Where do I plug satellite in exterior

[JasonandShawna]

Hello just bought a new satellite tailgater setup. Works fantastic. Dish network service winegard pathway x1 dome vip211 receiver. Running cable thru window now. My trailer is a 2016 Salem Cruise Lite 201bhxl "satellite ready" and does have factory built in digital antenna . The interior has 2 jacks one for antenna one marked satellite. I took the outlet box off there is indeed a cable running from box to antenna and satellite cable is hooked and running as far as I can see thru the same hole in top of cabinet. There is even a 3rd cable with this I am guessing could be used for standard cable hook up?? But no exterior jack anywhere. I called forest river and there Vin check just said satellite ready. Any clue before I start drilling holes for a custom install where forest river ran there satellite lines? I have checked every hold back sides front underneath with creeper I don't see a tv cable line let alone a jack anyplace. Besides this minor issue we love our little R.V. thus far.

[Rich5117]

I'm sure someone with a unit like your will chime in about the cable connection on the outside of your unit or at least where it should be. The pre wire for the satellite is not a direct wire connection at least it isn't on our unit. It is a set of wires that are ran from the tv areas to the roof,. If you check you should find a label on the roof where those wires are located in case you want to mount a dish on the roof.

When we use our dish I connect it to our standard outside cable connection, works fine no signal loss.

[rracer5]

Check out this youtube video. Wait til the videographer gets to the rear. Just to the left of the spare tire on the back wall, there appears to be 2 coax ports. Possibly 1 for "park cable" & the other for "satellite". Do you have these on the rear of yours?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwdIAmSKxAg

[Rich5117]

rracer5 they certainly appear to be the connections. Not to jack the thread, I too have a satellite connection inside our compartment the goes directly to the back of the living room tv, while I'm sure it can be used I was told this cable type is more for a system that sends 12 volt thru the cable as well as the satellite signal. My portable antenna requires a separate power supply, so I use the standard cable connection which is RG-6, which I have always thought was for sending voltage.

Interested in hearing from those that use satellite more than me, which is only on occasion when there is no other source.

[JasonandShawna]

Thanks for the effort. My rig does have one of those ports not 2?? And it's the black water tank flush. It is my exact trailer in video though. Mine was built in Oregon and I am seeing some minor differences with those built in the mid west. Like privacy curtains on the bunks. I had to order mine from mid west plant wierd?? Not even an option out west.

[DougP47]

Mine had a cable and sat next to each other. I mounted my sat on the roof. Ran the power and sat cable down the back then over to my sat connector. Mounted the receiver above the doorway to bedroom. Its beed there a few years now and no problems to date. Hope this helps

[JasonandShawna]

I am going to take my digital antenna apart tomorrow I will take photos of what I find. My dealer told me satellite ready on my trailer means the end od satellite cable should be zip tied to digital antenna cable and easily routed to the dome mount on roof. That's great all but I don't want a permanent mount on roof. If you have camped much in washington state you would know why. They don't call us the evergreen state for no reason..... but thanks you all again very much

[NO3putt]

Satellite ready usually means that they have run a cable up to the roof someplace, however most units have a place for cable tv. Ours is located in the electrical bay, but check inside all of you outside storage cabinets for a cable connection. Since you bought a portable unit don't think it is a good idea to mount on roof.

[Tdbrn]

I'm following this thread to see what's said as in so many things there often isn't any rhyme or reason to so many manufacturer set ups and most don't seem to have any documentation as to why it is done that way!
Our TT is a different model and has 2 outside cable style connections, not labeled, on the outside walls near the back with one near the electric connection and one on the opposite side. I found out by just using our cable to the post that the one near the electric connection is apparently the park cable IN. So I'm guessing the other side to be the satellite in? I'll just watch and see what the collective mind comes up with this problem.

[JasonandShawna]

When I get home I am going to climb up and follow what my service tech said. Supposedly all the wires 12 volt and white satellite cable is zip tied to the digital antenna cable in the base and placed there for a simple and quick roof install. Sounds logical but so far just this one issue is the only thing that seems not very well thought out at factory. My dad has a brand new 150,000 thor motorhomes and nothing was engineered well, literally the quality of construction is better in my 18,000 dollar Salem!

[mtnlvr]

Interesting post. I've also been in a predicament; I have both manual Winegard antenna that came with my Solera and a Dish Trav'ler on my roof that I had Camping World install later. I can't get TV service with either setup now.. Dish technical service couldn't resolve it over the phone. Next I realized the Winegard interface box was broken, so I got a new box under the warranty since the fuse box was broken on it. The Jensen TV still won't get any channels. Right now, I'm not sure if the TV itself is bad ( 2 years old), or if there is a loose connection somewhere in the wiring. Any thoughts, or anyone have something like this happen to them? Thanks.

[JasonandShawna]

So took the digital antenna apart and yes it has a hollow base as I was told but no "zip tied" satellite cable attached just the antenna cable. I took apart the box AGAIN on the inside to make sure I am not nuts. It has a dedicated satellite cable , dedicated regular cable as well as a dedicated digital antenna cable. All the cable lines are running up thru the top of cabinet towards roof. Pulled on satellite cable and won't budge at all. Called my dealer back he said exterior jacks should be on rear on for satellite one for cable. They obviously neglected to put them in. I have fully enclosed underbelly and if the cable lines come down from roof how would they locate them now? Any ideas

[Rich5117]

If they forgot to install them, it would being done under warranty by the dealer. I would also have them locate and check the satellite and cable runs to make sure they are working as they should have been when you got your unit. Must have been Friday when they built yours, or maybe Monday or Tuesday.

[rracer5]

I forgot to mention. Most RV manufacturers use a standard "code" when running cable/sat coax cable;

Antenna coax is usually black
Park Cable coax is usually grey
Satellite coax is usually orange

So, while trying to find the end of your sat. coax....it should be orange.

Hope this helps.

[JasonandShawna]

Forgive me if u see similar post elsewhere as I am new to this forum stuff. I did take antenna apart. Nothing but the antenna cable. So took box inside apart again. 3 cables dedicated satellite, dedicated digital antenna, dedicated regular cable all connected at the proper little tv junction. Cables all go up thru top of cabinet into roof framing I guess. Pulled on satellite cable fairly hard won't budge. Exterior jack I finally found out is indeed supposed to be at rear wall right next to drivers side tail light. My dealer said mine should have this option as that is how he orders all of his rigs. I am worried to fish to hard for these without guarantee the cables are there. I don't even have the plates for it yet. Ha not sure my local service department is any more qualified than myself either. Ideas?

[Rich5117]

Are you referring to this as what you took apart

This is only for the cable, digital antenna, and rear tv cable. If it has a satellite cable attached my feeling is it is wired to the roof you just have to find where.

[JasonandShawna]

My dads motorhome has king dish, 2015 thor industries mh we had to do a brand new install of cable to run the satellite TV in bedroom and living room. The factory satellite wiring would not work trying 6 ways from sunday. That includes the so called expert techs trying at dealer. Easy with long cabinet and basement storage to run the cable for a factory looking install. His king dome without a power source works excellent. I got up sold at camping world to winegard pathway x1 no 12 volt power required either. I see no difference in performance and we camp side by side often.

[JasonandShawna]

Rich very similar to that. But mine has what I think is the digital antenna amplifier built in the back. And my rig only has the one tv. No rear bed. My sales guy "says" build sheet has exterior jack for cable and satellite. Thanks for helping

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by Rich5117

Are you referring to this as what you took apart
Attachment 102866
This is only for the cable, digital antenna, and rear tv cable. If it has a satellite cable attached my feeling is it is wired to the roof you just have to find where.

Jason, the above pic is also the OTA amplifier also. The coax connectors are hanging under the circuit board for the amplifier. The coax connector above that is the pass through connection for satellite only.

[BandJCarm]

2 years ago, I started asking these same questions here. I got a lot of great help, and learned a lot. But I also learned the wiring in various campers is as different as the layouts! Most have a 'satellite/cable' female F connector somewhere on the outside. Hooking a portable satellite dish to that connection will usually result in a big 'nothing'!

I found out that you have to.......in a nutshell......eliminate the camper and its wiring from any TV setup. When I did that, everything worked. I had both a DirecTV LNB5 Slimline on a tripod, and later a Pathway X2 automatic with DISH Network. When there were no trees, both worked.....but ONLY by running RG6 directly from the physical dish to the receiver box. I did that by simply acquiring a 6 inch flat coax and running it through a window.

Yes, that led to coax running inside the camper. But our tv and the window were close together, so no big deal. On other layouts, it might be a MESS I realize.

Others on here have figured out how to use the camper's wiring scheme to get to the existing TV location. Some have helped me and sent me explanations. Their knowledge is far superior to mine, and I have much to learn. Maybe they will chime in here, and somehow you can get the camper's wiring to work and you can connect to it. But I never could use it...............

My two cents.

Oh........another note. I sold the Pathway and 211z receiver to a guy here that used his camper when at deer camp. He called several times, and it never would work. After trying everything, when he finally reduced his cable run from dish to camper to LESS than 25 feet of cable.........did it work. Any longer cable run, and his wouldn't work. I never had that problem, but he did. FYI.