Direct TV

[roachcoach]

We have Direct tv with 2 hd receivers with a 3500 Winegard Satellite dome . It works great and am very happy with it. My only issue with it is whenever I turn the generator on we lose the signal and have to reboot and wait while it does it .

[Mfreyder]

Hi Guys

Back at doing some troubleshooting today. Got a cheap signal meter and turned on antenna. It tuned but no luck with settings 01 for antenna and 02 for the multi switch. I turned off the antenna and using the meter hand tuned the signal on the meter. I got signal levels using the page on the receiver, highest 87, and average of the rest 65. I replaced the coax down to the receiver and signal levels dropped slightly. So something is dropping the signal, bad LNB? I tried some of the other settings for config like the 02 for antenna as the DTV help suggested, but these are also slimline antennas. This is a single LNB with dual outputs. I remembered this as a dual LNB, I was wrong.

[mchero]

I had an odd issue with my DTV & Generator....
If I was on Generator watching TV simply kinnling the genset to kick back over to shore power would reboot the DTV box.
I corrected this by walking outside & switching the breakers on the genset OFF.
The switch to shore power is quicker w/o having the box reboot! After the genset shuts down I switch te breakers back on.

RM

[CA_Traveler]

Your inverter manual should tell what wire size to use based on length. Or you can use one of the free online wiring calculators. Be sure to account for the length of both wires. Normally inverters are connected directly to the battery. Existing wiring may be OK. Make sure the alternator and all wiring are adequate for the extra load. And be sure to account for headlights, AC fan etc. 30A might be to much for a TV/trailer with factory wiring.

I'd suggest you buy a $50 Sears DC clampon ammeter so you can determine the various loads. It will last a lifetime and be worth the price. Or borrow one.

There are many posts about running with the refer on LP which you can search.

[Mfreyder]

Will do, thanks to all, will let you know how I make out. We seemed to have hijacked Roackcoaches question sorry for that.

Along the lines of he original question, what is the best setup for 110 power to the electronics, without all the transfer switches? this is for the average RV if there is such a thing, low budget owner.

I took my outlets going to the geek cabinet off the 110 breaker and put it on the inverter. Previous owner had a inverter in the geek shelf that was connected to 12 wires about 16awg and if I turned on two units at the same time it kicked off due to low input volts. I moved the inverter under the bed where the converter/distribution box is and connected it as the source of the outlets going to the geek shelf. By mistake as this also included the fridge. With all units on it pulls 325 watts which is mostly fridge so this keeps the geek and the fridge running with power while the are on the road, no need for LP gas. Another mistake, since I don't have a amp meter that will read over 10, was I connected the 12 off the fuse block in the converter. Way too much current draw from that unit, most likely close to 30amps as the fuse was hot but did not blow. So connecting it to the battery wire coming into the distribution box with circuit breaker should correct that error. The 600 watt inverter will have increase to 1500 it works but runs too hot for my comfort.

So is there a guide somewhere that suggest best practices for such mods? This may answer Roachcoache's question as well.

[CA_Traveler]

I'd listen to Bill with his depth of knowledge.

DTV: While you can get to increasing depths of knowledge their front line support is at times lacking. Sure they basically want to keep every customer but in the big picture mobile is a smaller portion of their business and their knowledge about mobile is more limited.

I purchased a receiver and dish that I installed. But times have changed. Receivers are leased, no longer shipped and DTV seems to have little interest in DIY.

Bottom line: Keep at it, consider a coax directly from the dish to the receiver - are you positive the coax is OK and/or you're using the right one?

[Bill_Satellite]

Stick with 01-18" round for now. However, if you have a SWM setup at home the receiver can be some what particular about changing off that setting despite you manually entering the correct parameters. You do need to get the proper settings and ensure you go into Display and Preferences and set it to Show All Channels (or Hide HD or Show SD) to ensure you can see 231 Food and 231 Food HD. You should be able to watch 231 Food but you will not be able to watch 231 Food HD.

[Mfreyder]

Receiver is a H24/500 tried option 01 for the dish and option 02 for the multiswitch. Did not work, tried all the round dish settings. After it started to rain and I stopped work and went inside, DTV support suggested oval antenna option 02. I have not tried this, but will when I get back with a new coax end frond the control bed output to receiver as suggested. I have dual nodes on the antenna to use a second receiver, neither coax works on then receiver.

I was referring to roachcoach having a working 3500. The unit when sitting in the drive appears to lock on and in the approx. direction of the dish on the house. So the control bed gets signal, nothing shows on the tranpnders as signal. Zeros all 32. I have cheap signal meter on order just to see if anything is coming down. Should be home when I get there.

[CA_Traveler]

My inverter/charger has AC input and an internal ATS to select the AC input or the inverter AC. The relay switching causes the receiver to reboot.

The AC change over is mostly transparent but not to the receiver, unfortunately.

[CA_Traveler]

I don't have a 3500 but just trying to point out that some of the settings need to be correct. The dish type is the most critical. In my case selecting HD on a SD dish produced errors.

Do you get anything on the signal meter? Just thinking that if the dish switches are set to some other vendor you would see a good signal.

[Carl_n_Susan]

Power for your 120V circuits is provided via a transfer switch. It is connected to the shore/inverter power on one side and the generator on the other. The generator supply is preferred over the inverter power. Consequently, when the generator starts, the transfer switch stops the inverter supply and starts using the generator power. This momentary loss of power (normally 10-20 milliseconds) is detected by the DVR as a loss of power. It shuts down and then restarts itself. You can't buy a transfer switch that is fast enough to keep this from happening. The cheapest and easiest solution is to use an UPS devices. Alternatively, you can run the DVR off of a dedicated inverter circuit that is not connected via a transfer switch.

[Bill_Satellite]

The specific receiver you are using is also important so be sure you are using a receiver with a model number of H24 or lower.

[Mfreyder]

Hi CA Traveler thanks for all the info. Camping now and receiver is home. The receiver works in the house just fine and the antenna has been set for DTV on the dip switches. I went through all the suggested settings with DTV support, all failed, but then after I stopped because of rain. Will compare your suggestions when home again. Glad to hear someone has a 3500 that works!

If your inverter is connected to the battery system why would it restart? 12v wire too small and dropping voltage?

[Bill_Satellite]

Mfreyder wrote:
I have the same antenna and DTV on a used MH we bought a couple months ago. I can't get the unit to work. Not sure of it is a receiver setting or LNA in the antenna. Have spent many emails with Winegard and DTV trying to figure it out.

Since you bought used the antenna could be set for Dish instead of DirecTV or the cabling between the antenna and the receiver is either incorrect or damaged.
Remove the dome and verify that the dip switches are set correctly, verify that you are NOT using a DirecTV receiver with a Model # of H25 or higher and then run a coax directly from the antenna output labeled "main" to the receiver input. Follow all the receiver setups listed above but even then sometimes a receiver hard reset is required after the antenna locks on. Since the dome will be off you can let the antenna search while you can see it to verify that it is stopping in the correct direction.

[CA_Traveler]

Hopefully this setup guide will be helpful.

Receiver Setup: After banging my head against a rock several times trying to reproduce the setup I made these instructions which may help others. Different dish types and TVs required additional setup. Different TV types also meant that the DTV remote would not work both TVs. Dish pointing is not included.

Here are the receiver setup instructions I used when moving the HR24 receiver from home HD to the 18” round portable SD dish for the MH. Note: The HR24 is a dual tuner DVR (connect 2 coax cables) but that is not a factor in the setup.

Home – Slimline 5 Dish and HD Channels

1. Install 2 B-Band Converters and all cords
2. Turn on receiver wait for setup to complete (about 6 minutes).
3. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display-TV Ratio: Widescreen 16:9
4. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display-TV Resolutions: Check all resolutions.
5. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display–Video: On, Pillar Box, Dark Gray
6. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display-Preferences-Guide HD Channels: Hide SD duplicates.
7. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Satellite-Repeat Satellite

Setup: Dish setup: Option 4–Slimline 5 02: Multiswitch Dual. To confirm: Menu-Setup-System Setup-Info & Test-More System Info and confirm dish type

MH – Portable 18” Dish and SD Channels Only

1. Do not install B-Band Converters
2. Plug in all cords. Turn on receiver wait for setup to complete (about 6 minutes)
3. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Satellite-View Satellite Strength-Satellite 101, final check after aiming the dish
4. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display-TV Ratio: Standard 4:3
5. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display-TV Resolutions: Check 480i only
6. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display–Video: On, Pillar Box, Dark Gray
7. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display-Preferences-Guide HD Channels: Hide HD duplcates. Note: This takes a few minutes to change.
8. The MH Portable dish will not receive/record HD and will display ln not found for HD channels.
9. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Satellite-Repeat Satellite

Setup: Dish setup: Option 1 – 18” round dish 02: Multiswitch Dual. To confirm: Menu-Setup-System Setup-Info & Test-More System Info and confirm.

The only practical mounting for the receiver in the MH was vertical in a cabinet and that required the use of a RF remote which the HR24 supports. Switching back to the IR remote for home was tedious since the front panel had to be used to switch the remotes. Before long I purchased a second RF remote to use at home. Each of the RF remotes was programmed to support their respective IR TVs which was another reason for having the 2 remotes. Programming the remote can be found under Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Remote Control-Program Remote.

Later I added a HD SWM dish to the MH and used these settings for the MH. Note: The MH TV is HD and Widescreen. The HR24 receiver will also operate with the single SWM coax.
MH – HD Dish – SWM Dish and HD Channels

1. Do not install B-Band Converters
2. Plug in all cords. Turn on receiver wait for setup to complete (about 6 minutes).
3. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display-TV Ratio: Widescreen 16:9
4. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display-TV Resolutions: Check all resolutions.
5. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display–Video: On, Pillar Box, Dark Gray
6. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Display-Preferences-Guide HD Channels: Hide SD duplicates.
7. Menu-Settings & Help-Settings-Satellite-Repeat Satellite

Setup: Dish setup: Option 17 Swimline-3S(SWM), 01: SWM, Dual. To confirm: Menu-Setup-System Setup-Info & Test-More System Info and confirm dish type