This was our 2013 Jayco Flight Swift 198 RD

THIS WAS OUR 2013 JAYCO FLIGHT SWIFT 198RD, PARKED AT THE TOMBSTONE TERRITORIES RV PARK IN ARIZONA



Saturday 6 January 2018

A quick exchange of TVs, not so quick!

Hey, we got ourselves a new TV for the RV on Boxing Day. It is a Samsung 32” 1080p Smart TV, wow! Well, the JAYCO White Hawk came with a nice 29” 720p Furrion HDTV, but as you know, bigger is always better.



The 29” TV will find a new place in the RVs prewired bedroom location when we are at home away from home and enjoying the warmer climate. Later during the summer time, this TV will entertain me in my workshop.


Jayco installed near the trailer’s entrance door the switch panel for lights, pump, water heater, slide and awning. Also the “Furrion DV1200” entertainment center with speaker control and DVD/CD player is located underneath. In addition, I installed there a digital 12V Voltmeter to monitor my trailer’s battery bank and in the RH corner the wifi router.


The manufacturer originally fitted a HDMI cable running from the entertainment center to the TV to combine sound and video. This cable must have had a shaky connection and that problem was pestering us, because the TV was loosing the picture on and off while watching DVD movies. It was a real pain. I suspected a faulty plug, which may got jerked during installation at the plant. Fixing this problem was on my bucket list, but….
Now while hooking up the new TV it was the right time to finally tackle this problem. The manufacturer had routed a 25-foot long HDMI cable from the entertainment center near the entrance door via the ceiling to the TV location, a truly difficult long run. I purchased a 10-foot HDMI cable from Best Buy and routed it from the entertainment center via two cabinets toward the TV, a much shorter run and hidden as well. The 25-foot HDMI cable I pulled from the ceiling for good, yes it had a damaged plug, the one on the rear of the entertainment center. Not easy to notice, you have to unscrew the center first!

The extracted 25 ft. HDMI cable with the troubled plug cut off.
New HDMI cable looks similar and is only 10 ft. long.

I really like to use our trailer’s inside ceiling speakers for TV audio. My hearing is not anymore as it was in my younger days. Hey, we are no spring chicken anymore. At home I use Sony wireless headphones with our Sony TV. But here is the problem, the new Samsung Smart TV has no headphone outlet and no analog audio outlet, unlike the smaller Jayco supplied 29” Furrion TV.
This means that the trailer’s prewired red and white RCA analog cable from the TV to the entertainment center is no longer of any use, because the new Samsung Smart TV has only one audio outlet and this is a digital optical one.
Oh man, you want to treat yourself good by buying something new and in the end you get a rattail of new problems.  Isn’t it always the case?

At the big opening notice the retired red and while RCA cable coiled up and hanging down.

Oh well, this meant I had to get a Toslink Digital Optical Audio cable quick. Marlene suggested getting one from Amazon using the free Amazon Prime shipping.

New Toslink Digital Optical Audio cable from Amazon

This is what we did because there was a small blizzard blowing outside and I really didn’t really feel like driving into town in this weather to hunt down that cable.

Now, at the same time while I was routing the new HDMI cable, I ran the fancy 10ft. Toslink Digital Optical Audio cable for sound next to it too.

Routed optical cable and HDMI cable top right
ready to be pulled into the TV cabinet

Routed optical cable and HDMI cable hanging LH corner 
to get plugged into entertainment center.

Luckily the entertainment center had a headphone outlet and an optical audio-in inlet into which I happily inserted the optical cable.

With this hook up I can use a headphone or, we can use the entertainment center with the ceiling speakers to amplify the TV sound while watching one of my favorite western movies or so. Man, this will be music to my ears, as long Marlene doesn’t say, “Would you mind and turn down the sound a little!”


4 comments:

  1. That was quite the task you gave yourself but I can understand why. Now you can both see and hear the new television in your Trailer.
    Be Careful with those frigid Temperatures and Enjoy the fruits of your labour.

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. Patsy, the plan was to leave after New Years, but Marlene's Mom went with an ambulance to the hospital, so we delayed our departure. Hopefully it will happen in Feb. I had it with the snow!
      Benno

      Delete
  3. Rick and Kathy, Marlene and I are crying into the snow. This winter is a real bummer.
    Benno

    ReplyDelete