Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great. (Read 915 times) previous topic - next topic

Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Ok, so here's the skinny. We have completely replaced rear axle seals, installed new rear air brake chambers, rotors, calipers, brake pads, slack adjusters, have a brand new alternator coming tomorrow, doing an oil change & new filters  on the gen and Cat engine in about a week because THIS year we are getting OUT OF MICHIGAN for a couple weeks and heading to Florida!! It's been 3 years that we've been cooped up here with my wifes back surgery / recovery, my elbow, forearm, hand surgery / recovery and my shoulder surgery / recovery last year. I cannot wait!!

So, here's what I ran into this evening.......I picked up a couple led/lcd tv's for the coach. A 24" that fits right in the front box of the GV without any widening and I "had" a 22" for the rear. I mistakenly took the 24" out and took it to the back before I realized what it was and I really like the way it's going to fit in the original box with actually less mods that if I were to install the 22". So, will be swapping out the 22" for another matching 24" on Friday.

I had a real challenge connecting the tv's tonight and think I was just lucky getting things to work the way I did. I will say this....I never see us having digital tv, never see cable or sat. dish or anything besides good ol' dvd movies and an occasional classic vhs. We have always had the basic system set up that came from the factory, which would be the wingard or what-ever its called as an antenna. That will not be used any longer but is still atop the coach. That ran to the configuration in the closet floor with the octopus of wires coming out of it and going to God knows where. There is that little "power" switch with the light on it in the hallway for playing tv with 2 other switches for I think cable/ antenna/vhs and or something else. I'm sure that any of you with FT experience already know what I'm talking about.

So the thing is, I'm thinking about installing a new dvd player along with the new front tv. They will both fit nicely in the front compartment. That way if my wife and I want to watch something different from my 2 boys, they will have their own set up. We then, will have our own in the rear. It would seem really REALLY simple to just connect both units as stand alone systems with new HDMI cables ( which I've never used before ) Both the tv and dvd player have them and I understand that the picture quality is much better for viewing dvd ( but not vhs...and that's fine ) So, with that said, the problem would be solved........UNTIL we wanted to put in a movie in the bedroom and play it on both tv's as it was intended to be from the factory. Tonight without HDMI cables, but with a powered RCA converter and everything connected, the quality was poor at best. I was just not happy with it in the least.

With ALL THAT SAID......is there a simple and frugal way to connect both sets together so one dvd player can broadcast to both sets, and also have separate dvd players and play different movies at the same time if that was preferred?

Should I simply eliminate the entire Wingard box? ( although I hear there IS an HD antenna that could mount to it....BUT we may likely never use one, seriously. We're movie people )

If what I'm asking really would be simple and would use HDMI cables, is there an easy way to get the new cables snaked through the coach?

Suggestions, ideas and or recommendations hoped for.

Thank you all in advance

It's after 11pm here now and I'll be tuning out after posting this.....I cleaned 22 chimneys and fireplaces Tuesday, installed a stainless steel class-a chimney Monday, built a block masonry chimney Sunday, cleaned 16 more today and start another 20 or so tomorrow ( in about 7 hours ) so I'll miss playing with everyone here tonight, BUT will look forward to seeing if someone has some help for me to make my tv viewing a clear and quality experience.

G'nite
Carl Sandel
1991 36' U280
Northern Michigan

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #1 –
Just ran into this too, here is what i did.
Used a 2 way splitter to bypass the wineguard 1000
Bought 2 dvd players one blueray for the front-cause a 40' hdmi is $50
Purchased a digitial converter for wineguard ant fits in plade of batwing $38

All works we believe in the KISS principle.

Hope our experience helps your experience
The selected media item is not currently available.
My advice and experiences are Free, you decide if they are worth anything .

John - driving Old Faithful
1994 U280 GV
C8.3, Banks, Pacbrake, 900 watts, Resonator, XLHD tow dolly
Retired Army Warrant Officer

Life is what you make of it - if it is lemons, make lemonade!
Former Coaches:
1988 GV 40' ORED 300HP CAT - 9 years
1990 Winnebago LeSharo - 3 years
2000 Newmar London Aire - 3 years (#18 of 23 produced)

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #2 –
Nice! Thanks for that info. Will check into that $38 part and get this moving along.

Much appreciated
Carl Sandel
1991 36' U280
Northern Michigan

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #3 –
I would think that the video switch box should not give you a low quality picture. You may have a bad coax cable connection. Don't get rid of it, as it will be useful for off-air & campground cable as well as DVD VHS players.

I assume your powered RCA converter takes in RCA video, left & right audio and outputs a coax signal on your choice of channel 3 or 4. Picture quality would also be bad if converter is set to channel 3 & TV is tuned to channel 4 (or vice versa).

Connecting each TV directly to a DVD player with a HDMI cable and also connecting TV to Foretravel coax should give you practical options. Change TV "input" controls to switch between coax & HDMI.

Connect one DVD player that has RCA video & audio to your RCA converter and then to video switch. Inexpensive DVD players, like $40 Walmart units have RCA outputs. Many of the new Blu-ray players only have HDMI connections. Since DVDs are a main source of entertainment, it may be simpler to have an inexpensive DVD player and 2nd Blu-ray DVD player near each other so you can share some video switch box videos and also have the option to watch different HDMI videos at the same time.

Using an inexpensive wired IR repeater that was recently mentioned on the forum can simplify remote control of DVD players and allow you to install DVD players in a closet. It pays to have a Blu-ray player because more & more movies are available in HD format and sometimes they are found in campground libraries
.

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #4 –
John, you said you Purchased a digital converter for winegard ant fits in place of batwing $38... Is it a special brand or will any of those items incorporate the same? I'd like to find something while in Traverse City tomorrow.

Also, the 2 way splitter you used is just your standard coax 2 way splitter isn't it? I've got one setting on the table right now.

Barry, I assume the only way to check for bad coax is to plug things into each separetly and do the trial and error process. When I find a coax that is bad can I just connect the new to the end of the old and pull the new one in by pulling out the old or bad one?

So what your saying Barry is to basically do what John said and have a tv with dvd in the front AND rear both connected by HDMI cables, PLUS still connecting through the winegard 1000 box for flexibility...as long as I dont have bad or faulty coax to start with. Is that about right? I really don't want to abandon all the FT connections and controls, but dont want to create a mess over a couple tvs either.

Will wait to hear from you guys and head to town tomorrow for what I hope to be everything your guys mentioned

Thanks
Carl Sandel
1991 36' U280
Northern Michigan

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #5 –
Yes just a std 2 way coax splitter under the closet floor bypassing the wineguard 1000. Leave it in for future sat. R
Mine has another switch on the wall for cable-antenna.

The digital antenna(i got wineguard but all work) got mine from bontraggers in white pigion, mi near shipshewanna $38 in august -

But most cw or rv places have them. unbolt old bat wing.. bolt in new -done.

Hope our experience helps your experience.
The selected media item is not currently available.
My advice and experiences are Free, you decide if they are worth anything .

John - driving Old Faithful
1994 U280 GV
C8.3, Banks, Pacbrake, 900 watts, Resonator, XLHD tow dolly
Retired Army Warrant Officer

Life is what you make of it - if it is lemons, make lemonade!
Former Coaches:
1988 GV 40' ORED 300HP CAT - 9 years
1990 Winnebago LeSharo - 3 years
2000 Newmar London Aire - 3 years (#18 of 23 produced)

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #6 –


If you are thinking of installing a HDMI cable in the belly, you have to climb up in the front suspension as well as pulling the metal cover off in the compartment. You will also probably need a longer cable than you estimate. Least expensive is to buy off ebay and only get a heavy duty cable as many only have a very thin jacket on them and it is easily torn. Here is the cable I used ($19 delivered) and the split wire loom ($14 delivered). It is well made. Cmple HDMI Cable 30 Feet New Electronics Accessories Supplies Audio Video | eBay  New SLT38 High Quality 100' Feet 3 8" Split Loom Wire Tubing Black | eBay  Nice to have two people, one to pull and one to feed. I used a rod with the HDMI fastened to the end with electrical tape.

For those thinking about the engine compartment, you need the high temperature variety of split loom as this will easily melt around the exhaust system.

Another way would be to buy Apple's AppleTV. You can then mirror your display with a 2011 or later MacBook or use Air Parrot on earlier models. The third generation is about $100. The earlier models are more expensive as they can be jailbroken. If you have an internet connection, you can install XBMC for free in a Mac, PC, Droid, etc and watch movies, TV shows, sports for no charge and is legal unless you use a third party add-on.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #7 –

@W Carl " I really don't want to abandon all the FT connections and controls, but dont want to create a mess over a couple tvs either."
I wanted to keep everything as original as possible. 1-) I wanted to be able to get OTA 2-) If i wanted to add Dish later on have secondary "cable" access working.
Coax cable usually do not go bad, if there is a issue it will be at its end, the connecter.  Also cooper is a cooper and it does not discriminate between digital and analog signal. So the original coax will pass the OTA digital signals just fine and it does in my GV.
First I wanted to identify all the wiring, previous owner had two new coax installed for cable/dish and i could not figure it out without tracing. I have a Idea TRACE Tone Generator & Amplified Probe Test Set. I purchased it from Lowe's some time ago. Shop IDEAL Analog Multimeter at Lowes.com
There are better ones these days but this did the job for me. I disconnected the OTA antenna from it's entry point in to Coach from the roof & connected the tone generator end to that coax female .... Then at Winegard 1000 I located the other end of the OTA cable. I did the same for the cable entry in the utility bay right next to old phone plugin. With the tone generator i was able to identify all the cables for front & back TV. ( I did the test with tone generator from Winegard1000K to front and back TV's also)
I replace the old winegard antenna with Amazon.com: JACK OA-8000 Digital TV Antenna: Electronics  It is very easy and you only be changing the antenna top (5 min).  Our home is 50+ miles a way from the broadcasting antennas. with this set up everything going through the Winegard 1000K (able to use the original winegard wall switcher) I was able to get 46 channels including all the major channels in HD :-)  So now I have OTA on both front and bedroom TV's
I also know that my cable line is also operating ( I tested it with OTA & our Dish)  Now more than likely I will add Dish 211K receiver to our home Dish account. With this when we are away from home we can sling our recorded shows from our home DVR (when there is good internet access) and also be able to watch Dish network with tailgater or a tripod portable dish.

There are wireless options and Apple TV, etc ... these days there is many ways to set this up, I wanted to keep original and use what's already there. When we are camping TV is not that important anyway but we would like everything working and available.  Also this is where all my geek friends and myself buy cables, etc  HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters,
I hope this helps,
AL

As an Amazon Associate Foretravel Owners' Forum earns from qualifying purchases.
Former 2003 GV U295 (6230) (2015 - 2025)
Former 94 GV U225 (2013-2016)

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #8 –
Geez... I can't even find out where the OTA antenna (a Wineguard with an updated HDTV batwing) enters the coach or where the Wineguard system is. Buttons push, red lights come on, but I have never found a coax that produced a TV signal when connected to a TV. This is in contrast to an 8" wire which, in the same locations, sucked down a bunch of HD signals.

This has been a low priority for me because my plans have revolved around using WiFi and streaming the signals around the coach (as soon as I get around to findint the right devices) but it would be nice to make all this stuff work without taking the overhead down and trying to trace everything. It was all a mess when we bought the coach (the previous owner fancied himself an electrician of sorts).

Looking into the cabinet where the Wineguard control panel is installed, there are yellow cables that look like they go through the roof but they do not look like coax. Where in the world are they? Hidden under the ceiling panels?

Craig

1993 U225 36' Unihome GV with PACBRAKE exhaust retarder, Banks Stinger and Solar Panels.
Toad: 1999 Jeep Wrangler 2-door soft-top.

"No one has ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke."

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #9 –
Carl,

Coax connections are simple as they use the cable's center wire and the screw-on part touches the cable's ground shield. Unscrew each connection and look for bent center wire or ground shield that touches the center wire, then carefully screw each back on.

Coax cables are not real expensive and you can buy a long length and temporarily connect from one of the motorhome to the other, which bypasses a lot of wires, splitters, switches, etc. If you temporary cable works better move to another point to figure out which is the problem. Two male ends can be connected together with a common female-female barrel connector, about an inch long.

You will not usually be able to pull a new cable with a new cable because the original cable is fastened down or in tight places.

Digital converters are only used with old TV, usually CRT that do NOT have a digital tuner. All recent TVs have digital tuners, mandated by FCC. Almost all off-air broadcasts are now digital, so they work with all newer TVs. All TV antennas, even older batwings will receive these digital broadcasts, like all antennas, some work better than others. There is no such thing as a 'digital' antenna. Most digital broadcasts are using 'UHF' frequencies, like channel 14-100. Most older antennas were made to receive UHF channels & VHF channels 2-13. Some of the newer antennas are made to receive only UHF channels and are usually smaller.

Yes on separate HDMI players. A new idea is to have an inexpensive DVD player with coax connection or video/audio - coax for sharing both TVs through video switch box. Separate HDMI players usually don't have any connections other than HDMI.

Installing these DVD players out of sight will still work with IR repeaters.

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #10 –
wa-des-rat Those yellow lines are probably the air lines to the air horns on the roof
previous 1984 35 ft ORED 250 HP 3208 Cat       
previous 1998 40 ft U295 CAI 325 hp Cummins
previous 2003 40 Ft u320 build #6140 450 Cummins M11.                                                         
1999 Mazda Miata
Ron, Nancy, Tipper the cat, Max The dog
1997 U 270 36 ft build number 5174 8.3 Cummins

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #11 –
Quote from: red tractor –
wa-des-rat Those yellow lines are probably the air lines to the air horns on the roof

Ahh... that makes sense. Thanks. :)

Craig
1993 U225 36' Unihome GV with PACBRAKE exhaust retarder, Banks Stinger and Solar Panels.
Toad: 1999 Jeep Wrangler 2-door soft-top.

"No one has ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke."

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #12 –
You can test coax cable with a meter. Should have continuity from end to end on center wire and also on braid shield, but should not have continuity from center to braid.

One way to find which cable is which is to connect center to braid on one end of one cable and then look for a cable end that has continuity between center & braid. Another way is to put voltage, like a 9-volt battery across the end of one cable and look for 9-volts at the end of another cable. Splitters may interfere with these tests. 9-volt battery snap ends are available to make a permanent connection to a cut-off end of a short cable, that can be screwed onto any cable for a quick test.

Feel free to disconnect the cable to the outside bay and its associated splitter, to help clean things up, if you are not watching TV while outside.

Lowe's & Home Depot have good prices on coax TV cables, splitters, etc. Avoid crimpers when putting your own F connectors on the ends. Better to use new style compression tool that does not squeeze cable, which can distort the distance between braid and center wire, which can change the characteristics of the cable

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #13 –
Quote from: wa_desert_rat –
Geez... I can't even find out where the OTA antenna (a Wineguard with an updated HDTV batwing) enters the coach or where the Wineguard system is.


Craig,
In the rear closet under it floorboards.
1994 U225
build #4514

Re: Any TV wiring upgrade ideas would be great.

Reply #14 –
Wow!! Thanks for everyone who shared. I've learned a lot and am on hold temporarily. I received 2 Visio HDTV's but the 22" had to go back. Now will have 24's in both the front and back. I will try my best to connect everything so I can still use the FT / Winegard switches. I will use Barry's ideas of a tester with a 9v battery and was JUST GETTING READY to pull the trigger on a new amplified digital antenna to fit my current roof mount, but may now hold off and after everything is connected, I'll see what I get with bare bones since both sets are new and are digital tuner equipted. That may save a dollar or two, even though we rarely watch TV stations.

I just hope I can follow Barry's info to connect a dvd to each tv and have the option of watching 1 movie on both or being able to watch 2 different movies. I'm not going to worry about blue ray for now. We only have the coach on the road for a few short weekends and a couple 2 week trips for now. So, just having the options I mentioned would be great to be able to connect correctly.

Thanks again everyone
Carl Sandel
1991 36' U280
Northern Michigan