[Kellyjones]

quote:Originally posted by carl n susan

There are at least two challenges here.

1. Getting the antenna connected to the receiver.
2. Getting the receiver connected to the TV

Not knowing what satellite system you have (Dish or DirecTV), the type of receiver (SD, HD, DVR, SWM or ?) or the connection to the TV (RG6 coax, HDMI, R/G/B, or composite cables) makes it difficult to provide specific instructions.

So lets start with some basics and see how it goes goes.

The first (and easiest) thing to do is connect the satellite receiver to the TV. Connect the receiver using whatever type of cable you use (HDMI, RG6, component, or ??) to the TV, select the appropriate "Source" input on the TV (HDMI, AV1, etc.), turn on the receiver and TV, and you should see the start up messages from the receiver. If there are no messages, select another "Source" input until they appear. You don't need to be connected to the antenna to do any of this.

Now that the receiver is talking to the TV, it is time to connect the receiver to the antenna. Newer (post 2010) Montanas have a dedicated Satellite cable system independent of the OTA/Park Cable system. Here is a link to the wiring diagram for both pre and post 2010. http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...ad.php?t=37324 There are two satellite cable inputs in the convenience center. One goes to the entertainment center and the other goes to the bedroom. The idea is to run coax from the antenna to the convenience center and connect to the entertainment (aka Living Room??) RF input connections. The advanced class will cover connecting the antenna to the Bedroom RF input and dealing with multiple wires (if required) for a DVR system.

Inside the RV behind the TV somewhere will be a wall plate with two RF connectors in it. They should be labeled "Satellite" or something. One of them is the other end of the "Satellite" RF coax form the convenience center and the other is basically unused. Which is which is a crap-shoot but usually the top one is the one connected. If you have a cable tester, you can determine the correct one easily. Otherwise it takes trial and error to figure it out. Pick one and connect it to the receiver and see if the receiver can communicate with the antenna (since the receiver can display its messages on the TV, you should be able to tell if the receiver has contacted the antenna/satellite).

If it were me, I would run the antenna cable through the window and direct to the receiver, get everything aligned and working, then start connecting the antenna to convenience center --> Wall Plate RF --> Receiver path. Ideally the Old World's Craftsmen wired everything correctly. But we have seen rigs which weren't. Crossed wires, bad connectors and such are not unusual and may require some troubleshooting on your (or the dealer's) part. Fortunately most of the cabling is readily accessible.

The really nice feature of the newer Montanas is the ability to have the satellite, cable, and OTA antennas all hooked up at the same time, and switch from one to the other by using the "Source Input" option on the TV.