Satellite

Bscott3189 · 07-17-2019, 10:13 AM

I have a 2018 Forrest River half ton Wildcat Maxx. I am having a very hard time hooking up my portable Dish satellite. Not sure which connections to use. I think I have tried all of them... removing the splitter and hooking up from there, from the coax cable from behind tv. Nothing seems to work. I also don’t have any wiring diagrams. I have attached photos. Seems like no power going to dish.

gbaldwin · 07-17-2019, 10:25 AM

Use a portable Dish tailgater.... have NEVER been able to use it with any of the wiring/connections on my TT.

From dish, directly in to receiver, out directly to Television. I must also be plugged in to shore power of course.

Bscott3189 · 07-17-2019, 10:29 AM

I was afraid of that... I was hoping there may be a trick to rewire for it somewhere. Thank you!

itat · 07-17-2019, 10:57 AM

I was able to use a portable satellite dish (not a Tailgator but a regular 18" dish and tripod) on my last 2 trailers. I haven't tried it yet on the new 5er.

On mine, that white wall plate have all had a little push button on it. If yours has that button, its to power the OTA antenna booster and should be off to use the satellite.

orabun · 07-17-2019, 11:04 AM

Does your RV have a coaxial connector on the outside wall where you can connect to cable tv?

BandJCarm · 07-17-2019, 11:16 AM

Not sure what I'm looking at on the pictures. But..........

The coax connection going into the tv is not used for satellite. It is for OTA antenna OR park cable tv.

You need an HDMI cable directly between your DISH Receiver and the HDMI port on tv.

Then you need a DIRECT cable connection (no splitters) between the portable dish satellite (you didn't say which one you have). It is very possible to use the camper's wiring, but you have to trace one contiguous piece of coax from the outside satellite coax connection to the receiver. If you cannot find one, you will have to come in through a window, etc. for that cable.

Then you have to turn tv INPUT to the specific HDMI port that you connected to.......such as HDMI1, HDMI2, etc.

Then try it.

Bscott3189 · 07-17-2019, 11:22 AM

Yes on the outside. The 3rd picture shows it.

Bscott3189 · 07-17-2019, 11:26 AM

The tailgater satellite works going directly to the receiver, but I’m not wanting to go through a window or door. My TT is supposed to be satellite wired already. I know there can be issues with the boaster if it’s not off, but can’t find the antenna boaster button. Also, I know there can be an issue if the splitter is not unhooked to by pass the antenna. Just looking for someone who may have the same wiring as my Wildcat Maxx that has bypassed the issues.

Bscott3189 · 07-17-2019, 11:28 AM

Thanks for everyone’s replies

gbaldwin · 07-17-2019, 11:57 AM

This topic has been covered several times before.... you can do a search. There have been fixes thrown out by others but I think they involve adding additional wiring direct as I described above. Didnt ike the thru the window idea at first either but got use to it quickly.

We enjjoy the TV outside weather permitting, so this hook up makes it rather easy actually.

Blank · 07-17-2019, 12:12 PM

When they say "Satellite ready" they typically mean that there is a short cable with a roof connector above, to the inside of the coach. We had to really look for ours, but it was there UNDER the roof vent cover. Goes directly to a separate box in the cabinet, which is then connected to the DISH receiver.

BandJCarm · 07-17-2019, 12:14 PM

Satellite Ready usually means it's wired totally separately than the OTA wiring, to a spot on the roof making Trav'Lr installation easier.

A 4 inch piece of FLAT coax through a window, which you don't have to ever remove, is how I fixed my first trailer that had this issue.

nayther · 07-17-2019, 12:27 PM

I have a 2019 Wildcat Maxx. Same issue. I ran a dedicated coax from the Sat connection to the T.V. Eventually I'll install another connector but they did not wire it correctly at the factory, in fact I have NEVER been able to get over-the-air TV using my antenna, but rarely need it as I have a Tailgater.

formerFR · 07-17-2019, 12:31 PM

I'm just wondering if the OP actually has a RECEIVER? His photos look like he's just running a coax from the antenna directly to the TV(?)...

houstonstroker · 07-17-2019, 12:47 PM

Your rig is prewired for Cable or Sat. To use Cable you leave that short jumper wire in and turn off the booster. To use Sat, you unplug the jumper and insert your Sat receiver.

houstonstroker · 07-17-2019, 01:01 PM

To be a little more clear. Sat TV needs a home run to the receiver. Your outside connector is labeled Sat/Cable. So there is a home run from outside into the wall plate with the jumper. For Cable use the signal goes to this wall plate through the jumper and then on to the splitter. For Sat use unplug the jumper. They should be marked which one is in. You would go from the wall plate to your receiver. From your receiver you would use HDMI into your TV set.

orabun · 07-17-2019, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by houstonstroker

To be a little more clear. Sat TV needs a home run to the receiver. Your outside connector is labeled Sat/Cable. So there is a home run from outside into the wall plate with the jumper. For Cable use the signal goes to this wall plate through the jumper and then on to the splitter. For Sat use unplug the jumper. They should be marked which one is in. You would go from the wall plate to your receiver. From your receiver you would use HDMI into your TV set.

Correct. This is a very good and clear explanation!

Blank · 07-17-2019, 08:43 PM

The only thing I did differently was to get a 90 degree "F"connector at a local DIY, install it and caulk liberally to seal. This enables us to quickly and efficiently connect a 3 foot coax to the fitting and our DISH Tailgater on the roof, and we are done. Provides peace of mind for people not taking the satellite antenna off the roof too!!!

Sfgoble · 07-28-2019, 07:11 PM

I tried for every to get my dish tailgater to work call dish the said hook it straight to the tv and that fixed it but it being a new camper I wanted it to work like from the camper outside connections so I didn’t have to run the coax in the door or window. I called my dealer he had his electronic guy call me back . He knew before I even got thru telling him what the problem was. The satellite connections were mislabeled the bedroom went to the living room and living room went to the bedroom . He apologized over and over said it happened all the time and they should have checked it before I took delivery. It was a simple fix but boy did it cause me a lot of trouble. Anybody that has talked on the phone with dish network for a couple hours knows what I mean . May not be your problem but I thought I’d share my experience.

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