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DSBryant View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Power Light while on DC power
    Posted: 10 Aug 2020 at 12:13pm
Just bought a new 2020 rPod 196.   While the trailer was connected to DC only, we noticed on the roof of the camper is a device with two antenna coming out of it - facing backwards.  I assume it is for our TV over-the-air reception?  It has a small red LED light indicating it is powered on.  

Any time I see a light like that, it indicates that some device is active and is potentially drawing power from my batteries.  I'd like to see if there's a way to turn off that antenna device completely and any associated power drain it might be responsible for.  

Any ideas?

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mjlrpod View Drop Down
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Posts: 1221 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 2020 at 12:53pm
On my 195, it is on when the antennea booster is turned on. If you look behind your t.v., you will probably see a small red light. That is the booster. Push the tiny button beside it and the red light should go out. The outside roof light should now be off also. 
2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195
2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl
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DSBryant View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 2020 at 4:18pm
mjirpod - spot on!  It's a very small pushbutton that during the initial walkthrough, the salesman probably pointed out, but with so many other things to point out . . . it got lost in the shuffle.

It probably would place a very minimal drain on my batteries, but watt the heck, I'm currently very amped up that I can turn it off and not worry about it.  Big smile

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Buffalohunter View Drop Down
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Posts: 57 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 2020 at 5:58pm
Dsbryant interesting observation as I too have the little red light on the tv booster on the roof of my pod...a 2020 189. Mjlrpod’s solution sounds so easy for your pod and I do hope it works. Maybe with the 189 they built in frustration as I have no little red light or little switch anywhere that I can find that would do the trick. All the wires from my tv run up and disappear in a ceiling mounted box of mystery. Like you say probably not drawing a whole lot of power. Still it bugs me to see the light and not be able to turn it off. Did you turn yours off...I hope you did...still worrying about it here
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DSBryant View Drop Down
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 2020 at 8:26pm
buffalohunter - I verified that toggling that tiny little button "Off" certainly did turn off the antenna booster on the roof. 
The button is integrated into a cover plate roughly the size of a standard household outlet cover.  It has a bright red LED that indicates the booster is on.  Right next to the bright LED is the aforementioned push button.  Toggle it off, and the booster on the roof and the LED goes out.  
Photo might help a bit.  
If yours disappears into the ceiling . . .  then I wouldn't have any suggestions, as I definitely am a noob to the RV thing.  
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tcj View Drop Down
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Posts: 141 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 2020 at 9:33pm
Originally posted by Buffalohunter

Dsbryant interesting observation as I too have the little red light on the tv booster on the roof of my pod...a 2020 189. Mjlrpod’s solution sounds so easy for your pod and I do hope it works. Maybe with the 189 they built in frustration as I have no little red light or little switch anywhere that I can find that would do the trick. All the wires from my tv run up and disappear in a ceiling mounted box of mystery. Like you say probably not drawing a whole lot of power. Still it bugs me to see the light and not be able to turn it off. Did you turn yours off...I hope you did...still worrying about it here


Buffalo, my Rpod is a 2018 180.  I have the same situation with wires disappearing into a box of mystery.  I did find the push on/off button on the face plate that turns on the red light on the face plate but it does not turn off the red light on the roof antenna when in the off position.

I took the face plate off to see what's in that mystery box...see photos.  The only way I could get the roof light to turn off was to disconnect the gray coax cable inside the mystery box.  I connected the gray coax to the third unused coax fitting in the photo and the roof light would not turn on with the push button in the on position.  I am thinking about putting a on/off switch on the outside of the mystery box to turn off the power to the face plate switch.  I suspect it is the red/black pair.  I'll have to do some wire tracing and disconnect the battery before I cut them to install a switch though.

Wires disappearing into the mystery box.  Push switch in off position.

Push switch in the on position.

Back of face plate.  Red coax is attached to "Satellite" fitting on face plate.  Black and gray coaxes attached to circuit board on "TV" coax fitting.

Gray coax disconnected turns off the red light on the roof antenna.
2018 R-pod 180 Hood River Edition
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Buffalohunter View Drop Down
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Posts: 57 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Aug 2020 at 6:54pm
Thanks for the great pictures and information. The 189 is a different animal in that the cable leaves the tv and disappears into a utility box mounted just above the set and attached to the ceiling. I do have the satellite/tv switch plate. However it is located over the bed in the forward area. The tv is aft as you first walk in the door. There is no tv in the forward bed area...nothing hooked up the that switch plate. If I push that button the light comes on and off but does not affect the tv booster box on the roof. The  utility box or mystery box above the tv by the door has other connections...solar/battery monitor, switch plate for the slide/awning/porch/interior lights and the furrion radio/ speaker selection switch. It is closed off, no access plate...just a hole in the bottom where the cable and the red/yellow/white input connections for the tv. I would send a picture but I don’t know how to size it down. Fortunately I have solar panels to keep the batteries charged. So that is my situation. The booster box is always on and probably will be until I tear into this mystery box to get to...the rest of the story. Thanks for all you suggestions...maybe another 189er will read this and offer something up.
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mjlrpod View Drop Down
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Posts: 1221 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2020 at 9:07am
Just looking at the absolutely crappy crimp job they did, and the stuff all over the circuit board, there's alot of opportunity for things to be messed up. Something is possibly disabling the switch, and keeping current supplying the booster. I would say, turn on the t.v. and get a channel that works on. Then turn off the booster button. The t.v. should lose the picture when it's off. If it keeps playing, your switch is not working for some reason. 
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2020 R-pod 195
2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl
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tcj View Drop Down
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Posts: 141 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2020 at 12:32pm
Hey mjlrpod, that is a good suggestion, thanks.  I went out and did the test.  The TV gets good reception with the booster switch on but lost the picture with the switch off.  So, the switch is working.
2018 R-pod 180 Hood River Edition
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mjlrpod View Drop Down
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Posts: 1221 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2020 at 12:47pm
Maybe on your model, the light should stay on? Can't really think of anything else. 
2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195
2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl
I'll be rpodding
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