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Old 02-22-2015, 05:12 PM   #1
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THOR #1547
Portable satellite options for Axis/Vegas

We want to add Dish TV in our Axis. Should only be an additional $7 per month, since we have Dish at home. We are considering purchasing a Pathway X2 with the VIP 211Z. Has anyone got this or a similar setup? Is there a satellite coax connector on the exterior of the coach which we haven't found yet, or would we have to run the coax through a window to the receiver?
Thanks for any help!

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Old 02-22-2015, 09:17 PM   #2
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THOR #1503
I believe you can use the cable connection next to the power connector.

Just turn off the TV antenna booster located in the cabinet above the sink. When the light is off, the cable connection is connected to the TV's.

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Old 02-22-2015, 09:42 PM   #3
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THOR #1448
The cable connection is connected to the tv.

You have to connect the satellite, (in your case the pathway) to the 211. I don't see anyway to do that the way things are set up in the cabinet.

We ran a cable through the window using 2 rg6 cords and one of those ft long thin rg6 cords, connecting to the 211 satellite connection? We were able to close the window, too.

Once you have that connected, you can use the hdmi cable that is in the upper cabinet to connect the 211 to your tv (the hdmi already goes to the tv).

Unfortunately, satellite will only be going to the living area.
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Old 02-22-2015, 09:57 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzfest
You have to connect the satellite, (in your case the pathway) to the 211. I don't see anyway to do that the way things are set up in the cabinet.
Why can't you hook the Pathway X2 to the "cable inlet" on the side of the Vegas/Axis, turn off the pre-amp in the cabinet and connect the 211 to the cable jack inside the cabinet? (I believe that is the intent when they advertise "satellite ready") Even doing this, though, the 211 tuner will only output to the main TV. It will just save you from having to run a wire through the window.
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Old 02-22-2015, 10:26 PM   #5
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THOR #1448
If you hook up the campgrounds cable to the "cable inlet" on the vegas/axis, it will be connected to the tv's because it's already cabled that way from the factory.

The 211 has to be connected to the pathway, but there's no way to do that from the cabinet.
I did not see a cable jack up there.

I did ask about the "satellite ready" statement I saw in the brochure, during the pdi. The tech said he could install satellite if we wanted it.

There was another post I saw awhile back titled "satellite wiring for thor vegas"
One of the replies was how to rewire things for satellite. I didn't want to rewire anything, I still want to use cable, but it may be of use to someone.
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Old 02-22-2015, 10:35 PM   #6
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THOR #1503
That's called a flat coax cable and you can buy them off of eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Flat-RG6-Coa...item1c42fef2a2

Bruce

[QUOTE=jazzfest;7362]one of those ft long thin rg6 cords,/QUOTE]
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Old 02-24-2015, 08:54 PM   #7
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Thanks for all of the replies and suggestions. Satellite and receiver arrived today. As soon as the weather improves we are going to try it out!

Have purchased an A/B switch, a coax splitter, and an RF modulator. We already have some extra coax cable. We need the RF modulator because the VIP 211Z does not have a coax output. If you have a 211K you wouldn't need the modulator.

After talking to a Thor tech and reading a thread Larry had posted about modifying his, the plan is to disconnect the white coax from the hub under the plate beind the antenna switch. It will be rerouted to the A/B switch. We will use an additional short piece of coax cable to connect the A switch side to the satellite receiver. Another piece of coax will go from the B side to the coax splitter. A third piece of coax will connect the output of the RF modulator to another connection on the splitter. The last piece of coax will go from the coax splitter to the hub where the white coax originally was. Finally, you take the component cables(r,w,y) and connect them to the satellite receiver and RF modulator. Then we will connect existing HDMI to back of receiver and plug in to power! If all goes as planned we should still be able to use campground cable or satellite!!

Happy to have any comments if you can see any glitches in our plan. If not, we will let you know if it works!!!
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Old 02-24-2015, 09:10 PM   #8
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Seems strange, in my fifth wheel I have both a cable and satellite connections in the basement. I would have thought that a MH would have the same set up. I would do a search near where the cable hooks up in my case they are under the sane pug cover and no more than an inch apart.
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Old 02-24-2015, 10:20 PM   #9
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THOR #1547
We definitely only have one exterior coax connection. Interior coax has to be modified for satellite. When I asked Thor yesterday what they meant by the Axis being "satellite ready", I was told, "Our Sat Prep is we run the HDMI cable from tv cabinet to the sat receiver cabinet." That is a direct quote!!!! Not our idea of satellite ready!!!
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Old 02-25-2015, 02:45 AM   #10
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This set up has worked well for me with the Dish Tailgater Bundle since the splitter changeover. Only minor drawback is that all TVs have the same satellite programming. Separate when watching over the air and booster being utilized. Hope the set up works well for you
Good luck with it.
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Old 03-05-2015, 05:11 AM   #11
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Good and bad news!!

First the good! The Pathway X2 works great! Finds the satellites easily and automatically! Tried it out first with the cable through the window. Today we took out the microwave for better access and installed the RF modulator, splitter, and A/B switch. We now have Dish TV coming through the exterior coax connector. Also, the hdmi signal is great and even sd looks good on the main over the door TV.

Now the bad! We have no Dish signal on either the bedroom or exterior TV's. As Larry's did, we were also expecting both tv's to get the same sd channel as the main TV. We did have a spark from the antenna booster amp during installation. It is currently not working. That should not affect any of the tv's though, since it would be off for this application anyway. We have not yet located the fuse for it. Anyone know where it is or even if there is one? One thing we know for sure is that if the booster has to be replaced we will be using a much better one than Thor installed. There was so much sawdust and debris in the empty microwave space and the parts used were very cheap quality!!

We are heartened that the main tv has Dish through the exterior connection. We are also perplexed why the other two tv's are not receiving the sd signal from the RF modulator. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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Old 03-05-2015, 12:50 PM   #12
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For fuses: First check if one of your main converter panel fuses are blown (ours had a label for "Entertainment" but no fuse). If those are all good open up the panel on the black box in the very front outside drivers-side storage bin. There are quite a few fuses there (including the one to the stereo ).
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Old 03-05-2015, 04:17 PM   #13
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Happy...I see no reason why your setup wouldn't work properly for camp side cable, satellite or over the air antennae. Have you checked all connections and certain they are secure and routed as you mentioned? I don't have the A/B switch or splitter that you installed but I only have satellite and over the air signal with mine.

Not sure where the fuse for the amp is located. I would check the areas that Jamie mentioned.

Hope you can resolve it. Let us know what you find. Good luck.
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Old 03-05-2015, 06:04 PM   #14
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THOR #1547
Thanks, Jamie. Will be heading back to check on the fuses after the rain lets up!

Thanks, Larry. Pretty sure everything is tight and secure and we haven't changed the wiring on the other tv's. The bedroom tv does say weak signal strength. Very frustrating because like you, we think it should be working!!!
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Old 03-05-2015, 07:30 PM   #15
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THOR #1503
Does the wiring to the rear of the coach run open in the microwave cavity? Did you happen to take a picture of the microwave cavity when you had it emptied?

I would like to run an HDMI cable from the rear (my VIP722 is located in the rear) to the the TV over the door.

Does your receiver have a setup mode for a second receiver. Mine is setup to output the satellite signal on channel 3 and the front TV mirrors the program on the rear TV (but with poorer quality).

I also ran a set of cables to the Axxera AV614BH so that I can play the sound through the coach speakers.

Bruce



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Originally Posted by Happily Retired View Post
Today we took out the microwave for better access and installed the RF modulator, splitter, and A/B switch.
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Old 03-06-2015, 01:40 AM   #16
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Is the VIP211Z the only Dish receiver that is compatible with the Pathway X2?

The only solution I can see with the VIP211Z is to use a wireless TV video transmitter and two receivers, one for each of the remote TV's. You would connect the video transmitter to the RCA connectors on the VIP211Z

Here's an example of the product.

Amazon.com: SainSonic SS-630 5.8GHz Wireless Audio Video Sender Transmitter + 2 Receivers TV Extender: Electronics

The VIP211K might be the solution if you can use it with the Pathway X2. It has a coax output for the TV as well as an HDMI. Assuming that the coax outlet remains active when the HDMI cable is connected then you would be able to connect the coax cable that runs to the other TVs to this output. There might be some signal loss. Also, you would have to A/B switch it so that the other TVs could be also be connected to the roof antenna.

The other advantage of the VIP211K is it has DVR capabilities by adding an external hard drive. You would also incur a DVR fee from Dish.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Happily Retired View Post
We have no Dish signal on either the bedroom or exterior TV's. As Larry's did, we were also expecting both tv's to get the same sd channel as the main TV.
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Old 03-06-2015, 04:41 AM   #17
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Bruce,

An excellent suggestion with the wireless extenders. Thank you so much. May turn out to be our best alternative. We got the 211z in a bundle for only $50 extra but knew the 211 k would have been better. Hard to find as they are no longer producing them! The 211z can also function as a DVR by paying a one time $40 charge from Dish and adding an external hard drive. Have a hopper at home but will probably end up adding the DVR feature to Axis, so we can at least pause a show when out with the dogs!!

I did take a picture of the empty microwave space. Don't know how to post it on here yet, but if you will pm us your email I will be happy to send it to you from my cell phone!!

As for your question about the wiring in the microwave space, the wiring hub for all of the coax cable routing to the 3 TV sets is there.
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Old 03-06-2015, 05:08 AM   #18
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I think "satellite ready" may also simply mean there is a steel backing plate under the roof skin to facilitate bolting a permanent antenna to the roof.

Not sure about the Axis, but my coach has a steel pad under the TPO roof in the left-rear area of the roof for such a thing. I would suspect the Axis is similar.
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Old 03-06-2015, 06:10 PM   #19
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Here's a link to a company that sells the VIP211k:

DISH Network MPEG4 HDTV Satellite Receiver/Tuner(DISH211K) from Solid Signal

You can pause the VIP211k without having a hard drive as long as you have the access from Dish.

The only way I've found to post pictures is to upload to a site like Photobucket. Once you have the picture uploaded, you can get a link to post in your thread.

Many of these forums are setup to host pictures which is more convenient.

I'll send you my email.'

Bruce
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Old 03-06-2015, 06:15 PM   #20
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Hard to believe but the roof dishes are just screwed to the roof.

I had mine (Winegard SK-1000) installed by the dealer when I purchased the Axis.

Bruce

Quote:
Originally Posted by FW28z View Post
I think "satellite ready" may also simply mean there is a steel backing plate under the roof skin to facilitate bolting a permanent antenna to the roof.

Not sure about the Axis, but my coach has a steel pad under the TPO roof in the left-rear area of the roof for such a thing. I would suspect the Axis is similar.
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