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Old 09-17-2018, 07:52 AM   #1
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Coax Cable Short

I have a 2018 Chaparral 336 TSIK 5th wheel that appears to have problem with the coaxial run between the living area to the bedroom.

Performing a channel scan on our lg tv in our bedroom, resulted in only finding 2 tv channels. Our Samsung in our living room is picking up 40+ channels.

I tested the coax run by running a length of coax directly from living room to bedroom. Scanning for channels, I was able to pick up the same as in living room.

I then used a coax tester which showed a short in the cable somewhere between the factory installed coax from living area to bedroom. I attempted to replace connectors at both ends, which, did nothing as I still have the short.

Has anyone else run into this problem and, if so, how did you fix it. The coax runs inside the walls and have no idea if this is even repairable?

Suggestions?
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Old 09-17-2018, 08:14 AM   #2
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it's hard to say, as any cable or wiring fed thru walls* is going to be tough to 'pull out' or find the suspect area of concern - you may have to find a way to simply run new cable from location to location.

*I've found in our coach that very little, if any, wiring, cables, or plumbing is actually run in ANY outside walls - they build the walls and set them, then they find creative ways to run cables and wiring, usually thru cabinets, behind 'secret' cabinet/furniture passages, and only sometimes within 'interior' walls. If you do enough investigating with a flashlight and a screwdriver, you may find that none of this cable is actually in any wall.
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Old 09-17-2018, 08:19 AM   #3
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Sounds like a nail,staple,or screw through the cable. Hard part to find it. You may be able to look under cabinets etc and see the wire and give it a slight pull.
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Old 09-17-2018, 09:00 AM   #4
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coax

I didn't read that you checked behind wall plate. most of the time the coax comes to the LR tv location, where the amp is and runs back to bedroom. Id check there first.
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Old 09-17-2018, 09:21 AM   #5
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If you look behind the basement wall (most likely on the door side) you might find a splitter in there.

When I was having issues when my 5'ver was brand new I discovered that this very splitter was wired up completely backwards.

In other words, the incoming coax was plugged into one of the splitters outputs, the other output was running to the living room and the coax going to the outside TV coax connection was plugged into the input of the splitter.

Splitters are one-way, so no signal was going to the living room TV...or anywhere else, for that matter.

Worth a look, anyway!

Oh...and don't count on your dealer to try and figure it out.

I gave my dealer two shots to fix it after I had already temporarily wired it up to work correctly...and they don't have a clue!



And their solution???

They twice wired it back up according to the factory specs...which was the same way I found it to begin with...wired up completely backwards!

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Old 09-17-2018, 09:26 AM   #6
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I didn't read that you checked behind wall plate. most of the time the coax comes to the LR tv location, where the amp is and runs back to bedroom. Id check there first.
In a 5'ver, most of the time the amp is near the TV antenna, which should be mounted on the bedroom roof.
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Old 09-17-2018, 09:49 AM   #7
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Sounds like a nail,staple,or screw through the cable. Hard part to find it. You may be able to look under cabinets etc and see the wire and give it a slight pull.
X2, I had a Thor several years ago, there was a staple thru the coax, the dealer techs said they couldn't find it, on weekend out camping I traced it down and removed it, it worked fine after that.
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Old 09-17-2018, 02:13 PM   #8
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Not to derail thread

I got one I’m trying to figure out myself. Have an 18 Artic Wolf. LR tv gets both air and cable connections. BR tv gets air only. I can hook LR to cable and turn on amp for air and get channels in BR and still have cable in LR. Been pulling hair over this. Anyone with answers???? Thanks.
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Old 09-17-2018, 02:34 PM   #9
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In a 5'ver, most of the time the amp is near the TV antenna, which should be mounted on the bedroom roof.
John, unless you are being sarcastic I can't agree with you on this.

In most R/V's (not just 5th wheels) utilizing what is referred to as the bat-wing, crank up antenna, the 'amp' is actually mounted IN the antenna and the POWER SUPPLY is mounted at the wall plate where the green button is. It's been this way for many years and our last four 5th wheels have been this way. (including our current) If this was what you were referring referring to in your statement, many folks get that confused. Maybe even you?

Only in the last couple of years with the development of the non-raising (but rotatable) tear drop style antenna, is the amp and power supply both located at the base of the antenna on the inside ceiling.
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Old 09-17-2018, 02:53 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Two dogs and us View Post
I got one I’m trying to figure out myself. Have an 18 Artic Wolf. LR tv gets both air and cable connections. BR tv gets air only. I can hook LR to cable and turn on amp for air and get channels in BR and still have cable in LR. Been pulling hair over this. Anyone with answers???? Thanks.
Every one of these R/V's are wired differently so no one can make a blanket statement that covers everything. Even same models can be wired differently as is the case with our 8529IKBS where a mid year model change, changed the wiring.

With that said, most times when the green button on the wall plate is on, you cannot get cable channels. The green button not only serves as an on/off switch for the TV antenna amplifier's power supply but it is also a selector switch. The antenna and the cable comes into the back of the power supply/switch as two cables and sends it out as one to the main TV. Some designs allow bot the antenna and the cable to go to the bedroom TV simply by how the green button is pushed but as in my case...they added yet another splitter.

On ours, we have an additional coax feed that goes to the bedroom. To get cable to the bedroom, I have to install a jumper from the powered wall plate (but from an additional non-powered connection connected to the splitter I mentioned above) to another wall plate that feeds the bedroom.

And then the additional coax feed 'home-run' is for satellite because you can't have traditional coax splitters in satellite wiring.

Confusing for sure!
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Old 09-17-2018, 03:43 PM   #11
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5picker, yes very confusing. I’m going to pull the wall in the basement next and start tracking cables. But something is telling me that behind the cable plate in the LR is not right, due to when I power up the antenna I can still get a good cable connection in the LR. I’ll pull it again and pull the one in the BR after I get the basement wall out and maybe just maybe have a better understanding of what color cable goes where.
Maybe drink a couple beforehand.
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Old 09-17-2018, 03:48 PM   #12
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John, unless you are being sarcastic I can't agree with you on this.

In most R/V's (not just 5th wheels) utilizing what is referred to as the bat-wing, crank up antenna, the 'amp' is actually mounted IN the antenna and the POWER SUPPLY is mounted at the wall plate where the green button is. It's been this way for many years and our last four 5th wheels have been this way. (including our current) If this was what you were referring referring to in your statement, many folks get that confused. Maybe even you?

Only in the last couple of years with the development of the non-raising (but rotatable) tear drop style antenna, is the amp and power supply both located at the base of the antenna on the inside ceiling.
Almost every 5'ver and TT I've ever been in (and I've been in a lot of them) have the antenna booster button within 5-10 feet of where the antenna is on the roof.

Which is what I said in less words...

I think you took my words wrong.

In 5'vers, the booster button is either in one of the closets or on a wall or ceiling plate near where the bedroom TV mounts to the wall and within a short distance from where the antenna is on the roof.

In TT's you will probably find them more toward the center of the trailer.
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Old 09-17-2018, 04:11 PM   #13
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Almost every 5'ver and TT I've ever been in (and I've been in a lot of them) have the antenna booster button within 5-10 feet of where the antenna is on the roof.

Which is what I said in less words...

I think you took my words wrong.

In 5'vers, the booster button is either in one of the closets or on a wall or ceiling plate near where the bedroom TV mounts to the wall and within a short distance from where the antenna is on the roof.

In TT's you will probably find them more toward the center of the trailer.



I probably did mistake your words... sorry.
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Old 09-18-2018, 07:17 AM   #14
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I didn't read that you checked behind wall plate. most of the time the coax comes to the LR tv location, where the amp is and runs back to bedroom. Id check there first.


When I originally started troubleshooting this problem, I pulled the radio out, which, gave me access to the amp is located. The cable connection to the bedroom had a splitter on it with one cable going to bedroom and the other to the living room tv.

I removed the splitter and connected both cables the way they should be. That did nothing .

Yesterday, I cut and crimped 2 new F type connectors onto both ends of the RG6 cable. I then tested and still showed a short.
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Old 09-18-2018, 07:19 AM   #15
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Sounds like a nail,staple,or screw through the cable. Hard part to find it. You may be able to look under cabinets etc and see the wire and give it a slight pull.


I agree. The hard part is trying to locate the run. The cable seems to be hidden well!
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Old 09-18-2018, 07:35 AM   #16
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Thanks everyone for the suggestions. If this rain ever stops, I will definitely check behind the basement wall.

The work around for now is that I am using the satellite cable connection in the bedroom for my antenna hookup.

I removed the bedroom coax cable connection behind my radio in the living room from the amp and then moved the satellite cable (Orange) over to the where my bedroom connection was connected to the amp.

I then had to install a jumper in the basement (opposite the door side ) where I have satellite connections for each area of the 5ver. I haven’t fully tested this yet as if this will work.

As I am not familiar with satellite coax vs RG6 properties-does anyone know if the satellite coax will work with the antenna?
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Old 09-18-2018, 07:42 AM   #17
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Yes. Just a better coax.
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Old 09-18-2018, 07:56 AM   #18
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So called "sat coax" is RG6.
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Old 09-20-2018, 08:15 AM   #19
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So called "sat coax" is RG6.
RG6 quad sheild
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Old 09-25-2018, 07:32 PM   #20
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Following this discussion.

I am also troubleshooting poor cable signal in the LR but good cable signal in the BR tv. When I say the signal in the LR is poor, I do get some channels, some are very static and others are "satisfactory" but the BR tv is far superior. I have swapped TVs to know if it is a TV problem but both tv's had similar picture quality.

When you are working on your TV issues, do you get any signal or are you fighting spotty signal/channel quality on your various channels? I'm asking to figure out if i'm chasing the correct solution or a possible compromised coax cable or am I facing some other problem??

Thanks,
Larry
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