Electronics upgrade

Bourbon County · Jul 7, 2025

No, I haven't cut the cord yet. I have Dish Network in my home and it's a really good value if you add service to your RV. I'm a huge football fan and we're always camping during season so I need it.

I got tired of cords and cables strung around like an unruly plate of spaghetti so I did some organizing. Install includes the Dish Wally receiver, a Roku, Mofi cell router, surge protection, USB outlet for charging phones etc, cooling system, distribution for antenna and park cable, new JBL soundbar, cooling fan. The Blu-ray player resides in the upper cabinet. My rig has a large slam door outside on the backside of this slide out with another TV, this is one of my favorite features of this model. I has it's own Dish Wally, a Roku Streambar, and shares antenna inputs.

I already had the 2 Wally's and portable satellite dish, added a Flagpole Buddy mount for the dish. I was intrigued by a Televes DiNova OTA antenna. It's not really made for RVs, but I mounted it on the flagpole under the dish. It's currently sitting on my property, and I'm pulling in 44 channels from a tower 63.8 miles away; some of them are in the low VHF band.

All coax wiring is Belden 1694a which has better shielding and carries a higher frequency than even RG6 quad. Coax terminations are Belden pro series. The Rokus and Wally's have wired ethernet connections with cat6 wiring; I'm old fashioned and believe if a device is fixed, it gets a wire, not WIFI.

Mikendebbie · Jul 7, 2025

Looks good!
What TV are you using in your system?
Do you use any of the connection outlets in the convenience center?

Bourbon County · Jul 8, 2025

Mikendebbie said:
Looks good!
What TV are you using in your system?
Do you use any of the connection outlets in the convenience center?

I'm using a 50" Samsung. It worked out very well; the original in the camper went out pretty quickly. This gave me the justification to buy a 75" LG OLED for my man cave and move the Samsung to the Monty. It did require a VESA adapter plate since the mounting bolt pattern was bigger. I had previously done the calibration on it and it really looks amazing.

No, I'm not using any of the connections in the convenience center, in fact that was the catalyst for this project. Neither of the satellite in ports worked which is apparently pretty common. The park cable inlet would work intermittently. I have a good coax tester, A Klein Scout Pro3, and spent days trying to map out the coax runs and finally gave up. This meter has a function to test cable length, I found 1 cable that even though I couldn't ever see continuity on it showed 62' length reading from one end and 75' length reading from the other. I'm pretty sure it was the same cable because I also have a tone tracer and it was reading a very low tone. I don't understand how you can put that much cable in a 40' camper. There's obviously a cheap splitter buried somewhere that I can't find.

This setup allows me to use any source at the living room and outdoor TV. The one in the bedroom is limited to the roof antenna. We very rarely watch TV in the bedroom so it isn't really a sacrifice.

Daryles · Jul 9, 2025

Nice setup.
I got tired of running cables through the window and put two through the wall coax connectors on the rear wall for the Dish and WeBoost cell booster.

Mark77 · Jul 9, 2025

That is a very clean install! I really appreciate your hardware and cable management in your second picture!

Great job!

JJT · Jul 17, 2025

Bourbon County said:
No, I haven't cut the cord yet. I have Dish Network in my home and it's a really good value if you add service to your RV. I'm a huge football fan and we're always camping during season so I need it.

I got tired of cords and cables strung around like an unruly plate of spaghetti so I did some organizing. Install includes the Dish Wally receiver, a Roku, Mofi cell router, surge protection, USB outlet for charging phones etc, cooling system, distribution for antenna and park cable, new JBL soundbar, cooling fan. The Blu-ray player resides in the upper cabinet. My rig has a large slam door outside on the backside of this slide out with another TV, this is one of my favorite features of this model. I has it's own Dish Wally, a Roku Streambar, and shares antenna inputs.

I already had the 2 Wally's and portable satellite dish, added a Flagpole Buddy mount for the dish. I was intrigued by a Televes DiNova OTA antenna. It's not really made for RVs, but I mounted it on the flagpole under the dish. It's currently sitting on my property, and I'm pulling in 44 channels from a tower 63.8 miles away; some of them are in the low VHF band.

All coax wiring is Belden 1694a which has better shielding and carries a higher frequency than even RG6 quad. Coax terminations are Belden pro series. The Rokus and Wally's have wired ethernet connections with cat6 wiring; I'm old fashioned and believe if a device is fixed, it gets a wire, not WIFI.
View attachment 1325437 View attachment 1325438

This is a nice looking project. I'm interested in the flagpole and mounting brackets for the Dish receiver. Would you please let me know what specifically you purchased? I can't find the materials that you have.

Bourbon County · Jul 17, 2025

It's the Flagpolebuddy standard satellite mounting system:

Satellite Mt Kit (Aluminum Pole, Plate, Pole Strap & 2.0 FPB Kit)

Make your Satellite Dish set up easy and out of the way of obstutucions. Combined with our simple pole mounting system, our satellite mount extends your satellite dish above the roof of the RV without climbing the ladder. Stay safe and angle the pole into our mounts from ground level. Note...

flagpolebuddy.com

It comes standard with 2 each 4' sections of the aluminum tubing. I ordered an additional section, they have a ball detent system to couple them together. To install the system with any roof clearance on my rig, that would mean that I would have to hold the pole with both arms above my head and balance it long enough to set it in the cup. The additional 4' keeps my arms between my waist and shoulders which is more ergonomically correct. Once you get the knack, you can position the pole with the bottom end resting on the ground and hook it into the top clamp and add some additional stability while lifting into position to set in the bottom cup.

The kit came with a mounting base plate that bolts directly to the satellite dish. You have to use self tapping bolts to mount it. I don't really like that method but the dish is not tapped for the mounting bolts. I just store it with the dish bolted on so as not have to re bolt them. I also added a short piece of small aluminum angle and installed some wire mesh cable supports hooked to the aluminum angle, and adjusted so there would never be any force on the coax connections, also installed the weatherproof boots on the coax terminals.

Here's a link for the cable supports:

https://www.automationdirect.com/adc/shopping/catalog/wiring_solutions/cord_grips/bus_drop_support_grips/bds24u

They're kinda hard to find for that cable diameter.

Bourbon County · Jul 17, 2025

I wasn't really impressed with the lower mounting cup from Flagpolebuddy, it's some kind of fiberglass compound and was skeptical about it. I've had this set up on my property for a few weeks now and we've recently had a storm that produced 50 mph winds and it stood tall. I'm still looking for one of the pole mounting cups made of steel that bolts to the rear bumper.

My son-in-law has a nice 3D printer and is supposed to be making me a bracket that will clamp on the aluminum pole and have a small platform that I can mount a boat compass on for aiming the antenna.

JJT · Jul 17, 2025

Bourbon County said:
It's the Flagpolebuddy standard satellite mounting system:

Satellite Mt Kit (Aluminum Pole, Plate, Pole Strap & 2.0 FPB Kit)

Make your Satellite Dish set up easy and out of the way of obstutucions. Combined with our simple pole mounting system, our satellite mount extends your satellite dish above the roof of the RV without climbing the ladder. Stay safe and angle the pole into our mounts from ground level. Note...

flagpolebuddy.com

It comes standard with 2 each 4' sections of the aluminum tubing. I ordered an additional section, they have a ball detent system to couple them together. To install the system with any roof clearance on my rig, that would mean that I would have to hold the pole with both arms above my head and balance it long enough to set it in the cup. The additional 4' keeps my arms between my waist and shoulders which is more ergonomically correct. Once you get the knack, you can position the pole with the bottom end resting on the ground and hook it into the top clamp and add some additional stability while lifting into position to set in the bottom cup.

The kit came with a mounting base plate that bolts directly to the satellite dish. You have to use self tapping bolts to mount it. I don't really like that method but the dish is not tapped for the mounting bolts. I just store it with the dish bolted on so as not have to re bolt them. I also added a short piece of small aluminum angle and installed some wire mesh cable supports hooked to the aluminum angle, and adjusted so there would never be any force on the coax connections, also installed the weatherproof boots on the coax terminals.

Here's a link for the cable supports:

https://www.automationdirect.com/adc/shopping/catalog/wiring_solutions/cord_grips/bus_drop_support_grips/bds24u
They're kinda hard to find for that cable diameter.

Thank you very much. This is very helpful.

Bourbon County · Jul 17, 2025

JJT-MOC said:
Thank you very much. This is very helpful.

It just dawned on me that I only partially answered your questions. The Dish Wally mount is from Hideit mounts:

HIDEit Wally | DISH Wally Receiver Mount

Mount your DISH Wally in your RV, camper or boat with the new HIDEit Wally Receiver Mount. Custom wrap design won’t block Wi-Fi, buttons, or the DISH Smartcard, while the unique coax channel ensures a secure fit. With the HIDEit Wally Mount you can VESA, under-shelf, or wall mount your DISH...

hideitmounts.com

It's made specifically for the Wally and it fits like a latex glove. It doesn't block any controls, wifi receiver, or cable connections. This is an amazingly well designed and made product. It's a heavier gauge steel than you would expect, powder coat finish, you will never find a burr, sharp edge, or paint chip. There is a tab on the back of the bracket that the coax port on the Wally goes through and when you connect the field coax, it makes a bulkhead type fitting that really locks the Wally in place. The only thing I didn't really like was I believe only had a place for 2 mounting screws. It's made for countersunk screws and if you don't use the correct size flat head screw, it won't recess into the countersink far enough to allow the Wally to fit, it's that precise. I bought a second one for the outdoor TV Wally.

The only other thing I used you might be interested in is the inlet port.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/B-and-B-Molders/BM55RR.html

I bought 2 of these; the satellite dish is a dual output, the other has the inlet port for my Televes antenna, and another for park cable if available. These inlets also come in single if that's what you need. It's basically just a plastic plate with some barrel splices pressed in for the coax connections. I did press the barrel splices out and put some Belden ones in that are rated for 3ghz:

Amazon.com

Try to keep your cable as short as possible, length is the natural enemy of signal strength. Dish recommend<50 feet. Being able to have a fixed length on the runs from my dish to the inlet, one receiver has 25 feet of cable, the other 21 feet. I was able to install the inlets in the lower skirting of the slide that houses both TVs; the coax does not flex or bend with slide movement, it all moves together. The only joints in the coax are at the dish, the inlet, and at the receiver.

Bourbon County · Jul 17, 2025

I'm still going to carry the little tripod for the satellite dish in the case I might be blocked by some large trees. I absolutely refuse to be camped anywhere I can't get ABC, ESPN, and SEC Network on a football Saturday.

JJT · Jul 18, 2025

Bourbon County said:
It just dawned on me that I only partially answered your questions. The Dish Wally mount is from Hideit mounts:

HIDEit Wally | DISH Wally Receiver Mount

Mount your DISH Wally in your RV, camper or boat with the new HIDEit Wally Receiver Mount. Custom wrap design won’t block Wi-Fi, buttons, or the DISH Smartcard, while the unique coax channel ensures a secure fit. With the HIDEit Wally Mount you can VESA, under-shelf, or wall mount your DISH...

hideitmounts.com

It's made specifically for the Wally and it fits like a latex glove. It doesn't block any controls, wifi receiver, or cable connections. This is an amazingly well designed and made product. It's a heavier gauge steel than you would expect, powder coat finish, you will never find a burr, sharp edge, or paint chip. There is a tab on the back of the bracket that the coax port on the Wally goes through and when you connect the field coax, it makes a bulkhead type fitting that really locks the Wally in place. The only thing I didn't really like was I believe only had a place for 2 mounting screws. It's made for countersunk screws and if you don't use the correct size flat head screw, it won't recess into the countersink far enough to allow the Wally to fit, it's that precise. I bought a second one for the outdoor TV Wally.

The only other thing I used you might be interested in is the inlet port.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/B-and-B-Molders/BM55RR.html
I bought 2 of these; the satellite dish is a dual output, the other has the inlet port for my Televes antenna, and another for park cable if available. These inlets also come in single if that's what you need. It's basically just a plastic plate with some barrel splices pressed in for the coax connections. I did press the barrel splices out and put some Belden ones in that are rated for 3ghz:

Amazon.com

Try to keep your cable as short as possible, length is the natural enemy of signal strength. Dish recommend<50 feet. Being able to have a fixed length on the runs from my dish to the inlet, one receiver has 25 feet of cable, the other 21 feet. I was able to install the inlets in the lower skirting of the slide that houses both TVs; the coax does not flex or bend with slide movement, it all moves together. The only joints in the coax are at the dish, the inlet, and at the receiver.

Thanks again. You have been very helpful. You have made several points that I would have missed.

Bourbon County · Jul 18, 2025

JJT-MOC said:
Thanks again. You have been very helpful. You have made several points that I would have missed.

You're welcome, glad I could be some help. Please post pics when you do your project. I think this is the only product I used that I didn't include a link:
https://www.amazon.com/CIMPLE-CO-Co...efix=coax+protective+boot,aps,121&sr=8-3&th=1

The sun and the elements will eventually break these down in a few years, but offer good protection. You do have to slide these on the coax before compressing the fitting on, same for the strain reliefs if you use them.

If you don't already have a coax stripper, or even if you do, I very highly recommend the Klein model VDV110-061 radial stripper. I've owned a few different ones over the years and this is the absolute best. It has a stop to ensure you expose the correct length of center conductor every time, the thing that most impressed me was that it perfectly scores the outer jacket so it's easily pulled off but never touches a single strand of the shield.

Mikendebbie · Jul 18, 2025

Bourbon County said…
Try to keep your cable as short as possible, length is the natural enemy of signal strength. Dish recommend<50 feet. Being able to have a fixed length on the runs from my dish to the inlet, one receiver has 25 feet of cable, the other 21 feet. I was able to install the inlets in the lower skirting of the slide that houses both TVs; the coax does not flex or bend with slide movement, it all moves together. The only joints in the coax are at the dish, the inlet, and at the receiver.

I have a Wally with a Dish Tailgater that I use while we travel in both RVs (Montana and 04 Fleetwood motorhome - 2 Wally’s with one Tailgater shared). I have a 6’ coax pigtail coming off the Wally out of the Montana slide and the Tailgater works great with the 50’ coax tied to the 6’ pigtail. I have a 12’ coax pigtail coming off the Wally in the motorhome and the Tailgater has quit working with it - no matter if I use the 50’ coax or a 25’ coax. It used to work fine. Now I run the 50’ thru the window because I can’t use the existing pigtail. I have tested the 12’ coax pigtail for continuity and it shows no issues. Do you have any idea what the problem might be? Maybe I should swap Wally’s to see if they are the issue.

Bourbon County · Jul 19, 2025

Mikendebbie said:
Bourbon County said…
Try to keep your cable as short as possible, length is the natural enemy of signal strength. Dish recommend<50 feet. Being able to have a fixed length on the runs from my dish to the inlet, one receiver has 25 feet of cable, the other 21 feet. I was able to install the inlets in the lower skirting of the slide that houses both TVs; the coax does not flex or bend with slide movement, it all moves together. The only joints in the coax are at the dish, the inlet, and at the receiver.

I have a Wally with a Dish Tailgater that I use while we travel in both RVs (Montana and 04 Fleetwood motorhome - 2 Wally’s with one Tailgater shared). I have a 6’ coax pigtail coming off the Wally out of the Montana slide and the Tailgater works great with the 50’ coax tied to the 6’ pigtail. I have a 12’ coax pigtail coming off the Wally in the motorhome and the Tailgater has quit working with it - no matter if I use the 50’ coax or a 25’ coax. It used to work fine. Now I run the 50’ thru the window because I can’t use the existing pigtail. I have tested the 12’ coax pigtail for continuity and it shows no issues. Do you have any idea what the problem might be? Maybe I should swap Wally’s to see if they are the issue.

There are a number of things that could be the issue. The 12' pigtail is a possibility, what coax is it? If it's RG59, replace it. From better to best: RG6, RG6quad, Belden 1694a. The coupling is another possibility, is it a high frequency type? These normally have a blue plastic center core. The signal from the dish to the receiver is a very high frequency and pretty fragile. The Wally needs to see the satellite dish upon initial power up, not the switch, but power on. Unplug the Wally connect the dish and plug the Wally back in. It should go through the painfully long start up procedure. There's a possibility the software version on that Wally is outdated, if you can get it to communicate, there's an option to update the software. If you do get it to communicate, check the signal strength, 40% is the low threshold.

Your idea to just swap the Wally's is probably the best place to start, that will narrow down where the problem is. If you still can't get it to work, check this website:
DISHForMyRV: DISH Mobile Satellite Systems & Pay As You Go TV for RV, Camping, Tailgating, & the Great Outdoors

It's mostly sales related, but under the support tab there are some very helpful articles. I've always been pleased with their support phone service. I always say make sure your bladder is empty, you have a comfortable seat and a cold drink when you call, they tend to be lengthy; they will stay with you until the issue is resolved.

Todd & Mary · Jul 19, 2025

Very nice clean install, looks great and should be easily accessed for future changes and additions.

Bourbon County · Jul 23, 2025

Update on the Televes OTA antenna I'm so fascinated about. We've been camping the past few days in an area that might be considered death valley for OTA reception. I was able to pick up stations over 60 miles away that had very poor (<10 dBuV/m) field strength.

JJT · Oct 7, 2025

Bourbon County said:
It just dawned on me that I only partially answered your questions. The Dish Wally mount is from Hideit mounts:

HIDEit Wally | DISH Wally Receiver Mount

Mount your DISH Wally in your RV, camper or boat with the new HIDEit Wally Receiver Mount. Custom wrap design won’t block Wi-Fi, buttons, or the DISH Smartcard, while the unique coax channel ensures a secure fit. With the HIDEit Wally Mount you can VESA, under-shelf, or wall mount your DISH...

hideitmounts.com

It's made specifically for the Wally and it fits like a latex glove. It doesn't block any controls, wifi receiver, or cable connections. This is an amazingly well designed and made product. It's a heavier gauge steel than you would expect, powder coat finish, you will never find a burr, sharp edge, or paint chip. There is a tab on the back of the bracket that the coax port on the Wally goes through and when you connect the field coax, it makes a bulkhead type fitting that really locks the Wally in place. The only thing I didn't really like was I believe only had a place for 2 mounting screws. It's made for countersunk screws and if you don't use the correct size flat head screw, it won't recess into the countersink far enough to allow the Wally to fit, it's that precise. I bought a second one for the outdoor TV Wally.

The only other thing I used you might be interested in is the inlet port.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/B-and-B-Molders/BM55RR.html
I bought 2 of these; the satellite dish is a dual output, the other has the inlet port for my Televes antenna, and another for park cable if available. These inlets also come in single if that's what you need. It's basically just a plastic plate with some barrel splices pressed in for the coax connections. I did press the barrel splices out and put some Belden ones in that are rated for 3ghz:

Amazon.com

Try to keep your cable as short as possible, length is the natural enemy of signal strength. Dish recommend<50 feet. Being able to have a fixed length on the runs from my dish to the inlet, one receiver has 25 feet of cable, the other 21 feet. I was able to install the inlets in the lower skirting of the slide that houses both TVs; the coax does not flex or bend with slide movement, it all moves together. The only joints in the coax are at the dish, the inlet, and at the receiver.

JJT · Oct 7, 2025

I finally installed the Flagpole Buddy with the Dish. It works well. It is a basic install - no additional receivers. Everything went smoothly, thanks to your instructions! The only thing left is buying a set screw to secure the pole in the bottom bracket. Have a great day!

Bourbon County · Oct 7, 2025

Thanks for the update, looking good.

My Flagpole buddy kit came with a nylon set screw that was stripped. I talked to their customer service and they told me that set screw was added for ham radio folks that were concerned about their antennas moving, it isn't even necessary for a satellite dish. I agree with them, as I earlier posted, mine was up during a storm with >50 mph winds and it didn't move. Wind tends to just wrap around the round dome. The screw is just a common 1/4" 20tpi. If you do get a new screw, keep in mind that the mounting cup is fiberglass, the threaded insert appears to be brass, and if the aluminum tubing was any thinner you could wrap a sandwich with it. Everything is very soft, don't use a steel screw and over torque it.

Electronics upgrade

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