Permanent Wiring Modifications for Cable TV Boxes

TrailerFool · 06-29-2014, 10:48 AM

I thought I'd share a diagram I made for the permanent modifications I did to the cable TV wiring on my 2014 Itasca Sunova 33C. I made these modifications because most cable companies are going "All Digital" which means that their signals are fully scrambled (i.e. non-analog) on ALL channels. This new cable infrastructure setup requires the use of cable boxes on all TVs in order to view ANY cable channel. I've wired my RV to accommodate that while still retaining the FULL functionality of my RV's Distribution Switch Box (and over the air antenna, DVD player, etc.). Please see the attachment.

gasser15 · 11-13-2014, 07:04 AM

Hi,
I have just purchased a 2015 Sunova 33C but will only take delivery in the spring (2015). In the meantime, we are still RVing in our 5th wheel which has living room and bedroom TV's usable either with cable or antenna feeds (as well as satellite, which we don't use). Upon arrival at a site, we program the TV's in either cable or antenna mode depending on the circumstances. Sometimes the cable is digital and sometimes not, but in either case the available channels are memorized and everything works OK. We have never had the need for an additional 'cable box'. Am I missing something?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Kevin

nothermark · 11-13-2014, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gasser15

Hi,
I have just purchased a 2015 Sunova 33C but will only take delivery in the spring (2015). In the meantime, we are still RVing in our 5th wheel which has living room and bedroom TV's usable either with cable or antenna feeds (as well as satellite, which we don't use). Upon arrival at a site, we program the TV's in either cable or antenna mode depending on the circumstances. Sometimes the cable is digital and sometimes not, but in either case the available channels are memorized and everything works OK. We have never had the need for an additional 'cable box'. Am I missing something?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Kevin

Probably not. Over the air and bottom tier digital signals are not usually scrambled. They are in digital format that an analog TV cannot decode. It sounds like he is running premium cable service, has storage for delaying local programming or uses satellite. You will need a box in those cases. If you are still getting over the air TV then you have a TV that will decode digital. All new one's do digital.

TrailerFool · 11-13-2014, 10:39 AM

No, actually that is NOT what I was saying. It is important to remember that over-the-air (OTA) digital encoding is entirely different than cable company digital encoding. Newer standard TVs (which include "ATSC" tuners as standard equipment) can decode OTA digital encoding. However, some cable companies (e.g. Time Warner Cable, Charter Cable) have gone "ALL Digital" that is 100% scrambled - i.e. every single channel they provide is digitally encoded BY THEM (THE CABLE COMPANY). In areas served by such cable companies, some RV parks unscramble their entire incoming signal back into analog and some do not. The ones that do not unscramble their entire incoming signal provide each renter a basic cable decoder box for their RV. To accommodate such a box was the reason I provided my diagram. If you NEVER encounter a park that requires that you use a digital cable decoder box for basic cable reception you won't need this modification, however it seems that most, if not all, cable companies are migrating to "ALL DIGITAL" service, so the likelihood that you will eventually encounter a RV park that is NOT providing a standard analog signal (or standard OTA-type digital signal) is most probably quite high. After all, I wouldn't have made this modification to my RV if I hadn't myself encountered a RV park (which happens to be one of my favorites) that issues basic cable decoder boxes to its renters!

wa8yxm · 11-13-2014, 06:55 PM

That looks like a lot of work

For HDTV at both TVs and two boxes

Locate cable connected to TV's antenna jack, you can go for either end (TV end or other end) disconnect, connect a 2nd cable to that port and bring both to the area where you will set the cable box, also run an HDMI cable to that spot.. Terminate teh HDMI with any protective cap, join the two coax together with a barrel (Double female, or bulkhed) connector.

To work with digital cable box needed cable,, Remove barrel connector, tape or tie to one of the cables insert box in it's place, plug in HDMI and box power cord job done. No switches.. Though the switches are good.

TrailerFool · 11-13-2014, 10:37 PM

Well, the reason I posted this was to provide a modification that provides a permanent setup that accommodates an additional new option, that is a cable digital decoder box at each TV, to all the other TV options already present in the RV and to do so with the EASY flip of a couple of A-B switches. The setup I've outlined allows one to switch between analog cable and digital cable boxes with the flip of a switch at each TV so that when one is moving from park to park all cable options (as well as the OTA antenna option) are EASILY available via the use of the front and back TV A-B switches.

gasser15 · 11-14-2014, 08:19 AM

Thanks to all for the clarifications. I will cross this bridge when I come to it but will have great suggestions on how to handle when I do!

Thanks again.

grtharris · 11-14-2014, 05:43 PM

I have also been thinking about this issue. Have not ran into it yet but wanted to be prepared. I have a HDMI cable close to the cable input so that would not be a problem. I have heard that some of the cheaper boxes only have a coax output, so here is my fix for that. The signal from the cable box would connect to the connector I added to the antenna power plate.

nothermark · 11-15-2014, 12:28 PM

FWIW I am a TW subscriber. I have their box. It sits on it's own leg of a splitter so they can see it. Nothing is connected to the output but the 5 sets in the house all pick up the lower tier signals I pay for in both digital and analog formats. From my perspective I would try without before I jumped for a box from the local cable company. Maybe they scramble some places but not others. As far as that goes scrambling signals into things like trailer parks would make handing out boxes a real PITA.

In my case I only want a couple of channels and do not do any delaying. I learned the waste of time idea back in the VCR days when I collected a box of unwatched tapes made by timed recording that I never got around to watching.