How does the satelite tv work in my 1998 Jayco Motorhome

[YogiCat]

I have a 1998 Jayco Eagle Motorhome.  There is a tv in it, how do I get the channels on it?  There is some kind of antenna that I can put up, but I still don't get any channels,  why not?  How does this work?

[Gman]

OK you're talking 2 different systems.

Using the roof antenna means you're looking for local stations broadcast either analogue or digital from a local tower. Raise the antenna and if there are channels broadcast in your area, you should be able to pick them up in varying levels of quality.

If your MH has a sat. system on the roof, you'd first need a subscription with a sat. TV provider like Direct TV before you'll see any channels.

[Oz and Us]

Using the roof antenna means you're looking for local stations broadcast either analogue or digital from a local tower.

Not likely in the US where the date for high power television broadcasters were required by law to switch to digital television has already gone by.  With the OP's motorhome being a 1998 model it's a certainty any television in it would be an analogue set which could only decode digital television signals if the antenna feed was first processed through a digital to analogue converter box, the same process anyone with an older analogue TV would have to do if they're receiving over the air signals at home.  For those of us in Canada it's not yet a problem as our deadline for conversion isn't until Aug 31, 2011 ... personally I don't care as the TV supplied with my Spree will receive both analogue and digital signals.

[Gman]

Using the roof antenna means you're looking for local stations broadcast either analogue or digital from a local tower.

Not likely in the US where the date for high power television broadcasters were required by law to switch to digital television has already gone by. 

You're correct, I forgot about that in the USA.

Regardless, the OP mentions sat. TV in the title but antenna in the post so I'm not sure what we're even talking about yet.

[Oz and Us]

Regardless, the OP mentions sat. TV in the title but antenna in the post so I'm not sure what we're even talking about yet.

I too am not sure how sat plays into this, especially since the OP said nothing about subscribing to any sort of sat service.  Confusing post.

[dno]

Even in the US the digital conversion is not 100% if you’re in or near a major metropolitan area you will likely only be able to get digital signals through either a newer TV or a digital converter box. But if where you are is more remote and the method of getting channels from large cities is through a translator you still have a good chance that the signal is still analog. When we were in The Dalles, OR we were largely unaffected by the digital switch over since most of the signals we could get were UHF translators from Portland. I think I heard something about translators having to make the switch as well but stations had more time, or there was a specific channel range they could no longer broadcast in.

Also if Canada has not made the switch, and you are near the Canada border, then it's likely you can still get some analog signals out of Canada. I know if you’re near the Mexico border as we are you can still pick up quite a few Mexican analog stations. I think I also recall hearing a rule that US stations near the Mexico border were given an extension on switching due to broadcasters wanting to reach customers on the Mexico side of the border so it's possible to be in area near Mexico where a US station is still broadcasting in analog.

For Satellite, you will need a satellite receiver, a dish and an account with a satellite service. You will also need to make sure you aim the dish at the satellite before you can get a signal. If you have a dish that is mounted on the RV this process may be easier depending on the system. If it's a dome mounted system, aiming the dish may be automatic. Other types of systems may have controls for rotating the dish and setting the angle but you may still need to know what those settings are before you can set the control. If you have a satellite dish mounted to a tripod then the process is even more manual and you at the very least you may need a compass to help you aim the satellite in the right direction.