Connecting TV to AS antenna

[Gene T]

Another stupid newbe question. I can not find or figure out what type of adaptor or plug to connect a TV to the receptical in the wall of my 2005 bambi. It looks like a cigar lighter receptical, althought I know it isn't. I understand the little button is for the booster and the other receptical is for cable hookup. I've stumped Radio Shack. Don't all AS trailers have these?

[AtomicNo13]

The port that resembles a cigar lighter is actually a 12 volt plug.
Your actual connection to the antenna is just like the one on your television, it is a threaded male "F" connector. Should be right there on the Winegard plate.

The Winegard plate is not actually a booster, rather a 12 volt injector that sends 12 volts up to the antenna head (where the actual "booster" lives) then strips the voltage off as the signal returns down to the wall plate.

You should need nothing other than a length of co-ax cable that goes from the wall plate to the back of your television.

Nothing more than a cable needed!

[Gene T]

Thanks for identifing the 12v plug and where the booster lives. However, after connecting the co-ax cable between the TV and Winegard plate the TV still reports no signal. I am in a kinda remote area and a large hill directly behind me would be in the way of any broadcasting station.

[Jammer]

Well, since your new, I'll mention that you do need to raise the antenna using the crank, and then point it towards the broadcast tower using the ring.

Then, you might want to head over to tvfool.com and put in your address or lat/long and see if you're in an area where there's strong enough signal. The antenna on the Airstream is not large and if you're more than 30-40 miles from the transmitter and there's a hill in the way there might not be enough signal for it to pick up.

[AtomicNo13]

Make certain your antenna is cranked up, the switch is on (indicated by the led being lit) and make sure (if you have a digital tv) you scan for more channels every time you move your coach.
You'll receive nothing if you don't scan!

This should do the trick!

[StreamRollin]

That's awesome advice Jammer, we'll bookmark this for when we move our AS up to the mountains next spring - we're told there is little if any reception, but we know there's a good sized town about 35 miles away. That tvfool.com link might just be the trick! Wendy

[daveswenson]

I bought and installed a Winegard Sensar Pro Signal Meter.

Winegard SensarPro TV Signal Meter - Product - Camping World

It came in very helpful finding signals when out where there was no WiFi or cell phone service.

Dave

[Jammer]

Wendy, I relied on the tvfool data when I put up the antenna on my (stick) house. I am in a fringe area but was able to conclude that with a "maximum effort" setup I would be able to pull in a wide enough selection of channels to avoid the expense of cable, and have found that the actual reception matches the tvfool report quite closely -- we get everything in the "red" and some of the stuff in the "gray" with our rooftop antenna.

I would imagine everything in the "yellow" should come in with an Airstream antenna. It's important to put the antenna height at 10 feet on the tvfool page as it does make a big difference in many situations.

[extiger]

Assuming you have a newer TV, you may also want to verifty with the TV menu that the antenna is set to air and not cable. Also check the source to make sure it is TV. Some TVs also work better if you run the auto channel scan that identifies available channels, after the antenna direction is set.

For me it is a two step process, first step is to set the source: antenna, cable or satellite and then set the TVs to match.

Good luck.

[Gene T]

AtomicNo13

Thanks again for the help. I brought the TV into the house and connected it to the house cable. It's the TV. It has issues and will not change from Channel 2. My bad. And I hate that term.

[Lumatic]

In case you have not figured it out yet even though it will fit, never use an auto cigarette/ cigar lighter in the 12v outlet.

[AtomicNo13]

Still try to scan on antenna for more channels, despite being seemingly stuck on channel 2.... I'll bet there are more channels to be had by scanning

[Gene T]

Late last night, we finally found the remote for the TV in question. Managed to get it to work on the house cable. Today may reveal the whole problem is operator error. Unless I can shed the blame to someone or something else..

All the advise is good to know and helps.

Thanks to AtomicNo13 and all the rest

[COUNTRYSONG]

As stated above be sure to ush the button to light up the led to indicate that you are on antenna and not on the cable side---- also check the TV to make sure the feed is to the side that says "AIR" and not "CABLE" when operating frm the antenna ---And don't wonder why I'm so smart.....

[Gene T]

As I and probably everyone else suspected, it was mostly operator error. I followed given directions, rare, and managed to get five channels. They are also suprisingly clear.

Thanks again everyone, I'll be back