Entertainment Equipment; Tv Antenna; Tv Ghosts And .Fm Flutter; Minimizing Multipath Distortion And Improving Signal Quality - Fleetwood Bounder 1987 Owner's Manual

NOTE: If the patio outlet doesn't work, check
the GFI. Reset it if necessary. If the GFI con-
tinues to trip, have the electrical system checked
at an authorized Fleetwood Service Center.
ENTERTAINMENT EQUIPMENT
"Instructional material for the optional entertainment
system is included in your Owner's Information
Package.
If additional entertainment equipment requiring
12-volt DC power is installed in the motor home, ob-
tain the 12-volt DC source from the Fused Battery Cir-
cuit at the power converter. If you install entertain-ment
equipment requiring 12-volts DC, be sure to install a
choke filter with an amperage rating matched to the
current requirements of the equipment.
TV ANTENNA
The roof-mounted antenna is designed for reception
of VHF and UHF television signals.
Operating and maintenance instructions are included
in your Owner's Information Package.
When getting ready to travel, remember to lower the
antenna and secure it to prevent damage to the anten-
na, motor home roof, or objects in the path of the
,antenna;, such as overhead wires. DO NOT TRAVEL
,
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WITH THE ANTENNA RAISED.
NOTE: The antenna booster power supply must
be turned off to prevent battery drain. A red in-
, dicator light will glow when the unit is on.
TV "GHOSTS"AND FM "FLUTTER"
The television and radio systems in your motor home
have been chosen to provide good performance under
many varied signal conditions. Occasionally, though,
you may experience "ghosts" on TV, or "flutter" when
listening to FM broadcasts. In many cases, multipaht
distortion is responsible for these' phenomena.
Both tllievisicin ahd FM signals are broadcast at very ,
high frequencies - from 50 million cycles per second
up to the microwave region. These signals are easily
reflected by buildings, hills, towers, aircraft, and even
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. is a reflected one.
. Television and FM signals are exceedingly complex.
When mixed with reflections of themsleves, their com-
plexityil1creases 'even tnore;Phasecanceliations and
beat-frequency'components add 'up to cause the in- .
terference associated with mutipath distortion. This
type. of distortion,is,comPQuoded by the fact that your
vehicle maY:be movlng)\ cI;IlJ:sing;I;In'linfinite series of .
direct and reflected signals. The fault is normally not
with your receiver, although receivers with inadequate
multi path compensation circuitry may compound the
problem. Neither is 'your antenna system usually at
fault. The idea that antennas, whether amplified or
unamplified, "pull in" a signal is a popular misconcep-
tion. An antenna does not pull a signal out of the air
by virtue of its "power". The antenna only responds
to signals present at the antenna elements. A good
antenna deSign can improve the rejection of multi path
signals, though.
Since distance from the broadcast tower is critical
to reception clarity, remember that TV and FM signals
have a range of only about 75 miles under the best
of atmospheric and geographic conditions. The good
reception you get at parks located at great distances
from broadcast facilities is probably the result of
satellite, microwave or other cable distribution systems.
The antenna on your RV is no competition for these
very expensive installations. The very best RV anten-
na systems compromise performance and efficiency
for light weight and compactness. The amplifiers us-
ed in these systems attempt to overcome these com-
promises by presenting a reasonably good signal to
the TV or FM radio terminals. But these antennas have
a usable range of only about 50 miles under the best
of conditions. Beyond that distance, or in marginal con-
ditions, antenna performance falls off rapidly. In that
case, the amplifier only amplifies the noise, or
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being picked up by the antenna elements.
Minimizing Multipath Distortion and
Improving Signal Quality
There is Obviously very little that you can do about
geographY while you travel - except enjoy it. But if
multi path distortion becomes a nuisance, try these tips:
*
Re-orient the receiving antenna. Sometimes tur-
ning the antenna will pick up the stronger of either
the direct or reflected signal. Try turning or
rotating the antenna throughout its range. You
may find your signal in a very unexpected
direction. . . . .
*
With FM stereo signals, switch the unit to MONO,
if possible. Some of the phase and noise com-
ponents of a stereo signal will disappear in MONO
mode. .
. " . ,._ ,:.r, ,';-,' 1'1_
*
Reduce the treble. setting to. reduce backgrollnd'
noise. Although not yielding the best high-
frequency performance, at least. you may be able
to reduce the irritation. of the distortion .
GENERATOR P.oilVER PLANT
. You; motor home may be equipped with a gasoline' .
powered generator which will provide complete elec-
trical self-containment when regular public utility.AC
power is unavailable. Controls are at the generator and
at a remote, control panel located inside the motor
home.~,
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39.