Sat Dome problems

[GlenB]

2005 Fleetwood Expedition 38N....got Direct TV SD rec and a tech to help hook up since I recently purchased this RV....Could not get the dome to quit moving from place to place....tech tried all kind of stuff and even called Trak Vision folks. Gave up so I am trying to think through another way to go. I am considering the winegard GM1518 Portable Carrryout. It appears while costly to be set up for Direct and would deal with the SD Rec I have in the RV. I read on the data that it does not work well if you try to hook it up to the CABLE connector in the Water Hook UP storage bin of my RV. So I guess you have to go out a window or door...it also needs 12v power which I guess the elect hook ups in the Water Hook up area are not 12v. Oh well could this product be a help to me. I am not sure I could ever get the hang of using the ones I have to sight in etc.....any input appreciated before I move to some action on this.......glen

[Izzyblueye]

The remote dish, (manual), is very simple to sight in. It is far more dependable than all these so called automatics. Should be able to set up in 5-10 minutes. IMHO

[gripper]

Glen....I went through the same problems you are having. With my Providence, I had trouble with my dome, in that it would not lock onto a sat. Kept saying "searching". I finally gave up and bought a Winguard portable (not the motorized one) for about $175. I was able to find the sat. with it. I also hooked the wiring to my cable hook-up, in my water/utilities bay. I attached a splitter, and was able to switch from cable to the sat. wire, without running thru a window. I know some people say that you can't connect the sat. wire to the cable inlet, in the utilities bay, but I had no problems with it. Although it is somewhat a pain, to remember to switch back & forth, from cable to sat TV.

[GaryKD]

Hi GlenB,
Can you provide a bit more detail on statement "Could not get the dome to quit moving from place to place". If the dome locked in on the Sat and you get TV, consider turning the dome off. When I got my dome it provided an uncanny amount of "grring" noise. It worked as advertised. Found and locked onto the Sat. got Direct TV with no problem. The dish would just be fine tuning itself to death. So I wait until it gets the Sat and then turn the dome off. It works great for going on 7 years.

[GlenB]

To Gripper tks for the help...Where did you place that splitter you use?? tks glen

To GaryKD...tks for the help...We never got a TV picture.... the Direct TV screen that has the waiting for a signal strength line on it. We never got a signal to measure. I wish it would have worked.....tks glen

[texnet]

What model KVH Tracvision dome do you have?

[gripper]

(Quote) To Gripper tks for the help...Where did you place that splitter you use?? tks glen


Hi Glen,

Above the driver's seat, over the dash, is a cabinet, adjacent to the TV. In there, all the wiring, for the TV/Entertainment Ctr, etc. comes together. I have a box where all the wires connect and where I can select which antenna, cable, etc. In that cabinet is where I placed the splitter. Gripper

[GaryKD]

Hi GlenB,
If the dome is not locking onto the SAT, it needs to be reprogrammed, simple as that. Get a tech that is trained in the KVH. Call the company for an approved tech near where you are. Techs are not all created equal. If it will not reprogram correctly, it's broke and the tech should be able to tell you what the cost is to fix it. In all the rallies I've attended I've never been asked to help with a problem with a KVH system. All the other brands, yes, but not KVH. Consider trying again and then look forward to years of trouble free SAT TV.

[mikelm48]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaryKD Hi GlenB, If the dome is not locking onto the SAT, it needs to be reprogrammed, simple as that. Get a tech that is trained in the KVH. Call the company for an approved tech near where you are. Techs are not all created equal. If it will not reprogram correctly, it's broke and the tech should be able to tell you what the cost is to fix it. In all the rallies I've attended I've never been asked to help with a problem with a KVH system. All the other brands, yes, but not KVH. Consider trying again and then look forward to years of trouble free SAT TV.

I just had my KVH R5 reprogrammed for Dish. All is working fine now, although it still seems to move alot. Sometimes at night I end up turning it off. It took about 1.5 hours to do the reprogramming and updating all of the software.

[Road Pilot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikelm48 I just had my KVH R5 reprogrammed for Dish. All is working fine now, although it still seems to move alot. Sometimes at night I end up turning it off. It took about 1.5 hours to do the reprogramming and updating all of the software.

I understand the correct procedure is to put it in idle/hold after it locks on so the motor doesn't wear out from all the movement. I do that and it works great.

[richardcoxid]

I don’t know if this is your problem or not.
ALL LNBs on all sat dishes are powered through the coax cable between the receiver and the dish. That is to say if your outfit is using the “cable” input to the RV and if there is a “splitter” between the input and the sat receiver the LNB will not be getting any power. The 12VDC is for aiming the dish only.
This is easy to check out- connect a spare length of coax DIRECTLY from the dome to the receiver, you can do this in your driveway if there is direct line of sight to the S/W. Run the coax through a window/door. If you can disconnect the coax at the dome you can also check the voltage at the coax, I can’t remember what the voltage is. But if there is no voltage the dish won’t work. If this works problem solved!
In researching my eventual purchase of a “carryout” dish I went to the Direct TV warehouse/shop and talked to the installers/manager. Direct TV and, I assume also Dish won’t install/trouble shoot dishes on RVs, you are on your own. However they ARE a wealth of good information.

[dsbike]

I have a KVH. It will do the same as you described unless I follow this procedure.
Turn on reciever & pull up the menu screen
select setup, then aligning dish where you can put in your zipcode. It won't find a signal if it doesn't have the correct zipcode
turn on the dish to search, wait 1 minute & turn it off, yes it may be moving when you turn it off. still turn it off.
remove the power (pull the plug) to the reciever & remove the card. wait about 2-3 minutes to turn every thing back on & install the card.
go to ch 200 & see if you have reception if not do it all again.
sometimes it takes 1 try sometimes it takes 10.
Remember you will not get local channels if you are apprx 150 miles from your home listed zipcode with out an rv plan.
Good Luck
One more thing, I was receiving Direct tv with an old receiver, then sometime last year the old receiver would no longer work, installed a newer model receiver & all is well. Satilite 19 is the one you want to have your receiver tuned to if you can choose. My old receiver I could choose the new one searches for the best one to lock on to.

[texnet]

dsbike.. while your procedure may work for you I find a couple of things that don't add up. The zip code box, as far as I know, does nothing other than tell you where to manually point a dish. It does not help the KVH find the sat. Also, when you refer to satellite 19 ... that is actually Transponder 19 on Satellite 101.. it is not a separate satellite.

I believe what is actually happening with your procedure is the KVH is finding the correct satellite as each time you power down everything the KVH will look through the satellite database that it has and will advance to the next satellite. Eventually it finds the correct one.

The actually KVH instructions for a non-DVB or non-GPS dome is to power up, then push the satellite search button until it finds a satellite. If you don't receive a station then push the search button again. Each time you push the search button and wait for the lock light be steady you are telling the KVH to go to the next satellite in its database.

[dsbike]

Texnet, I agree with you, transponder not sat. Zip code, believe it or not if I don't input the zip code on my newer receiver it will not pick up. The RV is in FL & I am in NC so I don't know the model # for my particular receiver, But I know my older receiver did not care & I could manually set the transponder & sat 101. Please forgive me for my mistakes on calling the transponder a SAT, I had been at work for the past 37 hrs with only 4 hrs sleep in between, may not have been thinking that clearly. This procedure was from the help desk from the dish manufacturer. I could not get any reception & I called the help # listed in my manual & got a very knowledgeable tech who walked me through this procedure & I wrote it down & it has worked ever since.
" Each time you push the search button and wait for the lock light be steady you are telling the KVH to go to the next satellite in its database." This makes a lot of sense & would explain why it takes several tries sometimes to get it correct. The tech didn't tell me why or I forgot if he did.
Just trying to help the OP with what works for me. Maybe it will work for him before he spends more $$ on a portable dish.