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04-15-2020, 11:53 AM
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#1
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Panhandle of Florida
Posts: 99
M.O.C. #26098
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TV Reception Problems ???
Hey Folks,
Our MHC is about 2.5 weeks old and with the whole country basically shut down, I have been spending a lot of time going over the new MHC with an extremely fine toothed comb. Today was check all the coaxial cables for fitting related issues.
I had a 37 year career in the TV Cable business so coaxial fittings are an OCD thing of mine. Pulled the KeyTV Multi Source Controller out from the utility bay and removed the fittings, one at a time, for inspection. Out of the 5 fittings, only one was "made-up" somewhat properly.
Moral of story: If you are having issues with poor TV reception, pixilation (tiling), or channels dropping out, especially when you know the source is good, you really need to take a look at all the coaxial connectors.
As you can see, 4 out of 5 fittings had the center conductor waaaaaay to short. The center conductor should protrude beyond the fitting by 1/8".
__________________
2020 Montana High Country 295RL
10th Anniversary Edition
2019 Silverado 3500HD, Duramax, LTZ, SRW, CC, 4WD, 8'Bed
Reese M5 - 20K
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04-15-2020, 12:57 PM
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#2
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Salem
Posts: 7,670
M.O.C. #2283
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Surprise surprise!
Not really
Lynwood
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04-15-2020, 01:42 PM
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#3
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Folsom, California
Posts: 575
M.O.C. #21903
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Here's a case of "is doesn't cost any more to do it right or do it wrong". Just shoddy workmanship, someone doesn't care!
__________________
'05 F250 6.0 Bullet Proofed - Sold
'17 F350 6.7 Lariet
'02 Montana 3280RL Upgraded a bunch.
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04-15-2020, 02:08 PM
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#4
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Panhandle of Florida
Posts: 99
M.O.C. #26098
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hblick48
Just shoddy workmanship, someone doesn't care!
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I found the same "quality" of workmanship in the Jayco FW that I traded. If I were still in the Cable TV business and the position I retired from, I would fire every cable tech. for that kind of work.
__________________
2020 Montana High Country 295RL
10th Anniversary Edition
2019 Silverado 3500HD, Duramax, LTZ, SRW, CC, 4WD, 8'Bed
Reese M5 - 20K
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04-15-2020, 02:15 PM
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#5
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: JB MDL
Posts: 73
M.O.C. #26041
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Thank You
Quote:
Originally Posted by triplebvalp
Hey Folks,
Our MHC is about 2.5 weeks old and with the whole country basically shut down, I have been spending a lot of time going over the new MHC with an extremely fine toothed comb. Today was check all the coaxial cables for fitting related issues.
I had a 37 year career in the TV Cable business so coaxial fittings are an OCD thing of mine. Pulled the KeyTV Multi Source Controller out from the utility bay and removed the fittings, one at a time, for inspection. Out of the 5 fittings, only one was "made-up" somewhat properly.
Moral of story: If you are having issues with poor TV reception, pixilation (tiling), or channels dropping out, especially when you know the source is good, you really need to take a look at all the coaxial connectors.
As you can see, 4 out of 5 fittings had the center conductor waaaaaay to short. The center conductor should protrude beyond the fitting by 1/8".
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--Thank you, for posting this information. I have had issues with the living room tv, every time I have used it. I did not think to check how long the actual conductor is, I just quickly made sure it was tight. Even if this is not it, great information regardless.
__________________
'03 Ram Quadcab 3500 6 speed manual 4X4
'09 steering, bags, torklift leaf locks, bigwig sway bars
'15 Mountaineer 310RET
Previous Eagle Cap 850, Elkhorn 8.5, Alfa Gold 38RLT
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04-15-2020, 11:15 PM
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#6
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Myrtle Beach
Posts: 83
M.O.C. #25701
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Quote:
Originally Posted by triplebvalp
Hey Folks,
Our MHC is about 2.5 weeks old and with the whole country basically shut down, I have been spending a lot of time going over the new MHC with an extremely fine toothed comb. Today was check all the coaxial cables for fitting related issues.
I had a 37 year career in the TV Cable business so coaxial fittings are an OCD thing of mine. Pulled the KeyTV Multi Source Controller out from the utility bay and removed the fittings, one at a time, for inspection. Out of the 5 fittings, only one was "made-up" somewhat properly.
Moral of story: If you are having issues with poor TV reception, pixilation (tiling), or channels dropping out, especially when you know the source is good, you really need to take a look at all the coaxial connectors.
As you can see, 4 out of 5 fittings had the center conductor waaaaaay to short. The center conductor should protrude beyond the fitting by 1/8".
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You would not believe the months we have been trying to get an answer to this KeyTV system. Camping World has replaced the KeyTV box, antenna and both TV's and we still can't get OTA channels. We will look at the connections like you have shown and see if finally we have a solution.
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04-16-2020, 06:18 AM
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#7
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Myrtle Beach
Posts: 83
M.O.C. #25701
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Coax Connections
Were all 5 of these connectors in the KeyTV box or did you replace the connections at both TV's too?
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04-16-2020, 02:05 PM
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#8
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Panhandle of Florida
Posts: 99
M.O.C. #26098
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greenportbeach
Were all 5 of these connectors in the KeyTV box or did you replace the connections at both TV's too?
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All 5 were at the Key TV system. The ones at the 3 TV locations were fine.
__________________
2020 Montana High Country 295RL
10th Anniversary Edition
2019 Silverado 3500HD, Duramax, LTZ, SRW, CC, 4WD, 8'Bed
Reese M5 - 20K
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04-16-2020, 02:26 PM
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#9
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Myrtle Beach
Posts: 83
M.O.C. #25701
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Quote:
Originally Posted by triplebvalp
All 5 were at the Key TV system. The ones at the 3 TV locations were fine.
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Thank you!
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04-16-2020, 04:58 PM
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#10
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Carson City
Posts: 2,017
M.O.C. #21963
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I had a brand new splitter that didn't work.
__________________
2016 3160, Legacy, Sailuns, Splendide 2100 xc vented, 1 1/2" axle lift blocks, disk brakes. 2014 Ram 3500 SRW SWB 4X4 6.7 Aisin Mega Cab, EBC slotted disks and brakes, Titan fuel tank.
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04-22-2020, 01:58 PM
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#11
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: New Castle
Posts: 112
M.O.C. #22550
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Great Post
Thank you. great information.. The factory job is terrible to say the least on most units. I found most every single fitting in our unit was either too loose, poorly made, or in (1) case, not even connected...Your description and solutions are dead on..
__________________
2018 3701 LK , 2014 GMC 2500 HD Denali , Duramax
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04-22-2020, 02:01 PM
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#12
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Grand Rapids
Posts: 1,898
M.O.C. #9561
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why don't you follow up and let montana/keystone know what is happening. maybe, just maybe they'll listen.
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04-22-2020, 03:28 PM
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#13
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Fredericksburg
Posts: 164
M.O.C. #23470
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KeyTV
Please do submit under warranty. The more people that submit an issue the more credibility we all have. My MHC is at the dealership for final warranty issues and the splitter is one of the issues.
While recently in FL, I paid a satellite TV expert to diagnose our problem. He said splitter was poor quality as well as the COAX cable and that I'd never get a good signal. Right now, I'm bypassing the splitter connecting directly to the cable.
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04-23-2020, 07:00 AM
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#14
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Myrtle Beach
Posts: 83
M.O.C. #25701
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Davekendall1@yahoo.com
Please do submit under warranty. The more people that submit an issue the more credibility we all have. My MHC is at the dealership for final warranty issues and the splitter is one of the issues.
While recently in FL, I paid a satellite TV expert to diagnose our problem. He said splitter was poor quality as well as the COAX cable and that I'd never get a good signal. Right now, I'm bypassing the splitter connecting directly to the cable.
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May cable signal is fine....I can't get over the air channels with the KeyTV system. You have to unplug the cable from the rig, run your channel search under "air". None of the channels come in without tiling and sound distortion. Hoping the coax connections are the culprit, but husband hasn't checked them yet.
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04-24-2020, 05:53 PM
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#15
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Panhandle of Florida
Posts: 99
M.O.C. #26098
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greenportbeach
May cable signal is fine....I can't get over the air channels with the KeyTV system. You have to unplug the cable from the rig, run your channel search under "air". None of the channels come in without tiling and sound distortion. Hoping the coax connections are the culprit, but husband hasn't checked them yet.
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greenportbeach, unfortunately, that is correct. When a cable is attached at the cable input to the Key TV system, it expects a cable signal and "turns off" the over-the-air connection. The only way to receive "local" channels is to have the cable disconnected from the cable input on the Key TV system.
As far as the other issue your talking about, are you in an area that you know will have off-the-air signals available? If so the problem could be a bad connection at the TV antenna on the roof.
__________________
2020 Montana High Country 295RL
10th Anniversary Edition
2019 Silverado 3500HD, Duramax, LTZ, SRW, CC, 4WD, 8'Bed
Reese M5 - 20K
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04-24-2020, 05:58 PM
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#16
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Apr 2020
Location: Panhandle of Florida
Posts: 99
M.O.C. #26098
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Davekendall1@yahoo.com
While recently in FL, I paid a satellite TV expert to diagnose our problem. He said splitter was poor quality as well as the COAX cable and that I'd never get a good signal. Right now, I'm bypassing the splitter connecting directly to the cable.
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Being a retired Cable TV guy, I would take the word of a satellite TV "expert" with a grain of salt The coaxial cable in my MHC is not poor quality, it just isn't "top of the line" coax. When I was checking things out, I found the coax to be RG6 with 60% braid … which is generally acceptable.
__________________
2020 Montana High Country 295RL
10th Anniversary Edition
2019 Silverado 3500HD, Duramax, LTZ, SRW, CC, 4WD, 8'Bed
Reese M5 - 20K
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04-24-2020, 06:07 PM
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#17
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Carmichael - CA
Posts: 7,691
M.O.C. #4831
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Quote:
Originally Posted by triplebvalp
greenportbeach, unfortunately, that is correct. When a cable is attached at the cable input to the Key TV system, it expects a cable signal and "turns off" the over-the-air connection. The only way to receive "local" channels is to have the cable disconnected from the cable input on the Key TV system.
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Update: My Post is wrong, wrong, wrong! See the following post.
No that is not correct. The KeyTV system is designed to handle Satellite (albeit just the newest technology), Cable and OTA without connecting/disconnecting anything. You switch between Cable and OTA at the TV. From the menu on the TV, select the source you want (Cable or OTA) and then run a scan. The KeyTV box sees the type of scan and provides the signal from the correct external port.
There are several KeyTV Manuals in the "Files" section. Here is an excerpt from the KeyTV Quick Start Guide https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...?do=file&id=30
(1) Connect television to the “CATV/ANT” port on the wall plate with a coaxial cable.
(2) Turn TV on.
(3) For most television sets, go to the menu, select antenna (usually “ANT”) input and run auto-program to program viewable channels.
__________________
Carl (n Susan)
There is more to life than fuel mileage.
2012 Montana 3700RL Big Sky Package towed by a 2015 Ford F350 6.7L PSD 4WD CC LWB
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04-24-2020, 06:48 PM
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#18
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Montana Master
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Mountain Home
Posts: 864
M.O.C. #20949
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Looking at both the quick start guide and the KeyTV troubleshooting PDF both appear to state the Cable TV connection must be removed from the KeyTV control box for OTA signals to work".......
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04-24-2020, 07:35 PM
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#19
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Carmichael - CA
Posts: 7,691
M.O.C. #4831
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckS
Looking at both the quick start guide and the KeyTV troubleshooting PDF both appear to state the Cable TV connection must be removed from the KeyTV control box for OTA signals to work".......
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I stand corrected! I missed the fine print. To be honest, I don't have one of these (and now I don't want one).
I don't see where this is a big (any?) improvement of the old Antenna Boost switch that was usually located in the front bedroom.
The guy who is/was part of the Montana design team is a member here. I sure thought he wrote it would do both cable and OTA. I guess I missed the part about disconnecting the cable for OTA. What a stupid design!
__________________
Carl (n Susan)
There is more to life than fuel mileage.
2012 Montana 3700RL Big Sky Package towed by a 2015 Ford F350 6.7L PSD 4WD CC LWB
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04-25-2020, 03:04 PM
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#20
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Seasoned Camper
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Myrtle Beach
Posts: 83
M.O.C. #25701
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Quote:
Originally Posted by triplebvalp
greenportbeach, unfortunately, that is correct. When a cable is attached at the cable input to the Key TV system, it expects a cable signal and "turns off" the over-the-air connection. The only way to receive "local" channels is to have the cable disconnected from the cable input on the Key TV system.
As far as the other issue your talking about, are you in an area that you know will have off-the-air signals available? If so the problem could be a bad connection at the TV antenna on the roof.
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Not only has the KeyTV box been replaced, but the antenna, both TV's and the DVD player. I checked all the coax connections that are in the KeyTV box and the ones going to both TV's and they are good.
Still can't get OTA channels. Not a clue.....
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