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Old 07-20-2018, 06:27 PM   #1
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Antenna booster and lights

I have a 2015 Viking 17fq. With the antenna booster on and watching tv, I turn on any light, I loose reception to tv. Turn off light and tv comes back in. Any suggestions?
Alex
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Old 07-21-2018, 06:45 AM   #2
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Welcome to the forum its a great place to get your question answered. I would check the connection where the antenna booster is tied to the 12v sounds like a loose connection.
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Old 07-21-2018, 06:56 AM   #3
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Some cheaply made LED lights send off rf signals that interfere with the tv signals. Try turning on the led's one at a time to see if they are the ones that interfere.
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Old 07-21-2018, 06:58 AM   #4
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Did you replace any of the lights with aftermarket LEDs? LED modules use drive circuits that can generate RF interference if not properly designed. Some ( more than a few) of the inexpensive aftermarket LED modules use low cost poor quality RF components that will generate RF interference and effect your TV signal. The easiest way to resolve this is to replace them with high quality LED modules from a reputable supplier. It is also possible that FR got a batch of low quality LED modules.
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Old 07-21-2018, 07:12 AM   #5
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My factory original LED ceiling lights do that especially if I'm on antenna TV with a marginal signal.
Not all that uncommon.
If I have a good strong cable or antenna signal then it's not an issue.
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Old 07-21-2018, 02:40 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KyDan View Post
My factory original LED ceiling lights do that especially if I'm on antenna TV with a marginal signal.
Not all that uncommon.
If I have a good strong cable or antenna signal then it's not an issue.
Thanks everyone for the help. Let you know how I make out.
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Old 07-21-2018, 04:25 PM   #7
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Here's what I found when I replaced the "omni-directional" antenna. Our radio antenna cable is connected to the antenna splitter/power supply. So I had the radio antenna cable pulled out of the hole during testing the radio would play a ton of stations with the lights on or off, but as soon as I stuffed the cable back in the wall, with the lights on it would only get a channel or two, but with the lights off it went back to getting all the stations it did with the cable out of the wall. So I tested the tv and guess what, the same thing happened.

Now here's the kicker. When I put the cables back in the wall they dropped down close behind the converter and that's where the interference was coming from. Apparently the LED lights create some interference in the 12 volt system that interferes with the tv and radio signal. While it's no doubt that the LEDs are causing the interference, my solution was to isolate the tv and radio cables from the other 12 volt wiring. Now I can turn on the lights and play the tv or radio.
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Old 07-21-2018, 05:58 PM   #8
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Antenna interferance

What did you do to isolate them?
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Old 07-22-2018, 04:48 AM   #9
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I just suspended them away from the main routing of the 12 wiring and in a couple places where they did cross I routed the cable and wires perpendicular to each other as much as I could.

I don't know if a choke on the wiring from the lights would help or not, but I've thought about trying it. However, replacing the lamps with ones with better quality drivers is probably the correct fix.
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Old 07-22-2018, 06:00 AM   #10
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Our previous fifth wheel (2012 Columbus) has that problem from day one. I think the factory used cheap LED lights, because we had some go out in less than a year.

We eventually got accustomed to either 1) not turning certain lights on or 2) dealing with the TV outage until that light was turned off.

Fortunately our new Cardinal doesn't do that.
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Old 07-22-2018, 11:51 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MainePiper View Post
I have a 2015 Viking 17fq. With the antenna booster on and watching tv, I turn on any light, I loose reception to tv. Turn off light and tv comes back in. Any suggestions?
Alex
Remove the booster plug,,, clean all contacts,,, I use a emery board,,,
I also had to carefully bend prongs out a little,,, for a better contact !!!

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