Winegard TV wall plate signal amplifier

[CGAZ Paul]

Well..yet another batch of time spent on "finding" the right replacement. My TV signal booster burned out. I believe someone plugged in an aftermarket digital box which may have shorted it out - or the unit just failed. Either way, the red LED doesn't light. Most Rialtas have the Antenna cable (roof down to wall plate) and the campground cable (in back storage compartment for campground cable hookup). The plate supplied as original equipment had a 12V receptacle and cable outlet. The TV hooks up to the wall plate cable jack.


They don't make the wall plate exactly the same anymore. I bought an NOS replacement that looked the same but in the back there were only 2 jacks. (The middle jack was not on this model.) This meant that I could NOT hookup the campground cable connector. So...more research took me to the proper NEW plate.


It is only available in white. This plate (Winegard P/N: RA-7296) has the amplified circuit and 3 ports in the back and one cable port up front as well as the 12VDC (cigarette lighter) outlet. There is no longer a slide switch as in the older version. It is a pushbutton switch with a smaller LED. When you push the button (LED is lit) the roof antenna signal is boosted and the TV receives that signal. When you push the button to turn off the LED, it allows the TV to receive the campground signal - or is just off altogether.

[CGAZ Paul]

One additional note about the RA-7296 Winegard wall plate. The third cable jack in the back of the plate is available for a second TV set - like the bigger RV's have. This is left blank and unused. So, you are only using two ports in the back even though the incorrect part I bought had two ports; one of them for the Antenna and the other for the second TV. The middle "Cable" port (campground hookup) was missing, so it did me no good.


The RA-7296 is the one. Ironically, it is the same part number mentioned in my old paperwork. I have a 1999 HD. It just doesn't look the same anymore.


Thanks and hope this helps anyone,


Paul

[CGAZ Paul]

Update on my Wall Plate saga. I installed the correct plate: RA-7296 only to have the TV show: NO SIGNAL. Very frustrating. I studied the TV manual and discovered (this is the digital age) that in the MENU you have to let the TV do an Auto Scan and recognize the particular antenna you have. I did it and WOW! I receive many stations with that Winegard Antenna. The TV is a digital Flat Screen that came with the coach from the previous owner.


The place that installed it for him told him that he "needed" a special decoder box. It was this box that burned out the old Wall Plate Amplifier (I assume). The old Winegard Batwing antennas that came with these Rialtas work just fine and receive the digital signals without all those contraptions. Not only was the picture crisp and clean, it received HD Stations. Now my Rialta TV has better picture and HD than the one in the house and I have one less contraption on the counter. Once again a happy camper here. On to the next item on my maint. list. Thanks for reading.


Paul

[turbofxnitro]

Would you happen to know where the Coaxial cable from the through roof fitting to the coach (Long Cable) connect. I have about a 10 inch cable which was hooked up to the fitting, the other end was loose in the headliner. Unable to find where it should connect.? any help would be greatly appreciated. Also the cable from the Antenna to the inside of the thru roof fitting has continuity.

[stephanietwest]

I have removed the TV from the front of my Rialta and hung a small flat one from the back shelf and connected it to the box in the corner of the Rialta but I haven't been able to get very good reception, though I've done the Autoscan. Would using the LED button work for me? Should I disconnect the cable?

Stephanie

Originally Posted by CGAZ Paul

Update on my Wall Plate saga. I installed the correct plate: RA-7296 only to have the TV show: NO SIGNAL. Very frustrating. I studied the TV manual and discovered (this is the digital age) that in the MENU you have to let the TV do an Auto Scan and recognize the particular antenna you have. I did it and WOW! I receive many stations with that Winegard Antenna. The TV is a digital Flat Screen that came with the coach from the previous owner.


The place that installed it for him told him that he "needed" a special decoder box. It was this box that burned out the old Wall Plate Amplifier (I assume). The old Winegard Batwing antennas that came with these Rialtas work just fine and receive the digital signals without all those contraptions. Not only was the picture crisp and clean, it received HD Stations. Now my Rialta TV has better picture and HD than the one in the house and I have one less contraption on the counter. Once again a happy camper here. On to the next item on my maint. list. Thanks for reading.


Paul