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Old 10-01-2017, 07:07 PM   #1
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trying to figure out how to run satellite in our '18 Windsport

I'm trying to figure out how to run my satellite dish through the cable input port on the outside of the rig. It must split off inside somewhere. If I can find that split, I can tap my sat tuner inline and have sat tv on all three tv's. Right now I have to hook it up and set the tuner on the rear wheel and just plug in the outside tv. That does me no good if I want to watch the am news in bed. Has anyone attempted something like this?
Thx

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Old 10-01-2017, 07:57 PM   #2
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you'll find, with aggravation, that the RV industry does not typically provide an 'outside' satellite antenna input, meaning that you will have to find a way to run a coax directly into the coach to your receiver - either thru a window, slide seal, roof plumbing outlet, or snake some coax into the coach from your wet bay, or similar area.
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Old 10-01-2017, 08:51 PM   #3
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Unfortunately every aftermarket dish installation, I know of, has a cable running from the roof mounted dish, through the roof into the cabinet that contains your satellite box. Then you have to run the HDMI cable from there to each TV. Once done, its done, but truly a PITA to do.
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Old 10-01-2017, 09:01 PM   #4
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The outside cable connection terminates on the antenna switch plate first. Remove the plate three coaxes. One to antenna, one to the tvs and the one you are looking for.
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Old 10-01-2017, 10:52 PM   #5
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You need a direct coax run with no splitters in the line. I have a 2018 Windsport 29M with a Wineguard Pathway X2 and a Dish Network reciever. Put your reciever in the cabinet next to your hdmi switcher. Mine is in the cabinet above the dinette. Run an hdmi cable from the sat reciever to an input of your switcher. There will be a button in front of the switcher to change inputs. This will now feed all of your tvs. You now need to run a coax cable from the reciever to the satellite dish. Some people just run it out a window. I ran my coax from the cabinet down the side of the valence to the dinette bench. You only see about 2 inches of black coax. From the inside of the bench I ran the coax into the bin below. ( Happens to be where the batterys are) When I use my sattelite I just run the coax out the drain hole of the storage bin to the sattelite dish so I can close the door. You can use a barrel connector to add extra coax. Good luck
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Old 10-01-2017, 11:17 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Trkyte@msn.com View Post
The outside cable connection terminates on the antenna switch plate first. Remove the plate three coaxes. One to antenna, one to the tvs and the one you are looking for.
Take the outside cable off of the switch plate. Attach it to a 2 way splitter. From the splitter attach a coax and reattach it to the switch plate - cable in. From the splitter attach another cable to the receiver. Assuming you have a switcher run an hdmi cable from the sat. receiver to an input on your switcher. Switcher will now send Sat. to all TVs.
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Old 10-01-2017, 11:46 PM   #7
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My understanding is that there can be no splitters in the chain. The sat dish needs a home run to the reciever in order to power the dish properly to track a satellite. In addition,at least with my Windsport, the outside connection is on the opposite side where the slide is. I like to have my Dish on the same side as where we sit so it is in view. I believe most of us rvr's are honest but I usually like to chain mine to something like the picnic table.
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Old 10-02-2017, 12:27 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by PNTR10 View Post
My understanding is that there can be no splitters in the chain. The sat dish needs a home run to the reciever in order to power the dish properly to track a satellite. In addition,at least with my Windsport, the outside connection is on the opposite side where the slide is. I like to have my Dish on the same side as where we sit so it is in view. I believe most of us rvr's are honest but I usually like to chain mine to something like the picnic table.
Yes, my thought was to intercept the "cable in" input and try to use existing coax to the sat box. Then go to the USB router box. I never intended to use the coax to transmit to other TVs.
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Old 10-02-2017, 12:30 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by PNTR10 View Post
You need a direct coax run with no splitters in the line. I have a 2018 Windsport 29M with a Wineguard Pathway X2 and a Dish Network reciever. Put your reciever in the cabinet next to your hdmi switcher. Mine is in the cabinet above the dinette. Run an hdmi cable from the sat reciever to an input of your switcher. There will be a button in front of the switcher to change inputs. This will now feed all of your tvs. You now need to run a coax cable from the reciever to the satellite dish. Some people just run it out a window. I ran my coax from the cabinet down the side of the valence to the dinette bench. You only see about 2 inches of black coax. From the inside of the bench I ran the coax into the bin below. ( Happens to be where the batterys are) When I use my sattelite I just run the coax out the drain hole of the storage bin to the sattelite dish so I can close the door. You can use a barrel connector to add extra coax. Good luck
It may come to the point I drill a hole for a coax, but trying to avoid it if possible. I would love to figure out how to use the cable in connector. I did it on my Jayco fifth wheel.
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Old 10-02-2017, 12:55 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by PNTR10 View Post
My understanding is that there can be no splitters in the chain. The sat dish needs a home run to the reciever in order to power the dish properly to track a satellite.
A splitter will work as long as the ports power pass like this one I used. It worked for me at least.

https://www.amazon.com/BAMF-2-Way-Sp...6N2RGJA7ZPFEBX
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Old 10-02-2017, 10:12 PM   #11
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I crawled under the rig tonight and traced the external hookup to where it goes up into the floor under the bed. Along with all the big power cables from the genset and the shore power. I'll have to remove the bed and see what goes under there. Just for fun I looked in the manual. It shows a really nice fictional wiring diagram where there is a satellite hookup and a router box that is all coax and rca jack connections. It's nothing like what I'm looking at, all HDMI connectors. What I can see is the roof antenna goes into the router and then must go out to the TV's via HDMI.
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Old 10-02-2017, 10:32 PM   #12
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Usually the splitter is near the terrestrial antenna down coax. Mine is in the false wall beside the front TV. Just pull the coax/antenna power plate and the splitter comes out with it.
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Old 10-02-2017, 11:09 PM   #13
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I'm totally lost here. Pictures sure would help.
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Old 10-02-2017, 11:41 PM   #14
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Beeryboats, What is behind the antenna amplifier in your left cabinet above the dinette? The installation method I described took about 30 minutes to do. I also installed an Amazon Fire stick which I also plugged into the hdmi switcher. The only holes drilled was on the underside of the upper right cabinet which you can't see. I would take pictures but our rv is back at the dealer getting some end of summer warrenty work and Safe-T-plus installed.
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Old 10-02-2017, 11:55 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by jb1911 View Post
I'm totally lost here. Pictures sure would help.
Yeah, I'm lost too. I have a coax connector on the outside of the coach. I followed the cable to up under the rear bed. I'm trying to hook my satellite receiver into this cable and be able to watch sat TV on all three sets at once all on the same channel. The Thor manual shows a wiring diagram that is all coax cable but in reality my rv is all HDMI cables. And to top it off my sat box has RCA jacks output. So I can't even hook it up in line of this cable without a converter box.

I'm tempted to buy the converter from Walmart and set it all up outside the RV to see if this is going to work. If it does I may open the top of the bed and mount the sat box into the side above the fuse box.
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Old 10-03-2017, 12:34 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by beeryboats View Post
Yeah, I'm lost too. I have a coax connector on the outside of the coach. I followed the cable to up under the rear bed. I'm trying to hook my satellite receiver into this cable and be able to watch sat TV on all three sets at once all on the same channel. The Thor manual shows a wiring diagram that is all coax cable but in reality my rv is all HDMI cables. And to top it off my sat box has RCA jacks output. So I can't even hook it up in line of this cable without a converter box.

I'm tempted to buy the converter from Walmart and set it all up outside the RV to see if this is going to work. If it does I may open the top of the bed and mount the sat box into the side above the fuse box.
That would probably work.
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Old 10-04-2017, 01:08 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by beeryboats View Post
Yeah, I'm lost too. I have a coax connector on the outside of the coach. I followed the cable to up under the rear bed. I'm trying to hook my satellite receiver into this cable and be able to watch sat TV on all three sets at once all on the same channel. The Thor manual shows a wiring diagram that is all coax cable but in reality my rv is all HDMI cables. And to top it off my sat box has RCA jacks output. So I can't even hook it up in line of this cable without a converter box.

I'm tempted to buy the converter from Walmart and set it all up outside the RV to see if this is going to work. If it does I may open the top of the bed and mount the sat box into the side above the fuse box.

Berry you have an antenna booster/switch plate. If you are watching TV from the Antenna it is using the COAX connection not the HDMI. This Booster/switch plate It has 3 cables attached to it. 1 is the cable coming in from the Antenna, there is also cable coming from the outside of the coach which is the 2 inputs into the booster/switch plate. the 3rd cable should run to a splitter that has 3 cables out which run to all 3 TVS. When the plate is switched in the on position you are getting the signal from the antenna to your tvs. With this switch in the off position you are getting a signal from your Outside Cable. Now what I did was buy a 1 input to 2 output Coax Splitter I unhooked the outside coax from the plate and installed it on the input of the splitter. I then ran one output to the back of the plate switch to complete that circuit again and then the other output went to my DishNet receiver. I then ran the HDMI from the receiver to the HDMI splitter since its a 2 input switch box. Does this make sense
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Old 10-04-2017, 11:22 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by PCarillon View Post
Berry you have an antenna booster/switch plate. If you are watching TV from the Antenna it is using the COAX connection not the HDMI. This Booster/switch plate It has 3 cables attached to it. 1 is the cable coming in from the Antenna, there is also cable coming from the outside of the coach which is the 2 inputs into the booster/switch plate. the 3rd cable should run to a splitter that has 3 cables out which run to all 3 TVS. When the plate is switched in the on position you are getting the signal from the antenna to your tvs. With this switch in the off position you are getting a signal from your Outside Cable. Now what I did was buy a 1 input to 2 output Coax Splitter I unhooked the outside coax from the plate and installed it on the input of the splitter. I then ran one output to the back of the plate switch to complete that circuit again and then the other output went to my DishNet receiver. I then ran the HDMI from the receiver to the HDMI splitter since its a 2 input switch box. Does this make sense
Yeah, had to read it eight times but I'm tracking. It looks like it would still take cable coming in as well as being able to see sat. My issue is that my sat output is old school RCA jacks. I would have to have a powered converter. And being dark as a coal mine in that cabinet it sure looks like the coax goes into the router box. I'll put on my headlamp and go take a look after dinner...
Thanks!
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Old 03-15-2018, 08:33 PM   #19
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Did you ever figure this out? I just got my new DISH satellite and am sorta fuzzed by what THOR shows and what I got and how it comes together.
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Old 03-15-2018, 09:53 PM   #20
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Once you get it figured out: make sure that you get it pointed at the proper satellite...






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