Installing a dish receiver

[FromNH]

I have a 2012 Ventana LE and was wondering if anyone has experience installing a Dish Network receiver. I know the previous owner had one but I can't find the right connection from the antenna to the receiver.
Thank you!

[JCat]

Or come to Palm Springs, its spring here all winter

[FromNH]

Thank you Bill, that was very helpful. I found the cable it was behind the home theater receiver. Now all I need is Spring.

[Ivylog]

I would run a coax between your receiver and the dis. Once you get things to work you can start trying various coax cables to find the correct ones.

[Bill_Satellite]

It sounds like you have a Winegard Trav'ler which will work for either Dish or DirecTV but not both depending upon the model installed on the roof. If you are sure the previous owner was using Dish Network then you are good. If he was a DirecTV customer you will have to have some modifications done to the antenna in order to work with Dish.
Assuming that it is a Dish Trav'ler you will want to look for a cabinet where there is a disconnected HDMI cable and an unused coax cable. It "could be" where the Trav'ler controller is located but does not need to be. Just to confirm you have a Trav'ler, you should have a black box with a digital display and 3 buttons on the front that read Power, Select and Enter. You push and hold the power button for 3 seconds and release. The display will then read if it is Dish or DirecTV and the antenna will raise up and lock onto the satellite even with no receiver connected.
The receivers Sat IN will be a coax connection and that's the line to the antenna on the roof. The output on your receiver should be HDMI if you are using a 211 series or DVR receiver. This will send the HDMI signal to the TV's. You use the TV INPUT selection at each TV to change from TV/Cable to the selected HDMI input.
I know that more info than you were looking for but hopefully it will get you a good start. If you have a multi-meter and you can get up on the roof I can also tell you how to trace the coax coming from the antenna but just finding the loose coax cable and setting the TV to the right setting should allow you to see when you get the right coax.

[Dale_Traveling]

One other item not to miss is to ensure the antenna is set up for Dish Network service. Most roof antennas can be set up for one of three service providers with dip switches for Dish, Direct or the Canadian service Bell. Attempt to connect a receiver that is different than the configuration needed and the receiver won't be able to communicate with the antenna. You'll need the antenna installation/user guide to set it up correctly which will probably involve removing the cover.

While you have the cover off you can also identify the coax the needs to connect directly between the inner workings of the antenna and the the primary receiver. The installation guide will help ID the coax that coax. An easy way to trace would be to disconnect the antenna end and short the center conductor to the end connector then check the coax(s) at the other end for which one has the short circuit.

[JCat]

How many cables are coming out of this dish ?
Trace each one with the above mentioned tool, or unplug all but one and connect them one at a time to your receiver and see if you can connect.

Are you sure the dish is aligned with the satelite, is it a dish to goies and finds the satelite, or do u have to align it manually ?

If you have to do it manually, get a signal strength meter, so you see when you are getting close.

You need to tell us more about the dish so we can help you.

[FromNH]

Yes, the is a Winegard satellite antenna on the roof. It's an HD antenna, not an in motion. The entire system is coax but I'm jut not sure where the antenna out port is. There is nothing in the manual about it.

[Bill_Satellite]

Are you sure there is a satellite antenna? They might have used a portable? Is there a dome or open face satellite TV antenna on the roof.

[donn0128]

Type of antenna?
There are tools to trace coax cables. Usually around 20 dollars. Go buy one and start the trace.