TV Surround Sound Help

[gjgrosser]

I've read through the below post relating to connecting a new TV to existing Winnebago surround sound system, but hopefully, someone can possibly direct me to a solution for my system.

http://www.winnieowners.com/forums/f...-tv-97510.html

I recently purchased my 2000 chieftain and the previous owner had already upgraded the front & rear TV's and the dash radio. However, when they upgraded they didn't reconnect the front TV to surround system. I have attempted to follow wires to see where they go, but I lose them behind a panel I can't seem to move.

In the cabinet where my signal input switch is, there is a smaller switch where you select either the dash audio or the TV for the surround sound. When it's switched to dash radio it works as it should but when I choose tv there is no sound at all.

On the back of that switch, there are two yellow wires that lead behind the panel I can't move, and thus lose track of them.

While looking at the pictures of the other owner's upgrades, I didn't notice a similar switch in the other units or the yellow wires. I understand that the others might have been the same, but just a different design put switches/wires are in different areas.

Attached is a picture of my set up if anyone can provide some insight.

Thank you to all.

[Jim_HiTek]

Very similar to my system in my Journey. I did trace out the wires and yes, I have two yellow wires on the back of that switch too. Can't remember all the details but I did find the box that was installed to route the TV audio to the dash radio. And it's mono. Worthless. And this is in a '02 Journey. Decades after everything in the country was switched over to stereo. Not impressed with that design.

I'm guessing your system is the same and that's why it doesn't do anything, because the PO realized it was only mono and didn't want it. And disabled it.

What I did for the first year I owned this rig was to run an audio cable from the back of the 32" LCD Vizio TV to the AUX audio input of the dash radio (both devices, the old tube type TV and the original dash radio were replaced with better versions by the PO). This dash radio has two AUX inputs, one on the front and one on the rear. Many modern dash radios have at least one AUX stereo input. Using that input, I get stereo through the surround sound system. It was a stereo audio cable hanging down from the TV cabinet that I'd roll up and stuff into that cabinet (designed for an old tube type TV so plenty of room) when I traveled.

Just recently, got tired of seeing that audio cable hanging down in front of the dash in the way so went looking for a wireless stereo Transmitter/Receiver device. And found a set of Radio Shack Transmitter/Receivers that fit the bill for $20 a pair. They're smallish, approximately 3" square powered by an AC power cube, have several cables to adapt to the radio input and TV output. One is up inside the TV cubby hole connected to the TVs audio out, the other sits on the floor under the passengers seat with the audio cable going to the dash radio's AUX input, routed under the throw rug.


Eventually, I'll wire in a 120 volt outlet under the dash and plug in the receivers power cube there, than connect the audio to the Rear AUX input. Currently this RV has no 120 power near the dash so I'll have to remodel for that.


But that's how I did it just so I wouldn't have to mess with rewiring and changing from mono to stereo. This isn't the only method of course.

[gjgrosser]

I figured that there must have been a logical reason why it wasn't hooked back up. But what I don't understand is that they did nothing for the sound. The way they mounted the new tv, the speakers are behind all of the wood, so with the sound at full volume, you can barely hear it... Maybe they didn't watch much tv.

I'll have to look into either a connection via an aux in or maybe some kind of Bluetooth transmitter. I have to put a new radio in anyways as this one isn't all that good.

Thank you for your time.

[Jim_HiTek]

Well, we can only guess, but one guess would be that the PO got a Sound Bar. Perhaps attached it to the underneath of the TV cabinet (or above it) and when they sold the rig, took it with them.

My brother has one that's attached that way, even has an IR transmitter to a remote subwoofer. The sound bar can be quickly removed if he sells the RV. I know, because I installed it for him. Only took a bit of arm twisting to get the audio cable plugged into the back of the TV. Had a sore arm for a couple hours afterwards...all because I didn't want to take the time to remove the TV.

Those sound bars are very common these days, pretty much made specifically for LCD/LED flat screen TVs because they come with such bad sound.

In your case, if you can get your TV out of that cabinet, you'll probably find the device I'm talking about Velco mounted somewhere inside there with a plug in cable hanging loose somewhere. Check it out, see if it's mono or stereo. Maybe it's just not plugged into the TV for some reason.

[gjgrosser]

I've already been in the cabinet where the tv is, and there is nothing plugged into the back of it, except for the coax...

There don't appear to be any screw holes in the vicinity of the tv where a sound bar might have been. I know this doesn't mean anything, but it really looks like if they did watch tv, the sound might not have been that important. lol..

Might be an option for me though. Thanks for the suggestion.

[cbeierl]

If it helps any, here's the original TV/VCR Wiring Installation diagram for your coach.

[Jim_HiTek]

Several of those drawings show a single RCA jack to connect to the TV audio output so I suspect the Audio Amp box they show in some of those drawings is/was mono. It shows that it was held in place with one screw so if you haven't seen it in there, then it was removed.


I went for months with bad sound from my TV before I bothered to get around and figure out how to wire it to the dash radio. There's just so much else to do when you're on the road, fixing the TV audio is low on the list...and my TV has front firing speakers. If there was a game I wanted to watch and listen to, I'd just go to a sports bar. That was before I got 'Round2iT'.



Maybe your RV's PO bought a TV not realizing the speakers were rear/side facing? But tried to live with it?

[70ChevelleSS]

On ours there was a cable with two RCA jacks plugged into the back of the old TV. They run down to the surround sound system. In our MH it's behind the kick panel in front of the passenger seat. Does the TV in there now have audio about jacks? If not you're pretty much out of luck. If it does don't know why the wouldn't connect the cables to the new TV.

[Oldchinahand]

I have read thru this thread several times. Still confused. (I have been confused before) Not so long ago, our OEM home theater died. It's replacementioned took us on your system odessy. Wondering if the new upgrades you had included a home theater unit with integral amplifier to drive all those speakers.

Perhaps our saga may contain a thought or two pertinent to your situation.


Not sure if you are referring to stereo as surround sound or if you have 5x1 surround sound as we have. If the latter, comming out of the dash radio are about a dozen speaker wires (to service the 5 speakers and sub woofers). They lead into a junction/switch box in an upper cabinet. Coming out of the home theater unit are another dozen wires leading into the switch box. (2 dozen wire so far) leading out of the switch box are the wires to the individual speakers/sub woofers. The "TV - Radio" switch wires lead to this Junction box. Sends either the radio or the home theater to the 5x1 speakers.

Initially, we moved an old DVD/home theater unit out of a box in the garage into the Winnie. Since it had receptacles for all those speaker wires, assumed it would work. Nope. Best Buy Geeks educated me on amplifiers. After much searching found a Sony unit online with amplifier that was compatible with coax, hdmi, and all those speaker wires. We are back in 5x1 surround sound for the time being. But marrying evolving technology with our old stuff can be a challenge.

Fair Winds and Following Seas

[Petro]

We had the Winnebago shop at FC remove the old picture tube TV and the hump that housed it.. They installed a Vizio TV that the surround system plugged into. Vizio is the only TV that I am aware of that has a analog audio output that works with our existing sound system. They did a great job and I am very happy with the sound system & their work.

I believe our sound system is stereo and not mono as I hear different sounds coming out of the rear speakers than the front. A TV that does not have a analog audio output will not work with the existing analog sound system. Just my thoughts.

Don

[cbeierl]

If you lack a volume-controlled audio out jack on the TV you can always solder leads directly to the speakers in the new TV, just as Winnebago did in our original Sony tube TV (and as I did when I replaced it with a new HD LED TV). Here's my install:

Front LCD TV install in 2005 Vectra (Long)

[JaminSamin]

Originally Posted by gjgrosser

I've already been in the cabinet where the tv is, and there is nothing plugged into the back of it, except for the coax...

There don't appear to be any screw holes in the vicinity of the tv where a sound bar might have been. I know this doesn't mean anything, but it really looks like if they did watch tv, the sound might not have been that important. lol..

Might be an option for me though. Thanks for the suggestion.

Did you find the original audio connection when you were behind the TV? I would make finding that connection a priority, without it it’s going to be next to impossible hooking any TV to the original sound system.
It’s probably coiled up and stuffed behind one of the upper cabinets.

[Indy Bob]

My old tube TV had a plug in cord like a headset plug. I have that plugged in to new flat screen's headphone jack. I get a #2 in sound volume out of a #10 rating. Just above a whisper. Best Buy said the old Tube TV put out maybe 15 watts of power and the new one maybe 3 to 5. No new TV's have a high power for old surrounds. SOOO, The original wiring shows the sound systems amplifier UP above. NOPE...it is on the floor, to the left of foot pedals behind a kick plate. Messing with that is my next exercise.

[JaminSamin]

gjgrosser,
Here are a couple of pic’s, one of what the connection wires look like on my Horizon, just your garden variety RCA type. These are the wires I hope are still there on your rig. The wires on my Horizon run behind the upper left cabinet and down the driver side A pillar to the amplifier located under a panel by the drivers left foot. The other pic is how I made the new Samsung TV connects to those RCA jacks.

The Samsung LED TV I bought like most new sets doesn’t have an RCA jack to make the connection, so I took the new TV and the old tv connection-filter some refer to as a “wart” to the local mobile audio shop. They took one look at the wart and said the Smithsonian wanted it back and they had something a little more current. They took the new Samsung in the back and installed a Boss Audio Systems high level to RCA converter, Model B65N...it took them 20 minutes. All they did was remove the back of the TV and splice into the speaker wires...then mount the filter to the back of the TV and that’s all there was to it. The whole thing parts and labor was under $30.00, it’s plug and play and it works seamlessly with the original surround sound Winnebago installed in 2002.

This is an effective way to marry the new tech TV to the old tech surround sound. Chris Beierl did roughly the same thing back in 2011 so it’s not a new method. Good luck!

[Indy Bob]

You're THE MAN...Looks awesome and thank you for the tips. I will check on Monday with the audio shop.

[BobC]

Personally, I'd forget the old, out-dated sound system and install a modern AV receiver and connect it to the TV and speakers. It's far from a true surround sound system anyway.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by BobC

Personally, I'd forget the old, out-dated sound system and install a modern AV receiver and connect it to the TV and speakers. It's far from a true surround sound system anyway.

Yep Bob,
That's EXACTLY what I did. The old standard Winne/Itasca system is what they call a "5.0" surround sound system. Well, yeah, it does have multiple speakers. But, the ability for the control of the volume and individuality of each set of speakers is NIL! Ain't happening. So, when I did both major TV changes, I took the effort to completely re-wire the system and, I also installed two different receivers. I did the Marantz 1501 5.2 system for all but the sub woofers. Because the Marantz is a "pre-amp", there was/is no power to drive the two stock subwoofers that Itasca installed. So, I had to get another small amp to drive those. No biggie. I just have to turn on two switches instead of one.

But, way better than it was bone stock. My speakers are much better controlled for TV sound now. I'm not a stereo nut, not by any means. I just wanted better control. And, while I was in there goofing around with a few miles of wire, I segregated the dash radio from TV system completely. Now the switch on the dash that switches from sending the sound from the radio to the speakers to the TV sending the sound to the speakers, is DEAD!

I installed two new Bose speakers in the corner pockets of the upper cabinets that was only a section of upholstery cloth covering the holes. So, when the dash radio is playing, we get much better sound out of those new speakers.

But, while it was quite a bit of deciphering of all the speaker wires to each one, and soldering extension lengths onto each set of speaker wires so that they'd all end up in the upper right cabinet where the new Marantz and subwoofer amp now resided, it was still a fun project. Now, a new, waaaaaaaaaay more modern TV, in both up front and, in the bed room, and a new and stronger sound system.
Scott

[BobC]

In my 35U, not all the speakers work and, even if they did, their locations don't lend themselves well to surround sound from the prime viewing position.

It's impossible to locate surround sound speakers so they're appropriate for every viewing position unless you have switches to switch from zone to zone depending on where you're sitting.

My long term plan is to relocate the TV from the cockpit to a cabinet opposite the living room slide where we have two recliners. The TV will be on an electric lift so it will retract out of sight.

[gjgrosser]

Thank you all for the information. I haven't had a chance to look into this any further, but I'll update when I do.