Vista 29VE antenna

GiGi · 07-19-2020, 10:38 AM

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum but not to RVing. This is my 4th RV, first Winnebago. I am recently widowed and learning to do things without the help of my husband. I stay in Vermont every summer and I have always, in my other RVs, been able to pick up at least a local PBS station. I have also always had a way to turn the antenna from the inside on the ceiling. I have searched everywhere for a way to direct the antenna. I have also looked at the useless owners manual and the internet for help. I can’t get any stations at all. Anyone have any advice?

Morich · 07-19-2020, 11:00 AM

Year of Rv may change the answers for specifics, but all I've seen do have a way to turn the antenna, but new may not. One point to know is there is often a small switch built into a coax switch plate where we might tuck something like a dvd player. plate, often hidden in some cabinet. This switch often is turned on when we want over the air Tv but off if we do DVD. Also there is a chance the TV needs to be told to use a different input. Check the TV menu for setting to cable,antenna or other like HDMI? The newer TV require a scan to be done each time we move as it then looks for channels it sees before turning them on. Not one of the nicer features of new TV for RV use as it certainly slows things down on moves.
Hope that gets it but if not tell us more?

JLUSoCal · 07-19-2020, 12:28 PM

There is a cabinet above the door. In there is a switch that powers the TV antennae. Hit that switch and the switch on the side of the "King" antennae located about a foot from that door. At least that's the way it is on my 2017.

GiGi · 07-19-2020, 01:25 PM

My Vista is a 2019. I found the button in a cabinet above the door (they really do make these things difficult!) and pushed to “green” but it doesn’t make any difference when I do my scan I still don’t get any channels available.and I don’t see the “king” antenna anywhere.

JLUSoCal · 07-19-2020, 01:56 PM

Shown in this pic with arrow, you don't have that on the ceiling? There's a black sliding switch. It should then have lights on it to amplify the signal. You can rotate the knob and look at the multiple LED's till "more" show up.

GiGi · 07-19-2020, 05:58 PM

Nope I don’t! I think maybe they forgot to put the damn thing on the RV!

Morich · 07-19-2020, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GiGi

Nope I don’t! I think maybe they forgot to put the damn thing on the RV!

I think you are partly correct! the parts list does NOT show an antenna on the roof!

So we have to back up and look for what they did use as I'm semi sure they did not forget but have some other plan.
That leaves us with two different ideas for what they use, depending on the date your RV was built!
Up above the door where I think you found the switch, do you have a box with lots of buttons which might be called a video switch?

Getting down to details? In the serial number is the 7th digit a 1 or a 2?
Seems to be they made a major change in the middle of the model year and the TV, etc. is one big one, it seems.

Morich · 07-19-2020, 08:14 PM

Found this in one of the manuals for that year vista, so a check needs to be made of what equipment was optioned on your particular RV. There should be a big bag of info with the unit and it should have a listing looking like a sales page that has all the items listed for your Rv. Check section 8 of user manual for TV operation?

Jim_HiTek · 07-19-2020, 08:58 PM

Umm, many RVs have what's known as a Pancake antenna. It looks like a flying saucer. No rotating is necessary as it's omni-directional. Doesn't work well though. Maybe 2/3rds as well as a crank up antenna. Others look like a chevron ^ and they are fixed too.

They are all powered though so find your antenna power switch first.

sundog964 · 07-19-2020, 09:30 PM

In addition to that, typically you need to scan for channels on each TV at new locations. This happened to us on our first trip. Bunch of static, and one or two channels working. Once you scan on the TV, many channels appear. Look at the manual for the TV, and look for channel scanning.

And it does need to be on the right input as well.

GiGi · 07-20-2020, 06:19 AM

Thanks Morich. I looked and my 7th # and it is a 2. I also checked the purchase sheet and it has a Omni-directional antenna listed. In my supplemental manual it has information on the King-dome TV antenna (it does say the green light needs to be on but that’s all). I have done the scan several times. I have done the scan in VA, FL and SC and gotten channels without having changed anything or turning the green button on. Maybe there is something wrong with the dish? Later today I may try and climb up on my roof (yikes!) to see what is up there. In the box where I found the green button is just a place to add a satellite component and receiver. Thanks everyone for all the help and advice.

Morich · 07-20-2020, 06:43 AM

May not be worth the climb for the omni I think of as it may just be a flat metal disk and might even be sandwiched inside the fiberglass of the roof, so nothing to see. Kind og like the Gizmos sold on TV to do away with cable bills? Doesn't mean they will work for your location but they sell pretty well!
Link to the coax with lots of options, so that you might look at which you have:
https://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/2019/000177027.pdf
And a big messy chart of where the wires were supposed to go?
https://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/2019/000164058.pdf

Maybe looking at what you have will let you make sense of what might be there?
https://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/2019/000164058.pdf

JLUSoCal · 07-20-2020, 08:25 AM

Interesting on the changes from 2017 to 2019. They are using HDMI <-> Cat6 for the runs. Likely better for reception.

Hopefully you get it all situated. Something might have come loose if it was working.

TMac99 · 07-20-2020, 08:44 AM

GiGi,
I have a 2019 29VE with the 7th digit as a 2, so we should have the same setup. I definitely have an antenna, and it is NOT directional, so no turning or tuning required. What you do need to do its as follows:
1. Turn on power to antenna - it's in the cabinet above the door - see photo 1 & 2
2. Set TV input to "TV" using the TV remote "Input" button - see photo 3
3. Using the remote "Menu" button, Tune TV to know where the local channels are - select "Channels" and then "Auto Channel Search", then "Antenna"
4. Once the scanning for channels has finished, you should be good to go.

From your earlier posts, to looks like you may have done all of this, but just incase you missed a step - hope this helps

TMac99 · 07-20-2020, 08:53 AM

Gigi,
P.S. Just in case they did forget to actually install the antenna, here is a photo of what it looks like. This is taken from the ladder. It is the small object arrowed - just in front of and to the right of the front air conditioner.

GiGi · 07-20-2020, 11:48 AM

Thanks! That is exactly what I have on my roof and I have followed all those steps to scan for stations. I guess maybe the trees have grown since last year when I was in my class C Forest River RV (we got all the local stations) because it comes up with zero digital and analog. Oh well, I guess staying away from the news right now won’t be such a bad thing! Thanks everyone for all the problem solving. This seems like a great place to ask questions and I am sure I will have many more as I continue on the RVing journey!

TMac99 · 07-20-2020, 01:08 PM

Gigi,
Staying away from the news is definitely recommended, but I find it hard to believe that a well functioning system will not find any channels given that you had them in the previous trailer. I suspect that perhaps the antenna connection to your TV is not wired, or plugged in. Have you tried the bedroom TV (or the outside TV if you have one). Do you get the same results? Here are a couple of photos of the connections I have. The first shows what is behind the Antenna on/Off switch - 3 co-ax connectors. The second shows one co-ax cable plugged into the back of the main TV. You can see that area if you get in the corner of the dining booth and stick you head up near the power outlet and look at the back of the TV. The third shows the connector in the bedroom TV - it is easy to see if you just open up the TV cabinet.

Morich · 07-20-2020, 02:17 PM

I'm guessing there might be one of two things. First is this antenna may not have the gain of older and trees, etc. do change for sure but then it might be worth checking the coax, if you can get to look at them.
There is actually a tape code on each wire to tell which you are looking at. Looking at this drawing and knowing which options you have, like front and rear or outside TV, you can then pick which portion of the drawing and see which color goes from the antenna to the wall plate (blue) and which then goes on to the other parts you have like red is cable input and green goes on to splitters or other. The small yellow and white wires are most likely power and you likely need them plugged onto the lugs as they would certainly knock the signal amp if not connected.
https://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/2019/000177027.pdf
I think this will be that you turn the green light on and it powers the amp for antenna use, but turned off it comes from cable.
Kind of like a road map, think of home as the antenna and connect the things you want to see along the road to TV (Florida?)!!! A splitter is just a fork in the road and you take both at the same time!
Enjoy the trip?

Blastvalve · 07-20-2020, 06:20 PM

Gigi, I’m not sure where in VT you are staying but there was a fire on the Mt Mansfield tower that caused significant damage and affected most of the local stations last Nov. Due to how late it was in the winter, a temporary tower was put in and the full replacement isn’t expected to be online until Aug. I believe the temp tower isn’t as powerful if memory is right, that could also be why you aren’t receiving signal if you’ve had no issues scanning for channels in other locations.

https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/wc...air-after-fire

https://www.wcax.com/content/news/WC...571674911.html

GiGi · 07-20-2020, 07:07 PM

Thank you so much! Yes I have tried all 3 TVs with the same results. As I said I have gotten reception other places and I have had limited reception here in past years. I am wondering if maybe the wiring has come loose with traveling?