Satellite install for dummies

NewJammer · 10-04-2016, 11:05 AM

My hubs and I are finding that while we LOVE camping in October, we miss ESPN during football season, so we are considering purchasing a satellite antenna for the RV. We do NOT have satellite at home, so please understand that I'm basically an idiot as to how it works (the whole multiple receiver, dual tuner, etc. - that stuff doesn't mean anything to me at the moment). So I'm looking for advice from someone who can dumb it down to my level.

We have a Windjammer 3006K. We have a TV in the living room, the bunk room, and the bedroom. We also have a cable hookup outside under the awning. We move the bedroom TV back and forth between inside and outside.

I know that we have two cable inputs on the back of the trailer, but we have never used them - we have only used the rooftop antenna.

We do notice that we get different reception from the antenna in the different rooms of the trailer. The reception in the bedroom is better than the reception in the living room (living room is the main TV with the antenna boost switch). And if we are watching TV outside and someone turns on the TV in the living room, we lose most of the reception outside. Seems odd.

Anyway, just looking for some easy to understand direction on how the factory wiring works and what (if any) modifications will need to be made in order to hook up a satellite antenna/receiver.

Thank you!

spock123 · 10-04-2016, 01:13 PM

I brought a Trav'ler for my camper and let a person that that puts in sound systems install mine, it works great. I have Direct tv at home and I just take my receiver from my house. When the installing was hooking everything up he wanted to know how many tv did watch, we just watch one. I also have a portable satellite dish but a Trav'ler is a no brainer

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SlowrideHD · 10-05-2016, 11:15 AM

Spock....
Do you still have receivers at home when you take yours travelling? I was wondering how this worked if you had house sitters while being gone, if they would have (or not have) satellite reception with one receiver gone.

spock123 · 10-05-2016, 02:17 PM

No one stays at our house when we travel, we only have one receiver at home and that comes with us. I don't care anything about satellite but DW loves it and I love DW.

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NMWildcat · 10-05-2016, 02:53 PM

If you don't have satellite at home, then it can be more expensive due to dealing with 2 TV programming providers. We have Dish at home and the RV. For us Dish has a better RV support department and the portable dishes are usually cheaper. Also DISH provides HD programming via portable dishes.

If you already have 2 input coax connectors on your rig, then chances are one is for satellite. Which really means it's a direct connection (single cable, no splitters) from the outside connector to an inside connector somewhere around your main TV.

For around $350-$450 initial cost you can get everything you need for a DISH Network solution. We went with a Tailgater portable dish and a vip211z (or a wally receiver will work also) receiver. We like the portable dish as we can move it anywhere to get the best reception (it's not attached to the roof of the rig).

Setup is simple. Use a satellite finder app on your phone (free) to find an open spot to the DISH satellites if you are in the trees. Place the Tailgater and hook the coax between the Tailgater and the input coax connecter on the outside of your rig. Plug the receiver in near your main TV and hook a coax cable between it and your inside coax connecter. Run an HDMI cable from the receiver to your TV (for HD programming). That's it. If you want SD programming to the other TVs in your rig, connect another coax from the receiver to the appropriate connector.

If you haven't already done so, call DISH and register your receiver and pick a programming package. HD ESPN!

Lots of articles and threads about the different ways folks prefer to handle their satellite TV while in their RV.

Soon we will buy one of the new King portable dishes with 2 outputs. Then we can run one cable to the inside, and have another cable for our outside receiver. That way we don't have to keep moving the receiver in and out. But then you have a monthly charge for 2 receivers instead of one.

Good luck and have fun!

spock123 · 10-05-2016, 05:25 PM

I have a Tailgater and a receiver I wish I could sell plus it I have a tripod for it. I also have a ladder mount for the Tailgater. Direct tv satellite works best for us and now with the Trav'ler all I do is turn the system on and in a few minutes DW is watching tv. It costs some but it is well worth the money, it keeps DW happy

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BandJCarm · 10-05-2016, 05:42 PM

This is a subject that everyone is a 'dummy' at first. Many of us have spent a couple of years figuring it out. Once you get there, it's not bad at all. But getting from There to Here is hard, I admit.

The above guys have figured it out. I can help but it's too long to type out. PM me for more info.

And yes, it depends on which satellite carrier you have. They work and set up differently.

BandJCarm · 10-05-2016, 05:44 PM

I will tell this on myself. I have finally found a device that allows DirecTV hookup to the portable tripod without much hassle. It's called a SatLook Lite Meter.

However, on a recent camping trip I forgot it, left it at home. I did finally get satellite via using the Dishpointer Pro app, and 41 trips between the portable dish and the tv in the trailer!!! But I'll never forget that thing again!

spock123 · 10-05-2016, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

I will tell this on myself. I have finally found a device that allows DirecTV hookup to the portable tripod without much hassle. It's called a SatLook Lite Meter.

However, on a recent camping trip I forgot it, left it at home. I did finally get satellite via using the Dishpointer Pro app, and 41 trips between the portable dish and the tv in the trailer!!! But I'll never forget that thing again!

I just use two phones to get the signal and I have a compass to kind of line up everything, that's when I had the portable unit. I still have the portable

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bubbles · 10-05-2016, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

If you don't have satellite at home, then it can be more expensive due to dealing with 2 TV programming providers. We have Dish at home and the RV. For us Dish has a better RV support department and the portable dishes are usually cheaper. Also DISH provides HD programming via portable dishes.

If you already have 2 input coax connectors on your rig, then chances are one is for satellite. Which really means it's a direct connection (single cable, no splitters) from the outside connector to an inside connector somewhere around your main TV.

For around $350-$450 initial cost you can get everything you need for a DISH Network solution. We went with a Tailgater portable dish and a vip211z (or a wally receiver will work also) receiver. We like the portable dish as we can move it anywhere to get the best reception (it's not attached to the roof of the rig).

Setup is simple. Use a satellite finder app on your phone (free) to find an open spot to the DISH satellites if you are in the trees. Place the Tailgater and hook the coax between the Tailgater and the input coax connecter on the outside of your rig. Plug the receiver in near your main TV and hook a coax cable between it and your inside coax connecter. Run an HDMI cable from the receiver to your TV (for HD programming). That's it. If you want SD programming to the other TVs in your rig, connect another coax from the receiver to the appropriate connector.

If you haven't already done so, call DISH and register your receiver and pick a programming package. HD ESPN!

Lots of articles and threads about the different ways folks prefer to handle their satellite TV while in their RV.

Soon we will buy one of the new King portable dishes with 2 outputs. Then we can run one cable to the inside, and have another cable for our outside receiver. That way we don't have to keep moving the receiver in and out. But then you have a monthly charge for 2 receivers instead of one.

Good luck and have fun!

Just a comment. The VIP211Z dish receiver only outputs HDMI. The VIP211K receiver outputs HDMI and COAX. Just positioning the antenna looking at the southern sky is all that is needed. In trees only 2 satellites (3 required for HD) may be picked up but that will still allow STD viewing. Of course, to many trees and kaput.

NMWildcat · 10-05-2016, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubbles

Just a comment. The VIP211Z dish receiver only outputs HDMI. The VIP211K receiver outputs HDMI and COAX. Just positioning the antenna looking at the southern sky is all that is needed. In trees only 2 satellites (3 required for HD) may be picked up but that will still allow STD viewing. Of course, to many trees and kaput.

You are exactly correct about the 211z and Wally not having a coax output! We recently replaced our 211k with a 211z and I hadn't even noticed it didn't have a coax output as we rarely used that feature! Thanks for the heads up. Of course now that we know we can't do it, we will want to

Charles Allen · 10-06-2016, 02:35 PM

What area of the country do you live in? If you live in the east, you will probably want to get the Winegard Pathway x2, to receive the eastern arc satellites. I have read that the Wally receivers will not operate unless you get 3 satellites, where the older receivers will work from just 2 satellites. By the way, you can get high Def with just 2 satellites.

Strigflag · 10-06-2016, 02:41 PM

About the Dish Tailgater. Either model will automatically search and find the satelites as long as you have a clear sight of the southern sky. My suggestion is to purchase the tailgater and reciever seperatley to get the 211k . That one gives hdmi and coax outputs. Only difficulty is that the remote control is InfaRed so you must be in sight of the reciever to change channels from a different room unless you install a Radio Frequency to IR converter and use a seperate remote. You could also install an IR repeater but that involves a lot or wiring. Look on ebay for the reciever. Only accept a new in box unit or you may find the unit has been sold on a delinquent account and cannot be activated.
(See previous posts about the outside jack to tv hookups)

markb422 · 10-06-2016, 03:51 PM

Last time I had direct tv at the house for service/upgrade the tech helped me by installing wire ends on the cables I had already run to my receiver from the Furrion input connector I installed on the outside wall of the MH. He said he would have done the install as if it was a 2nd or 3rd room if he was doing a new customer install.
I use my old 18" round dish that was my original dish and a standard def receiver from the rec room and keep it in the MH during the camping season. I use dish pointer pro on my phone to find a clear path to the sat. and the receiver has a built in signal strength meter that has an audible beep that indicates a signal. I use a 3' piece of antena mast that I hammer into the ground for a base and a bubble level to make it plumb. If you plan to have more than one tv the receiver has two outputs but you will have to watch the same thing on both tv's.

Ditchdigger · 10-06-2016, 09:55 PM

I have the dish Hopper, with one joey. I can watch a prerecorded program and tape three more at the same time. I do have some trouble some times finding the three satellite, Like today I could only get two satellites. I don't know why, (I use to install the system for three years in homes) I tried for two hours finally settle for the 119 and the 129. don't know why I could not get all three. NO trees or anything in the way.

pmsherman · 10-06-2016, 09:57 PM

Before you start with a satellite system, you should learn a bit more about what's installed in your RV. From your description, you have a broadcast antenna, probably with an internal amplifier, that goes to a switchbox. The switchbox should have multiple inputs and a single output that feeds a splitter that has a cable going to each terminal port for a television. The two input connections at the back of the RV are most likely cable and satellite input connections. The cable connection goes to the switchbox while the satellite connection should end up at a cable located in a cabinet in the RV.

This arrangement starts the satellite installation issues. If you can verify that the satellite input port ends in a cable somewhere, you should be able to use that location for the satellite receiver. My 2011 Georgetown doesn't have a satellite input port at the back of the RV so I use an A/B switchbox to "move" the single cable to either the FR supplied switchbox or my satellite receiver. This lets me use the rear port for a cable hookup at RV parks and as the satellite dish connection point when using the satellite dish.

If your satellite box has only an HDMI output, you'll need to figure out how to get the HDMI signal to each of the TVs. I doubt that there are HDMI ports at each TV location which means running cables or using one of two other alternatives. First is to use a wireless HDMI system to distribute the HDMI signal. There are systems that allow connecting multiple receivers to a single transmitter, allowing you to watch the same show in multiple locations in the RV. (Unfortunately, for me, my satellite box's recent updates now forbid connecting multiple receivers for the wireless HDMI system.) The second alternative is to get a satellite box that has composite video and audio outputs and feed them into an RF modulator (remember the little box that allowed you to connect a video game box to your TV on channel 3/4?) which can be connected to the AUX input of the FR supplied switchbox.

The RF modulator solution may end up giving you a snowy signal on your TVs. This is caused by the splitter that takes the signal from the switchbox and distributes it to four different locations. This also shows up when using a park cable and the antenna. The solution is to install a booster amplifier between the switchbox and the splitter. Radio Shack (if you can find a store) sells these at a reasonable price.

Phil

markb422 · 10-07-2016, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ditchdigger

I have the dish Hopper, with one joey. I can watch a prerecorded program and tape three more at the same time. I do have some trouble some times finding the three satellite, Like today I could only get two satellites. I don't know why, (I use to install the system for three years in homes) I tried for two hours finally settle for the 119 and the 129. don't know why I could not get all three. NO trees or anything in the way.

I have the same issue with my direct tv depending on where we are. With my multi sat oval dish at home I am able to get 101, 110 ,119, etc. On the road I cannot get all the sat.'s like the one that carries our local channels at home. So I went back to using our original dish the 18" round dish and one of the older SD receivers. Makes for an easy setup not to bother with the tilt. SD 480P looks great on the 32" Furrion LED. Always wondered though how they are able to direct the sat. signal so certain sat.'s are not visible in certain areas. I noticed also last month we took a cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii and the ship uses Direct tv. The sat. signal was not available once we got a couple hundred miles out from Vancouver until we got to within a couple hundred miles of Hilo.
We are probably scarring the heck out of the OP who was looking for some simple input on doing sat. for their rv.

Ditchdigger · 10-17-2016, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markb422

I have the same issue with my direct tv depending on where we are. With my multi sat oval dish at home I am able to get 101, 110 ,119, etc. On the road I cannot get all the sat.'s like the one that carries our local channels at home. So I went back to using our original dish the 18" round dish and one of the older SD receivers. Makes for an easy setup not to bother with the tilt. SD 480P looks great on the 32" Furrion LED. Always wondered though how they are able to direct the sat. signal so certain sat.'s are not visible in certain areas. I noticed also last month we took a cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii and the ship uses Direct tv. The sat. signal was not available once we got a couple hundred miles out from Vancouver until we got to within a couple hundred miles of Hilo.
We are probably scarring the heck out of the OP who was looking for some simple input on doing sat. for their rv.

The way they do that is where the satellites are located and which transponder they use for the area. Some are broad band and some are spot for the local channls.

MacGumbo · 10-18-2016, 12:15 AM

I want to use the slimline dish with my HR24-100 DVR with no SWM.

Since I only have one receiver I only need one cable attached to the 4 on the LNB, correct?

TimVWulp · 10-18-2016, 01:06 AM

So which cable carer are you using right now at home to watch your programs? Do you have a smart phone or a WiFi hot spot for internet on the road that you could patch into your television? Dose the cable carer you have right now allow internet assess to it programming? Now for the million dollar? Do the camp grounds you visit have cell serves so you can watch the shows you would like to with your cell phone or WiFi hot spot. This may be cheaper than buying a satellite system and the programming cost to operate it.

Hope This Helps Tim

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