17' Series Help!! Frustrated with tv aerial and reception

Hoffy

Member
Jun 10, 2014
66
76
18
Gold Coast, Queensland
hello to all,

We are using our new Jayco Expanda for the third time and I am so frustrated with the the tv reception.
Our van came with the wind up "winegard" antenna and 12 volt sphere tv.

I have made sure the antenna is facing the correct way, tuned the tv where it tells me there are more than 50 digital channels and then when I am watching it, It keeps flicking between the show and the no signal screen!!! Sometimes if I'm lucky, I can find one channel that may not do this (which is normally sbs...lol) but this has happened all three trips which has been Brunswick Heads, Yamba and now Cotton Tree!!

I called Jayco and they tell me that there is a booster already installed and that it is the switch near the sink. We were told at handover that that switch is for parks that supply foxtel??? If the booster is near the sink under the microwave, does that mean I have to have an antenna cord going across the van to plug into this, across the dining table?? Doesn't make sense to me.

If anybody can help or have any suggestions, that would be greatly appreciated

Hoffy's Wife
 

Dobbie

Well-Known Member
Jun 18, 2014
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I'd give the booster a try. It's the button next to the antenna 12v socket....on the wall near the seats on ours.

I know we sometimes curse when we can't get TV reception then we remember the booster and smiles abound.

It could be a connection problem within the booster cabling as well. But I do know the booster is part of the usual TV setup, not for caravan parks. The external antenna inlet is for caravan parks in low signal areas to tap into their signal.

Sounds a bit strange if the TV tuning shows multiple channels but signal is unreliable.

Another thing to try might be the "my switch" app ...free from the grateful government...which will give you the coordinates for closest TV signals. There are others such as antenna mate but the my switch works if you use it with a compass.
 
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Bushman

Forum Moderator
Staff member
Nov 9, 2010
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Wollondilly Shire NSW
You should have a socket that looks like this one 12v outlet, aerial connection, the booster is the little red or black switch to the side, we had 2 aerial outlets the second was a standard outlet on the buffet cupboard inside the door next to bed (16-49-3) the booster has nothing to do with external source from park onsite connections.

12092010225.jpg



Also pick up one of these, make life easier

Signal finder
 
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Bluey

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Mar 31, 2014
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yes you must have a green light on or red , it means the booster is on which you need on all the time only don't need it if taped into a caravan park antenna the snow flake antenna doesn't have great distance a good antenna must produce GAIN but snow flake ones don't so you must be no more than say 80ks max from a tower I changed mine to a voyager its on the thread tv antennas made it fit on the mast once I took the snowflake off 120 for the voyager vertical or horizontal money well spent but as others have said you may have a loose wire I wonder if a tv antenna bloke can check if your cabling isn't very good ? so you can tell jayco had it looked at and its stuffed
 
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Crusty181

Well-Known Member
Feb 7, 2010
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Mentone, VIC
hello to all,

We are using our new Jayco Expanda for the third time and I am so frustrated with the the tv reception.
Our van came with the wind up "winegard" antenna and 12 volt sphere tv.

I have made sure the antenna is facing the correct way, tuned the tv where it tells me there are more than 50 digital channels and then when I am watching it, It keeps flicking between the show and the no signal screen!!! Sometimes if I'm lucky, I can find one channel that may not do this (which is normally sbs...lol) but this has happened all three trips which has been Brunswick Heads, Yamba and now Cotton Tree!!

I called Jayco and they tell me that there is a booster already installed and that it is the switch near the sink. We were told at handover that that switch is for parks that supply foxtel??? If the booster is near the sink under the microwave, does that mean I have to have an antenna cord going across the van to plug into this, across the dining table?? Doesn't make sense to me.

If anybody can help or have any suggestions, that would be greatly appreciated

Hoffy's Wife
Hey Hoffy's wife ... Winegards are not a great antenna to start with plus Jayco have a ongoing issue with correctly cabling them, leaving them shorting out, connected incorrectly and sometimes firing nails through the cables (hey @davemc). The Winegard wall plate with the tiny switch, in @Bushman's pic, is the power switch for the amplifier, and generally the Winegard won't work well at all anywhere without that switched on. Sometimes that "power plate" is installed as the actual TV point, and sometimes for some odd reason Jayco install a standard TV aerial plate near the TV, and install the "power plate" in a different place away from the TV area Even if the "power plate" is installed away for the TV area, its still cabled and completely functional as a TV point, but it generally need to be switched on unless your camping in the Channel Nine carpark.

Im in Melb 29km from the towers, and I can see the hill they're sitting on, but I can't get coverage without the amplifier being switched on. Ive tested every connection in my van, found one completely buggered up, re-done that connection and tidied up those that I wasn't happy with, so Im getting the TV signal about as good as it will get with a Winegard ..... and its average at best.

Im have so much confidence, and am so happy with the Winegard' performance .... Ive used satellite for the last 7 years. Turning this >:(... into this :D

As @Bluey said if you know someone who handy with a multi meter (or just get a TV tech) to test all the points to make sure theres no shorting in the wiring ..... thats very common. But that said, don't set your expectations to high with the Winegard either.

@Bluey had a great idea to swap over the snowflakes on the Winegard to a different phased array TV antenna .... nows the time @Bluey for that field test report Ive been waiting patiently for :pop2:
 

Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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As the others have said, booster needs to be on.........I had to remove the panel and tighten every cable fitting as they were not done up properly and even had to replace one connection as it was crushed by the idiot that fitted it, the wire was broken.

I always use the myswitch app to locate the tower and find it a great asset, you didn't say if you had a snowflake or the other winegard style ???


At Cotton Tree the tower is about 19km away on a bearing of roughly 277deg.............horizontal transmission............Howzat !!!!!!!!.....I'm about 1200km away in the Riverina.
 
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Bluey

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Mar 31, 2014
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Hey Hoffy's wife ... Winegards are not a great antenna to start with plus Jayco have a ongoing issue with correctly cabling them, leaving them shorting out, connected incorrectly and sometimes firing nails through the cables (hey @davemc). The Winegard wall plate with the tiny switch, in @Bushman's pic, is the power switch for the amplifier, and generally the Winegard won't work well at all anywhere without that switched on. Sometimes that "power plate" is installed as the actual TV point, and sometimes for some odd reason Jayco install a standard TV aerial plate near the TV, and install the "power plate" in a different place away from the TV area Even if the "power plate" is installed away for the TV area, its still cabled and completely functional as a TV point, but it generally need to be switched on unless your camping in the Channel Nine carpark.

Im in Melb 29km from the towers, and I can see the hill they're sitting on, but I can't get coverage without the amplifier being switched on. Ive tested every connection in my van, found one completely buggered up, re-done that connection and tidied up those that I wasn't happy with, so Im getting the TV signal about as good as it will get with a Winegard ..... and its average at best.

Im have so much confidence, and am so happy with the Winegard' performance .... Ive used satellite for the last 7 years. Turning this >:(... into this :D

As @Bluey said if you know someone who handy with a multi meter (or just get a TV tech) to test all the points to make sure theres no shorting in the wiring ..... thats very common. But that said, don't set your expectations to high with the Winegard either.

@Bluey had a great idea to swap over the snowflakes on the Winegard to a different phased array TV antenna .... nows the time @Bluey for that field test report Ive been waiting patiently for :pop2:
So far very good crusty but angelsea last trip so good there test will be beaufort where last time only sbs
 
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Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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As the others have said, booster needs to be on.........I had to remove the panel and tighten every cable fitting as they were not done up properly and even had to replace one connection as it was crushed by the idiot that fitted it, the wire was broken.

I always use the myswitch app to locate the tower and find it a great asset, you didn't say if you had a snowflake or the other winegard style ???


At Cotton Tree the tower is about 19km away on a bearing of roughly 277deg.............horizontal transmission............Howzat !!!!!!!!.....I'm about 1200km away in the Riverina.
Genius is genius ... regardless of the distance. You read to much :p
 
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Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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Sometimes one of my led lights will kill reception but not always, must be a frequency issue. easier to just turn light off than try to rectify.
 

Hoffy

Member
Jun 10, 2014
66
76
18
Gold Coast, Queensland
Thanks everybody for all the good advice.

Think we will get a tv tech to check things out for us. The vans about to go for its first service and all the "fix ups" for warranty so if something is wrong, they can fix it!!

Interesting that the windup snowflake isn't the best. If things don't improve, may look at upgrading that. That will be another post asking for suggestions!!

Needless to say, watching the footy last night was very frustrating!!! I've totally given up now and sticking to watching movies where there is no interruptions!!

Again, thanks for the replies.........love this forum!

Hoffy's wife, Shelly
 

davemc

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Oct 29, 2013
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Viewbank, Victoria
www.expandasdownunder.com
check the three cables are tight in the box first. If your handy with a multi meter or have a friend check for break in the cable.
Unscrew the cable going into the aerial and run a cable from TV point so you can reach multimeter cables.. Check for a break
Ours was wired wrong and had a break in the roof.. After a few tries Jayco had to replace the roof to replace the aerial ;( hope yours is not broken there... Ours had a another connector in the cupboard under where it ran down from the pop top, and yes was connected loosely there as well;(