Please Help - 2014 Dutch Star AV Wiring Issue!!

[tommy1170]

Hello Newmar Community.

I am REALLY hoping someone can help me out here. I have a 2014 Newmar Dutch Star 4369 which I LOVE :-). I am in DESPERATE need of some wiring diagrams/info for the AV system on this bus. Specifically, the HDTV OTA antenna on the top of the bus (Winegard Sensar), and the Winegard DirecTV Satelite TV dish, also on the top of the bus.

Background/Context:

I pulled out the factory Sony AV Receiver in the front of the bus (over the driver's seat) and replaced it with a new Pioneer AVR with multiple zones and HDMI switching. I have all the AV inputs going into the Pioneer and the HDMI Output from the Pioneer feeds (3) TVs - the Front TV between the driver and passenger seats, the "Televator TV" behind the couch, and the Exterior Entertainment TV on the outside of the bus. Everything works like a charm and I can control the entire setup via bluetooth, wireless. If someone can show me how to post pictures, I will upload a few so you can see the setup. Works great.....

Problem Statement/Issue:

So everything works great, however, I am having one - for me - MAJOR - issue. I want to be able to get the bedroom TV on the same system. My AVR has a second zone HDMI output so I would like to connect the bedroom TV to the AVR system on one of the unused HDMI inputs on the TV. That way, I can either watch the same exact programming as the rest of the bus (i.e., all 4 TVs showing the same content from the AVR) or be able to have the kids watch AppleTV on the front TVs while we watch DirecTV on the bedroom TV. To accomplish this, I need to find an RG6 cable I can "repurpose" to connect the rear TV to the front AV system. I will use HDMI to RG6 converter/baluns on each end of the repurposed RG6 cable to send the HDMI signals from the front to the back of the bus. This is necessary as the Dutch Star has a full wall slide and I cannot see anyway to run a direct wire from the AV cabinet in the bedroom to the one in the front of the bus. So.... There are (2) RG6 wires coming into the bedroom TV that could be repurposed. The first is the HDTV antenna cable which is connected directly to the bedroom TV. The second is the satellite cable that comes from the dish on the roof. In either case, I have clear access to the termination point in the bedroom to install one end of the HDMI balun. The issue is, I cannot figure out where the other termination points are to those cables......

Specific Question:

Does anyone know where the termination points - or more accurately, the initial connection points are - from the HDTV OTA antenna OR Satellite Dish - on the roof. In both cases, there has to be an "initial connection" from the antenna and dish, to the "feed" RG6 cable, that is then split and sent to the TVs. In the case of the HDTV OTA antenna, there is a feed to each of the 4 TVs so they can pickup local direct programming. In the case of the DirecTV Dish, there appears to be 2 feeds - one to the front AV cabinet over the driver's seat, and one to the AV cabinet in the rear bedroom. If I could find the initial connection point from either one of these cables, I could "repurpose" it to carry the HDMI signals from the front AVR to the bedroom TV.

Complication:

In the case of the HDTV OTA antenna cable, it appears that there is a splitter mounted in the basement on the passenger side - the rearmost pass-through storage area (i.e., not the flip up one with the pegboard). What is interesting here is that it is a 4-way splitter and I clearly see the input jack, which I assume is from the HDTV OTA antenna, and only 3 outputs. Not sure which of the 4 TVs are being fed by the 3 outputs but I can figure that out easily enough. This would lead me to believe that there must be at least one more splitter - probably in the ceiling or behind the front TV? - that sends a feed to the the 4th TV. So the would be like this; HDTV OTA Antenna - Splitter - Feed 1 - One TV - Feed 2 to Splitter, then to 3 other TVs....

Question 2:

See question 1 :-). Does anyone know where the intial connection between the HDTV OTA antenna and the RG6 feed cable is? AND if not, does anyone know where the presumed "first" splitter is?

Question 3:

Does anyone know what wiring is behind the center TV in the front of the bus? I wanted to ask before I disasseble the wood box where the TV is mounted (i.e., in front of the windshield between the driver and passenger seats). It looks like the two wooden grills are simply siliconed on so I can cut through that with a razor knifed to remove them but wanted to see if anyone knew what was back there before I started cutting. Would hate to find nothing.....

Last and FINAL Question:

There is an RG6 coax input box located in the shore power AC input compartment on the drivers side of the bus. This is where you hookup to cable at a campgrond. There is also an RG6 coax output cable in the front of the bus on the wall near the floor just behind the passenger's seat. I will likely never use this to connect to campgrond cable as I have DirecTV already. So I could repurpose that cable perhaps. Does anyone know if that cable is a "home run" between the AC input compartment and the front of the bus.

Summary:

Apologies for the long post but I wanted to make sure the community had all the necesarry background/context to help. I was really hoping to find the terminal/input RG6 cables for the front of the bus in the front AV wiring cabinet. They are not there so I am wondering where they are. I am hoping maybe they are in the box behind the front TV. Once I find the terminal ends, it will be relatively easy to attach the RG6 to HDMI baluns to the end and run an HDMI cable to the front AVR. The issue is there is no easy way to run a direct wire front to back because of the full wall slide.

PLEASE HELP if you can and a very sincere THANK YOU to all that took the time to read and respond to this note. I really do appreciate it.

Tommy

[cowrv39]

Tommy,
Sometimes you need to cut your losses and use a wireless HDMI xmitter/rcvr. High end maybe $200 or less. I am anal too but I value my time and what little hair I left.

-Brian

["007"]

Welcome to the forum and irv2 Tommy.
If you go into QT's # 3 and scroll down to PDR Johns MOD SECTION, threads on the HDMI and video systems threads you may find your answer, I am sure John will pick up your post to give more detail if you need more help.
Below in my signature you will find links to many more for your coach.
If you follow the directions in this link you will find more info for your coach also.
Enjoy the forum and safe travels.

[jondrew55]

Have you contacted Newmar customer support and asked these questions? I had a similar issue and Fleetwood emailed me pdf drawings of my coach right away.

As one poster noted your only solution might be a wireless HDMI transmitter. I have one I've never used. Can't recall the exact brand but it was one of the highly rated ones people on the forums here had suggested. If you're interested PM me, I'll probably never use it (I was able to run my wire)

[Dutch Star Don]

I think I can help with one cable. The RG6 cable in the bedroom for sat, is terminated on the roof. When I removed the dome that came from the factory and installed the Winegard antenna, there were two RG6 cables, One ran to the bedroom and the other went to the front of the coach.

[PDR John]

I think you will find a wireless HDMI transmitter will solve your issue perfectly.

I installed one in our stick and brick and was very impressed with it.

[tommy1170]

Folks. First of all, THANK YOU again for even reading the post, let alone responding to it. A couple things - I have been through all of PDR John's writeups, and they are really great. Thanks for those. Been through a bunch of info on the Quick Tips links as well. What a great community we have here.

Quick Thoughts:

The wireless HDMI extender is a great idea and believe it or not, I have one installed - the Nyrius Aries. The issue with this particular unit - and it is SO frustrating - is that it transmits the AppleTV and Blu-Ray signals perfectly - but - for some strange reason which I have tried for weeks in vain to figure out, it will not transmit the DirecTV signal. So very simply I thought, I could either try a different unit or go with hard-wired route. I already spent $200 on teh Aries and I can no longer return it so I did not want to potentially be stuck with (2) extenders that would not work. So, I thought, why not just hard-wire it. In PDR John's writeup, there was an RG6 splitter in the AV cabinet so I thought, "perfect, I will just repurpose the cable that goes to the bedroom"! But of course, in the '14 Dutch Star, there is no cable splitter in the AV cabinet. In fact, I even opened up the grill on the back of the TV to see what was back there, and there is no splitter there either. The HDTV OTA RG6 wire runs from the front TV up into the ceiling. The one HUGE BONUS this effort netted me was that I was able to route the plug for the front TV to the surge protector power strip in the AV cabinet. Now the TV can be used while driving for passengers (I know this is not "legal" but my kids were begging for it so I gave in :-).

Next Steps:

After further reflection, I think I am going to try my hardest to use the RG6 cable that goes from the roof satellite dish ot the bedroom as the run I will "repurpose". I like the idea of still having the use of the HDTV OTA antenna while travelling - you never know what channels are out there and the digital HD channels are so clear ;-). And I am VERY unlikely to install a second non-HD receiver in the bedroom. Given the fact that my AVR has a second zone and the whole setup is controlled by my iPad, there is really no reason too. Plus, I think at some point in the not too distant future I will install a Winegard Travel'r so I can get true HD when we are parked.

So bottom line is its up to the roof I go tomorrow AM to figure out if I can connect to that wire and fish it down through the ceiling to the AVR cabinet. Wish me luck and I will keep you all posted. Thanks again! I cannot tell you how much I apprecaite the support.

[C.Martin]

I'm having difficulty understanding how you intend on repurposing the RG6 without loosing something. The SAT lines on the roof would probably have to be disconnected from the dish...and a jump connector added to join the front and back SAT feed. You would lose SAT feed to your receiver. Your Dish would be lost. The CATV cable usually goes to an OTA booster panel...along with the cable from the OTA antenna. If the booster is turned off...you get CATV feed to the outputs...if it is ON...you get OTA signal to the outputs. The output feed would have a splitter...routing the output to your tvs...and/or OTA input to your SAT receiver. I can't think of an easy way to repurpose that without the hassle of disconnecting and reconnecting a bunch of things each time you want to use the line between the front and back. An either-or situation. Again, something would be lost.

if you can figure out a way to fish the wire...I think they make a CAT5-HDMI converter as well. CAT5 cable is easy to terminate...so it might be the easiest to fish from the front and bedroom a/v cabinets.

Just a thought.

Wiring diagram from ComNet:

https://comnet2.newmarcorp.com/insta...12KGDBEXDP.pdf

[C.Martin]

Amazon.com: Portta PET30DP 10-Inch HDMI Extender over Cat5e or Cat6 Cables 1080p 30m: Electronics

This is a simple version...but they run up from here...depending on the resolution, 3d, etc....that you need.

CAT5 cable is inexpensive...you can fish it thru a small hole to the desired location and then crimp the RJ45 connector onto it...vs drilling bigger holes. Of course you can do the same with bare RG6 cable as well...

[tommy1170]

Originally Posted by C.Martin

Amazon.com: Portta PET30DP 10-Inch HDMI Extender over Cat5e or Cat6 Cables 1080p 30m: Electronics

This is a simple version...but they run up from here...depending on the resolution, 3d, etc....that you need.

CAT5 cable is inexpensive...you can fish it thru a small hole to the desired location and then crimp the RJ45 connector onto it...vs drilling bigger holes. Of course you can do the same with bare RG6 cable as well...

Thanks for the feedback and for the info in both posts. Really appreciate it. I would LOVE to run a new cable but I can't figure out how to do it as the drivers side on the '14 Dutch Star is a full-wall slide. I can easily fish the cable front to back through the ceiling - have easy access there - but I can't find any way to get it down from the ceiling into the bedroom AV cabinet. Best I can tell looks like the original wire from the sat to the bedroom goes throught the bedroom slide wall in some type of wiring harness. Can't find it from looking at the top or bottom of the side. Hunted around in the basement and could not find it either.

So I am back to squre 1. Might need to try a different HDMI extender unit. I am also strongly considering biting the big bullet and getting a Winegard Trav'ler in which case I will just disconnect the bedroom sat cable from my current roadtrip dish and connect it to the Trav'ler. That will give me HD when parked and I am hoping a new HDMI extender gets me SD satellite TV when travelling...

[LCDRAKAllen]

It's my understanding that the bedroom TV is a "his & her" arrangement, and the wiring is designed to have a separate "sat or cable" box so that the sets can show different programs simultaneously, perhaps this info will help make sense of the wiring?

[MoHoGo]

I am in the process of finalizing my DSDP 4369 order and AV wiring is something that I am trying to figure out so as a special I can have Newmar run the appropriate wiring through-out the coach.

I am just thinking that I will ask for HDMI, Cat 6 and RJ6 to be run from the front of the coach to the bedroom TV. I will not have a front tv, but will have the entertainment center outside. I basically want the TV in the living room of the coach and the TV in the bedroom to be able to view separate channels off the Sat dish and the OTA antenna. I am going to get the Traveler dish for Dish.

It seems to me that if I can spec the wiring correctly that I would be able to avoid the issues you are facing at the present time. I will be watching the responses with great interest.

Thanks for the well structured post as this is all new to me and for whatever reason is a bit hard to figure out as I don't have the coach yet for a frame of reference.

Regards,

Jim

[FlaRider]

Looking at the wiring layout that C.Martin attached, it is strange that Newmar used (or maybe still does) a component splitter for Satellite and a HDMI splitter for the Blu-Ray player. I would think it would be better to use a HDMI Matrix with IR repeater for their AV setup. Maybe they are using it now, just not sure what they are doing, but would like to know.

I wonder if it would be possible to upgrade older MH with a 4x4 HDMI matrix. Not sure if running wires is a doable thing. I'm shopping for a MH but haven't looked at the AV setup.

[newmarpusher]

Originally Posted by tommy1170

Thanks for the feedback and for the info in both posts. Really appreciate it. I would LOVE to run a new cable but I can't figure out how to do it as the drivers side on the '14 Dutch Star is a full-wall slide. I can easily fish the cable front to back through the ceiling - have easy access there - but I can't find any way to get it down from the ceiling into the bedroom AV cabinet. Best I can tell looks like the original wire from the sat to the bedroom goes throught the bedroom slide wall in some type of wiring harness. Can't find it from looking at the top or bottom of the side. Hunted around in the basement and could not find it either.

So I am back to squre 1. Might need to try a different HDMI extender unit. I am also strongly considering biting the big bullet and getting a Winegard Trav'ler in which case I will just disconnect the bedroom sat cable from my current roadtrip dish and connect it to the Trav'ler. That will give me HD when parked and I am hoping a new HDMI extender gets me SD satellite TV when travelling...

I am using this:

IOGEAR - GW3DHDKIT - Wireless HD Digital Kit

wireless HDMI transmitter to deliver my DISH receiver signal to the rear bedroom. It works like a champ. Picture quality is indistinguishable from the wired signal. It also has a built in IR blaster for controlling the DISH receiver from the bedroom.

Here is the wiring diagram for my system: