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The Digital TV Converter Box In Our Camper Will Not Work.

by Sarah

Hello, we have an older camper, 1989. We do not have cable or dish on our tv but got local channels until just recently. We hooked up a DTV box to our tv and for a few days it worked perfectly. Recently the TV stopped getting a signal. We've checked the breaker, it's fine, we've tried different plug ins, different tvs, different cable and nothing works. We bought an antenna, nothing still. Does anyone have a suggestion? Our neighbors get 46 channels and have no cable and no dish, nothing special hooked up. Can anyone help me? Thank you!

ANSWER Greetings Sarah thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page.

Since you state that your TV was working when you first hooked up your Digital TV Converter Box, my first thought is that your Digital TV Converter Box may have gone bad. Below are some steps you should take to isolate your problem.

1. When you turn on the DTV Converter box, you should see some numbers on the front display screen of the box or your box may have a little light on it that stays on when the box has power. If the display screen or light does not come on when the box is plugged in, then either the DTV Converter Box is bad or the power receptacle in your RV is not providing power.

Try plugging in a light, radio etc. into the same electrical receptacle as you have the DTV Converter Box plugged into. If the light or radio does not work when plugged in, then the problem is in the 120 volt system in your RV. You will need to recheck for tripped breakers etc. If the light or radio works, then the problem may be with the DTV Converter Box. To confirm this, you might ask your neighbor if you can borrow their box for a few minutes, if their box works, then the problem is with your box.

If their box does not work, then continue on to the next step with your DTV Converter Box hooked up.

2. Double check all of the connections going to the DTV Converter Box from the antenna. Double check all the connections going from the box to your TV. Tighten any loose connections and retry the DTV Converter Box. If you still have the problem; continue on to the next step.

3. The DTV Converter box transmits its signal to the TV using either channel 3 or 4. There is usually a switch on the back of DTV Converter Box that allows you to choose which channel to transmit on. Double check your TV to make sure that it is tuned to the channel that the DTV Converter is set to transmit on. Try the converter box again; if it still does not work go to the next step.

4. Depending on how old your TV is, you may have on-screen menus to choose how the TV receives its signal. Some of the choices may be Antenna, Cable, etc. Make sure that the signal source is set to antenna.

Again my suspicions are that your DTV Converter Box has gone bad. Depending on who manufactured it and where you bought it, it might still be under warranty. If it is out of warranty and you need a new Digital TV Converter Box, my personal recommendation is the Zinwell ZAT-970A Digital to Analog TV Converter Box which is very highly rated by its owners and it seems to pull in more channels than other DTV boxes I have tried. It also has analog pass through which is a must have option for any DTV Converter Box you buy.

Hopefully the above information has helped you resolve your problem. If any of our visitors have additional suggestions or tips for you they can add them by clicking on the add a comment link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

Comments for The Digital TV Converter Box In Our Camper Will Not Work.

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digital signals work poorly
by: Anonymous

My TV is fine, my converter box is fine, but apparently digital signals are very sensitive to hills, trees, billy goats, and everything else; consequently, I get no signal!!!

I guess I could erect a 300' tall combination wind turbine, rabbit ears, and deer feeder!

Jack
Natoma, KS

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3rd Additon
by: Sarah

It's me Sarah again with an update. We FINALLY got channels on the tv at the camper. My husband went on top of the roof and pulled out the connector and replaced it. The connector wire was almost gone. So after an exhaustive search to figure out what was wrong and after replaceing antena's, wires, getting a amplifier, the TV works. Thanks for your help!

RVing Al's Comment Sarah, I am very happy to hear that you finally got your problem resolved. I am sure that you and your husband are relieved that you got this fixed. I know how frustrating trying to fix these problems can be. Your husband is now an offical digital TV Troubleshooter.

Just a reminder on Friday you need to rescan all of the channels on your converter box. This way you will be able to recieve all the channels that changed over to digital.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

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Converter Box
by: Anonymous

I had brought my tv converter box about five months ago.And it still does not work
I have a HD ASCCES BOX

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Addition
by: Sarah

Hi This is Sarah and i wanted to add, we have tried 2 different converter boxes on the camper and both do the same thing, so it's not the converter box. The TV is brand new, we have also tried the converter boxes on other tv's in the same location on the camper. It's very strange and were not sure what to do.

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