Wiring for a remote dish?

[Jack1234]

The coax cable for our TV 's currently runs internally through the coach and exits from a hole above the driver on the roof.....from here the three coax cables plus power runs to our Weingard Traveller HD Dish. This system works great until we are blocked by trees. As a result, I would like the option of switching to a second remote/movable ground tripod mounted Dish.

The problem is "how" to wire the second Dish into the existing system.....

1) Simple option #1 - Run the remote coax cable from the second Dish through the window(s) straight to the Receivers....unhook the Weingard roof routed cables & "Bob's your Uncle".

2) Simple option #2 - Run the remote/second Dish coax cable from the second Dish to the roof....climb onto the roof and undo the Weingard connections and tie-in the remote Dish Cables

Both option are pretty simple and straight forward......they simple unhook one dish & replace it with the second dish. In the first option the "unhooking & hooking" occurs at the Receivers. In the second option the "unhooking & hooking" occurs on the roof at the base of the Weingard....... but neither is very neat or sophisticated & require constant hooking & unhooking of coax cables.

My new plan is to install new TV connector plates in the back corner of the Coach above where the existing Phone & TV connector plate is located....then run coax ( for the remote Dish) internally inside the back "cap" and exist through a hole to the roof. Once on the roof run the three coax cables through conduit to the Weingard Dish..... So the question is......rather than having to "manually" undue the coax leading from the Weingard to the Receivers and splicing-in the remote Dish cables.....can I set-up a passive "bypass" system.....For example would it be possible to run a short 6" pigtail coax from the Weingard to the "out" nipple of a splitter.....the remote coax into the second "out" nipple of the splitter and attached the existing coax which leads into the Coach to the " in" nipple of the splitter......When I want to use the ground second Dish I would simply run coax from the ground based Dish to the connectors now mounted in the back corner of the Coach.

Would this work? Or will I have reversed the polarity of the splitter? Or will the splitter degrade the signal tooooo much? Or is there a better way to create a two system "passive" hook-up on the roof?

Can anyone follow this?

[rgvtexan]

The LNBs require a DC voltage to work, a splitter will not pass DC. A switch box in the rec. cab will.

[Patrol 65]

Jack, I use option #1 when camping with a dish antenna on a tripod. You should only have to run one cable from the tripod dish to the receiver's input inside of the coach. The tripod dish won't need a power cable. The signal is then routed through my video distribution box for the 2nd tv. It may not be the neatest setup because of the exposed wire but it is only a temporary hook up when needed.

[darbyjudy]

I use an A B switch on my Sat system. It works great.. I just labeled it roof top and portable.

[Rick Long]

I use the external antenna hook up in the utilities bay and my switch box to change from one to the other.

[John Hilley]

I use a diplexer (a splitter that passes DC voltage on one connection) at each end of the "Cable TV" coax with an A/B switch at the receiver.

[Clay L]

This is how I did it using the Winegard SK3005 and an external dish. It references a Winnebago installation but the wiring would be basically the same.

I couldn't get my Direct TV H24 HD receiver to work with a diplexer. Maybe because I didn't try it with the diplexer between the B Band Converter and the H24 receiver. It may have interfered with the 22KHz switching signal from the BBC.
Some receivers like the H25 have a built in BBC and I suspect they won't work with a diplexer.

[TechWriter]

Originally Posted by darbyjudy

I use an A B switch on my Sat system. It works great.. I just labeled it roof top and portable.

Yep. The simplest way.

Originally Posted by rgvtexan

The LNBs require a DC voltage to work, a splitter will not pass DC. A switch box in the rec. cab will.

LNBs are powered by the receiver. You don't need a splitter, diplexer, triplexer, or cold fusion -- just a "passive" A/B switch.

Originally Posted by Patrol 65

You should only have to run one cable from the tripod dish to the receiver's input inside of the coach.

In most cases, yes, but with a Hopper you'll have to run dual coax.

Originally Posted by John Hilley

I use a diplexer (a splitter that passes DC voltage on one connection) at each end of the "Cable TV" coax with an A/B switch at the receiver.

A diplexer is intended to combine a dish LNB signal with an OTA antenna. If you're not combining these signals, then you could skip the diplexer and connect directly to your A/B switch.

Originally Posted by Clay L

This is how I did it using the Winegard SK3005 and an external dish. It references a Winnebago installation but the wiring would be basically the same . . .

Clay, the OP has a Dish system which is wired much differently than DirecTV's.

[Jack1234]

Hey Guys.....many thanks for all your replies. Hopefully the attached photos will send so you can see my current roof top connections for my Weingard. Pretty simple really....two coax cables run down the roof ....enter the Coach and connect directly to my Shaw PVR Receiver.....gives me HD reception and PVR recording on two separate channels.....the third coax cable runs into the Coach and to the rear TV HD Receiver.

Actually pretty simple (in nice weather) to climb onto the roof....unhook the coax running into the Weingard and splice in three coax from the the remote ground dish to these existing "master" cables running into the Coach.. The problem is weather and the unruly nature of struggling with three coax cables!!!

All I need is the proper set-up to run three short coax from the Weingard to the "master" cable(s) running into the Coach and something which will allow three coax from the ground dish to also hook-up to the " master" cables. Why not three splitters? The first "short 6"coax from the Weingard into 1 "out" nipple of a splitter......the coax from the first ground dish cable to the 2nd out nipple of the splitter ....and the "in" nipple from the splitter to the "master" cable running into the Coach & the Receiver(s) ..... And so on for two more coax cables.

Question....would the splitters act as passive routers....when the Weingard is operating the signal would flow from the Weingard ....through the short coax to the splitter .....to.the master cable ......while the ground dish connection would be inactive or dead? When the ground dish is "live" the Weingard would be the inactive or dead connection. If splitters won't work what would? If there is no such thing as a passive system which would work...I am ok with a manual switch system on the roof.....no big deal to climb up the ladder and flip a switch....at least all the cables could be pre-attached and running through conduit to a rear cable connection plate (no more struggling with 3bundles of over 100' of coax cable onto the roof!!

Could this work?

[TechWriter]

Originally Posted by Jack1234

...my Shaw PVR Receiver.....

Thought all those references to "Dish" meant you actually had a Dish Network system. Guess not.

Try these guys: Canadian Satellite Services

[Jack1234]

I am beginning to feel like my dog chewing on a bone and certainly at risk of flogging this issue to death....but I am interested to see if there is a simple solution to my problem. Anyway, I had a Satellite "specialist" visit my site & had him look at the set-up challenge.....pretty much came to the conclusion that running the remote dish cables through the windows would be the best solution.

Regardless, before I give-up and accept this as my fate when using our remote dish, let me take one more "kick-at--the-can" so to speak! My challenge is to reduce 6 coax cables (3 from the fixed dish & 3 from the remote dish) to 3cables which run to my Shaw TV Receiver(s) inside my Coach. The simple solution, if it would work would be 3 splitters.....in reverse?!





Does anyone know if it is possible to reverse connect (1) a coax from the fixed dish to the "output" nipple of the splitter, (2) a coax from the remote dish to the second "output" nipple & (3) connect the into the Coach/Receiver coax to the "input" nipple of the splitter? Will the signal run cleanly in this reverse direction? Normally you would run the coax from the dish to the "input" nipple....split the signal and run coax from the " output" nipples to 2TV's.

I don't actually want to split the signal....I simple want to create two pathways for Two signals ( from the fixed & the remote dishs )into One path into the Receiver Box.

Anyone ever tried this?

[John Hilley]

A splitter can work backwards. When used backwards it is called a combiner. You have to make sure that it will work at the frequency you need and it will always reduce the signal. You can amplify the signal before the "combiner" with an in-line amplifier. Depending on the type of satellite dish, you may also need devices that pass a DC voltage.

[rgvtexan]

No. read post #2. If used as a splitter or combiner it will not pass the DC required by the LNB.
Sorry!

[Jack1234]

Originally Posted by rgvtexan

No. read post #2. If used as a splitter or combiner it will not pass the DC required by the LNB.
Sorry!

If you take a close look at the splitter I attached in my last post, you will see that it clearly indicates that it "will" pass a current? Am I missing something?

Cheers