View Full Version : Bad Balun?
kevinw
11-12-2002, 11:51 AM
Last week I was getting a low signal with my RS
VU-160 antenna and RS 25db amp. I went on the roof Sunday and re-aimed and tightened everything down and was getting a good signal across the board. Monday AM checked again during the storm and everything was still good. Monday night no
signal at all!!
Is it possible for a balun to go bad?
The amp has a red light to show that it is on. When I checked it the light was at very dim. I unplugged antenna lead and light brightens up. It seems that the antenna cable is drawing down power from the amp. I have gone direct from the antenna without the amp and nothing changes, no signal.
HELP I want my HD
Sounds like it may be a "short" to "ground", via the antenna lead? Perhaps the storm "fried" some of the circuits inside the unit and the "power" is now "leaking" to the antenna?
Since the antenna doesn't work on its own, check the connections, perhaps redoing them and also check the condition of the antenna lead - perhaps chaffed or cracked somewhere...
Good luck, these are the hardest things to diagnose, you have to go one, by one, which you have already started by trying the antenna without the amp.
kevinw
11-12-2002, 12:04 PM
When you say fried are you meaning the balun?
I'm not very familiar with Antennae. There appear to be electrical and mechanical baluns. I'm assuming you are referring to an electrical one.
In such a violent storm just about anything could be "fried". You'll have to isolate the piece of equipment that has interrupted your "circuit".
Let's hope that two things have not been "fried", because that gets even harder. I'd lean towards something wrong with your antenna lead, or the antenna itself, if you take everything else out of the equation and it still gives no signal.
Ratman
11-12-2002, 02:23 PM
I'd suggest to first swap out the balun... they're cheap enough.
Then make sure that all of the connections are waterproofed! It may be possible for water to leak in the the coax shielding and cause a short. The only way to fix that (if it has happened) is to run new cable. Ugh!
kevinw
11-12-2002, 02:31 PM
Dad gum aas they say here in Deliverance land- It was all new wire installed a year ago. I did go to the Radioshack sight and it say I have short someplace. My guess it is the Balun/amplifier. I am also going to look at the grounding block..It is lower to the ground. I dread going on the roof-2 story with a steep grade.
Anyone wanna come over and help..I have plenty of beer and a great insurance policy for falls:D ?
Ratman
11-12-2002, 02:59 PM
Dadburnit!
Did you forget to make 'drip loops' when ya ran the coax?
kevinw
11-12-2002, 03:12 PM
Drip loop???? Don't tell me that was why the cable was looped? S#*T I have to go back on the roof:mad:
Ratman
11-12-2002, 03:48 PM
Originally posted by kevinw
Drip loop???? Don't tell me that was why the cable was looped? S#*T I have to go back on the roof:mad:
Hrmph.... "Southerners"!
kevinw
11-12-2002, 03:57 PM
"Southerners"!
Thems fighten words...
Hey I am really from Detroit/Chicago...Jus living in the south-NO SNOW:D
