Entertainment Equipment; Tv Antenna; Tv "Ghosts" And Fm "Flutter; Minimizing Multipath Distoration And Improving Signal Quality - Fleetwood 1990 Tioga Arrow Owner's Manual

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OTHER OUTLETS ON THE SAME CIRCUIT. HAVE THE
MOTOR HOME ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CHECKED AT
AN AUTHORIZED FLEETWOOD SERVICE CENTER OR
BY A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN. DO NOT USE THE
SYSTEM UNTIL THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN
CORRECTED.
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To restore power push the "RESET" button.
Your Owner's Information Package contains a card
that can be used to record test dates. Keep the card
in a conspicuous place, and keep it up to date.
NOTE: If the patio outlet doesn't work, check
the GF!. Reset it if necessary. If the GFI con-
tinues to trip, have the motor home electrical
system checked at an authorized Fleetwood Ser-
vice Center or by a qualified electrician.
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
Circuit at the power converter. If you install enter-
tainment equipment requiring 12 volts DC, be sure
to install a choke filter with an amperage rating mat-
ched to the current requirements of the equipment.
TV ANTENNA
The roof-mounted antenna is designed for recep-
tion of VHF and UHF television signals.
Operating and maintenance instructions are includ-
ed in your Owner's Information Package.
When getting ready to travel, remember to lower
the antenna and secure it to prevent damage to the
antenna, motor home roof, or objects in the path of
the antenna, such as overhead wires. DO NOT
TRAVEL 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 "flut-
ter" when listening to FM broadcasts. In many cases,
multipath distortion is responsible for these
phenomena.
Both television and 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
other vehicles. Consequently, at any location, a TV
or FM signal could be occurring at your antenna from
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not only the broadcast tower, but also via several dif-
ferent reflected paths. In some cases, a reflected
signal could be an advantage - you may be situated
in the shadow of a hill or mountain and the only signal
you can receive is a reflected one.
Television and FM signals are exceedingly complex.
When mixed with reflections of themselves, their com-
plexity increases even more. Phase cancellations and
beat-frequency components add up to cause the in-
terference associated with multipath distortion. This
type of distortion is compounded by the fact that your
vehicle may be moving, causing an infinite series of
direct and reflected signals. The fault is normally not
with your receiver, although receivers with inadequate
multipath 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
multipath signals.
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 antenna systems compromise performance and
efficiency for light weight and compactness. The
amplifiers used in these systems attempt to overcome
these compromises 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 conditions, antenna performance falls
off rapidly. In that case, the amplifier only amplifies
the noise, or "snow" being picked up by the anten-
na 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 multipath distortion becomes a nuisance, try these
tips:
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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 components of a stereo signal will disap-
pear in MONO mode.