Satilite reception

[Coach-man]

We have Direct TV, roof mounted fixed antenna with two cables, one to the front tv perhaps 6' in length total. The second to the rear tv, antenna cable to RV cable which ends up at water/electric center on outside, short piece of cable 6" to connect to cable going to front tv, finally short 3 foot cable from outlet to the back of cable box. Currently at an RV park, with lots of trees, managed to get "fair" reception from front tv, rear tv, which also records, can not get good reception. Direct TV says it is a cable issue! Because of the length over 20 feet, and the number of connections, 5, I am sure the signal is somewhat diminished? Has anyone replaced, upgraded that cable from the front to the rear? How difficult, and what type of coax did you use? Short of that any other ideas on improving the reception?

[Coach-man]

Thanks everyone. Yes it has worked well at a number of parks, with a clear view of the sky! We are currently at Gateway to Cape Cod, which has many many trees. The antenna is automatic and "finds" the best position to pick up Satilites automatically. In looking at the situation, I think I would have to remove the bathroom sink and cabinet to get access to the wire. I would hate to break the coax while pulling on it. It appears the rig was wired, and then spray foam insulation was applied. I think if I replaced the connection in the outside access panel with a single good quality barrel connector I could reduce loss and improve reception!

[wa8yxm]

Coach-man wrote:
Direct TV says it is a cable issue!

I assume this has worked well in other parks/sites with a clear view of the sky.

Several comments
First there are two "Cables" involved. one is the physical cable which I will address next, the other is the "Virtual" cable, that is the line of sight to the satellite.. You said "Fair" signal. Fair is not Good, it's not Great it is not Strong, and that "Cable" (the radio path) is most likely your problem

now the physical cable
From your description I'm not sure but the PROPER way for roof mounts is either a single cable from the antenna to the receiver, (And in your case a 2nd one to the second receiver but still direct) or, in some cases there is a double female (Barrel) connector at the roof line, NO electronics period anywhere.

This cable should be quality low-loss RG-6, not High Loss RG-59,, 20 feet of 59 can easily have more loss than 100 feet of RG-6

NO "Devices" between Antenna and Receiver with one possible exception, the cheapest A/B switch you can lay your hands on, Again this switch is just a switch, NO ELECTRONICS. (There is an exception to this I'll cover in a bit)

The "A/B" switch is connected as follows
Port A, to the rooftop antenna up A-bove
Port B, to a ground block in a basement compartment or in my case on the Brake Bell crank Bracket down B-elow (this is for those times when a Tripod is needed to avoid the evil signal eating tree you are parked under)

Directions for change over after exception paragraph

Exception: Some Direc TV systems use a "B Band Converter" and in some cases (more than 2 receivers or more than 2 receive channels) you may have a Digital Equipment Switch (Also provided by DirecTV) (or Dish if that's your supplier) in the line..

Directions for change over from Roof to Ground or back

Hook up ground mount antenna, Switch to "B" for B-elow, RESET receiver, Aim dish.

Changing back is easier,, Switch to "A" and Reset,, now disconnect and stow ground mount, Roof top antenna (if automatic) does the pointing for you.

Two things to remember
Always hookup/unhook ground wile A-Bove is selected (prevents damage from accidential shorts)

B: Always Reset when changing antennas.

[Bill_Satellite]

If you swap receivers does the non-working receiver now work?
As mentioned above, signal strength is very important. Get readings from both boxes. It is NOT cable length but it certainly could be connections at the ends of each cable (inside and outside the walls and on the roof). It can also be the LNB itself as well. Sometimes one side of the dual output dies and the only resolution is to install a new LNB. A direct run of a new coax cable from each output on the roof to a working receiver will prove that to be right or wrong.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

Has it ever worked? If not I would say it's the cable. It is not an easy task to re-cable. We had a satellite technician do ours. Have you tried running a cable from the antenna directly to the back TV?

[Big_Katuna]

I have run sat signal hundreds of feet over cheap co-ax. If you are losing enough signal over 20' to lose a picture my guess is a bad connection or a marginal signal from poorly aligned dish or trees.

As mentioned, go to your signal meters in your sat box and look.

You should have high 80's. low 90s.

[Chuck_thehammer]

signal strength .. is everything for a satellite .

maybe move you camper a few feet.. might do better.. or one side or the other a few foot.

and the main reason I use a portable antenna. and 150 feet of RG-6 cable.
and NO connectors in between antenna and receiver.

[donn0128]

What are your reception numbers? Go to menu, setup and look at signal strength. Anythihing below 75 will return marginal picture quality. Changing coax cable can be easy or a horrible experience depending on how the cables were routed. Length is not your issue. All the connections could be. As for what to use? RG-6 or better. Cable and connectors can be bought lots of places, but dont cheep out. Buy the best quality you can afford. Get rid of all the connections, try to run a single coax directly from the dish to the back of the receiver.