Well, shoot! My King jack antenna died.
I haven't been getting any TV channels for a while, and I thought it was my location, but when I was in Yuma, I still got no channels. It had to be the TV, right? So I bought a new TV and indoor antenna - but they didn't work, either! (I think the indoor antenna just isn't strong enough here - it's hard to get TV channels in Quartzsite unless you're in the right areas. And even then, a booster helps.)
I tried the new TV with the new antenna, nothing. Old TV with new antenna, nothing. New TV with the old antenna, nothing. Old TV with the old antenna, nothing. It was kind of amazing that with two TVs and two antennas, I couldn't get a single channel. I always get TV in my current campsite.
Then my friend David came over to check it out. Well, he really came over to visit, but when I mentioned that my TV wasn't working, I knew his brain cells wouldn't rest until he figured it out. And he DID! He's a retired engineer and those guys are good at everything!
With David's help, I found out it's the old jack antenna that isn't working.
Actually, David didn't help, he did the whole diagnosis and repair while I watched. 😉
He tested the wires and there were only 5V coming up through the wire to the antenna, which should have been getting 12V. The wire and coaxial connectors were fried, so we went to town and checked a bunch of different places, and bought some connectors.
Then we stopped at Satellite Advantage and I bought a new wire with the connections. The man there was very helpful and offered to crimp one of the antenna wires for me. Since we didn't have that crimping tool, I gladly accepted his offer. We drove back to my site, got The Palms and took her in. It only took him a few minutes to get the connector crimped and we were good to go.
When we got back to my site, David took off the bad wire and put on the new. Now we had 13.5V coming up. But the TV still didn't work, and the red light on the bottom of the jack wasn't lit, so apparently the low voltage going up into the antenna fried it. Now I need a new one.
The man at Satellite Advantage was so nice and helpful, I wanted to list the company info here, in case you need satellite or antenna help. They specialize in mobile satellite solutions, HDTV and Internet.
Satellite Advantage
Paul Angerami, Owner
40 E. Main Street
Quartzsite, AZ
Phone: (928) 927-4422
e-mail: sales@satelliteadvantage.net
Website: www.satelliteadvantage.net
We went into town again today to get a new jack, but since it was Sunday, some of the places we needed were closed and the rest - that carry the King jack Antenna - were out of them. I have one place to call tomorrow and if they are out, too, then I'll order it through Amazon.
David and I have the same weird sense of humor, so it's been quite entertaining the last three days while he's been figuring out what's wrong and fixing things, and we've been chatting and going to town and back a few times looking for different parts and checking out some of the vendors that are still open.
I think I'm worn out from laughing. 😅
Quartzsite had a gorgeous sunset tonight. Doesn't this look like a painting? A whole RV window sized painting, right over my couch!
From me and Katie, with no TV! 😟 📺💔 Yet.
