TV Reception Problems ???

[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".

[mlh]

Surprise surprise!
Not really
Lynwood

[Hblick48]

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!

[triplebvalp]

Originally Posted by Hblick48

Just shoddy workmanship, someone doesn't care!

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.

[ChaseTX]

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".

--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.

[greenportbeach]

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".

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.

[greenportbeach]

Were all 5 of these connectors in the KeyTV box or did you replace the connections at both TV's too?

[triplebvalp]

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?

All 5 were at the Key TV system. The ones at the 3 TV locations were fine.

[greenportbeach]

Originally Posted by triplebvalp

All 5 were at the Key TV system. The ones at the 3 TV locations were fine.

Thank you!

[Montana Man]

I had a brand new splitter that didn't work.

[Rsmarlow82]

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..

[mazboy]

why don't you follow up and let montana/keystone know what is happening. maybe, just maybe they'll listen.

[DaveK]

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.

[greenportbeach]

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.

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.

[triplebvalp]

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.

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.

[triplebvalp]

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.

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.

[Carl n Susan]

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.

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.

[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".......

[Carl n Susan]

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".......

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!

[greenportbeach]

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.

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.....