Winegard Satellite Dish Install

[5th_Time]

Has anybody been up on the roof of an RL?



I'm installing the Winegard SK-3005 HD Satellite dish. I know that Redwood advertises "satellite prep" for the Winegard dish. Andy told me the sat cables are pre-wired. I found the sat. control cable in the bedroom cabinet near the amplifier, and I assume that one of the three, orange, unmarked coax cables in the entertainment center goes to the roof.



Questions: What locationon the roof do I find the sat cables? Are they under a sealed cover or something? Second, if the cables are bothin a special location, does that indicate that there is a preferred or assumed location for mounting the dish?

[Happy Camper]

The roof on my 36RE has the two cable leads on the left rear corner as you are looking to the rear of the coach.

[mhs4771]

Won't know for a few more weeks. We requested the Factory install all four coaxes, 2 in the LR for the DVR, 1 to the BR and the 4th to the basement rear bulkhead curb side.

[5th_Time]

I think each model's roof has the cables in a specific location.

[5th_Time]

The Redwoods are advertised as "Satellite Prep'd."This post concerns the installation of the Winegard SK-3005 Auto Seeking HD Satellite Dish (for Direct TV) on a Redwood RL (perhaps other models).


In the bedroom, the cabinet to the right of the television is where the TV Antenna booster is located. It also contains a black cable with a 6-pin connector. This istheWinegard"control cable"- to be connected to the rear of the control unit andcontrols the operation and parking of the dish. The other end of this cable is located on the roof.



Looking at the RL from the rear, there are two COAX bulkheads or sealed plates with cable connections covering the access holes in the roof in the right rear. Theinterior side of these bulkheads have COAX cables running from the entertainment center. [Hint: At this time, you should use a "tone generator" or other device to identified the (3)unmarked COAX cables in the entertainment center.] Back on the roof, removing the three phillips head screws holding the front bulkhead of the pair, you will find the other end of the control cabletaped to this COAX. Pull this COAX up about four inches and untape the control cable. Continue pulling up the control cable until you see the plastic threaded connections that thread into the satellite dish housing.


From the factory, Redwood provides two COAXs back to the entertainment center. If you have a Direct TV HD Receiver w/DVR (HR24) you need both COAX cables running from the roof to the unit (leaving none for thebedroom). If you haveDirect TVReceiver w/o DVR (H24)you only need one COAX cable(leavingthesecond COAX for a bedroom receiver). If you need more than two, for instance(2) for a DVR, (1) Bedroom and (1) Basement, you need more COAXs. On the forum, several people have requested thatRedwood run (4) COAXs from the roof to theentertainment center during production (call your factory rep or dealer early in the process). Mine was too far down the production line for that, but Winegard/Direct TV have another solution called SWM (Single Wire Multi-switch) which allows you to connect up to (8) receivers using a roof-mounted switch and only one COAXback to the entertainment center. Winegard has detailed instructions on their website and a kit SWM840 ($160) which contains all pieces needed).<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />


Mount the SK-3005 per Winegard instructions. I mounted mine on the coach centerline equidistant from the roof A/C units. [Hint: A word of warning... afterI pulled out the control wire, I discovered it was too short to mount the dish on the coach centerline where I wanted it. So, you musteither mount it closer to the side (still parallel to the centerline), or cut/splice/solder/tape the (6) wires inside the control cable to lengthen it- as I did. Fortunately, Winegard supplies a duplicate control cable already attached to the dishso use that one for splicing. If you do this, make sure you splice far enough down the cable so your splice will be pushed down underneath the roof (out of the weather) when you are finished.]



Next, unthread the COAX from the underside of the bulkhead and thread it to positionA on the dish (discard the bulkhead). Attach a COAX patch cable from the other undisturbedbulkhead (the rear one) to position B.If you had additional COAXs installed on the production line, attach them to the C and D connections. Use the Winegard-supplied cable plate to channel the COAX and control cable, and cover the roof hole (in place of the original front bulkhead). Use generous amounts of self-leveling roof sealer on roof plate, screws and Satellite dish base. Zip-tie your cable bundle down to the roof so they're out of the wind on the highway.

After you make your connections in the entertainment center, mount your control unit in the bedroom cabinet, plug it in and press/hold the power button for 2 or 3 seconds. The control unit's LCD will indicate the SK-3005 issearching for the satellites. After about3 minutes, with all satellites found, you should be ready to setup your receiver.

In the end, you may feel the most challenging part of the whole install was getting the 55lb. dish up on the Redwood's roof...
Edited by: 5th_Time

[5th_Time]

Mystery solved... see above posting.

[nwirt74@gmail.com]

I also have a 36RE and am getting ready to install the traveler. I am a bit confused as to the coax cables on the roof? How do I know which one goes to the LR and which one goes to the BR?

[Shane Wood]

nice write up Mike

[ted 95]

what I did was buy about 20 - 12v bulbs and sockets. Connected them to every where there was a cable. wet bay-bedroom-livingroom-outside-roof. Then i started with a small 12v battery. It was the only way to find out where they all go. And you would be amazed where they all go. If you send me your email i can send you the layout I did.

[Cinny61]

Looks like the prior owner had a dish installed, removed it and silicone over the entire square pad area. What's the odds they left the satellite connection right there under the roof for us to connect up our winegard dish??

[Jim & Mary]

One of our former Redwood owners is still contributing on this forum under the handle "Atom Ant." If you search under his handle on here, he documented his install and should point you to where the cables should be on the roof.

[atom ant]

Cinny61, I had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't ours you bought, as we removed our dish from the Redwood and are still using it today. However we had a different model Redwood.

I'm not positive on the 2016 MB model like yours, but typically Redwood prewired the satellite cables and the control cable (taped to one of the satellite cables) up to the roof and stubbed them out on the curb side near the rear. Hopefully that is where the previous owner of your put them back to for you:

[Lee]

Use a meter, short one end and connect a Multimeter to the other end, or find a coax tone generator.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by nwirt74@gmail.com

I also have a 36RE and am getting ready to install the traveler. I am a bit confused as to the coax cables on the roof? How do I know which one goes to the LR and which one goes to the BR?

Use a meter, short one end and connect a Multimeter to the other end, or find a coax tone generator.

[almcc]

On our 2013 36RL our dealer ordered our unit with 4 coax lines (2 each from the bedroom and the living room TV area) as our Canadian service (Shaw) needs 2 for each receiver if you have a PVR. He mounted the dish in front of the rear A/C unit and the coax lines and Winegard connection go over to the place where Redwood put the connections on the roof, a foot or so to the curbside from where the dish is mounted. I understand Redwood is no longer offering the 4 coax option.