Coaxial hook-up issues...

[Brisan0623]

Greetings,
We have a 2014 North Trail. Just purchased a Tailgater and took it out this past weekend to set it up. I connected the coaxial cable from the Dish to the hook-up on the rear of the trailer, and connected the coaxial cable in the entertainment area to the rear of the DishNetwork receiver. When trying to activate, DishNetwork told me the receiver was NOT receiving a signal from the dish. I ended up running the coaxial from the dish through a window to the receiver (skipping the hook-up on the rear of the trailer) and everything worked fine. Needless to say, I prefer not to do it this way.
Is there a splitter or some other connection I'm not aware of? How can I get a connection from the dish via the rear hook-up on the trailer? Sorry if this issue has already been addressed on the forum...

 

[danemayer]

Hi Brisan0623,

I'm not familiar with the North Trail setup, but I'm wondering if it comes with satellite prep. Is there one exterior coax connector or two? If a single connector, it's probably for cable TV and is combined with the roof antenna coax at a signal booster (ON for antenna, OFF for cable). The signal boosters are not compatible with satellite signals. If this is the case, the solution would be to add a pass-through satellite connection. Your dealer should be able to do this, or if you're handy, you can do it yourself.

You can also get flat coax jumpers that are made for going through windows and allow you to close the window on the connector.

If you do have a separate exterior connector for satellite, then you may have a connector problem. Check both ends for loose connectors or for strands from the shield contacting the center conductor.

 

[Brisan0623]

Danemayer,

There is a single coax connection on the outside of the trailer. Your explanation makes sense. What is a satellite pass-through? Additional coax? I'm thinking it may be easier to simply feed the coax between the seals at the bottom of the slideout. Thanks for the quick response!!

Brisan0623

 

[Invizatu]

Also, be sure you are running rg6 coax from the dish to the receiver. The coax in the trailer is for cable, you will need to run another piece of coax (rg6) for the satellite.

 

[danemayer]

Danemayer,

There is a single coax connection on the outside of the trailer. Your explanation makes sense. What is a satellite pass-through? Additional coax? I'm thinking it may be easier to simply feed the coax between the seals at the bottom of the slideout. Thanks for the quick response!!

Brisan0623

If you were to drill a hole through the exterior wall, you'd use a fixture like this on the outside. And a simpler fixture on the inside since you wouldn't need to protect that one from the elements.

Going through the seals might be ok, but you don't want to create any opportunity for water intrusion. Consider water coming up from the road when towing in rain.

 

[marvmarcy]

A pair of diplexers placed around the antenna amplifier should work as a bypass. There are several places they can go depending on how many signals you want to run over the single coax. I suspect all your installed coax is RG6. I seldom see RG59 anymore.

 

[Silverado23]

someplace on this forum I have drawn up several diagrams about using diplexers to bring satellite signals in over the existing coax in north trails. The cable in my 2010 North trail is rated to handle up to 3 ghz signals and works well with either cable or satellite signals .

 

[pegmikef]

When I had my North Trail I just ran another cable. My local SOB rv dealer had the exterior coax connector and walmart or most big box stores have the interior connector. Instead of making a cable I just bought one from walmart as they had the length I needed. Worked like a champ. On mine I was able to put it right above the cable connector on the outside and bring it in through the bedroom closet, but on your model you might have to just bring it through the wall next to the entertainment center.

 

[Silverado23]

Here is the link to using a diplexer to make a single existing cable work for satellite and/or cable TV.
//heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...e-TV-Hookup-question/page3?highlight=diplexer

 

[Brisan0623]

Silverado23,
I'm not sure I'm following you....I looked at the link you sent regarding the diplexer. Are you saying that the coax installed in my unit IS capable of carrying a satellite signal or no? Do I need to run a different type coax from the connection on the outside of the unit to the entertainment area? I drawing a blank on this...

 

[GOTTOYS]

I had a problem with mine and bought a little device to check the connections at Home Depot. It uses a battery to send power through the coax to power a light on the other end if the wire is okay. I found my wires were mislabeled and switched around. Imagine that?? ...Don

 

[donr827]

Our former trailer did not have a sat connection in the bedroom. I used the fixture that Dan referred to. It was a easy install after measuring twice and drilling one hole. Seal the hole and around the fixture with caulking.
Don