In Motion Satellite

[cristelectri]

I have a 2008 Dutchstar & we haven't had it but for around 6 months & I can not figure out the in motion satellite. The previous owner had installed a motorized dish on the top of the coach & it had been working great. I would pull in to my lot wherever I was & push the power on button on some box that was mounted above my direct TV receiver on the drivers side, & go out do all my connections come back in & both of the TV's were working great, but now when I do that I come back into the coach & the power box display is flashing "PK MOTOR STALLED"? The funny thing about that is that sometimes when it says that it has connected to the satellite & my direct TV in front & back work great, the only problem is when I'm ready to leave & I push the button to power off & stow the dish it will be up there turning for ever until when it stops "Still up in the air" I get that message flashing on the little box saying "PK MOTOR STALLED". So this continues for about an hour until it finally decides to stow? So that's why I need help understanding the in motion satellite.

I haven't had a need for it in the past, but I'm sure you can understand why I would want it to also work. I disconnected the (1) coax coming from the big satellite & going into my direct TV receiver & connected the coax that said in motion in its place. There are (2) coax cables coming out of my direct TV DVR in the front & I'm assuming the other coax runs back to the TV in the bedroom? I then go over to the in motion panel located behind the passenger seat & try cutting that on? It gives me some kind of message about verify lock or locking? I'm sure it shouldn't be this difficult? I'm planning on taking the coach in for service after the holidays, but are going on a trip this weekend to Florida & would like to watch my direct TV. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[TurtleKent]

Your dish needs service. One of the motors is binding, possibly an obstruction or mechanical failure. Call Winegard or your dealer to locate an authorized service tech.

[wa8yxm]

Second, if you know which is which and are comfortable it is possible lubrication will fix, but I would suggest calling the tech and sitting there and watching. I mean, if you do not know, find someone who does. That is how I do it when I have to.

[Fl_Richard]

Take the cover off have someone cause it to move - turn on -stow whatever. As you watch the dish you will see and most likely hear where the problem is coming from. On a marine unit it would be a slipping belt in Rv I can only assume...

Once you know what's failing the you can plan a repair path. 90% of failures are mechanical.

If you cant do any of that call or take for professional service.

[gemini5362]

Not a lot for user fix in the dome sattelites I don't imagine. I have looked at one but do not remember anything being easy to replace plus it has to have some kind of servo loop to position which means aligning might be a tad difficult.

When you replace the dish which I think you are going to wind up doing. Look at a winegard traveler not that much more money than a stationary dome and actually very little more than an inmotion. The degree of service in comparison is a lot better.

[cristelectri]

The big dish that is giving me the message "PK MOTOR STALLED" is the traveler unit. That's why I was hoping someone could explain how the other satellite system "IN Motion Satelite" works.

[pcurt23]

In motion domes are completely different. Here are the calibration instructions for the traveler.
1. Press [POWER] and hold for 2 seconds to turn “ON” the TRAV’LER Interface Box. Wait until the
Interface Box finishes “connecting to antenna”.
* The TRAV’LER may enter the “Search Routine” after 10 seconds this is normal (See NOTE Below).
2. Press [ENTER] and hold for 2 seconds or until the unit displays “Enter User Menu”. Press [SELECT] to move the asterisk to “Yes”. Press [ENTER].
3. Press [SELECT] to move the asterisk to INSTALLATION.
4. Press [ENTER]. You will be asked to provide a code to enter the Installation Menu.
5. Press [ENTER] 4 times to enter code 0000.
6. Press [SELECT] to move “ * ” to “Calibrate EL”.
7. Press [ENTER].
8. Press [SELECT] to move “ * ” to YES.
9. Press [ENTER] to start the elevation calibration procedure. The LCD should now display “ Calibrate EL In Progress ...”.
10. After a few moments the IDU LCD will display “On EL Hard Stop?-Yes *No”. Visually examine the antenna to verify that the antenna is against the Hard Stop. The antenna will be pointing as far up as it can go, this is the Hard Stop.
11. Press [SELECT] once to move asterisk to “Yes” if antenna is on the Hard Stop.
12. Press [ENTER] and the LCD will display “Calibrate EL Success”.
13. You may now stow the antenna.
7

[Winegard1]

Originally Posted by cristelectri

The big dish that is giving me the message "PK MOTOR STALLED" is the traveler unit. That's why I was hoping someone could explain how the other satellite system "IN Motion Satelite" works.

cristelectri,

The Trav'Ler does not have a "PK Motor Stall" but rather an "SK Motor Stall" which is something going wrong with the Skew motor. Contact our tech support team (800-788-4417) and they will instruct you on exactly how to handle this matter.

Our in-motion domes have two outputs that support two receivers. You will not get HD with the dome, but you can use up to two receivers. It will lock onto 101, 110, and 119 for all of your DirecTV SD programming. When you go into the menu to set it up for the dome, the settings will be different than the Trav'Ler.

Dish Type - 02:3LNB 18x20
Switch Type - 02:Multiswitch

You will also need to use a DirecTV receiver other than an H25, HR34, HR44, or C31. Good rule of thumb is if the model number has a number of 24 or lower, it can be used with the dome. Hope this helps!

[cristelectri]

You are exactly correct about it say "SK MOTOR STALLED". I believe the (2) receiver's that we have in the coach are DVR'S. Thanks for all the help!

[gemini5362]

Originally Posted by cristelectri

You are exactly correct about it say "SK MOTOR STALLED". I believe the (2) receiver's that we have in the coach are DVR'S. Thanks for all the help!

I suspect you will be severely disappointed if you go to the dome. I personally think they are a waste of money in comparison to the traveler. You will not be able to use your DVR capabilities very well with the dome. Getting it to record programming with the time is very hard close to impossible to do. The DVR in the back will only view programs that are on the same satellite the tv in the front is locked on to. If the front tv changes to a program on another satellite the back tv will lose the program it is watching or trying to record. The dome is a smaller dish and is much more susceptible to being blocked by tree limbs. The traveler can have that problem also but it seems to be able to find holes in the limbs to get enough signal through sometimes.

[gemini5362]

Originally Posted by Winegard1

cristelectri,

The Trav'Ler does not have a "PK Motor Stall" but rather an "SK Motor Stall" which is something going wrong with the Skew motor. Contact our tech support team (800-788-4417) and they will instruct you on exactly how to handle this matter.

Our in-motion domes have two outputs that support two receivers. You will not get HD with the dome, but you can use up to two receivers. It will lock onto 101, 110, and 119 for all of your DirecTV SD programming. When you go into the menu to set it up for the dome, the settings will be different than the Trav'Ler.

Dish Type - 02:3LNB 18x20
Switch Type - 02:Multiswitch

You will also need to use a DirecTV receiver other than an H25, HR34, HR44, or C31. Good rule of thumb is if the model number has a number of 24 or lower, it can be used with the dome. Hope this helps!

It will lock onto those three receivers but not at the same time. Every time you change to a station on another receiver it has to move to the correct satellite and it will disrupt the back receiver.

[TVforMyRV]

Originally Posted by gemini5362

It will lock onto those three receivers but not at the same time. Every time you change to a station on another receiver it has to move to the correct satellite and it will disrupt the back receiver.

Considering that nearly all the SD programming is on 101 it will rarely (if ever) change to another satellite. You will however lose all HD programming on a dome!

[gemini5362]

Originally Posted by TVforMyRV

Considering that nearly all the SD programming is on 101 it will rarely (if ever) change to another satellite. You will however lose all HD programming on a dome!

it has been a couple of years since I had directv but I still seem to recall it switching sattelites as I switched channels fairly often. Do you have a list of which directv channels are on which sattelites ?

[TVforMyRV]

Originally Posted by gemini5362

it has been a couple of years since I had directv but I still seem to recall it switching sattelites as I switched channels fairly often. Do you have a list of which directv channels are on which sattelites ?

A transponder map can be found here
Click on the TPN_Map_Domestic_141210.xlsx link.

Of the over 800 transponders listed.

1 is on Sat 110 - it is a test channel
The hundred or so channels on Sat 119 are Spanish / Latin / other foreign language channels and a couple "test" channels.

So, unless you subscribe to the Latin America packages, I don't think you'll need 110 or 119.