Changing out In Motion Satellite and Installing Winegard Travlr SWM3

[04Beast]

Hello Beast is at it here again!

Sorry I searched the tech forum and can't find advise guiding me to exacty what I hope to accomplish. I want to take down my in motion satellite dome and replace it with the Direct TV Travlr SWM3. My research shows me i only need to use the coach standard coax cable coming down from the roof from the in motion and connect to the SWM3. I would appreciate a confirmation here. My biggest issue is my coach hardware cabinet housing the coach stereo receiver, dvd player, satellite switch box and a boat load of wires. I pulled all the old stuff out of our 04 Essex and there is one huge glob of wires that I don't think I'm going to need. Before I start eliminating stuff i wanted to hear it from the field out there that I'm okay doing this.
1) I am going to install a HD DVR in the cabinet that the satellite coax cable will connect to and then run the HDMI cable into a splitter to feed the 2 HDTVs that I've recently installed.
2) Since it looks like a really difficult task to run a HDMI cable to the bedroom TV, I am reusing the coach RCA cables for the bedroom HDTV even though I'm going to give up resolution. I have a dedicated BluRay for the bedroom TV.
3) The HDMI splitter I'm putting in will feed the Living Room TV and Basement TV. It will have 2 inputs and 4 outputs so I can feel the basement TV with Direct TV and movies on the living room blurry running HDMI cables under the coach floor.
4) Since the coach house stereo sounded pretty poor I am putting in a Samsung sound bar with Sub under the 42" LG 3D HDTV in the living room. As I said I pulled out the factory components including the satellite switch box. Can I eliminate all these wires without regret? They appear to be staked inside the wall so I'll have to cut most of them. Please advise!! Thanks Beast

[YC1]

Gut it!
If your cabinet is the full width and has dividers inside, rip those dividers out too. Find a way to get some ventilation as well. A nice heater register made from wood makes a great way to allow air to enter. You can even add a couple of 12 volt computer fans.

Buy some colored tapes or a pad of stick on numbers for the cables and start clean. Document it well because you will not remember as much as you think you will.

My cabinet has been gutted many times. Had an in motion, now the traveler. Changed the receiver/amp out a couple of times. Multiple new devices. Having the cabinet deviders out really makes cabling much easier.

Add some cabinet lighting or use a head lamp when chasing cables.

[TVforMyRV]

You can use the existing coax for the SWM3, assuming it will reach to where you need it. You still have to run the SWM3 control and power cable inside, so you still have to make a roof penetration somewhere in this process. This being the case, you will be well served to run a new coax along with the control cable.

As for HD to the rear TV, you do have a couple options. There are several less than $200 wireless HDMI extenders on the market. I use one from Actiontec in our rig and it works great.

Another option is to upgrade to a Genie system (HR44) and use the coax in the rig for everything. This gives every TV access to HD satellite and to the DVR functions in the Genie. The only downside to this option is you lose the Off-Air Antenna to the rear TV since you are using the coax for the Genie system.

Feel free to call me if you have any questions.

Don

[04Beast]

Thanks for the help and support guys!! So YC1, did you cutout your wires or bundle them and stuff em in the back of the cabinet? The heavy black in motion wires and switch box are very cumbersome and I want to eliminate them. I do want to retain most of the shelving although I'll be cutting out a portion of the upper shelf to make room for the subwoofer. Don, I looked at the Genie from DTV and it was a wireless system but they told me it was unavailable right now in my Central Florida area? Also, is the current in motion sat 110v or 12v? the Travlr needs 110v and I was hoping to use the power and coax cable from the in motion? If I have to run new wires then yes I'll run a new cable as well. How did you guys run the Travlr wires through the roof? I looks to me the best way to come through the roof would be right above the entertainment center in the living room? Did you run you 110v power and Travlr cables exposed on the roof or did you drop straight down from the Travlr through the roof then run inside cabinets or whatever? Gonna be tackling this very soon so I'm tried to be prepared. Thanks!! Beast

[az99]

Don't give up on the HDMI cable to the rear TV. I also thought it was impossible but with a little determination and some more looking, I was able to find a way and even use holes that were already there. I ran it along the frame. Turned out to be pretty easy with a standard 50' cable. And much cheaper than the other options.

[TVforMyRV]

The Travler uses 110/120V, but that goes to the control box inside. The control box provides the voltage and control signals up to the unit on the roof via the control cable.
As I said, you're going to have to get the control cable from inside, up to the roof. Although, there is nothing that says it has to be in the same place as the coax. For example, if the only place on your roof with enough room to mount the Travler is in the rear, the control box can be in the back of the RV instead of up front as is typical. The coax can run to where ever the satellite receivers are installed.

The wireless Genie systems are only available in certain parts of the country, but I do not know why.... The wired system works great with the RV coax.

[YC1]

If I cannot remove excess wire I do not cut it short. Might be useful some other way. Wrap it up and tuck it away.

As for how you get the wires to the roof it is usually a matter of letting the project dictate the method. Best laid plans will go out the window in the first few minutes. Be creative and patient. Some times you can run a fish wire down by tying it to existing cables. Removing overhead speakers and light fixtures often will give you a better view or access. As for removing shelves in the cabinets you may find stacking components works well and getting cables run is much simpler without shelves or side dividers between cabinets.

Using an existing coax on the new dish would be fine but if possible a new one is not a bad thing.

Get plenty of light into the project area. Sometimes you can put your camera in places where only your hand will fit but you can get some good information.

[04Beast]

Thank you all so much for the help! I hooked up the sound bar in the living room yesterday and it sounded pretty good but I thought I would go back with the coach receiver and surround sound and it was way better especially with the new blu ray player so Im gonna keep that in place. You guys will probably laugh but it was really weird, i was going to mark the wires as YC1 suggested and I turned the bedroom TV on to check the RCA cabling and found I have a very nice HD picture on the TV! I have my satellite switch box pulled out with all the wires unhooked in the living room as well as no direct TV box but the cable was live with this signal! Is this just local HD over the air signal I'm picking up? I switched the cable signal to antenna and lost the picture but back to cable and had picture again. What on the coach receives this signal? Thanks again!!

[JohnQ]

I just completed what you are contemplating, i.e., Replacing a King-Dome (mine was a 9702) with the Winegard Trav'ler Slimline 3 (SWM). I also replaced 2 TV's with 3 Samsung LED's and 1 DirecTv DVR (HR20-700), and 2 DirecTv Sat Receivers (2 H25's). What an improvement!!! Originally my Safari RG-6 coax was Split upfront to go to a basement outlet & the rear bedroom. Located the splitter & eliminated it using RG-6 barrel connectors resulting in 2 independent cable runs (basement & bedroom). I used one original roof RG-6 cable coming in to the Winegard Power inserter, RG-6 (short) from the power inserter to the Winegard Single Wire Multiswitch (SWM). My SWM has capabilities to support 4 seperate cable runs. First cable from SWM feeds the upfront HR2--700 DVR. The second cable from SWM feeds the "unsplit" cable run to the basement H25 sat receiver. The third cable from SWM feeds the "unsplit" cable run to the bedroom H25 Sat Receiver. I also installed a "Whole Home DVR' setup so the H25's can access/record on the HR20-700.

A refinement I also installed so I can include a RV Park cable & my Jack Antenna you may also want to consider. A Radio Shack Video AB Switch. The RV Park Cable & the Jack Antenna on my coach come into that AB Switch. Out of the AB Switch is a short RG-6 Cable that goes into a 3 Way Splitter. I use a short RG-6 out of the splitter into the OTA (Over The Air) Coax of the HR20-700 as a "pass thru signal). Then I installed (following the original RG-6 pathways), 2 additional RG-6 cable runs to the bedroom & basement (what a job!!!!) & connected each RG-6 to the TV's Coax ports.

If we have RV Park cable available, I flip the Radio Shack AB Switch to RV Park, if not, it Switches to Jack Antenna. The Sat Receivers have to be powered off when using this option. It is a "Trees Blocking The Sat Antenna" Problem Solver.

[04Beast]

Wow, very cool JohnQ, were you able to pull the king dome and fit the travlr in its place? I'm thinking that will work for me. What about power supply and where you went thru the roof? You have separate DtV boxes where I hope to run just one with HDMI cables just to avoid the extra monthly expense. Just so I'm clear, if you run separate DTV boxes, do you have to activate them thru DTV or will they work off the satellite signal directly? Good job too!! Beast

[JohnQ]

Originally Posted by 04Beast

Wow, very cool JohnQ, were you able to pull the king dome and fit the travlr in its place? I'm thinking that will work for me. What about power supply and where you went thru the roof? You have separate DtV boxes where I hope to run just one with HDMI cables just to avoid the extra monthly expense. Just so I'm clear, if you run separate DTV boxes, do you have to activate them thru DTV or will they work off the satellite signal directly? Good job too!! Beast

Had Eric's RV in Sequim Wa do the necessary outside work to R & R the antennas. Went thru the roof with RG6 & Power Supply/Control cable in the same place as the old system. in fact since the Trav'ler is a true SWM system, I eliminated one of the old RG6 cables. Yep No Free DTV Lunches served, seperate DTV boxex are only activated (initially) thru their 1-800-531-5000 number with secret handshake codes that come with the access cards. To learn everything about Sat TV, try this website - DBSTalk

[04Beast]

Great info thanks John!