Genesis Technologies GT-3.0 Support?

[Bob Fields]

Hi Fran8824,

First, sorry for your inconvenience.

Second, it is well documented here who makes these radios and with very little searching of this forum you will notice I have no problem discussing your issues and dealer perceptions.

I would suggest to your dealer to check all the wiring (not just unplug the old unit and plug in the new unit) when they replace this unit ESPECIALLY the power and ground (all the way to the converter, battery & frame) wires as three GT3 in the same RV is statistically improbable and their going bad (if they are going bad) is more of a symptom of another problem.

Over the last two years I have trained more than 300 dealers in troubleshooting 12 Volt entertainment systems but unfortunately that still leaves me with more than 5,000 to go. We will soon be launching online videos to assist dealers and owners with helpful instructions.

In reference to your comment regarding the power fluctuations and battery draining, you are absolutely right. Even with built in power protection circuitry the power issues within RVs are well documented. The converters often are stretched to the limit and when they are plugged in the spikes (again well documented) can certainly strain all systems. The recommendations would be to turn off all your breakers prior to plugging in or unplugging your RV but we already know how many people would do that (very, very few).

As you can see I have been a member here since July 2010. In fact, I was the first vendor to publicly identify myself and respond to issues directly starting a trend that now has a few more out from under the covers (as opposed to lurking and helping themselves only). I also attended the very first FROG rally in Branson (before the group was recognized officially by FR as well as this year's Goshen event. I am not always active on the forum and highly appreciate the vocal supports we have here that help folks with questions, but I am available via my contact information located here.

For all Forum members, please let me know if there is any I can do to help you. You may not always like my answer, but I will give you one! :-)

[SaskCampers]

Originally Posted by Bob Fields

Hi Fran8824,

First, sorry for your inconvenience.

Second, it is well documented here who makes these radios and with very little searching of this forum you will notice I have no problem discussing your issues and dealer perceptions.

I would suggest to your dealer to check all the wiring (not just unplug the old unit and plug in the new unit) when they replace this unit ESPECIALLY the power and ground (all the way to the converter, battery & frame) wires as three GT3 in the same RV is statistically improbable and their going bad (if they are going bad) is more of a symptom of another problem.

Over the last two years I have trained more than 300 dealers in troubleshooting 12 Volt entertainment systems but unfortunately that still leaves me with more than 5,000 to go. We will soon be launching online videos to assist dealers and owners with helpful instructions.

In reference to your comment regarding the power fluctuations and battery draining, you are absolutely right. Even with built in power protection circuitry the power issues within RVs are well documented. The converters often are stretched to the limit and when they are plugged in the spikes (again well documented) can certainly strain all systems. The recommendations would be to turn off all your breakers prior to plugging in or unplugging your RV but we already know how many people would do that (very, very few).

As you can see I have been a member here since July 2010. In fact, I was the first vendor to publicly identify myself and respond to issues directly starting a trend that now has a few more out from under the covers (as opposed to lurking and helping themselves only). I also attended the very first FROG rally in Branson (before the group was recognized officially by FR as well as this year's Goshen event. I am not always active on the forum and highly appreciate the vocal supports we have here that help folks with questions, but I am available via my contact information located here.

For all Forum members, please let me know if there is any I can do to help you. You may not always like my answer, but I will give you one! :-)

I will back Bob up on checking out everything in the RV. While we have not had any real major issues with our unit we have had some smaller ones. THe TV would shut off every time the A/C compressor came on and a few other things like that. Hard to put a finger on so I went and took the cover off the breaker panel and found I could tighten every breaker screw by at least one turn and a few even more.. Suprise my TV no longer shuts off also had what I felt was issues with braking power and started at the junction box at the front of the trailer where all the 12v stuff is tied in from the truck and battery, again here we have all this high current stuff being tied together with houshold marretes that were not really large enough for the wires. Again I took everything apart and soldered all the wiring and heat shrinked it all with very good results I may add. After seeing how quickly they put these units togehter this summer at the Goshen rally when we got to tour the factory it is a small wonder there are not more issues than people have. Do yourselves a favor and either check out the wiring yourselves or get someone to do it for you. FWIW we love our Concertone system which while it may not be audiophile in quality it is by far the most bang for the buck and there is not another system out there that can compare feature wise to a ZX800/GT3 IMO.

[Herk7769]

Bob,
Can't wait for the videos!
Herk

[fran8824]

Originally Posted by TheSasks

I will back Bob up on checking out everything in the RV. While we have not had any real major issues with our unit we have had some smaller ones. THe TV would shut off every time the A/C compressor came on and a few other things like that. Hard to put a finger on so I went and took the cover off the breaker panel and found I could tighten every breaker screw by at least one turn and a few even more.. Suprise my TV no longer shuts off also had what I felt was issues with braking power and started at the junction box at the front of the trailer where all the 12v stuff is tied in from the truck and battery, again here we have all this high current stuff being tied together with houshold marretes that were not really large enough for the wires. Again I took everything apart and soldered all the wiring and heat shrinked it all with very good results I may add. After seeing how quickly they put these units togehter this summer at the Goshen rally when we got to tour the factory it is a small wonder there are not more issues than people have. Do yourselves a favor and either check out the wiring yourselves or get someone to do it for you. FWIW we love our Concertone system which while it may not be audiophile in quality it is by far the most bang for the buck and there is not another system out there that can compare feature wise to a ZX800/GT3 IMO.

Thank you all for the input.
My problem had to be the result of low voltage from the battery when I tried to use the tongue jack after the TT was serviced. I checked out the electrical system from the battery to the end components and have installed a simple double pole toggle switch to disconnect power to the radio when necessary.
It the process, I discoverd something interresting regarding the FM radio reception on my particular TT at least. When scanning for local stations, I could only find 6 or 7 at best. There should be many more at my home just outside of Charlotte.
I found that the antenna cable to the radio had at least 4-5 feet of excess wire just hanging in the cavity directly behind the television. I knew from experience (46 years in the TV industry) that this type of TV receiver was never really "off" unless there was no power flowing to it. I also knew that the type of cable used for AM/FM radio antennas typically has extremly poor shielding properties. (TV RF emissions + poor cable shielding = crummy reception.)
I unplugged the TV, re-scanned the radio and found 27 perfectly clear channels! I repeated the procedure with the television powerd back up picking up only 8 usable channels.
The simple fix: I have since coiled up the excess antenna cable and hung it from a small hook I installed inside the radio cavity near the ceiling. It works perfectly now.
Reception is excellent, problem with low voltage fixed, life is good again.

Fran

[Bob Fields]

Good news!

[tkolson3]

We have had a problem with our Genesis Tech. GT-3.0 almost since the beginning. We bought the trailer in May 2011 and didnt retire and travel until Jan. 2012. Dvd player started to have problems then, about half way thro the movie, sometimes, it would freeze. Played around, skipping forward and it would begin again. Then it started everytime we watched a movie, and now we can't get it to continue at all. Very frustrating when you are towards the end of a movie and can't finish. We won't use it at all anymore. We are on the road again, and wondering if anyone has had the same problem. I did read on another site that one guy has been thro 2 and will not replace it with one of these. Has anyone replaced it on their own? How big of a job? Would appreciate any feedback

[trudinator]

Originally Posted by tkolson3

We have had a problem with our Genesis Tech. GT-3.0 almost since the beginning. We bought the trailer in May 2011 and didnt retire and travel until Jan. 2012. Dvd player started to have problems then, about half way thro the movie, sometimes, it would freeze. Played around, skipping forward and it would begin again. Then it started everytime we watched a movie, and now we can't get it to continue at all. Very frustrating when you are towards the end of a movie and can't finish. We won't use it at all anymore. We are on the road again, and wondering if anyone has had the same problem. I did read on another site that one guy has been thro 2 and will not replace it with one of these. Has anyone replaced it on their own? How big of a job? Would appreciate any feedback

Isn't your unit still under warranty? Call your dealer. Or PM Bob Fields. If you've been having problems since January, the onus is on you to contact your dealer for help.

[tkolson3]

warranty was only 1 year that was May 2012.

[Herk7769]

DVD reading problems could be:

Moisture - (run unit for an hour or so to cook out the condensation)
Dirty/scratched disks - (I carry a XINIX disk restorer to clean/resurface disks)
Over heating - (poor installation location can be corrected by adding a 12 VDC computer fan)
Low Voltage - Check battery for a minimum of 12 volts

It could also be a bad unit - replace under warranty

[trudinator]

Originally Posted by tkolson3

warranty was only 1 year that was May 2012.

Ah, my bad. I forget we're in 2013 already. Did you buy the 2nd year warranty?

[Hans]

I've had a problem with the DVD player in my Genesis 3.0 since day one. After about 10-20 minutes of playing a DVD, it makes a loud "POP", the picture goes out, and then the DVD reloads from the beginning. I have NEVER been able to watch a complete movie. I don't use the DVD often, maybe only 6-7 times in two years. But it very frustrating. I took it back to the dealer where I purchased my RV. He said he couldn't duplicate the problem!! WHAT?? It has NEVER worked correctly. Well I brought in home, put in a DVD and "POP"! I am so frustrated with this product (and my dealer--but thats a whole different story). Help at this site would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Hans

I've had a problem with the DVD player in my Genesis 3.0 since day one. After about 10-20 minutes of playing a DVD, it makes a loud "POP", the picture goes out, and then the DVD reloads from the beginning. I have NEVER been able to watch a complete movie. I don't use the DVD often, maybe only 6-7 times in two years. But it very frustrating. I took it back to the dealer where I purchased my RV. He said he couldn't duplicate the problem!! WHAT?? It has NEVER worked correctly. Well I brought in home, put in a DVD and "POP"! I am so frustrated with this product (and my dealer--but thats a whole different story). Help at this site would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Sounds like a bad capacitor that is spiking the player in the Genesis and causing a reset. The player is supposed to "remember" where you stopped playing and, when repowered, offer to continue from that point or from the start of the DVD.

You could contact Genesis for a repair ticket, replace the unit (same or one from Bob Fields), or just use an after market DVD player.