Replacing TV Cable From Antenna

[jcoyrochny]

I have a 2004 Four Winds Windsport 32R which I just purchased in October 2010, I have taken out the old TV and want to install a new LCD TV and a new home theater system. Being the age of the RV, I would like to replace all of the cable to RG6 which will provide better viewing. Being new to the RV world I was wondering if anyone out there had done this before and the proper way to go about it. I would also like some input on antennas, I currently have the Winegard "Bat Wings" and I was wondering if it is a good enough antenna for the HD TV, I would like to go with a satellite, however, that is out of the question for now. Any help, recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[Guest BillAdams]

There is no reason to replace anything unless it's not working at all. You can go up on the roof and verify that you are getting good 12V+ power at the end of the coax where it plugs into the Bat-Wing. If so, then your cable is fine and replacing it will not improve anything. You also do not need to replace that antenna. There's nothing special about digital TV. It's still broadcast on the UHF and VHF frequencies just as TV always has been. The only difference is that about 75% of the digital programming is now on the UHF side of the spectrum and adding the Winegard Wingman will help you pick up the UHF frequencies better than the original.

Now, knowing all of that, if you still want to replace the existing coax with new coax you are going to have to drill a new hole in the roof and run a new cable from the antenna to the booster inside as the existing cabling is all tied into the chassis wiring harness and cannot be removed or used as a pull wire for new cabling. I don't know how Four Winds sets up their coax wiring to the Bat-Wing but a number of manufacturers use a coupling just below the roof under the protective rubber cap on the roof where the Bat-Wing coax enters the roof. If this happens to the be case you can raise the rubber boot and very gently see if you can pull that coax up enough to find the coupler from the antenna to the wiring inside. If that connection is there you could replace the antenna coax, add a couple of new ends and reconnect to this coupler and stuff the connection back inside.