Sat dish and cable

Thought I would update this thread now that I am finished this project. I bought a coax tracer and started tracking the wires and splitter in my trailer.

I was able to locate the main wire from the coax feed on the outside of the 5er and both wires from each TV jack. I was able to access them through an existing booster panel and installed a sat splitter. I am now able to plug my viewcube in the main cable feed on the outside of the 5er and get signal to my sat receivers without drilling any other holes to bring wires in.

I then hung my 32" tv at the front on a mount I installed using a 3/4 piece of plywood and found the studs behind the wall. Now I can use that counter space for my sat receiver and DVD and the TV can be turned for use in the bedroom and couch area in the 5er. Worked out exactly as I was hoping !

Coax Tracer



Outside Sat in jack



TV Mount

Bigmoss wrote:
You guys with the dome type automatic ones are they the winegard ones ?

Yes ours is a Winegard dome. It is seven years old and and still works great.

The winegard systems are the standard for which others are judged. Actually there is only one competitor.

The domes are great systems. The only limitations they have compared to a standard or automatic full size dish is 1) when the get wet they can loose signal because of the film of water on the dome 2) they are typically a very narrow dish to keep a low profile, which can make it harder to get a signal sometimes, 3) they typically can only see one satellite at a time, so if you are using more than one receiver they can see different channels but have to be on the same satellite.

We had the Winegard Roadtrip SD dome and it was great above those limitations listed above.

Anyone using the Winegard systems ? Do you like them ?

You guys with the dome type automatic ones are they the winegard ones ?

You might try borrowing or buying a coax tester. It lets you install a plug on one end of the cable and then you can find out which cable feeds it with the meter.

We have had a automatic dome type antenna on the roof and now a fully automatic triple LNB Dish antenna on the roof. If I actually get to a spot I can't get reception, I'll break out the dusty old portable dish and give it a try, but I hate aligning that thing. DW and I used to call it the Divorce Dish because the difficulty or ease in finding the signal usually set the tempo for the rest of the vacation and the majority of the time it was neither of us speaking to each other anymore. The roof antenna saved our marriage! :B

I know every region is different, but I have never been in a spot I couldn't get a signal because of trees - Mountain ranges yes, but even a portable can't see over a mountain. That Dish 129 satellite sets pretty low on the horizon out here. We did get issues with rain on our dome type, as the signal cannot be seen through the film of water.

We have had the automatic dish on the roof for 3 years. With the type of camping we do I think that we could not get a signal twice. I use google earth to look at the sites before making a reservation and also ask the cg help about sites where the roof top dish can be used.
Don

I have installed a couple of systems. I agree that putting it on the roof is a mistake. I often have to plant the dish in a certain spot or no joy. I have a home made base that I hold down with a couple of milk jugs with water in them. Doesn't look pretty but I can dial in my Sat. in no time and I don't have to worry about someone ripping off my thousand dollar trick satelite dish/finder.

BTW I have had both Dish and Directv over the past 15 years. IMO Dish is more difficult to dial in if your not use to it. The wiring is not rocket science and I currently use my existing wiring. I use my phone app for a compass. My 2 cents.

My buddy's RV had a 2 TV system and with the on roof sat dish, both TV's just get the same programming. At night, he'd lay in bed and watch the ballgame while I sat at the dinnette watching the ballgame on the other TV. I do second AZ T&T comment about signal reception. The portable auto find domes are the way to go if you are going to spend money on a good system.

I know you didn't ask this, but I'll throw in my 2 cents. I was going to put a dish on the roof of my previous trailer and I was given the advice not to. The reasoning was that a lot of nice places to park have trees that would be in the way. I started looking and most places we park we couldn't use a roof mounted dish. With the carry out style you can always find a hole in the trees to get a signal

One more thing, we had 2006 Prowler TT and I had to take the wall plates of and remove a splitter to get my satellite to work.

Good luck!