Frustration with Dish Tailgater and my Big Country 3650RL

[cgaskins]

We have a 2015 Big Country 3650RL which we love. We recently a Dish Tailgater satellite TV system. My BC has 4 coax ports on the Universal Docking Center (UDC). The 3rd port from the left is labeled Living Room. So I attach the coax cable to the external antenna / dish and to the 3rd coax port on the RV. I then attach a short coax cable from the coax port in my TV cabinet to the Dish receiver. Note these are not the same coax ports used by the Cable TV system as that is separate wiring from what I can tell. The Receiver can communicate to the external receiver and I can hear the dish trying motor whirring. Unfortunately, the system cannot lock onto the satellites.

Now if I bypass the trailer coax wiring and drag the coax cable from the external antenna into the RV and directly connect it to the receiver, it works perfectly. So something is up with the wiring. Any thoughts or comments on this? It is very frustrating...

-Chris

 

[Az_Ernie]

We have a 2015 Big Country 3650RL which we love. We recently a Dish Tailgater satellite TV system. My BC has 4 coax ports on the Universal Docking Center (UDC). The 3rd port from the left is labeled Living Room. So I attach the coax cable to the external antenna / dish and to the 3rd coax port on the RV. I then attach a short coax cable from the coax port in my TV cabinet to the Dish receiver. Note these are not the same coax ports used by the Cable TV system as that is separate wiring from what I can tell. The Receiver can communicate to the external receiver and I can hear the dish trying motor whirring. Unfortunately, the system cannot lock onto the satellites.

Now if I bypass the trailer coax wiring and drag the coax cable from the external antenna into the RV and directly connect it to the receiver, it works perfectly. So something is up with the wiring. Any thoughts or comments on this? It is very frustrating...

-Chris

Chris,
When I was installing our DirecTV Trav'ler, I found that all the coax connections behind the UDC were loose. You may want to check these connections on your rig.

 

[Garypowell]

You can also buy a "toner" for about $40 at a big box place and use it to trace your lines.

 

[Az_Ernie]

You can also buy a "toner" for about $40 at a big box place and use it to trace your lines.

I purchased this one from HD for about $10. It will tell you if you have a shorted or open coax connection. It worked real well for me.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Coax-Explorer-Tester-VDV512057/203015882

 

[GOTTOYS]

My connections were mislabeled from the factory. I purchased a small signal tracer from Home Depot and sorted them out. My Tailgater plugs into the Satellite terminal in the UDC no jumper wire......Don

 

[cgaskins]

Well, I just tightened the connections behind the UDC panel and the wall plug near the entertainment center. No change - still no signal. I need to get a toner now and check out the cable.... Arggg! Shotty work by Heartland - this is easy to do at the factory.

-Chris

 

[danemayer]

Have you tried the other 3 coax connections in the UDC? They might have just hooked the wires up in the wrong order on the back of the UDC.

 

[etcmss]

//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/51967-How-do-you-hook-up-satellite-dish-(tailgater)
I had this happen also. Big Horn. had to replace a cable in the LR slide.
I used the third port in UDC and receiver to TV using HDMI as source in our Samsung. The HDMI port in upper cupboard connects to TV. The TV Booster has no affect here. contrary to drawing for Big Horn.
There were no satellites found when using UDC. A direct cable worked fine. Traced cable and found it bad under the slide---replaced the section from under slide to the upper cupboard. there is a thread I wrote.....
Recommend trace cable, check connections, do cable substitution. finish repair.
My previous post

 

[szewczyk_john]

you do not need to buy a tracer. You can do it with a multi meter if you already have one. Just run a coax cable out of the port you want the satellite signal to come from(living room) through a window out to the UDC. Then take a mother coax cable and start hooking it up to the ports in the UDC, one at a time. Check for continuity by touching the leads to the two ends of coax. this will allow to find the proper port. Make sure your over the air antenna power booster is not on when you are doing this. The sat signal will not go through with the booster on.

 

[dbbls59]

I had the same problem with my BC. It would work with a dish 500 but about one time out of ten with the Tailgater. I now have a Winegard Carry Out and it works good.

 

[etcmss]

attached coax drawing. used this to troubleshoot mine. the TV connections was under the rear curbside slide in my BH just inside the frame, comes through the floor behind the fireplace heater (removed this to work well). The cable from the frame up to the TV cabinet connection was replaced due to erratic signal.

 

[cgaskins]

attached coax drawing. used this to troubleshoot mine. the TV connections was under the rear curbside slide in my BH just inside the frame, comes through the floor behind the fireplace heater (removed this to work well). The cable from the frame up to the TV cabinet connection was replaced due to erratic signal.

Thank you for this information - very helpful.

I do have a clarification question... I had assumed that it was one single run of able from the connection from the UDC down the frame and into the entertainment center. It sounds like from your description that this is not true. Please confirm.

-Chris

 

[osims]

I think it is one run from UDC to living room but they pre wire the slides and there is a connection just inside the frame. On my previous unit I had to redo that connection.

 

[cgaskins]

I think it is one run from UDC to living room but they pre wire the slides and there is a connection just inside the frame. On my previous unit I had to redo that connection.

Thanks. So there is splice connector it sounds like... Is that splice connector inside the slide or inside the frame? (Before I start ripping crap out, I wanted to be sure...) Sounds like I will have to remove the under coating to get to the inside of the frame...

-Chris

 

[osims]

It is right inside the frame. Mine had enough slack in the coax that when I located the coax under the slide I could gently pull enough out thru the hole to get to the splice, it's just a few inches in there.

 

[cgaskins]

It is right inside the frame. Mine had enough slack in the coax that when I located the coax under the slide I could gently pull enough out thru the hole to get to the splice, it's just a few inches in there.

Got it -Thanks. I appreciate the tip.

That splice is probably the culprit. I replaced the splice connector at the the ODC and at the entertainment center and things got better but not 100%. I suspect that last splice is the issue. I used high quality 3GHz capable splices.

-Chris

 

[etcmss]

yes 2 sections. 1 is from the UDC to under the LR just inside the frame. a threaded connector tot he second section that runs up to the LR entertainment cabinet. Look for the coax going bundle the slide floor in the back corner (that's where mine is in 3260EL) and trace the cable into the frame area. Look for the female to female threaded connector. I broke mine here and kept troubleshooting. Gary

 

[brlr2000]

It doesn't sound like you have a cabling problem, otherwise you wouldn't hear the motor running in the tailgater. Also, I'm assuming you are seeing the setup screen on the TV, but it just doesn't find the satellite signal(s). I can tell you that we had the same problem. I even tried running the cable from the Tailgater directly to the receiver...same problem. I then sold both the tailgater and the VIP211k receiver. Then bought another tailgater and VIP211z receiver. Similar problems. Occasionally, I could get all the satellites, but it often didn't pick up any satellites. You can keep trying (over and over) to go through the 'scan for satellites" procedure, and you may eventually lock onto the satellites. I have since sold my Tailgater (as-is). I think I will be purchasing the Winegard Pathway X2. It has a slightly larger dish, which should help to pick up the satellites.

 

[szewczyk_john]

I have been using a carryout 2 with no issues related to the crayon or dish network receivers. I have had issues with the power pack used to convert 110 to 12 volt. I have bought 2 and at the goshen rally the second would not supply 12 volt power so I hooked it up to the truck and just left it locked onto the one satellite. I plan on installing a 12 volt outlet to the UDC to power the carryout.

 

[pegmikef]

". . . Occasionally, I could get all the satellites, but it often didn't pick up any satellites. . . ."

Bruce, it must have to do with location. I have had the Tailgater since two months after they were introduced and the only park it has failed to find the satellites was Brushy Creek COE park in East Texas and that was because there was basically no window in the dense trees. I have used it in a lot of states including AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR, MO, IL, IN, IA, LA, FL, but never NV.