T.V. Antenna Infos. Rinker 300 express 2007

frenchship

Hi Just finish the installation of t.v. In the cockpit ran the antenna cable from the back to the front where the other t.v. is.When I remove the access panel to connect the cable here what I found (see picture)don't know where to plug the cable because the antenna cable for the front t.v.does not seems to be plug to any equippements there,it come from the back of the wall directly to the t.v, should I install another splitter. Thanks Paul .

MarkB

That black box is what the antenna on the radar arch connects to. Does the black cable out go direct to the indoor TV? If so, you need to add a splitter at that point.

frenchship

Thank Mark I will check again.

Michael T

Hey FS, before I did any major work i'd connect the cable fron the cockpit t.v. to the open terminal marked "out" on the 4 way splitter you have to see if there is a signal. MT

frenchship

Good idea Mt I will do that Thanks

MarkB

MT I was thinking that, but then where are the three connected outs going to? He only has one TV connected. So I was thinking maybe that splitter is for something else? If the black box is connnected

Cableguy Greg

The two way splitter is acting as a combiner. It is putting the arch antenna and another "source" together, then sending the signal to the 4-way splitter, so the in on the 2-way is actually an "out".

frenchship

Wow now I am confused 8-}

frenchship

By the way on both side of the boat where the plug in is for shore and a/c power is there is a plug in for cable maybe that would explain all those wires and also on this model we could have has an accessory another t.v in the rear where the bed is again maybe all the wiring could have been already installed

Cableguy Greg

If you reverse a two way splitter, it combines the signal. In this case, from the antenna and from the shore connection. The "In" from the two way splitter should go to the "in" on the black box. The "out" of the black box should go to the "in" of the 4-way splitter to distribute the signals through out the boat. It looks like someone took the black box out of line.

Michael T

Steve, "stay home and watch TV"  Noooooo - home is where everyone else is, home is where the "to do" list waits in ambush, home is where the dog is (remember? the dog  the kids just had to have) - the dog that needs to be walked - by you (because the kids are too busy watching your TV). Home is where the vacuum cleaner and snow shovel await your arrival........BUT - .the boat has A/C and heat, it's where the beer fridge is and it even has a head to recycle the beer. In short the boat is an escape pod!  Stay home? Are you running a fever? :-) MT 

OldDogNewTrix

Because you have the dual cable hookups, one on each side for convenience, the 4 way splitter is, as Greg stated, a combiner. There are the 2 cable inputs plus the antenna, that's why you have only 3 cables on the out side ( which is really the reverse, the in side of the 4 way splitter.

frenchship

Hi Your answer is a lot better than the comment of Rinker Yan to stay home and watch t.v. : ) So if I fallow your explanation should I plug the new t.v.antena cable into the 4 way splitter on the last out port at the bottom. Thanks Paul

Michael T

Don't worry about Steve' sense of humor - he has a crazy sense of humor - he thinks  diesels can run with the big boys (8.2 gassers) :-)  You have some great advice on this thread to try out. As well, you could also connect the cable that comes directly from the original signal (TV antenna or cable connection box on the hull) directly to the cable that runs to your cockpit TV - as a test to eliminate all of the splitters. You can buy a female/female in-line connector at radio shack or any like store for about $3. If that works then you can trace your way back through the splitters. Good luck! MT

OldDogNewTrix

Your set up looks the same as mine I think. I would say that the 2 cables on the out side of the double splitter are going to 2 tv's. However you only have one. I'd disconnect one and see if the salon tv still works, this way you'll know which one is for the mystery second tv. Often Rinker runs a cable to the sloped wall beside the entranceway stairs, aft cabin. Once you know which is which, connect your new cockpit tv to the spot on the double splitter where the mystery one was. Hope this makes sense. Good luck.

frenchship

Thanks for the Infos MT and OD I will give it a try this weekend.

frodo13056

Your setup looks quite a bit off - usually I create a "one line" diagram of how wiring should look so that I can follow the logic when making connections (coax, electrical, etc.). Your connections should go like this:

1) Coax cable from Antenna to Signal Amplifier IN

2) Coax cable from Signal Amplifier OUT to Splitter IN

3) Splitter OUT to TV's

4) Add RF terminators to any unused Splitter OUT ports. It will help clean up your signal.

The way yours appears to be wired is:

1) 2 INPUTS to Splitter #1 (3 port unit) with a single OUTPUT that goes to Splitter #2 (5 port unit).

2) Can't really tell what is going into your signal amplifier but you will have an IN and an OUT labeled on the signal amplifier.It looks like one of the signal amplifier cables comes from and goes to Splitter #2 (5 port unit).

3) The use of a splitter to combine two inputs will almost guarantee a messy picture - I use a selector switch to choose either TV antenna or my Satellite (Direct TV) input.

I have mine wired like this:

1) TV Antenna in to signal amplifier IN

2) Signal amplifier OUT to RF selector switch IN #1 

3) Cable TV cable to RF selector switch IN # 2

4) RF selector switch OUT to 5 port splitter IN - I have same splitter that you have.

5) Splitter OUT to TV's. I have 3 TV's on my boat, 1 in the forward berth, one in the cabin and the last in the cockpit.

6) I use an RF terminator on the unused OUT on the splitter.

With this setup, I can watch Direct TV or Antenna inputs simply by using the RF selector switch.

Good luck!

frenchship

Hi frodo, Thanks. I like to way you put that Infos. I will be looking into this over the weekend. When you are saying the amplifier are you talking about the black box ? What are RF terminators to be uded on any unused Splitter OUTports? Paul

Michael T

You shgould use RF terminators on any unused output terminals/posts. You can pick up RF terminators at Radio Shack and The Source stores. I showed a picture of them in my TV and splitter posts last year. Just a couple of $ each. MT

OldDogNewTrix

Yes, the black box is the amplifier, only to amplify the antenna, not the cable in's.

Black_Diamond

MT- I know your 'dog' pain. lol. Great comment.