www.iFourWinns.com

I have a 2006 318 with analog tv. I purchased one of the new analog to digital converters with the $40 gov't coupon and hooked it up to the Sharp TV standard equipment on the boat. While I was able to hook it up, and get the TV to respond to the converter box, the TV says "no signal". I'm thinking it may be that the TV antenna works only off the DC circuit, while the converter box works off AC only. But otherwise, I can't understand why it does not work. Has anyone had the experience of changing their installed analog TV so it can recieve digial signals using the antenna that comes with the Four Winns?
Thanks
John

The antenna up on the arch is powered. There's an amp for it built into the wall panel. It's that plate that has connections for coax and antenna (at least that's how it's setup on our 348). Built into it is the power supply for the antenna. You'd have to put your converter box between the TV and that amp. I've not bothered getting a converter. Mainly because on-water TV reception is usually pretty terrible on the Chesapeake. I did add a 2nd TV that has HD capability and it gets pretty much the same signals. If I did add a converter I'd definitely get one that ran off 12vdc instead of requiring AC.

And to your question about 'no signal', is that a message from the TV or from the converter box? Obviously if the TV isn't getting a signal from the box you have a different problem than if the box isn't getting a signal from the antenna. So which one is making the no signal message?

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

You did a scan for the channels with the converter box, correct? Just making sure you did the obvious

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'99 Horizon 200

The "no signal" indicator is coming from the TV. The signal indicator coming from the converter box shows a "weak" signal. Not sure what this means. But, your comments are helpful and lead me to the conclusion that this may be a lot of trouble for little benefit. Now if I can just get my water heater to work. It may have a reset button that got tripped from being turned on with no water from previous owner, but it's not readily accessible to check the front panel.
John

How can you see both a 'no signal' from the TV but also be able to tell the box has a weak signal? How are you connecting the whole setup? How is it connected from the converter box to the TV? Step by step, what wires are being used from each connection? Also, what make/model are the TV and the converter box?

The water heater will get ruined if it's powered on without water in it. There's an element in there that will cook itself if it's powered up without water in the tank. The element can be replaced by itself. What brand heater is it, an Attwood?

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista