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Old 09-19-2020, 01:21 PM   #1
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Roof Mounting Dish Playmaker

I'm going to install a Playmaker on the roof. It will be easily removable for the times I need to set it off to the side.

My question is, I see that some RVs seem to have a coax run to the roof already, usually under a blog of pookie (lap sealant, dicor, whatever).

Doe is anyone know if a 2019 351THSS has one run to the roof? I've looked up there and don't see anything that I think looks like one.

If not, any recommendations where/how to run the cable?
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Old 09-19-2020, 01:29 PM   #2
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If it’s there it’s probably exiting to the roof very close to an existing vent or other opening.
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Old 09-19-2020, 01:37 PM   #3
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emm-dee I think it was one of your posts where I saw the photo of one under some sealant. I'm going to go look again. Everything I see looks like a regular screw head. I'll try to peek under some vent covers too.
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Old 09-19-2020, 02:13 PM   #4
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emm-dee I think it was one of your posts where I saw the photo of one under some sealant. I'm going to go look again. Everything I see looks like a regular screw head. I'll try to peek under some vent covers too.
Not sure if I posted a detailed view so here it is. The connector comes straight up from the roof and is completely sealed with Dicor. Removed the Dicor and added a 90 degree connector to prevent stress on the cable and connection.



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Old 09-19-2020, 02:21 PM   #5
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I don't have anything that looks like that up top. There's a satellite connector down low on the side near the back. I'm guessing that's the only one on the trailer. I think what I might do is pull off either the radio or king antenna under the assumption that there are wires that run from there to the TV, and try to run another one along side. Then I will remount the antenna and put dicor all around it again. I'm heading to Home Depot right now so I will also look for some sort of cover to make the coax entry point easier to waterproof
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Old 09-19-2020, 05:12 PM   #6
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mine also looked live picture above. But I don't have one on side of RV.
I would recommend leave the roof for permanent mounts. to remove it your going to have to unscrew something which will leave holes, plus the less you walk on your roof the better off it will be. let alone falling off the roof.


search youtube on dish playmaker ladder mount and you will find things from ladder mounts to flag pole mounts, all of which will allow you to move dish without stepping on roof, or much effort.
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Old 09-19-2020, 05:20 PM   #7
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mine also looked live picture above. But I don't have one on side of RV.
I would recommend leave the roof for permanent mounts. to remove it your going to have to unscrew something which will leave holes, plus the less you walk on your roof the better off it will be. let alone falling off the roof.


search youtube on dish playmaker ladder mount and you will find things from ladder mounts to flag pole mounts, all of which will allow you to move dish without stepping on roof, or much effort.
Mostly correct except the Playmaker mounting system allows unlimited removals. There are four plates permanently mounted to the roof. The Playmaker dome rests on those plates and is held in place with four 3/16” bolts. Works very well. Removal or replacement takes about three minutes.

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Old 09-20-2020, 09:53 AM   #8
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Agreed, I'm not going to pull the other antennas off to follow other wire routes. That said I'm not entirely sure the wire running plan yet.

I've seen the ladder mount. My ladder is pretty far away from the TV though. To get the cable there I'd either have along outside run (which I'm not crazy about) or a lot of interior wall/ceiling run.

If I roof mount I can place it strategically for the cable to drop directly down. I could then drop a second cable using a splitter to an outdoor location underneath.

My biggest concern with the roof mount is that I noticed when mounting my solar panels that screws that aren't hitting ribs/roof trusses are just spinning when completely screwed in. I'm wondering, is that because the plywood on the roof is so thin that the threads are all the way through?

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Old 09-20-2020, 03:51 PM   #9
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A problem I just diuscovered woith my Playmaker is that the handle needs to be pointed north (per Dish rep),. I asked about that and he said I need to park so that the handle will be pointing north, which would be a pain in the patoot, something that I did not have to worry about when I had Directv
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Old 09-20-2020, 04:22 PM   #10
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only reason is the dish don't go 360deg as the cable will get tied in knot.
so dish stops rotating at handle.

And if the satellites are SW of you, and the handle is in the way, the dish might have to rotate 350 deg to get from one sat to the other.

to be honest I never worry about it. Worse come to worse you only get to see one satellite and the shows on that bird.
now with my X2 which I CAN aim without changing direction of MH, I will point the handle "sort of north"
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Old 09-20-2020, 05:24 PM   #11
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I tried that “gotta park facing north” thing and it’s a bunch of bull. Had my Playmaker dome off at home and pointed the handle north, south, east and west. Every time the internals rotated the antenna to the proper position.
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Old 09-20-2020, 05:35 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by kayo View Post
A problem I just diuscovered woith my Playmaker is that the handle needs to be pointed north (per Dish rep),. I asked about that and he said I need to park so that the handle will be pointing north, which would be a pain in the patoot, something that I did not have to worry about when I had Directv
You might want to consider the Tailgater Pro - that's what we're going with. It has full U.S. coverage and it automatically locks onto the satellite from what we've been told. Also, if you are a Good Sam member and buy it at Camping World, it comes with a free Dish Wally receiver. We're going with the QD roof mount so that it can quickly snap in or out. We probably will just leave it on the roof but if for some reason we do need to take it down we can. Here are some links to both it and the mount.

https://kingconnect.com/dish-tailgat...llite-antenna/

https://kingconnect.com/quick-releas...llite-antenna/

https://www.campingworld.com/dish-ta...llite-antennas
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Old 09-20-2020, 06:17 PM   #13
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Every portable automatic dish operating manual says to point the handle approximately north to speed up satellite acquisition. Playmaker and Tailgater Pro included. I've found it doesn't really matter much, unless the handle is directly in the way of a satellite signal.
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Old 09-20-2020, 07:22 PM   #14
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Every portable automatic dish operating manual says to point the handle approximately north to speed up satellite acquisition. Playmaker and Tailgater Pro included. I've found it doesn't really matter much, unless the handle is directly in the way of a satellite signal.
Since the handle on the Playmaker is on the base which is below the antenna then it cannot interfere with acquisition.
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Old 09-20-2020, 07:45 PM   #15
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Since the handle on the Playmaker is on the base which is below the antenna then it cannot interfere with acquisition.
Then, obviously, you don't have to be concerned with that detail like those with other type handles....... But the instructions still read the same.....
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Old 09-21-2020, 06:19 AM   #16
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Screw

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Originally Posted by LynnATX View Post
Agreed, I'm not going to pull the other antennas off to follow other wire routes. That said I'm not entirely sure the wire running plan yet.

I've seen the ladder mount. My ladder is pretty far away from the TV though. To get the cable there I'd either have along outside run (which I'm not crazy about) or a lot of interior wall/ceiling run.

If I roof mount I can place it strategically for the cable to drop directly down. I could then drop a second cable using a splitter to an outdoor location underneath.

My biggest concern with the roof mount is that I noticed when mounting my solar panels that screws that aren't hitting ribs/roof trusses are just spinning when completely screwed in. I'm wondering, is that because the plywood on the roof is so thin that the threads are all the way through?

Attachment 239544

That screw looks way too long
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Old 09-21-2020, 08:25 AM   #17
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Then, obviously, you don't have to be concerned with that detail like those with other type handles....... But the instructions still read the same.....
The instructions for the current version of the Playmaker do not say anything about placing the handle in any specific direction. The Tailgater manual only says that aligning the handle to the north will speed up the antenna alignment process.
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Old 09-24-2020, 05:40 PM   #18
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[QUOTE=JLA956;2417698]You might want to consider the Tailgater Pro - that's what we're going with. It has full U.S. coverage and it automatically locks onto the satellite from what we've been told. Also, if you are a Good Sam member and buy it at Camping World, it comes with a free Dish Wally receiver. We're going with the QD roof mount so that it can quickly snap in or out. We probably will just leave it on the roof but if for some reason we do need to take it down we can. Here are some links to both it and the mount.



https://kingconnect.com/dish-tailgat...llite-antenna/



https://kingconnect.com/quick-releas...llite-antenna/



Quote:
Originally Posted by JLA956 View Post
You might want to consider the Tailgater Pro - that's what we're going with. It has full U.S. coverage and it automatically locks onto the satellite from what we've been told. Also, if you are a Good Sam member and buy it at Camping World, it comes with a free Dish Wally receiver. We're going with the QD roof mount so that it can quickly snap in or out. We probably will just leave it on the roof but if for some reason we do need to take it down we can.
The Playmaker auto finds the signal, right?

I have seen that mount but thought it was for one of those $1500 antennas. I'm going to take a hard look at the Tailgator vs the Playmaker
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Old 09-24-2020, 05:41 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by pdqparalegal1 View Post
That screw looks way too long


Maybe I should have included "not actual screw." I just used that photo to show the top area.
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Old 11-20-2020, 10:35 AM   #20
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I have a cardinal 3350 2018 and sat input doesnt work due to splitters inside body of fifth wheel. Anyone having this issue? FR says they dont know what antenna will work.
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