t.v.

[martin_374375610]

hi,

the wife and i have just bought our first van, swift meridian 530.. its beautiful ! The problem is our friend reckons we need to put an aerial point on / through the wall outside- run the lead uner the seats ect to where we are having the t.v. in order that we get a good reception .. (and to save haveing the lead through the window)..the van has its own aerial on top so why the fuss.

any advice please. martin

 

[Hamer_5041128]

Martin,

Is the aerial on the roof omni-directional (round in shape and fixed) or is it directional( can be rotated and raised from inside the caravan).

If round and fixed they are not very good and will only pick up from a very strong signal.

If directional then they are very good.

It is not a good idea to have an aerial lead going through the window as over time the rubber can become distorted, and cause drafts in strong winds. It is far better to have an outside aerial socket fitted and the cable fed round under the bunk. By fitting the socket near to where you use the tv you can keep the cableing to a minimum. I have fitted a few sockets and it is an easy job. Sockets come with a good length of cable attached.

If your aerial on the roof is round and fixed then you will need an external socket and aerial to get a good picture. I always try to fix the socket next to the mains socket in the battery box to protect it from the weather.My 2007 Swift Conqueror has one fitted in the battery box.

With an outside socket you can connect to an aerial connection on the bollard on some sites.

Hamer

 

[foshy]

Hi Martin,

Firstly, try your aerial out - it may depend on you location, but we found that the roof aerial was not very good and so changed to a external version.

As Hamer states, an aerial socket in the battery box is the best idea. It is how I did it. This location is naturally quite water proof and does not require any drilling through the side of the caravan. Just seal the cable as it passes through the battery box to the inside of the 'van with a silicon sealer. With an external socket you can then either connect to an external aerial or connect to a suitably equipped EHU when available for "piped tv". Depending on the type of aerial that you have fitted on the roof, it may have a booster somewhere. This would be a good point to connect your new cable so you can either swap the plugs between the existing aerial and your new socket or use a T splitter, this will enable you to use your original output inside the caravan. I had to remove some panels to keep the wiring hidden, but it was well worth the extra work. I also fitted a mains TV booster and now use an Image digital TV aerial - http://www.towsure.com/product/1869-Image_530/18-2_VHF/UHF/FM_Directional_Antenna this I fit to the A frame on a 4 metre pole and normally get a good digital signal.

 

[ScouseIan]

Whilst we are on the subject of tv aerials....

I too have just bought my first van this year. It has a directional status 530 aerial. Whilst giving it its first clean the other day I noticed that there are telescopic aerial extensions that extend from the edges of the 'dish'. Does this mean that whenever I set up on site I need to 'climb up' somehow and pull them out manually to improve TV reception?

Many thanks

 

[Legsmaniac_374344731]

The pull out extentions are for the radio, not the TV.

 

[JTQ]

The pull out extentions are for the radio, not the TV.

And so damn impractical to do that fitting a separate radio aerial was my only viable option.

 

[Dave_374330759]

according to my Status handbook, the pull out antenna extensions are for viewing VHF continental TV services and are not required for either UK TV or radio reception

 

[bigbilly]

I always thought that the pull out extensions on the 530 directional aerial were for VHF TV signals not the radio ??

Bill

 

[Chrisbee]

I have to pull out the extensions to get a decent radio reception, especially in the evening. I find the easiest way is to fully open the roof light and lean out through that. By rotating the aerial it's posible to reach both extensions.

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

We have checked the aerial connections for the radio in our 'van, and it has it's own aerial and not connected to the Status at all, it's for TV not radio!