Sorry about the delay, here's the conversion process. The LNB/Reflector swap described below is valid for a Winegard Trav'ler DirecTV to DISH conversion regardless of brand of coach.
You will need the following items:
- Winegard RPSK21 - DISH Western Arc LNB assembly for Trav'ler aproximate cost $277
- Winegard RPSK11 - DISH reflector approximate cost $24
- DISH Solo Node if you are installing a Hopper/Joey
- Optional DISH Splitter and/or Tap
The
instructions provided with the RPSK11/21 kit are clear and detailed, just follow them and you will have no issues. The only discrepancy I found was the instructions say to remove 4 bolts from the reflector, on mine there were just two bolts, the other two are now tabs.
The photo below shows the DirecTV reflector and LNB removed. The new DISH LNB is at the bottom of the photo.
Removal of the DirectTV adapter plate requires a hex wrench:
The DirectTV LNB has just one coax...:
...and uses only one of the three available ports, DISH will use all three connections:
The DISH adapter plate:
And the DISH LNB installed:
The DISH reflector installed. The above steps are a 10 minute job not counting time to stop and read the instructions:
DirecTV parts removed and to be saved for possible future use:
From here on these instructions are Entegra Specific. This install was done on a 2017 Aspire. Note in the photo below the control cable and coax running into the roof "vent" which is used as a waterproof wiring chase.
The "cap" for the vent can be removed by carefully slicing thru the silicone and freeing the three "feet". A #2 square robertson bit will make it easier to remove the three screws. Note that the newer Entegra's use a much improved
NuFlex 311 Self Leveling Silicone sealant on all roof seams.
Here's what I found when the cap was removed. Those three coax are for the DISH install:
It took a bit of digging to get enough foam out to free up the three coax. To reseal the cap when done I used Great Stuff expanding foam inside the vent cap and black silicone to reseal the vent cap cover feet:
Note the colored tape marking the coax, Red, Green, Blue.
The single DirecTV coax already connected to the base as shown in the photo below will be removed and the three DISH cables attached to the three ports. It does not matter what color goes to what port but I followed the color schemes used in
THIS DIAGRAM just for consistency.
Before you get off the roof, double check the mount type on the base, you will need it to reprogram the controller. It should be LG 2112 Mount:
That's it your're done on the roof! Now follow the instructions to reprogram the controller for DISH. When I was done and had it search for satellites this is what my display showed:
Next head for the basement, you need to find the other end of those coax with the Red, Green & Blue tape. On my 2017 Aspire they are just inside the last cargo bay door forward of the wet bay on the passenger side, tucked up behind the slanted panel. Here they are after I pulled them out of hiding (top of photo below):
At this point it would be a good idea to permanently unplug the SWM power inserter (above photo right).
Next there are variations depending on what you have for receivers.
For standard receivers you are simply going to take the 3 coax from the roof (Red, Green, Blue) and patch them to thee coax runs for MAIN, BED and EXTERNAL (if you need external). These are the three coax on the 4 port side of the green SWM splitter shown in the above photo (my coax had labels but they are not visible in the photos). Note: if your coach never had the factory Trav'ler option you will not have the SWM splitter, power inserter and associated parts but I assume the coax prewire will be there regardless (at least after 2013, did not have prewire coax on my 2013 Aspire)
For a Hopper/Joey setup like mine you are going to take two of the RED/GREEN/BLUE coax and route them to the input side (bottom of photo) of a SOLO NODE like this (again which color coax you use doesn't matter):
The third coax from the Trav'ler on the roof should be terminated with an F-cap as shown.
The coax that goes to your Hopper should be connected to the HOST port of the SOLO Node - for example, on a 44B the Hopper fits fine in the living room so connect the MAIN coax to the HOST port. On a 42RBQ the Hopper will fit better in the bedroom so connect the BED coax to the HOST port.
If you have no Joey's terminate the CLIENT port with an F Cap and you're done.
If you have one Joey, connect it to the CLIENT port on the SOLO Node. Using the above example on a 44B the BED coax would go to the CLIENT port (Joey in the bedroom), on a 42RBQ the MAIN coax would go to the CLIENT port (Joey in the living room).
If you have 2 Joey's you will connect the input of a DISH approved splitter to the CLIENT port of the SOLO Node and feed the two Joey's from the output of the splitter.
Below is the final basement wiring setup on my coach for One Hopper and One Joey. The DirecTV equipment was left in place in the event I someday switch to DirecTV.
Simplified coax install: if you have a Hopper/Joey and don't want to mess with digging out the three DISH coax up on the roof. You could simply use the single coax already there for DirecTV and install the SOLO Node on the roof (it is fully weatherproof). Wire two new short coax from the base of the Trav'ler to the input of the SOLO Node, then connect the former DirecTV coax to the HOST port on the SOLO Node and F-cap terminate the CLIENT port. Glue it to the roof with some blobs of silicone. In the basement you will use a
DISH TAP to separate the outputs for the Hopper and Joey(s). See
this document to clarify how these parts work together.
Hope this helps with your DirecTV to DISH conversion project.
NOTE: THESE INSTRUCTIONS DO NOT APPLY TO A HOPPER 3 - IT REQUIRES A DIFFERENT LNB THAN THE ONE PROVIDED FOR THE WINEGARD TRAV'LER.
Rob
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