Carthago TV Sound to Head unit/Stereo

[Lenny HB]

My mate across the road, he is a Funster but doesn't get on with forums.
He has a CompactLine with the Alphtronics TV & Pioneer head unit, I spent over an hour yesterday with him no way can we get the TV sound out of the head unit. The TV has connections wired for AV in & out, on the TV the menu that allows main speakers to be turned on/off is greyed out. Aux & AV inputs on the Pioneer are set for Auto, I tried turning them on manually.
As you probably know I'm pretty clued up on this stuff and I reckon they have got the wiring wrong some idiot has plugged the input into the wrong socket. I assume the TV speaker menu is greyed out due to it not seeing a connection on the audio output.
I didn't want to go ripping the head unit out on his brand new van so I thought I would ask in case it's something stupid we are missing.

 

[Manic]

Doesn’t it work just by plugging into the Headphone socket

 

[Vansflyer]

A couple of things to check...
What source were you playing when you checked it? No Alphatronics currently will pass HDMI audio through the analogue audio output on the Tv that Carthago wire to. It will pass it through the headphone socket, the optical and if the Tv is new-ish the BT. Sat and Aerial tuners pass all audio no problem. Some of the Pioneer head unit have been known to be set up for iPod default connection, this will ignore the "Aux" in on the Headunit at times so worth manually setting it up, depending on the head it could have one or two aux in. Carthago also wire a video and audio feed from the head unit to the Tv... why the audio no one knows.. even them. They could have swopped the wiring over during the build so worth trying to play a DVD to check. Final thing, is the Tv one of the new ones without speakers? If so all audio should come out of the head unit... but not HDMI sources. Nice vans (we have one) but Stevie Wonder did the wiring diagram....

 

[Abgs]

My setup, if this is helpful ...

Headphone socket out of Alphatronic TV goes to a Carate digital signal processor unit.
All audio outputs from Zenec head-unit input to the Caratec.
Then all speakers outputs go from the Caratec.

 

[Lenny HB]

Had the head unit out appears to be wired correctly.
They don't use the headphone socket, they use the AV output on the TV with a 4 pole jack going to an adaptor to the phono leads all wrapped up in insulating tape on the back of the TV. That's the next bit to investigate.
I'll check the iPod suggestion but I don't think it's that.

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[Clarky]

If I remember correctly there are two Aux settings on the Pioneer Aux 1 and 2.
You need to switch it over to No. 2 for tv sound, at least that’s how ours works, but it is 6 years old.
You probably knew that already but as it can be difficult to find the Aux 2 settings I thought it might be helpful.

Richard.

 

[Steve and Denise]

We have the same set up and it’s a bit of a mystery to me fortunately I don’t like the surround sound and managed to turn it off but not sure how

 

[mitzimad]

i was going to say look for settings in the head unit as well as the tv

 

[Lenny HB]

If I remember correctly there are two Aux settings on the Pioneer Aux 1 and 2.
You need to switch it over to No. 2 for tv sound, at least that’s how ours works, but it is 6 years old.
You probably knew that already but as it can be difficult to find the Aux 2 settings I thought it might be helpful.

Richard.

This one has one AV & one Aux input.

 

[Vansflyer]

This one has one AV & one Aux input.

So can you identify which input the Tv is feeding?

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[Lenny HB]

So can you identify which input the Tv is feeding?

Plugged into AV input.

 

[Vansflyer]

So any further forward with this now you know the input, I guess you have metered the cables and all good?

 

[Lenny HB]

No not had time, he's not to bother as he is going to use Bluetooth spear as the Pioneer draws too much current.
I would like to sort it out I don't like things that don't work.

 

[Cavs]

The phono adapter that used to be on the back of my tv had a switch on it. It was ‘lost’ when the tv was serviced, but IIRC it was switched one way to send sound to the radio head and the other way to receive video from the radio head’s DVD player. It was a bizarre set up!

PS. 2017 Carthago eline.

 

[Lenny HB]

The phono adapter that used to be on the back of my tv had a switch on it. It was ‘lost’ when the tv was serviced, but IIRC it was switched one way to send sound to the radio head and the other way to receive video from the radio head’s DVD player. It was a bizarre set up!

PS. 2017 Carthago eline.

Adaptor are wrapped in black insulating tape a bit of a bodge for a manufacturer installed part will have to have a look.

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[barsteward]

There are many lengthy threads on the Cathargo owners facebook page about this subject. One person in particular is very knowledgeable about electronics etc etc. I obviously know nuffing but basically it can't be done without rewiring from the TV back to the Head unit, Cathargo for whatever reason wire them (at least Compact Lines) that way.
I think TinaL may know a little more about it it.

I would be very interested if you find a workaround I have eventually ended up with just a bluetooth speaker.

 

[Robert Clark]

On ours we lost the sound once
It was caused by a tiny switch on the scart plug on the tv
The switch enables two way sound via the scart plug

 

[Vansflyer]

No not had time, he's not to bother as he is going to use Bluetooth spear as the Pioneer draws too much current.
I would like to sort it out I don't like things that don't work.

Lots of Carthago owners have gone down the BT Speaker route, those Pioneer units pull so much power even at low volume levels. I binned mine for a Kenwood unit, much better in every way. And then sadly the question is "does the head unit pull off the cab or hab battery"? Sadly Carthago have been known to "wire at will"... some pull of the hab and some of the cab.

 

[Ditcha]

You can't use the surround sound with any hdmi output ie firestick or the likes it only works with terrestrial tv or sat tv on the alphatronics something to do with German digital laws you can use the headphone out but if you use this you will have to use the surround sound all the time.

I used the Bluetooth but found their is a bit of lag which done my head in.

 

[Cavs]

I binned mine for a Kenwood unit, much better in every way.

Ditto, although I've installed an Alpine.

Sadly Carthago have been known to "wire at will"

Agreed - I once asked my dealer where particular cables would be routed. The reply was "it depends who built it"!

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[Lenny HB]

Lots of Carthago owners have gone down the BT Speaker route, those Pioneer units pull so much power even at low volume levels. I binned mine for a Kenwood unit, much better in every way. And then sadly the question is "does the head unit pull off the cab or hab battery"? Sadly Carthago have been known to "wire at will"... some pull of the hab and some of the cab.

The stupid thing is with the Pioneer it even draws high current when turned off its standby is rediculas. Had to rescue my mate in his Carthago at Caravan Salon he was parked under trees so hardly any solar starter battery when low overnight, although the Pioneer was off he hadn't turned the media switch off on the control panel.
The one I'm helping with at the moment it's alarming seeing the volts drop on the starter battery when you turn it on, he is going to rewire it to the leisure battery with a switch on the main power line.

 

[Lenny HB]

I used the Bluetooth but found their is a bit of lag which done my head in.

Can you not adjust the sound sync on the TV. I know I can on our Freeview box at home not sure about the TV.

 

[Vansflyer]

You can't use the surround sound with any hdmi output ie firestick or the likes it only works with terrestrial tv or sat tv on the alphatronics something to do with German digital laws you can use the headphone out but if you use this you will have to use the surround sound all the time.

I used the Bluetooth but found their is a bit of lag which done my head in.

BT sync to the head unit is crap, sync to a Bt speaker is much better and pretty useable. Some TVs (maybe the later models) will allow you to have the headphone plugged in and still have Tv volume. Sub menu for the headphone volume control on the Tv. Sadly it is far from surround sound even through the stereo, voices behind you and images in front mess with your brain. You can fit a optical to analogue converter if you really want the best sound from the Tv through the head unit, it will need a p/s but otherwise easy to fit. https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-signal/...E5zfAwsh94aLxMvFu7vqQwuElZr-7ithoCLwAQAvD_BwE

 

[Ditcha]

Can you not adjust the sound sync on the TV. I know I can on our Freeview box at home not sure about the TV.

Haven't got that far Lenny it's a black art setting up a alphatronics give me a avtex any day, tell your mate to fit a battery balancer then it doesn't matter how the head unit is wired.

 

[Vansflyer]

Can you not adjust the sound sync on the TV. I know I can on our Freeview box at home not sure about the TV.

Nope! No sync adjustment on the Tv or headunit. Alphatronics are very confusing as a brand, great pictures, great GUI but no Dac for the audio output from HDMI .... and no sync option. Perhaps it was all built into a 20cent chip...

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[Lenny HB]

Haven't got that far Lenny it's a black art setting up a alphatronics give me a avtex any day, tell your mate to fit a battery balancer then it doesn't matter how the head unit is wired.

That won't t replace the power the Pioneer draws, I suppose they get away with them in cars because the main power feed is normally ignition switched.
My Clarion only draws 2 amps when running and millamps when off.

 

[Ditcha]

That won't t replace the power the Pioneer draws, I suppose they get away with them in cars because the main power feed is normally ignition switched.
My Clarion only draws 2 amps when running and millamps when off.

It just helps stop you getting a flat starter battery.

 

[Pausim]

Sadly Carthago have been known to "wire at will"... some pull of the hab and some of the cab.

My Compactline is wired to both. It runs normally from the engine battery when the ignition is on but is alternatively powered from the leisure battery when entertainments is switched on at the control panel. Whenever we switch entertainments on for the tv we have to switch the head unit off again because it automatically powers up, we don’t use it for tv sound.

 

[Vansflyer]

If Carthago have wired it correctly (they do sometimes) it will have two main feeds, one from hab media circuit and one ignition. Both should have diodes on to prevent reverse feed. By chance ours (C-Tourer 2019) is wired correctly but I have noticed that when the panel is on, 12v on, and "media" on, the battery consumption increases despite nothing else actually being "on" other than a relay or two. Never found the drain... one day I will ;-)

 

[barsteward]

My Compactline is wired to both. It runs normally from the engine battery when the ignition is on but is alternatively powered from the leisure battery when entertainments is switched on at the control panel. Whenever we switch entertainments on for the tv we have to switch the head unit off again because it automatically powers up, we don’t use it for tv sound.

Mines wired the same.

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