Monaco HDTV satellite upgrade to DISH

[GeoGrenander]

Greetings all --
I'm new to this forum and have a Monaco specific question. I'm currently in the process of upgrading my 2001 Dynasty to HDTV. I've modified the old cabinet above the driver's seat to host 27" Samsung LED unit and am about to swap out the dome for a Winegard Trav'ler set up for the DISH network.
The tricky part seems to be running the new control cable for the Trav'ler unit. The existing RG-59 cables might still be usable for the signals but the control cable will have to be run from the roof to the front audio cabinet. Any ideas what problems I will run into? It appears the cables come into the ft. cabinet from the right side of the TV cabinet and then onto the audio cabinet. Did Monaco secure these to a roof panel before the headliner went up? Does the headliner need to be removed or can I thread the new cable with a fishtape? I'd appreciate any tips before it snows up here in Minnesota! Thanks, in advance -
-George Grenander
2001 Monaco Dynasty (one of the few with a cold Notcold)

[SteveSkinner]

I have norcold that is rubbing perfectly
Been away 6 weeks now
Have it on 6
Not frosting up
It's still making ice and keeping the ice-cream
I have my fingers and toes crossed that it stats that way

[GeoGrenander]

Congrats on the Norcold. With all the criticism and recall notices flying about -- and without a correct engineering fix forthcoming from Norcold -- I guess some of us just have to be happy about the fridge we've got and worry about satellite TV, eh?

[texnet]

The wires should not be secured to a roof panel, but will be bundled and tied with other wiring via wire ties. Removing a roof (ceiling) panel would be very hard as it is under all the other cabinets! If I were doing it I would try a fiberglass fish tape to see if I could get it through to the right place and if I couldn't then I would seal the old hole and cut a new whole in the roof to feed the wiring.

[GeoGrenander]

Thanks, Ronnie -
I guess having the cables tied together with wire ties makes sense. Do you know if the cables pass through any holes in a roof support structure? That will make using a fish tape pretty difficult. Perhaps the best solution will be to ask Monaco Customer Support what the roof structure in the forward cab looks like. -Geo.

[Bill Adams]

While you will not be able to use any manufacturers wire chase to run new cables as they are all wire-tied and bundled, you can just drill a new hole for direct access where ever you find such to be available. With the Winegard Trav'ler, the controller can be located anywhere in the coach that's convenient and does not need to be co-located with the satellite receiver or any other related equipment.

[hardy1000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoGrenander Greetings all -- I'm new to this forum and have a Monaco specific question. I'm currently in the process of upgrading my 2001 Dynasty to HDTV. I've modified the old cabinet above the driver's seat to host 27" Samsung LED unit and am about to swap out the dome for a Winegard Trav'ler set up for the DISH network. The tricky part seems to be running the new control cable for the Trav'ler unit. The existing RG-59 cables might still be usable for the signals but the control cable will have to be run from the roof to the front audio cabinet. Any ideas what problems I will run into? It appears the cables come into the ft. cabinet from the right side of the TV cabinet and then onto the audio cabinet. Did Monaco secure these to a roof panel before the headliner went up? Does the headliner need to be removed or can I thread the new cable with a fishtape? I'd appreciate any tips before it snows up here in Minnesota! Thanks, in advance - -George Grenander 2001 Monaco Dynasty (one of the few with a cold Notcold)

I just installed an SK3005 Slimline and replaced the KVH dome. I used one of the existing RG6 cabels as a pull cable to pull the controll cable and 3 new cables, (2 for a DVR and one for the rear tv). You will need to pull an HDMI cable from the reciever to the TV and for that I used the existing RG6 cable from the tv to the reciever as the pull cable. My cabels were taped together in some places but not attached to the MH.

[GeoGrenander]

Thank you, Hardy1k
That was the support message I have been waiting for. I have removed the TV and TV cabinet to expose the front most portion of the head liner and can see what appears to be a plywood ceiling and the fiberglass shell above it. I haven't removed the dome yet but will do so and pull the three new cables and control cable using the old cables as a fishtape at the existing holes. The Trav'ler provides a nice cable cover which my current installation does not have. This install is complicated by the fact that the previous owner had removed the manual switching panel located above the door and had used IR controllers and frequency shifting devices (to service the bedroom TV via a single receiver) to manage a VCR, DVD, and Direct TV links. I am removing that complication and will install two Vt211k receivers. I appreciate the support and tips you guys have provided in this rework. Thanks again, -Geo.

[TGMarrs]

I just did this conversion. I used a winguard road trip mini max (in motion) dome - which was about the same price of what you are looking to install... The dome requires no control cable, just the RG cable that already exists. The small dome is fabulous - had 7 inches of snow last week and never lost a signal! The high definition 1080p looks as good in the RV as it did in my house with the big dish. When I change channels that requires the dome to switch satellites it does it so fast I can't even tell - no delay in bringing up the new channel.

I took the easy way on running my HDMI cable to the front TV, I routed the cable through the cabinets so it runs along the back wall inside the cabinets. Was easy to do with a 1 inch drill bit and wire holders. You can't see the cable unless you are looking for it.

The one problem I do have with my setup is that I use the Dish Network Vip722 receiver (dual tuner / dual room DVR). I only have one RG cable through the roof from the dome to my receiver, so I used a dish network splitter on the roof that puts the sat1 and sat2 outputs into the single cable, then inside at the receiver I have another one that splits the single cable back into separate sat1 and sat2 cables. Everything works great on input 1, but input 2 is very poor reception. So... Despite the dual mode DVR, I have to use it in single mode and watch the same thing on both TV sets. Anyone else have this issue?