that's the case, an entirely separate cable connects the antenna assembly to the power inserter and connector (at the wall plate)... and that cable may be broken, too. It seems likely that the antenna was twisted around at some point.

Originally Posted by elongest

There is a T connector in the antenna line that connects the antenna and signal meter. In a stock configuration the T connection is sealed under the base of the antenna on the roof.

The good news is that the visible cable appears to be a short run internal to the antenna (which the Jack diagram calls the "interior coax"), and would come with the antenna, so it might be available from the manufacturer as a replacement part... or a complete cable with connectors on both ends could be purchased from elsewhere and installed. The bad news is that reaching the antenna end would likely require removing the antenna from the roof, since it is unlikely it could be reached through the hole in the roof... and reaching the other (likely broken) cable will almost certainly require removing the antenna to get to the T connector that Eddie described.

[Kingfish]

I would also consider why the wire is in this condition. It's very possible the antenna was ripped off the roof by a limb and placed back in position cosmetically for re-sale. It's hard to imagine another scenario. These antennas are very fragile (the reason Larry at LHC quit installing them). I have both installed one and replaced one and totally agree with LHC.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Chris & Patricia

Interestingly I tend to get better picture quality through the Jack TV antenna than on the cable at most of the RV Parks we have visited, not that we have been to that many. I think most of the RV Park cable channels are Standard Definition, whereas some TV signals can be broadcast in slightly higher quality such as 720.

Nearly all television transmitters in North America have switched from analog to digital transmission; the U.S. switched by 2009 and Canada switched by 2011. There are some exceptions in remote locations. While digital does not necessarily mean high-definition, it is more clear when there is enough signal strength, and at least most stations are high definition. Here, over-the-air transmissions are at higher resolution than digital satellite TV services. Cable service in an RV park might still be analog (and so definitely only Standard Definition).

[Kingfish]

If I remember correctly, you can remove the knob (screw in the center) and the plate abutting the ceiling (three screws I think) and you can better see what's going on. There should be a three way connector above the plate. The wire that is torn apart connects there I believe. If the antenna was in fact torn from the roof by a limb, it would have to have been replaced to keep the rain out. Does it still rotate?

[gbaglo]

And, the only difference between an HD antenna and an analogue antenna is the ink used to print HD or HD Ready on the box it comes in.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

And, the only difference between an HD antenna and an analogue antenna is the ink used to print HD or HD Ready on the box it comes in.

True! There's nothing digital about the antenna or even the amplifier in the base.

Because some stations switched from analog in the VHF band to digital in the UHF band, many people associate digital with UHF. Since some old antennas only worked in VHF, they thought they needed a "digital" antenna, but all they needed was a UHF antenna. In fact all channels (VHF and UHF) are used for digital signals now, all antennas of this style should handle both VHF and UHF, and the top UHF channels (52 and up in the U.S.; 70 and up in Canada) are not even used for television any more.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Kingfish

If I remember correctly, you can remove the knob (screw in the center) and the plate abutting the ceiling (three screws I think) and you can better see what's going on. There should be a three way connector above the plate. The wire that is torn apart connects there I believe.

Yes, it's all shown in the installation section of the owner's manual.

[elongest]

12VDC is sent from the control box to the antenna to the via the RF antenna cable. See the note by the figure in the operation section of the manual.

Control Box Check: Remove the antenna lead from the control box. Attach a short piece of coax. Turn on your control box (red light on panel). Measure between the center conductor and shield of your attached coax, you should read 12VDC. If not you may have shorted out your power output of your control box with the frayed lead. I'm not sure if there is an output fuse in the control panel. If there is no output power and no fuse you may have to replace the control panel.

Cable Replacement: Order a micro coax for the signal finder from King. The clearances are tight for the cable routing. Do not connect the trailer antenna lead to the control box until the signal finder cable is replaced and the other RF cables are inspected for damage.

As others have stated your antenna has to be removed from the roof for the cable replacement. The cabin panel may also have to be removed to route cable. If the cable is improperly routed it can be damaged by just rotating the antenna as you have seen.

Eddie

[Ken G]

I would say Get the multimeter out and check for continuity and if you have power. Do not forget to turn the switch on at the device you have apart.It should be on the side of it. I do not see a problem splicing the wire use shrink wrap on them.