Forum Discussion

Keith_Haw's avatar
Keith_Haw
Explorer
Dec 02, 2013

Sensar Pro

I didn't want to hijack anyones tread so figured I'd ask here. I've heard a lot of talk about replacing the regular tv booster wall plate with the new Sensar Pro and have read it's a direct replacement. But the question I keep coming up with is , where do you connect the tv coax cable? All the pictures I've seen don't show a connection for the tv output.

We have an older 2007 Thor Wave TT and the OTA isn't all that good, and we watch it a lot more than the dish. I realize I'll probably wind up having to replace the batwing/wingman also but figured I'd start here first.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Bill.Satellite wrote:
    You will also not be able to use an outside cable connection to power a satellite antenna if you use the Sensar Pro. However, you can add an A/B switch to that coax end where your current power supply is (or where the Sensar Pro will be) and send one output from the A/B to the Sensar and the other output to the satellite receiver and that will allow you to use the one cable or the connection of your choice.


    Not true, the outside cable connection can be routed to a Sat receiver same as it can on the standard wall plate.

    HOWEVER.. here is what I would suggest......

    Always wire your rig as the factory wired it ...

    If you change the wall plate to a sensor Pro.. Then on the cable in on the pro, put an A/B switch, A gets the current park cable, B the RF-OUT from (To Television) feed from the sat receiver, assuming it has such a feed (if it does not then forget the A/B switch)

    A for Analog (most park cable provide analog)
    B for Binary (All Sat TV transmissions are digital)

    And install brand new RG-6 for the Sat receiver if there is not already a dedicated SAT cable in place.

    Why: Well usually the body builder put in "Lowest bidder" cable for that park cable feed, and that will be low quality RG-59, very bad for sat TV work, On my coach there is easily 50 feet of that stuff between the inside end and the outside connectin, that is equal, loss wise, to over 200 feet of quality RG-6 and 300 feet is the limit.
  • My sat works good on the cable that was factory, I guess, but wont work through the booster plate. Always figured the plate was a direct pass through when the booster wasn't turned on. But running new RG6 is a good idea being I'm going to be doing the work anyway, and it's only about 6' or so. But I do think I'm going to have to use some kind of splitter with one output to the Sensar Pro cable input and the other direct to the Dish box.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Right Sat won't work through the booster plate. It also does not work through a multi switch, splitter or any device other than the cable and bulkhead connectors.

    But Winegard explains how to re-task the park cable as a sat lead... I do not suggest doing that, I suggest putting dedicated RG-6 and quality at that.

    Sat may work fine with the el-cheapo lowest bidder stuff,, but will work better with quality cable.
  • I have a 99% SWM SIGNAL THRU MY RE-purposed factory cable wiring. I split it up front and diplex the sat sig and Sensar ant sig to the rear sat box (40' coach) diplexer at the rear and still have the same SWM level as I do upfront.
    And I have had my dish over 100' away from the RV.

    So there.
  • I've had the dish work through a splitter back when my dad was alive and lived with us, for his dish box. But that said, I like the idea of running a separate dedicated RG6 with outside hookup for it. Wish I was up to running all new RG6 up to the roof mount antenna but that might be a little more than I'm willing to tackle.
  • Well, that's my point! What a PITA to try to run new cable from outside to your AV area.
    Especially since the factory cable works perfectly well. Even the Directv website states that the big advantage of SWM IS BEING ABLE TO RUN 6-12 boxes on existing cable!!! Their tests aren't frequency/attenuation based; they test RESISTANCE to assure that it can handle the PI load.

    You DO NOT need to run a new run unless your existing cable is faulty.

    Bad advice.
  • A lot of difficult and confusing information here. Even wa8yxm says my post is wrong and then exactly describes what I said needs to be done as the correct way.
    You CAN use the existing coax cable to power your satellite receiver but you CANNOT do that if that cable first runs to the cable input on the back of your Sensar Pro (or standard wall plate).
    It just takes a simple A/B switch to modify the connection and allow that one cable to handle both purposes but it does require a modification.

About Technical Issues

Having RV issues? Connect with others who have been in your shoes.24,188 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 18, 2025