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JMH · 07-07-2016, 09:41 PM

OK, another bit of experience hard earned by Newbee so you don't have too

If you are one of the few with directv and have the outside "tripod" connection for satellite tv you need to be careful on picking a carry out antenna.

I purchases a Winegard G2+ and the warning in the literature that says it may not be compatible with external connections was correct on my VTDP.

If you are unfamiliar with this carry out dish, it sends 12VDC on the R6 cable to power the dish to auto locate the satellite. I plugged everything in through the outside connector, checked voltage at the end and got 12VDC. Turned on antenna and nothing. Carried the antenna into the coach and hooked the antenna directly to the power unit and the dish started trying to acquire a satellite. Checked voltage and it was the same. Bottom line is to use this antenna I would have to run the connecting cable out a window. That's not going to happen

Having worked satellite operations in a former life I was perplexed by what was causing this odd behavior. There must be some other signal going down the cable other than the 12vdc for the antenna to work. IMHO there is a bad design somewhere in the system.

So be careful when getting this antenna. Make sure you check this with your rig before the return period. Mine went back to camping world in time.

Mark and Louene Hetrick
Newbee the last VTDP 3725

Sidewinder4 · 07-08-2016, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMH

OK, another bit of experience hard earned by Newbee so you don't have too

If you are one of the few with directv and have the outside "tripod" connection for satellite tv you need to be careful on picking a carry out antenna.

I purchases a Winegard G2+ and the warning in the literature that says it may not be compatible with external connections was correct on my VTDP.

If you are unfamiliar with this carry out dish, it sends 12VDC on the R6 cable to power the dish to auto locate the satellite. I plugged everything in through the outside connector, checked voltage at the end and got 12VDC. Turned on antenna and nothing. Carried the antenna into the coach and hooked the antenna directly to the power unit and the dish started trying to acquire a satellite. Checked voltage and it was the same. Bottom line is to use this antenna I would have to run the connecting cable out a window. That's not going to happen

Having worked satellite operations in a former life I was perplexed by what was causing this odd behavior. There must be some other signal going down the cable other than the 12vdc for the antenna to work. IMHO there is a bad design somewhere in the system.

So be careful when getting this antenna. Make sure you check this with your rig before the return period. Mine went back to camping world in time.

Mark and Louene Hetrick
Newbee the last VTDP 3725

When my on board WineGuard Travler cannot receive (mainly due to obstructions by trees) I use my Cube by Flex King (for Direct TV); no tripod ect.. Only downfall is you will not get HD channels, upside is: it could not be easier to set up, plug and play.

mel s · 07-08-2016, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMH

OK, another bit of experience hard earned by Newbee so you don't have too

If you are one of the few with directv and have the outside "tripod" connection for satellite tv you need to be careful on picking a carry out antenna.
I purchases a Winegard G2+ and the warning in the literature that says it may not be compatible with external connections was correct on my VTDP.
Bottom line is to use this antenna I would have to run the connecting cable out a window. That's not going to happen

Having worked satellite operations in a former life I was perplexed

JMH
To solve that problem I added an coax connector in an outside compartment and ran coax from it to the DirecTV receiver location in the coach.
(BTW I was able to accomplish that even though I never worked satellite operations in a former life).
Mel
'96 Safari

blujay40 · 07-08-2016, 08:57 AM

I suspect it is not a problem with the dish itself, but the internal components such as splitters and/or amps that are used in the stock wiring and their ability to "reliably" pass power BOTH ways as well as being able to pass the frequencies necessary.

Unless you can get the specs of what hardware is used, there is really no way to tell for sure.

Since DirecTV (and others) have moved to equipement that uses a power inserter (PI), a lot of "generic" splitters, even if digital, don't pass power well or have the proper frequency bandwidth capabilities used by DirecTV. As an example, my tripod mounted DirecTV Slimline SWM setup shows the same things you saw with the G2+ when trying to use the external connection, so I doubt it is the dish itself.

To get around this, and avoid the dreaded "window fed" coax, I just bought a DirecTV approved flat coax piece to run a line into a compartment door near our TV and then snaked it up to the LR TV area. It minimally impacts the weather stripping but I prefer that over cutting a hole or mounting another plate.

Anyway, that line feeds the PI and approved splitter mounted behind my LR TV. From the splitter, I feed the LR TV directly and then back feed the internal coax from what is usually the output connection near our LR TV to get a signal to the bedroom. That works great for us as long as someone doesn't power the OTA antenna amplifier. YMMV.

newmarpusher · 07-08-2016, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMH

OK, another bit of experience hard earned by Newbee so you don't have too

If you are one of the few with directv and have the outside "tripod" connection for satellite tv you need to be careful on picking a carry out antenna.

I purchases a Winegard G2+ and the warning in the literature that says it may not be compatible with external connections was correct on my VTDP.

If you are unfamiliar with this carry out dish, it sends 12VDC on the R6 cable to power the dish to auto locate the satellite. I plugged everything in through the outside connector, checked voltage at the end and got 12VDC. Turned on antenna and nothing. Carried the antenna into the coach and hooked the antenna directly to the power unit and the dish started trying to acquire a satellite. Checked voltage and it was the same. Bottom line is to use this antenna I would have to run the connecting cable out a window. That's not going to happen

Having worked satellite operations in a former life I was perplexed by what was causing this odd behavior. There must be some other signal going down the cable other than the 12vdc for the antenna to work. IMHO there is a bad design somewhere in the system.

So be careful when getting this antenna. Make sure you check this with your rig before the return period. Mine went back to camping world in time.

Mark and Louene Hetrick

Newbee the last VTDP 3725

Was your Ventana specially ordered with a "Ground Sat connection"? It is not stock.

If you're trying to use your Park Cable connection, that will not work for any Satellite dish. There are passive splitters on that line as it is meant to distribute a cable signal to the multiple tv's.

The Newmar Ground Sat Connection runs two dedicated coax cables from the outside. One to the front tv area, one to the bedroom. In the front, an A/B switch is also included to switch between the roof dish and the outside dish.

We have DISH and use a Qube outside when trees block the signal from the rooftop dome. Simply press the A/B switch and go.

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JMH · 07-08-2016, 05:17 PM

Newmarpusher, yes I ordered the sat connections and my box looks just like the picture.

Thanks for all the advice folks. I think the issue with the wineguard is unique to the G2+. The voltage is getting through ok but something else must not be.

Wineguard makes another antenna I might try and I think I'll try the King. Will report my findings back.

Mark and Louene Hetrick
Newbee the last VTDP 3725

wagonmaster2 · 07-09-2016, 09:27 PM

I have the same hook-up for outside Directv antenna and use a Winegard Carryout Dome without any problems when under trees. I found out I had to run to cables from the Dome to the little white box in the outside compartment in order to receive channels to front and bedroom TVs.

JMH · 07-09-2016, 09:35 PM

Wagonmaster, do you have a separate power cable to plug into you dome? The older G2 (not the G2+) worked that way. If not would be interesting to know how you are cabled.

Mark and Louene Hetrick
Newbee the last VTDP 3725

newmarpusher · 07-10-2016, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMH

Newmarpusher, yes I ordered the sat connections and my box looks just like the picture.

Thanks for all the advice folks. I think the issue with the wineguard is unique to the G2+. The voltage is getting through ok but something else must not be.

Wineguard makes another antenna I might try and I think I'll try the King. Will report my findings back.

Mark and Louene Hetrick

Newbee the last VTDP 3725

Weird. Those Newmar external Sat connections are just straight runs of Coax, no splitters etc. The 50' external cable that came with my external dish is longer than the path of the interior coax Newmar runs. I can't see how you could get a voltage or signal drop over that short a run.

A couple of suggestions.

1) On my coach, Sat 2 goes to the front, Sat 1 to the bedroom. The opposite of what I expected. Have you tried both?

2) The A/B switch in the front. Do you have it in the correct position? Have you tried taking it completely out of the path?

3) Your Sat receiver. On my DISH receiver, I have to reboot the receiver and manually go through a "Check Switch" procedure for the receiver to recognize the change in Sat dish. Perhaps DirectTV has s similar procedure?

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JMH · 07-10-2016, 05:30 PM

Thanks Newmarpusher. I did try the dish in both the front and bedrooms. I verified I had the correct connection because the correct one has 12VDC that the power injector puts on the line. I took the AB switch off and ran directly to the receiver. Instructions for the dish have you power it up and wait until it quits moving before turning the receiver on. For some reason the dish antennas don't seem to have the same problem. I am going to try a manual dish to make sure it is just in the auto dish (G2+) circuits that are at issue.

newmarpusher · 07-10-2016, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMH

Thanks Newmarpusher. I did try the dish in both the front and bedrooms. I verified I had the correct connection because the correct one has 12VDC that the power injector puts on the line. I took the AB switch off and ran directly to the receiver. Instructions for the dish have you power it up and wait until it quits moving before turning the receiver on. For some reason the dish antennas don't seem to have the same problem. I am going to try a manual dish to make sure it is just in the auto dish (G2+) circuits that are at issue.

Let us know what you find. That's a puzzler.

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