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Old 04-09-2013, 11:18 AM   #1
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Crusader Entertainment Audio Modification

Hello all. I just wanted to share a minor wiring modification that I made to my entertainment center that has improved the audio system when watching TV. Our new Touring Edition has the Legend TV and a separate RCA Sound bar with DVD player in the living area. My issue was that the RCA sound bar with subwoofer was only available when playing the stereo or if playing the RCA DVD. When watching TV (antenna or sat) or when connecting a laptop to the HDMI inputs of the TV, the audio was only available over the TV speakers and not the nice sound bar and subwoofer.

Although I am not exactly sure why, the stereo did have analog audio output wires (red/white) that feed the TV speaker. I used one of these two audio wires and connected it instead to the unused orange "Coaxial" digital audio output on the Legend TV. I then removed the RCA stereo sound bar and relocated the other end of the same wire to the orange "coaxial" input on the back of the RCA stereo. Now I have digital audio over the RCA sound system that comes from whatever input source is selected and displayed on the TV.The only minor difficulty was getting to the inputs on the back of the RCA stereo. Had to remove the fireplace and central vac to expose a couple of screws holding the stereo in place.

On future units, Prime Time might want to consider utilizing these digital "coaxial" lines from the TV to the stereo instead of the red/white from the stereo to the TV.

Although I don't see an easy/clean way to do this after delivery, for video, it would be better to use HDMI or at least Component (R/G/B) video connections so that we are able to see the full progressive scan (480P) output of the RCA DVD player instead of the interlaced Yellow coax video (480i) it was delivered with. The video is not really an issue for me as I have a blue ray laptop that connects directly to the TV and with the audio mod, I now have digital audio from the computer on the sound bar as well.

Just some thoughts and suggestions from an Audio/Video geek.
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Old 04-09-2013, 05:56 PM   #2
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Great information. I'm sure to dig into this when I take delivery of our Crusader this month.
Thanks!
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Old 04-10-2013, 04:52 AM   #3
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damn you! now I have ANOTHER project!
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Old 04-15-2013, 11:20 AM   #4
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Sounds like u did a good job. I went and bought a red/white audio cable with headphone jack on the other end and plugged into the front of the sound bar. Works great, just not as customized.
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Old 04-15-2013, 06:15 PM   #5
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Sounds like u did a good job. I went and bought a red/white audio cable with headphone jack on the other end and plugged into the front of the sound bar. Works great, just not as customized.
I also use the red/white for analog audio from an external carry on analog source but the objective of the wiring mod I describe is to tap into the existing digital audio from the TV/antenna and pipe it into the digital audio system that came with the trailer.
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Old 04-15-2013, 09:18 PM   #6
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Ok I understand now
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Old 04-15-2013, 09:33 PM   #7
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Sound Bar

some elsw just posted a thread on that..and yes that does the trick..just another oops from the factory guys...sure sounds good huh..just think, we finally got what we paid for..does yours still come on all by itself when tuner mode? mine does, every day at 7:30 am..of course with shore power connected, which ours has on all the time when docked..
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Old 04-15-2013, 09:39 PM   #8
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Good catch, hopefully PTM will pick up on this thread. Oh, and BTW, my still comes on occasionally and infrequently. Can't figure it out except for my old assumption that an external remote is turning it on.
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Old 04-16-2013, 06:37 PM   #9
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Here's something else they should do:

The FM radio picks up only strong local stations using that little wire-whip antenna. They need to add a "tap" (6db or more) off the "cable" output of the Winegard booster control and wire that to the antenna input of the DVD/FM system. This makes a huge difference in what stations are picked up (when the booster is on). (A "tap" has minimal reduction of the signal to the other TVs.)
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Old 04-17-2013, 05:24 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by LKicklight View Post
some elsw just posted a thread on that..and yes that does the trick..just another oops from the factory guys...sure sounds good huh..just think, we finally got what we paid for..does yours still come on all by itself when tuner mode? mine does, every day at 7:30 am..of course with shore power connected, which ours has on all the time when docked..
Mine comes on by itself randomly...really spooked me ...hasn't done it lately though.
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Old 04-17-2013, 05:46 AM   #11
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Don't Worry

Mine does the same thing..we have had it plugged in to shore power for about a month now..everytime I go out to the unit...it is on...I tune it to AUX, that way it does not make any noise...



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Mine comes on by itself randomly...really spooked me ...hasn't done it lately though.
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Old 05-31-2013, 07:12 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by jwhitacre View Post
Hello all. I just wanted to share a minor wiring modification that I made to my entertainment center that has improved the audio system when watching TV. Our new Touring Edition has the Legend TV and a separate RCA Sound bar with DVD player in the living area. My issue was that the RCA sound bar with subwoofer was only available when playing the stereo or if playing the RCA DVD. When watching TV (antenna or sat) or when connecting a laptop to the HDMI inputs of the TV, the audio was only available over the TV speakers and not the nice sound bar and subwoofer.

Although I am not exactly sure why, the stereo did have analog audio output wires (red/white) that feed the TV speaker. I used one of these two audio wires and connected it instead to the unused orange "Coaxial" digital audio output on the Legend TV. I then removed the RCA stereo sound bar and relocated the other end of the same wire to the orange "coaxial" input on the back of the RCA stereo. Now I have digital audio over the RCA sound system that comes from whatever input source is selected and displayed on the TV.The only minor difficulty was getting to the inputs on the back of the RCA stereo. Had to remove the fireplace and central vac to expose a couple of screws holding the stereo in place.

On future units, Prime Time might want to consider utilizing these digital "coaxial" lines from the TV to the stereo instead of the red/white from the stereo to the TV.

Although I don't see an easy/clean way to do this after delivery, for video, it would be better to use HDMI or at least Component (R/G/B) video connections so that we are able to see the full progressive scan (480P) output of the RCA DVD player instead of the interlaced Yellow coax video (480i) it was delivered with. The video is not really an issue for me as I have a blue ray laptop that connects directly to the TV and with the audio mod, I now have digital audio from the computer on the sound bar as well.

Just some thoughts and suggestions from an Audio/Video geek.
Thanks, I was wondering how to get to the back of that soundbar to get to the HDMI output/inputs and see what else is on that back panel. Plus, I plan to swap it out in the future with a high end soundbar/bluray. I'll take a few measurements to see what will fit nicely in there. Great post.
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Old 05-31-2013, 08:30 PM   #13
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I removed the radio (sound bar) and put it under the tv. The radio is only 6" deep. The space it is in is 18"deep. Now I"m making a nice big draw 36" wide x 18" deep.
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Old 05-31-2013, 08:44 PM   #14
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I saw a pic of the interior of a '14 Crusader 335BHS and it looks like they changed the sounbar setup....looked like a small DVD player below the tv on the "counter" above the sounbar.
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Old 05-31-2013, 08:58 PM   #15
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Modification

I want to make this change right now, but don't think I know enough about this to not make a mess out of it..got any suggestions on getting it done by a realible sound company without spending mega bucks??



Quote:
Originally Posted by jwhitacre View Post
Hello all. I just wanted to share a minor wiring modification that I made to my entertainment center that has improved the audio system when watching TV. Our new Touring Edition has the Legend TV and a separate RCA Sound bar with DVD player in the living area. My issue was that the RCA sound bar with subwoofer was only available when playing the stereo or if playing the RCA DVD. When watching TV (antenna or sat) or when connecting a laptop to the HDMI inputs of the TV, the audio was only available over the TV speakers and not the nice sound bar and subwoofer.

Although I am not exactly sure why, the stereo did have analog audio output wires (red/white) that feed the TV speaker. I used one of these two audio wires and connected it instead to the unused orange "Coaxial" digital audio output on the Legend TV. I then removed the RCA stereo sound bar and relocated the other end of the same wire to the orange "coaxial" input on the back of the RCA stereo. Now I have digital audio over the RCA sound system that comes from whatever input source is selected and displayed on the TV.The only minor difficulty was getting to the inputs on the back of the RCA stereo. Had to remove the fireplace and central vac to expose a couple of screws holding the stereo in place.

On future units, Prime Time might want to consider utilizing these digital "coaxial" lines from the TV to the stereo instead of the red/white from the stereo to the TV.

Although I don't see an easy/clean way to do this after delivery, for video, it would be better to use HDMI or at least Component (R/G/B) video connections so that we are able to see the full progressive scan (480P) output of the RCA DVD player instead of the interlaced Yellow coax video (480i) it was delivered with. The video is not really an issue for me as I have a blue ray laptop that connects directly to the TV and with the audio mod, I now have digital audio from the computer on the sound bar as well.

Just some thoughts and suggestions from an Audio/Video geek.
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Old 06-02-2013, 05:42 AM   #16
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Well, removed the fireplace, took out the RCA radio/DVDplayer Soundbar and took the measurements for a replacement high end soundbar. If you have the same Crusader and want to swap it out: The opening is 4 1/4 tall X 37 X 9 1/2 deep EXACT. The sub is a different story and I didn't measure the space for it behind the Fireplace cause I'm planning to go with a wireless sub plus most of the higher end subs won't fit back there.
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Old 06-02-2013, 08:00 AM   #17
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Moved DVD Player

I removed the DVD player and mounted it under the TV. Built a drawer in it's place.
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Old 06-02-2013, 08:19 AM   #18
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I removed the DVD player and mounted it under the TV. Built a drawer in it's place.
Nice.
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Old 06-02-2013, 07:09 PM   #19
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FM reception update

had some extra time this afternoon so I cranked the a/c on and pulled the soundbar out to investgate the antenna situation. The fm is nothing more than a wire a couple feet long dangling behind the unit. Soooo I decided to take my amplified Terk out of the house & hook it up. Quite a differance, so it's new home is in the 5er. Some day I'm going to replace the panel the sub is up against with speaker fabric so I can actually HEAR the sub. My '11 Flagstaff TT was built that way...don't know why PT doesn't.
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Old 06-03-2013, 05:49 AM   #20
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Took the soundbar out yesterday to have a look. I replaced the red/white and yellow with a HDMI cable. Now on the remote I can toggle the HDMI button for standard 480 resolution, 720HD or 1080HD. I see a very small difference in picture quality from 480 and 720 (upscaling). No difference with 1080 cause the tv only is capable of 720. I figure if anything, the sound should be a little better, just make sure the soundbar is set to stereo for better sound. Then I took a red-right/white-left plugs only wire from my bag of wires and hooked up the audio outputs from the TV to the AUX1 inputs (AUX2 is on the front) on the sound bar so the sound from the TV is sent through the soundbar.

Played the dvd and it had some issues with loading so I know this player won't last long if it's struggling with that already. The cheaper ones usually have trouble finding their place on the dvd, freeze or won't play at all. When it finally did, it wasn't bad. Next I figured it shouldn't have a problem with a CD since there's much less information to process. It did just fine. The crazy part is it was playing the CD just fine when the sound all of a sudden started going loud-quiet, loud quiet in rhythm. I'm thinking, what's up with this thing now? Right before it started doing that I noticed I shut off the TV. I know, what the hell does that have to do with anything? I thought the same thing but figured I'd turn it back on. It stopped. WTF? So I turned the TV off again and it started again. This time I unplugged the TV after I turned it off and the bizarre behavior of the soundbar CD player stopped again. Turns out, and I don't know why but ever since I started using the HDMI cable, the TV is creating some sort of interference while it is off with power to it. Go figure. No big deal, I'll just unplug it or keep a news channel on while playing CD's. When the soundbar finally craps out, it'll be my opportunity to buy a real sound system. Don't forget, when using the AUX2 in the front for MP3 or whatever, on the remote (bottom right area) set the soundbar to stereo. As a matter of fact, stereo should be the default setting cause the other sound field (pretend surround) is useless and sounds terrible.
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