To All Future Essex Buyers

[Lug_Nut]

High definition ready option, for the KVH sat in Essex that used to be over $4300 is now standard. Be aware that your current sat. receiver, if you order the new KVH, will not connect up as full composite (3 video cables) are required. In other words, your 3 jack yellow, red and white RCA will not do the job.

It surprised me, so I thought I'd better warn you.

[Lug_Nut]

High definition ready option, for the KVH sat in Essex that used to be over $4300 is now standard. Be aware that your current sat. receiver, if you order the new KVH, will not connect up as full composite (3 video cables) are required. In other words, your 3 jack yellow, red and white RCA will not do the job.

It surprised me, so I thought I'd better warn you.

[Jetsmania]

Lug Nut, Hi! Congrats on the new coach. To solve that problem, if you order new, have Newmar run 1 set RGB cable (video) and 1 set of RCA's (audio) to each TV that you may want HD on (make sure TV is HD ready)and have them end where you install your dish receivers. We had Newmar make 3 runs for us and they charged us under $200. for it. If your TV and Sat are up front, that one you can do yourself. We had a few moments, when we were at the factory with the rep, trying to explain that what was the sense of giving HD TV's fed by coax cable..He agreed and said they were working on it. Paul

[rebelsbeach]

Hope they get the picture....that's one thing I find fault in both Winnebago and Newmar is their continued dependance on RG-59 for carrying the load...

Sounds like Newmar may finally be moving forward with it.

Winnebago still uses the tv/sat junction box that's RG-59 fed....

[ronboc]

"Hope they get the picture".... "Hope they get the picture" ....

Heh-eh-heh. Glad to see your sense of humor is still intact through all your recent frustrations, Bob.

["007"]

Thats one reason they should be looking at this forum would make life easier for everyone MFG & RVer.

[dlhaynes]

What piece of work designs these things any way? I guess the Amish think HD stands for Hot Dumplings.

I purchased a DirecTV Plus receiver the other day and it will not work with the KVH dish I have. It will not find the satellite. I had to acquire the sat with another receiver before the unit would function. I was on the phone to KVH and DirecTV about the issue and never could get it resolved. I had to return the receiver. I'm having to look at a DVD recorder with HDD now to do what I want to do. I figured the the latest and greatest would be installed on the coach (I did not order it...if I had have, things would have been different).

It's no big loss. I just gotta find room in the component cabinet for a DVD Recorder. My Zenith HD Sat receiver swallows one shelf with no space to insert a recorder. No hill for a climber.

Anyway, the installers of high tech audio/video equipment are not working at RV manufacturers...that's for sure. Look at the evidence in this thread alone.

It's not only Essex but several other manufacturers as well. They are just too busy "sticking" stuff here and there to pay any attention to detail like running the proper component cables/optic cables to the proper locations within the coach.

Oh well, there's nothing good on the telly anyway. Oops, it is college football season. Go Tennessee!!!

[Lug_Nut]

Well I found another potential issue in the set up. With the 4502 floorplan the receiver is inside the cabinette beneath the main TV if it is an all electric coach, which mine is. It is over the frig in the propane equipped types.

Well if you wanted to turn on the sat dish, say for CD sat music or TV in a rest stop where you can not put out a slide, you are able to access the sat box. So..... to fix this I am going to install a switch accessible with the slide in, that powers up the sat antenna.

Also most receivers now, even the expensive HD's do not come with UHF remotes, only IR. But thanks to Newmar's forward thinking designers, there is already a spare repeater type eye that plugs onto the receiver and makes it remote at any of the four TV's. Hooray for Newmar on that one.

[rebelsbeach]

Peter, I LOVE my little black source remote....I also like having the A/V components over the NOW WORKING refrigerator....

[Jetsmania]

Hi! You can purchase a Direct Tv HD DVR with UHF Remote. Paul

[rebelsbeach]

King Dome also has a kit for HD on their site, but I am not sure what KVH does...

[Lug_Nut]

Thanks guys, I already bought a new HD. I had one in my great room but it is huge with dual hard drives and would not fit the cabinette. Anyway this one is low profile and will fit perfectly.

[Richard&Jacki]

I have been reading this post with much interest. Our 2007 Essex 4508 is all electric and all our AV components are above the fridge.

We were surprised by the HD wiring when we received the coach - we didn't order it. But, no problem, we went and bought a DirecTV HD receiver with Tivo and delivered to the dealership. (I will say right now before I rant and rave that the dealership has been great to work with - now if we could only get someone at Newmar or KVH to care.) After a couple of days of trying to install this receiver the dealer was told that the Tivo unit couldn't be the "master" and we needed a regular HD DirecTV receiver also. No problem, one was purchased.

While they were talking in circles to Newmar and KVH I went out on the KVH website to see what they were promising with the new improved KVH TracVision R6. I was so excited - answered the questions in their configuration wizard and out popped a diagram of what we wanted to do - 2 HD receivers, one with TIVO. I quickly emailed it to the dealership. During all this KVH & Newmar was saying they didn't think that anyone had done or ever wanted to do what we wanted. I thought it was very far sighted of KVH to have a diagram for something that no one had done or would ever want to do. Even with the diagram everyone seemed confused (no more than I was.) I suggested they get the person who drew the diagram involved. They didn't think that was funny which is fine because I was serious. About this time we were told we needed a destacker. No problem, the destacker was ordered from KVH for overnight shipment, but they didn't get it out in time so we don't mind waiting until Monday do we? No problem, we are sure this is the answer.

Lots more in my diary of this saga but I won't bore you with it all. So after all the days in the shop - 2 different times - they have it fixed!! We are soooo excited. We leave the next day for a Life on WHeels seminar and have a great site with no trees to waylay our signal. We turn on the master receiver and it works! We go to the TIVO receiver and - what! no satellite signal - this can't be - this is why it was in the last time. So it is now back at it's home - the dealership. I think it made friends there and doesn't want to leave them and, obviously, hates us.

I will let you know more as this continues. If anyone has any ideas or, more to point, has a HD DirecTV TIVO working with a KVH Tracvision R6, we would love to hear from you. We pick up the coach today to take to the Oklahoma Sooners football game this weekend but we have promised it we will take it "home" to the dealership after the game.

Gotta go - Richard is going to wonder why I am not getting his treats together for tailgating.

Jacki

[rebelsbeach]

Jacki, after returning from Nappanee and having a bad experience there trying to get some service done to my friends coach, I may not be in the best frame of mind to answer your question positively.

I WILL SAY I had better success dealing with service at the DEALER level than at their own factory,an issue I have addressed to Newmar just a minute ago in an email....I've received a response they are looking into the issues I addressed...

KEEP up with the dealer and STAY ON TOP of this with getting your dealer to call Newmar...If you don't get an acceptable response after a "reasonable" time frame, use your Essex gold card and call the number ending in 9627...It's the Essex National service number...Tell Carl or Joe your issue with the KVH....