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Old 04-03-2021, 11:35 AM   #1
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Removed What I thought was an access Plate????

So I climbed up on top of my 2020 DS 4081 and removed what I was hoping was an access plate for the Satellite Dish I am installing. All I found was an indacator mark under the plate. Any ideas what this might be for? Thinking I might drill a 1/4 hole and send my bore scope in to look around. The line runs from front to back.
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Old 04-03-2021, 12:04 PM   #2
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That looks like the access panel I have on our DS. There is a hole in the roof, on ours, that allows the satellite cable to be routed inside. I removed the satellite dome and tucked the cabling back inside the hole and covered and sealed it.
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Old 04-03-2021, 12:28 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by rvbiker45 View Post
That looks like the access panel I have on our DS. There is a hole in the roof, on ours, that allows the satellite cable to be routed inside. I removed the satellite dome and tucked the cabling back inside the hole and covered and sealed it.
Well that was what I was hoping for, but am surprised to not find a hole only a mark. If a couple more people chime in and duplicate what you are saying I will follow up with a hole to check it out. Thanks
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Old 04-03-2021, 01:16 PM   #4
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I suppose that the original build plans called for a satellite dome that was never installed, or bought as an option when new. The coax cable might be just below the plate on the roof. Maybe a call to Newmar to quiz them about the plate and the possibility of a coax already in place. That would be like hitting a home-run.
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Old 04-03-2021, 01:47 PM   #5
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I suppose that the original build plans called for a satellite dome that was never installed, or bought as an option when new. The coax cable might be just below the plate on the roof. Maybe a call to Newmar to quiz them about the plate and the possibility of a coax already in place. That would be like hitting a home-run.
Yes it would, however I called Newmar to inquire what "Sat Prep" meant on the internal cover, (in the cabinet above steering wheel) and they were less than helpful. So as I have done most of my life, I just think things through and figure out a course that will work. I am extremely grateful I have the brain trust here to at least bounce things off of.
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Old 04-03-2021, 02:25 PM   #6
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The setup your photo shows is the same setup I have on my 2016 DSDP. The plate on the roof is the general vicinity where the prewired cables are located in the roof structure. My coach has 3 plates on the roof. One for solar and two for satellites. There is no predrilled hole under any of the plates on my coach. I lifted all 3 to check.

When I installed my satellite dish I had to drill the hole and fish around to find the cables in the roof. The cables may be directly under the plate location or several inches away. A pilot hole using a borescope is probably a good idea.
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Old 04-03-2021, 03:19 PM   #7
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The setup your photo shows is the same setup I have on my 2016 DSDP. The plate on the roof is the general vicinity where the prewired cables are located in the roof structure. My coach has 3 plates on the roof. One for solar and two for satellites. There is no predrilled hole under any of the plates on my coach. I lifted all 3 to check.

When I installed my satellite dish I had to drill the hole and fish around to find the cables in the roof. The cables may be directly under the plate location or several inches away. A pilot hole using a borescope is probably a good idea.
This is the best input I could get. Knowing that things change, I at least have a data point that matches up with what I was looking for. I will drill a 1/2 hole and send my scope down to see what is there. With any luck at all (not typical for me, haha) I will have a signal cable I can use.
Any other advice or insight is always appreciated. Thanks
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Old 04-03-2021, 05:10 PM   #8
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Removed What I thought was an access Plate????

2020 4081 - same setup for solar and sat.

With solar I pulled the plate, drilled a small hole and spent an hour with a borescope until finally found the wires.

The trick was to use a tone generator to find the wires under the roof; big help.

I’ve not done the sat yet, but assume it’s the same game - albeit with more flexible wires.
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Old 04-03-2021, 05:21 PM   #9
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2020 4081 - same setup for solar and sat.

With solar I pulled the plate, drilled a small hole and spent an hour with a borescope until finally found the wires.

The trick was to use a tone generator to find the wires under the roof; big help.

I’ve not done the sat yet, but assume it’s the same game - albeit with more flexible wires.
Attachment 323702
Wow, great to know. So tell me about this tone generator? Did you find the coax cables? Where they terminated with connectors?
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Old 04-03-2021, 05:22 PM   #10
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Lynn.....look inside the coach and see if there are any removable objects in the ceiling. As an example, on my 2019, there was a similar plate where the solar was "suppose" to be. It was a few inches behind my kitchen Fantastic Fan. I dropped the interior shroud on the fan (four screws) and I could see into the roof. Sure enough, there was six feet of solar cable coiled up. Made cutting a hole in the roof much easier decision.
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Old 04-03-2021, 08:22 PM   #11
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Wow, great to know. So tell me about this tone generator? Did you find the coax cables? Where they terminated with connectors?


For solar, I clipped a tone generator to the wire ends in the basement. Then went to the roof and used the probe to locate the strongest tone.

Here’s an example of the tone generator / probe. I don’t have this one - it’s just an example: Extech TG20 Wire Tracer and Tone Generator https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00APD16...WZ13KZSSPV62B0
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Old 04-04-2021, 05:44 PM   #12
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Under that spot inside the ceiling should be a plastic conduit and a pull cord for running wires.
Mine goes to the cabinet ceiling on the passenger side cabinet in front of the bathroom. Behind the large slide. I am sure it's intended to put additional electronics in that cabinet.

Mine didn't have any wires in it, just a pull cord.
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Old 04-08-2021, 01:09 PM   #13
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Al Most Done,

Well I am coming down the home stretch with my install. All the hard stuff is done. I drilled a 1 inch hole to allow me to get my bore scope in and was amazed and pleased as punch to find a flex conduit directly under my hole. I was able to get my bore scope inside the conduit and found a pull wire. I was also able to look around the outside and found two RG 6 cables. After a little work got the coax cables out of the hole and using the tone generator that I learned about from ChrisFSB, was able to confirm one was feeding the living room TV the other the bedroom. Was loving life at this point. I went inside the coach and found an access plate up in the cabinet over the drivers side. Removed it and found the other end of the conduit from the roof. However there was no matching pull wire in it. I used a cable snake and pulled my own par-cord pull cable through it. The Winegard base is now curing on the roof, the control cable pulled and in the cabinet, and a couple short 5ft coax cables ordered. It should be down hill from here. I will post again once I get everything connected and a Dish account set up and activated.
The only real negative comments I have is Newmar should have anchored the flex conduit and made sure the pull wire was long enough to get through. I had to fight it a bit as I was pulling wires because it wanted to pull up and out of position. Minor thing, but would have made life a lot easier. Here are a few images to see what I am talking about.
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Old 04-08-2021, 07:40 PM   #14
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If you want to get crazy while you're up there, there is a wheel on the arm of the satellite that rolls on the roof when the satellite stows. I took a piece of 4" x 6" flat SS plate and glued it to the roof where the wheel touches, so it rolls on the SS plate.

You cheated by using the hoist....I schleped two of them up their on my shoulder.
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