Recently, a customer came to us with a question. They have their RV pre-wired with coaxial cable and so they wanted to be able to use that wire. When they’re at one of their homes they get cable TV. At the other, and while they’re on the road, they get satellite TV. And, because they travel outside their home area, they also use a TV antenna to get local channels wherever they go.
So, the question was simple, or so they thought:
What’s the best way to put all these signals on one cable so they can be split out when I need them?
Unfortunately the answer isn’t so simple, and it’s also not really what the customer wanted to hear. There’s a lot to explain, so I thought it would make for a great article on this blog.
First of all: don’t run satellite TV through “pre-wired” RVs unless you know for sure it works
If your RV is pre-wired from the factory with coaxial cable, that could be a recipe for disaster. Often times RV manufacturers won’t use the right kind of coaxial cable when they pre-wire. This can cause all sorts of unexpected issues with satellite TV. If you know that the cable works great for satellite TV, that’s awesome – but most of the time it won’t.
And… you can’t combine all these signals together and have them all work at the same time.
Cable TV, satellite, and over-the-air antenna all use very similar frequency ranges to each other. If you were to try to combine those sources together, the signals would interfere with each other and you wouldn’t get anything. You may have heard that it’s possible to combine satellite signals with antenna signals. That was very much true 15 years ago but it’s not true with today’s technology unfortunately. This is one of those cases where improvements in satellite TV technology actually closed off that avenue.
What about using an A/B switch of some sort?
When the subject of combining signals comes up, and I explain how it can’t be done, the next question is usually about using an A/B switch (or in this case, an A/B/C switch.) This would allow someone to choose from different signal sources and use only one wire.
In three words: don’t do it. I go into a lot more detail here, but there are no switches of this type that are designed to work with the high frequencies used for satellite television. Some cable systems are simple enough that you can use a switch of this type but most today are not. Also, it’s important to know that if you put in a switch like this and the splitters at the TV that you’d need for it to function, you’re cutting your signal level by as much as 80%. That’s due to all the loss through systems like these.
Are there better options?
The simplest option in cases like this is just to simply disconnect and reconnect cables as you need. If you’re into having a really clean install, have the single wire in your RV replaced by three wires. Often times an installer can use the old cable to guide the new cable through, so you don’t need to pull wall panels off. This will let you connect what you need, when you need, and keep things looking nice and clean. Make sure your installer uses high-quality cable that’s 100% designed for satellite television and other high frequency operations. Of course you can get cable like that from Solid Signal, and if you’re ready to upgrade your RV’s entertainment tech in any way, our team can help! Call the experts at 888-233-7563 or fill out the form below!
