Community Forums

WillieH · 04-17-2015, 09:43 AM

Purchased 2014 Jayco Precept, joined this forum for RV education ! My first question is can I hook my Dish portable Tailgater to the existing satellite hookup in the precept ?

RedRaider93 · 04-17-2015, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillieH

Purchased 2014 Jayco Precept, joined this forum for RV education ! My first question is can I hook my Dish portable Tailgater to the existing satellite hookup in the precept ?

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your new RV! I think the satellite hookup varies depending on the RV. I used to have a Tailgater, and the only way I could get it to work was to run a coax cable through the living room window to connect to the receiver. I ultimately ditched the Tailgater and had a permanent satellite installed.

Best of luck to you!

Czar Of Poop · 04-17-2015, 10:00 AM

Welcome Folks,
Congrats on your RV and the freedom lifestyle! Happy Camping

MSHappyCampers · 04-17-2015, 11:05 AM

Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined us!

Congrats on the new rig! Keep her between the ditches!

Sorry I can't answer your question!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

CampingCajun · 04-17-2015, 11:47 AM

Congrats & welcome aboard.

You can try your sat hookup first. Once plugged in you will probably have to flip a switch to change it from cable to sat mode. If that doesn't work you may have to run a cable to your receiver.

**JohnRR** · 04-17-2015, 11:56 AM

Good luck with a solution.

Medico · 04-17-2015, 05:48 PM

Welcome, glad to meet you!

Boostable · 04-17-2015, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillieH

Purchased 2014 Jayco Precept, joined this forum for RV education ! My first question is can I hook my Dish portable Tailgater to the existing satellite hookup in the precept ?

Quick answer... MAYBE

The issue is not the Tailgater, its the cabling or more specifically the spliters in the coach. I dont know the Precept personally, but more then likely it is "preped" for satallite. Which is a quick way of saying you have a connection on the outside that may or may not be home run to the AV center.

It all comes down to what type of splitters you have inline and more then likely the one's installed will not pass the satallite signal.

I would call Jayco and they might be able to tell you what type they have installed.

Otherwise a few simple tests will help you determine if it will work or if they need to be replaced. Just hook it up...

I recommended you hook it directly to the TV first and work your way backwards.

I have reworked two coaches myself and changed out all the splitters. It is harder to track them all down then it is to replace them, but every coach is different.

On my current coach I have two satallite dished installed up top and a portable just in case.. lol

BTW.... Don't assume a wall plate has a cable run to it just because it has a connection on the plate. If you can't get it to work, pull the plate off and look, you might be suprised whats NOT there..

Good luck.

ramblingdon · 04-18-2015, 09:41 AM

Good points Jack.
One problem with the internal cabling in an RV is that the simplest thing for the installer to do when they need to connect 2 TV's or more is the use of a "splitter".

First of all, they often use "very cheap" splitters, so I always change mine out for a high quality one.

Second, many people do not realize that a splitter does exactly that, it splits the signal form one cable to two cables. So, in electronics jargon you get 3dB less signal at each cable which is, again using electronics jargon, "half as much power" on each cable.

And, as Jack said, the installers are working in your rig "clipping cables and crimping connectors" onto the cables. Sometimes, if not done with care, this gives you very poor or often no signal at that cable. But, this kind of problem is often part of owning a NEW RV.
Good luck with your problem, and welcome.

One other point. The Tailgater and the other SAT Antenna manufacturers typically recommend that there be only 50-feet or less cable between the antenna and the receiver. OH, often, if the internal RV cable losses are minimal you can get away with pushing this 50-foot limit with just your outside cable and still get adequate signal at the receiver. But, sometimes? Not So Much!

Ramblingdon

Reng8d · 04-18-2015, 10:18 AM

Welcome to IRV2, and congtrats on your purchase of your RV!!!

Jack and Rablingdon are right on target. An additional issue is the coax cable, it must be RG6, if you have RG59 running through the coach you will have to connect it directly to the receiver.

TechWriter · 04-18-2015, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boostable

. . . a few simple tests will help you determine if it will work or if they need to be replaced.

Just hook it up...

I recommended you hook it directly to the TV first and work your way backwards.

Excellent advice. When I was trying to figure out what-went-where on my coach, I used a VCR. I ran a tape in the VCR then used it to figure out where the video signal went. Tedious, but effective.

If you find that the cable input on your coach goes to two (or more) places, you have a problem -- because there's a splitter on the line. The incoming cable from your Tailgater can NOT be split.

denlock · 04-18-2015, 03:28 PM

mc4fun · 04-18-2015, 04:27 PM

Welcome to a great place. Lots of good stuff here!!!

WillieH · 04-19-2015, 08:54 AM

Thanks for all the info from everyone regarding my dish tailgater working with the existing manuf wiring in my Jayco precept ! I assume from all the comments I as a layman tech need to take my MH to a "electronic tech installer that has all the tools" to research and adapt what's necessary !
Thanks again I enjoyed your input !