Is there a way to receive satellite channels on 2nd TV without 2nd DirecTV box?

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SunStar203

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Jul 4, 2007
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I have a Winegard in motion satellite and a DirecTV receiver in front connected to the TV mounted there.  Also have a TV in the rear, but no satellite receiver.  Currently, I use the OTA antenna to watch TV in the rear bedroom.  I'd like to connect the rear TV to receive satellite stations, if possible.  I see an unconnected coax coming from the ceiling and hanging behind the rear TV.  Is it possible this coax goes directly to the Winegard meaning I must have a second DirecTV receiver? Or, are there possible methods to receive satellite channels on the rear TV without installing a second DirecTV receiver?
 
SunStar203:

I wonder what result you would have if you connect the Coax from the ceiling to your bedroom TV, what would be?

We have the output from our Dish receiver (211A) for standard definition go to the Winegard distribution box, and then select the appropriate button which corresponds to the connector on the distribution box for the TV2 (which I assume you now have selected "Off the Air" for TV2 in order to receive off the air signal in your bedroom).  Of course you will deliver standard definition programming to your bedroom TV.

To provide high definition signal to the bedroom you will need to either run a HDMI cable to the bedroom TV via an elaborate and expensive HDMI distribution system, plus run into the problem of finding a way to run that HDMI cable from your single HD satellite receiver to the bedroom.

An alternate and probably less  expensive way would be to obtain a second satellite receiver (via e-bay, or perhaps DirecTV) and set up a second dish (or use special switching from your current dish for the front TV receiver), and then have the ability to have separate viewing options on each TV.

This is longer than I thought it would be when I began this answer.

Wendell

 
If you have a Winegard switch box up front, then you probably can route the sat receiver channel three or four output to the rear TV.  You can download your wiring diagram and look at your audio-video wiring to see what's possible.
 
The rear of a DTV tuner usually has two or more outputs.  My DTV box has 4 outputs:  HDMI, S-Video, Yellow (Component) , and Red/Green/Blue (Composite) so I could hook up several TVs to the one DTV box if you installed the proper cable to do so.

If you do this you will be getting the same TV show on all the TVs.  Is it useful, maybe, because you could run the same show on both the front TV and bedroom TV at the same time.

We do this in the morning while moving around getting dressed and eating breakfast while the TODAY show is on.  Also in the evening with a movie or show it allows moving around and hearing the sound better, helps overpower the A/C noise, or anytime we walk into the bedroom the sound is there and the show is too with the picture.

By the way, we were lucky because Monaco originally wired it this way.  They ran a long Y (Video) with R/W (sound) cable from the front TV area to the rear TV area.

JerryF
 
I don?t know anything about your particular unit, but in the Winnie Class A?s we?ve had previously and in our current one, you can feed the rear TV from any source through the switching box in the front living area ? antenna, cable, satellite tuner, DVD and so on.  I?d be willing to bet there is a built-in methodology to feed your rear TV from a DirecTV box that is located in the forward part of your coach.  If you can?t figure out how to accomplish this by looking at the owner?s manual and your wiring diagram, just experiment - as far as I know, you can?t blow anything up by trying to hook up coax to any input or output designed for coax.

If it was me, I wouldn?t bother.

My problem is that my wife is handicapped, so when she goes on trips with the dogs and me, she rests/sleeps a lot in the back room and she is a very serious satellite TV fan.  She also becomes anxious about the driving process and when I am driving she rides in the back, shades closed and watches TV with the in-motion dish.  I installed a separate DirecTV box in the back, so that she can tune whatever show she wants without having to come up to the front of the MH each time she wants to change a channel ? also, without a separate DirecTV box in the back, all that would be available 24/7 on the front TV when she takes a trip with me would be soap operas, cooking shows, Oprah and the like. 

With two separate DirecTV boxes ? one front and one back, all of those problems disappear.  An extra tuner box for the back TV  isn?t expensive to buy and, to my mind anyway, it is worth every penny.
 
Your best way is to install a RG-8 co-ax cable directly from your SAT dish to the rear Direct TV box.  You could run it across the roof to the Refer roof vent.  Bring it into your MH there and on to the rear TV area.  This will allow her to independently choose when and what she watches whereas if your front Direct TV box is in control you must change channels up there.

Check out how you might route the co-ax after it enters the MH at the refer vent.  That is usually the most difficult and time consuming part.  OTOH, you could run it across the roof to where the TV is located and drill a hole through the roof.  That's not big deal either unless you have a rubber roof.

JerryF
 
It is quite likely that dangling coax is intended for a second DTV receiver.  That would allow you to control the rear tv independent from the channel viewed on the front tv.

If you want to use the existing (front) receiver and watch the same channel it is tuned to, you need to get a cable from there to the rear tv somehow, though it is possible there already is one of those too (My coach had one). Others have already suggested ways to do that.  Since you already have a coax for the OTA antenna (and cable tv too). one alternative may be to "steal" that one to hook into the satellite receiver. Of course, you lose the ability for OTA or cable if you do that.
 
Not familiar with your coach but on my 2003 Itasca there is a master switch (Winegard) which is used to select the input (SAT, CABLE, AIR, DVD) and output to TV1, TV2, or both.

On mine, whatever is selected as input can be directed to either TV or both.

By the way, somewhat off topic but, by the use of two A-B switches, using one Dish receiver, I have mine rigged up so that I can connect the portable satellite antenna to the outside Cable connector.  Depending on the setting of the switches I can send the input from the roof sat antenna or the portable sat antenna to the Dish receiver.  Also, if the roof Sat antenna is blocked and/or I don't feel like messing with the portable sat antenna, and the campground has cable, I plug the cable in to the outside cable connector. Using the A-B switches I can bypass the Dish receiver and send the cable signal directly to the master switch.
 
JerArdra said:
The rear of a DTV tuner usually has two or more outputs.  My DTV box has 4 outputs:  HDMI, S-Video, Yellow (Component) , and Red/Green/Blue (Composite) so I could hook up several TVs to the one DTV box if you installed the proper cable to do so.

.......
JerryF

Well just switch the lables and you'll have it correct.

My DTV box has 4 outputs:  HDMI, S-Video, Yellow (Composite) , and Red/Green/Blue (Component)  so I could hook up several TVs to the one DTV box if you installed the proper cable to do so.
 
JerArdra said:
Your best way is to install a RG-8 co-ax cable directly from your SAT dish to the rear Direct TV box.  You could run it across the roof to the Refer roof vent.  Bring it into your MH there and on to the rear TV area.  This will allow her to independently choose when and what she watches whereas if your front Direct TV box is in control you must change channels up there.


JerryF

RG- 8 coax has impedance of 50 ohms. Shouldn't you stay with a 75 ohm impedance cable?
 

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