KVH R4 Reprogram For DirectTV

[William Willard]

I have a KVH R4 Dome satellite antenna that is programed for Dish satellites 110 & 119 -- Have had trouble with this setup since I`ve owned it (3 years) -- My contract is up with Dish, & thinking about going with DirectTV, since they use only one satellite -- I will not have HD -- My question is, do I have to have the antenna reprogramed for Direct`s satellite? Bill Willard

[hardy1000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by William Willard I have a KVH R4 Dome satellite antenna that is programed for Dish satellites 110 & 119 -- Have had trouble with this setup since I`ve owned it (3 years) -- My contract is up with Dish, & thinking about going with DirectTV, since they use only one satellite -- I will not have HD -- My question is, do I have to have the antenna reprogramed for Direct`s satellite? Bill Willard

Bill, the answer is yes. I had Dish and had alot of problems and changed to Direct and no more problems. I did do mine myself with the help of the dealer tech over the phone. You will have to purchase the cord from Radio Shack and use your lap top. I would recomend letting the dealer do it.

[Alan_Hepburn]

If you bought the KVH new, you should have the Owners Manual. It should have also come with the required serial cable. You will need the manual, the cable, and a laptop computer that has hyperTerminal (or equivalent) installed. The manual explains how to reprogram and it's a simple task - it involves typing about 3 commands into the hyperTerminal application, which get sent to the KVH dome.

[Abnmarine]

I just bought my coach and it has a KVH dome dish. I don't have a manual either. I connected my Direct TV receiver but need assistance in setting up the dish.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Which KVH model do you have? And are you subscribed to Dish or Direct? Your dome will have been programmed for one or the other and only needs to be changed if you subscribe to a different service than the previous owner.

[Abnmarine]

Gary,
I just climbed up on the roof in the rain and all it says is R5, KVH. I have service with Direct TV. Now when I look on KVH's website they show this model for Europe which is odd since the coach has been in the US.

Mobile Internet Satellite, TracVision Mobile Satellite, TracNet RV Satellite Systems

[Gary RVRoamer]

I have an R4SL I installed in May 2008 and you may have an R5SL. The SL just means it is a low profile dome. As i recall, a year or two back the R5 wa sold in the US too, so the Europe only thing is probably a change for the current production. It's probably just the software inside anyway.

I don't know how to tell if it is set up for Dish or Direct, though. Maybe a call to KVH tech support will tell you how.

Basically, if it is set up for Direct it will automatically search for satellite 101 when you turn it on. If your receiver is hooked upp and the subscription card activated, you should see it download the programming and start receiving a picture.

Did you take the receiver out of your house? If so, it may be expecting a different kind of dish? You may have the 3 or 5 LNB model dish on your house and I'm not sure what that means in terms of configuration. I'll let someone more expert in moving a receiver from house to RV answer that one.

[Abnmarine]

Gary, the dome is tall so it's not the low profile model. I moved one receiver from my house that is already activated. I spoke to Direct TV and they recommended me to set the antenna on the 18" round (01) setting. When I search for the transponders, it doesn't pick up anything. I'm thinking it must of been programmed from Dish Network. KVH's customer service isn't open on Sunday's so I will contact them tomorrow. I'm hoping that I'll be able to reprogram it myself since we are leaving this week for a vacation to Florida.

When I do turn the switch on, I hear the antenna moving for about 10 seconds and then the wired remote continues to flash green between SAT A and SAT B. This never stops regardless how long it is on.

[Abnmarine]

I got mine working. I contacted KVH and they sent me the instructions. From what they said, the antenna is already programmed for both Dish and Direct TV. I have Direct TV. Here is what was needed to be done.

Turn the Direct TV box on and then the KVH system. Use the KVH wired remote and press and hold the select button for 5 to 9 seconds and then release it. The antenna will begin find the 101 satilite. It takes a couple of minutes to lock onto it. Once this is done, I went into the Direct TV setup and selected 01 18" round antenna then tested the signal. I picked up all but one of the 32 transposders. I then went back to the main setup menu and selected continue with the current settings. After about 30 seconds, it downloaded the guide menu from Direct TV and the channels appeared.

For Dish Network you do these same steps except for holding the select button for 10 to 14 seconds. The green lights will begin to flash slowly.

This just saved me the $220 that the local RV shop wanted to program the antenna. It only took me 5 minutes to do once I learned the steps. Besides saving the money, I prefer to fix things myself.

[William Willard]

I had an authorized KVH mobil tech, who`s worked on this dish before, come out & do the reprograming -- He has the KVH Wizard Download in his laptop that is needed to do the updates, & reprograming -- The dish is powered by the coach 12v system, & he found that the dish didn`t have a good ground, so he installed a 110/12v adapter (at a much higher cost, of course) Anyway, I now have satellite 101 -- See how this goes, & if it gives me more problems, I`ll get a portable dish -- Spent all the money that I`m going to on the dome --

[Abnmarine]

I hear you on the issues. I'm excited to get mine working especially since we left today for our vacation. Well sort of left. My wife is currently taking her mid term exams so we are relaxing in the parking lot watching TV.