I have a 1998 lunar caravan and have bought a 19" hd TV with built in free view as they all have.
I tried to set it up and encountered problems. I have the flying saucer aerial and this goes into a status box in a top cupboard; one with black writing on. There is an led red light that is supposed to be lit when on but it does not light up. Incidentally the TV gets no signal and no channels.
I unplugged the aerial and plugged it directly into the TV and it worked fine! I'm reading lots about the aerial being useless but if I bypassed the booster box in cupboard it worked.
My question is, do I replace the box (and how?), plug direct from aerial to tv, or go for one of these external aerial/satellite dishes.? Don't want to shell out loads for no reason and I don't have diy skills to replace roof aerial.
Thanks
Mark
------------- Some men see things as they are and say why, I dream things that never were and say why not.
The Status box you refer to is an amplifier. The red light indicates power to it. You may have a fuse blown or a wire off.
There should be a switch underneath it to switch it on or off (depends on model) There may be another which sets high or low gain, (that is the amount of amplification it gives).
The aerial connects into the amplifier, and there is an output which goes to the tv, I suspect there might be a socket somewhere in the van-normally next to a power socket for the coaxial cable from the tv.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
I found the 'flying saucer' type of aerial pretty rubbish to be honest. Too much interference. Have just bought a Vision plus' mast and aerial that you bolt to the jockey wheel and have so far fount that much better.
Hi. I changed the fuse. It is wired to a tv point and plugging in there doesn't work.
I have found wiring and there is a red and black hard wire from the box to under the cabinet and that is connected to a blu and pink/peach coloured wire.
How would I test if there was power going to it? I have swapped fuses incase it was blown and that didn't solve it.
Thanks
------------- Some men see things as they are and say why, I dream things that never were and say why not.
Hi. I changed the fuse. It is wired to a tv point and plugging in there doesn't work.
I have just been advised the vision plus with brackets by my local caravan shop. Don't want to be drilling into my caravan though. Out of interest, where do you being the antenna coax cable into the van?
Thanks
------------- Some men see things as they are and say why, I dream things that never were and say why not.
Some people bring the coax through the window. You can get an extra slim coax specifically for this.
On my old van I drilled a hole in the floor in one of the lockers so it was out of sight. Another option would be to bring the cable though the front locker.
Personally I've had no issues with my flying saucer aerial but it is location specific. I do carry a portable satellite dish and receiver but never had to use it.
The Status booster/power supplies can fail, but ideally you need to prove this first by checking for 12v on the power connector to the booster. Do you not know anyone with a cheap multi-meter who could check? You could even crudely lash up a car bulb and a few lengths of wire to check for supply voltage.
I'm slightly puzzled though which booster you have; the Status units have traditionally been screen printed with either an orange or purple logo. If you do find the booster has failed and decide to replace it, it's important to get the correct unit for your version of aerial and this is determined, again by the colour of the logo on the aerial. You simply match an orange booster with an orange logo aerial, and similar for the (earlier) purple version.
All said and done though, the omni-directional aerials aren't the most efficient and you may ultimately find you need to replace it with an external kit.
I had trouble with our vision plus reception, a bit hit & miss, bought a £50 satellite dish & box from maplins, works a treat, picture perfect but Not near wood land if they are in-line with satellite direction.
Quote: Originally posted by BuddingTraveller83 on 08/4/2014
Hi. I changed the fuse. It is wired to a tv point and plugging in there doesn't work.
I have just been advised the vision plus with brackets by my local caravan shop. Don't want to be drilling into my caravan though. Out of interest, where do you being the antenna coax cable into the van?
Thanks
You can buy a flat co-ax cable that fits through the window as already stated.
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Topic: TV and aerial set up
