External aerial connection point
Hi,
Due to the very nature of caravanning and getting away from it all, sometimes this includes a getting away from a decent TV signal too. Unfortunately my swift caravan doesn't have an external connection point for TV and Satellite so I'll need to buy to take advantage of pitches that provide a TV outlet.
This is the kind of thing I'm looking at: TVSocket
I know you can get window/door flat cables but I'd rather have a more permanent and aesthetic solution. I'm fairly adept at DIY so installing it shouldn't be a problem. It does raises some questions though:
1) Does fixing this to the external caravan wall and drilling one or two holes for the cable entry invalidate the Swift warranty?
2) For the aerial connection, does this connect to the input of the TV booster in the caravan?
Just wondering if the connection from the tv output on the caravan pitch is already boosted and will affect the signal being boosted again. We're lucky to have 2 tv's (lounge & bedroom) so they use a booster/splitter so would want the signal to reach both TVs.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Regards, Andy.
Comments
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You would have to ask Swift about any warranty implications but I would be very careful to make any hole watertight whatever they say.
We have had caravans that had the socket in the front locker so you might consider that as it will eliminate the risk of damp. Without knowing your layout I am not sure how you would accommodate the cable run.
Club sites with a TV socket are boosted so you can just plug your television in. There should be no need to boost again. I am not aware of any non clubs sites that are different but there are a lot out there so there may be an exception but I doubt it.
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the external TV aerial connection on my Swift Challenger is in the battery locker, along with the motor mover isolation switch.
This means there is no problem with water / damp ingress and like Simon 100 the locker door has a notch for cables, which i'm sure yours will.
If you connect the site TV system to your booster you can always turn the booster off if it causes a problem.
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My Adria didn't have tv aerial at all so had a Status fitted which connected easily to the co-axial factory cable routed through the van to a tv socket on the wall close to 13 amp socket and 12 v point.
To accomodate club ehu cable facility - I merely bought a maxiview ip65 tv aerial external socket- drilled one hole through wall of van and connected to standard co - ax socket the other side of the wall .
I ensured the area of the cable entry inside and outside was suitably sealed with Sikkaflex.
I now have the option of using ehu bollard cable or Status aerial.
I am currently on White Beach clubsite in Lowestoft and their ehu cable gives me about 18 or so channels whereas my Status is giving me about 60
I would also check with Swift on the question of warranty- but I think done properly might not be an issue.
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Thanks for all your advice. I'll need to check the battery locker but I suspect there isn't enough room to use the Maxview external socket I mentioned above however I could always just have a couple of short trailing cables to connect to. The external mains socket has it's own external access so I can't use that and the internal access locker doesn't have a cable entry point so that's a no-go too.
The battery box with either a couple of trailing cables or a small internal socket mounted on the plastic walls seems to be the smart option so far.
Thanks again,
Andy.
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On our Bailey the external 240v socket i found has enough room to fit a just a tv socket alongside so i bought a 2mtr extention lead , i cut one of the sealed plugs off one end and made a hole beside the external plug and pushed the lead through until the plug "sealed" against the whole then ran the lead to where it would reach the tv and put a new plug on,cheap and simple to do
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Common to fit in battery box under the EHU plug in the bottom of the battery box. You really don't need a plugbox just fit the cable from the inside of the van through a hole in the battery box with an F type female plug on the end. If you do this it must have a sealing grommet on the cable in the hole in the battery box. Leave 6" of cable in the battery box. The antenna cable outside can then be fitted with a F type male connector and jointed when needed in the battery box to keep it dry. It fits in the EHU lead channel when you close the locker door.
Important. The cable that goes from the aerial connection to the antenna amplifier must be good quality use WF100 specification. This is about a pound per meter on ebay. F connectors are pennies and grommets are to.
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Hi I've just seen this post and it sounds as like my little problem.
I bought my van in January and yet to get out in it but alm I have is a satellite fitting in the battery box, I dont need satellite just normal tv, it case my van fixed aerial isnt up to the job.
Thanks
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One of my Lockdown tasks was fitting an external TV aerial and satellite connection to the Motorhome (just purchased a portable sat kit). As it happens its similar to the one in your link, it comes prewired but not with the with the tv ends fitted. My MH being old is aluminium sandwich with polystyrene in between, I drilled as small a hole I could get away with, under my 240v hook up) and put some silicone around the edge, let dry before feeding the wires through then fit the external socket box which comes with double sided sticky foam, the box screws straight into the body which is double security really. connecting inside I have gone straight to a bulkhead mounted sat and tv socket, I use a plug in booster if needed, you could go to your in built booster but may cause over boosting issues.
I have tested both sockets from a portable aerial and sat dish and it works perfectly.
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Curly just buy a female adapter with a standard male tv socket. Then screw the adapter onto the sat. connector and push in the cable.
Again inside use the adapter to connect the tv to the internal socket.
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My 2019 Swift has satalite connector on the battery box I just bought an adapter To go from coax cable to screw fitting job done all works great
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A friend of mine has a CoachmanVIP520 (possibly 2019) but it doesn’t seem to have an external aerial socket point and their external 13 amp socket is in the side locker is this normal at present they have to run the external aerial connection through the side window which seems rather strange for this calibre of caravan.
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I am not averse to drilling holes in my caravan, but found the easiest, cheapest and least disruptive way to get a tv or satellite feed into the van was as in photos. I 7mm hole is drilled through the top back right hand corner in the mains hook-up box and a co-ax lead is fed through. It has a cable tie around it each side to stop excessive travel and you only need to pull it out 50/100mm.
This is run along with a 12v feed to inside one of my overhead lockers. If abroad and I use my sat dish I have a short conversion lead. A stainless steel kitchen handle is fixed through the underside of this locker and the TV hangs in place.
Colin
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