Forum Discussion

CarnationSailor's avatar
CarnationSailor
Nomad
May 23, 2021

Satellite Pre-Wiring

I have a 2015 Crossroads Rushmore Springfield and am trying to understand how it is pre-wired for satellite. (I want to add an RF Mogul Eagle permanent-mounted antenna on the roof and connect it to a Dish Hopper 3 receiver.)

There are 2 coax jacks on the roof. Does one go to the entertainment center and one to the bedroom?

In the entetainment center, there are 3 coax cables in the cabinet above the TV. I assume one would attach to the receiver's input, but since the receiver's output is HDMI, what are the other 2 used for? (Maybe back in 2015 the receiver's output would have been coax?)

There are 2 coax connections behind the TV. One goes to the antenna/cable TV input. Was the other intended to connect the TV to the satellite system? That is, does it connect to one of the 3 coax cables in the cabinet above?

In the bedroom, there are 2 currently-unused coax jacks. Are they part of the satellite system pre-wiring. (Neither the jacks behind the TV or in the bedroom are labeled.)

Any thoughts on this will be appreciated.

Thanks
  • DS_Canuck's avatar
    DS_Canuck
    Explorer
    May 23, 2021
    You may be able to obtain a wiring diagram from the coach maker.

    Failing that trial and error is your only real option.

    In our coach which is n old 1998 Dutchstar everything was labeled from the factory so it’s quite simple to figure things out.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    May 23, 2021
    Unfortunately you'll have to short each cable at one end, then use your voltmeter to check for 0 ohms at the other end.
  • otrfun's avatar
    otrfun
    Explorer II
    May 23, 2021
    Even if Crossroads gave you a wiring diagram there's no guarantee it's accurate. If there's one thing RV manufacturers are known for, it's their lack of consistency. I'd fabricate some shorting connectors and ohm-out the cables (and hope there's no DC blocking components in between).

    It took us a bit of time to ohm-out our truck camper's OTA/cable wiring in order to install a Dish satellite system.

    Good luck.
  • Sandia_Man's avatar
    Sandia_Man
    Explorer II
    May 23, 2021
    What each coax does will be easy to figure out, install satellite to either coax on roof, than coax inside rig to receiver, no signal just switch coax until you get signal. Of course you can go to Lowes or Home Depot and pick up a coax tester for $30, that way no guessing where theses coaxes lead to.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    May 23, 2021
    Your best option is to "Tone out" the cables.. This is easier than it sounds using a Cable Tracker or using a cable toner

    What's a cable toner? Two devices one sends an audio tone down the cable it has a common "F" type connector and a battery and a switch
    The other is basically a speaker with an "F" connector

    Hook the transmitter to one end then hook the speaker to cables till you hear tone.> label it

    Cable tracker is a Radio transmitter and a receiver very directional receiver.
    Hook to the SHIELD (nut) on the wire to be examined (And if there is a ground around hook to it too or hook the ground lead to a good hunk of metal)(

    Point the receiver wand at the assorted cables and the loudest BEEP is the one.

    Method 3
    Battery. test leads (or short coax.. connector on one end. other end stripped and hooked to battery) 9V retangular is good here

    Now using a 12 volt automotive test light Test the other end and the one that lights.. Label both ends.
  • LouLawrence's avatar
    LouLawrence
    Explorer
    May 23, 2021
    What we do know is that the coach is NOT pre-wired for an RF Mogul antenna. This antenna is excellent but requires a separate, RF Mogul only, cable. The same is true if you wanted the Winegard Trav'ler (my preferred choice). It's likely the "pre-wire" is for a dome antenna and one coax would run from the "main" connection of a dome to the master receiver and the 2nd could or could not be used but would go the 2nd slave receiver if one was used.
    It's pretty easy to run the required cable for your RF Mogul so that should not be a reason not to install the antenna.
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    May 24, 2021
    The RF Mogul uses a single coax. The technology is SWM (Single Wire Multiplex). The coax goes to a power brick and then on to the RF Mogul controller. The power cable goes to the controller. The conroller coax which is SWM goes to my DTV H44 which can record 5 channels at the same time.

    The HDMI controller output goes to the TV. Since the H44 is a Genie the controller coax output can be routed to Genie Clients which are not receivers but instead are depenent on the Genie.

    Your 2 coax setup is likely intended for a dual LNB dish. But you should be able to use just one coax IF there are no related splitters. However since you will be routing the power cable I recomment you route a high quality coax that has the bandwidth etc recommended for SWM.

    PM me if you want to know more. And PS my daughter/family live in Carnation.
  • Michelle_S's avatar
    Michelle_S
    Explorer III
    May 24, 2021
    We've had two Crossroad Redwood and both we pre-wired for the Winegard Traveler with the control cable/connect under the plate with the two coax connectors.
  • CarnationSailor's avatar
    CarnationSailor
    Nomad
    Jun 24, 2021
    I had the satellite system installed last week and we are enjoying great tv; however, I didn't learn a lot about the pre-wiring. Here is all I can add:

    Of the 2 coax jacks on the roof, one goes to the entertainment center and one goes to the bedroom tv.

    Of the 3 coax cables in the entertainment center, one comes from the roof, but I don't know what the other 2 connect to. I suspect that one comes from one of the 2 satellite jacks on the utility panel (for use with a portable antenna). Maybe the other one goes to the satellite jack in the "basement" (to connect a basement-mounted tv).

    I learned very little about the pre-wiring because very little info was needed to set up our system.
  • LouLawrence's avatar
    LouLawrence
    Explorer
    Jun 25, 2021
    Sounds like you installed a dome and not a Trav'ler. What was your final setup?

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