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Old 04-21-2018, 04:19 PM   #1
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Installing new coax cable in Denali 293RKS

We've had problems with getting/keeping internet service and cable through Spectrum because of interference in the built-in cabling. So, on the suggestion of a number of other posters, I contacted Dutchmen Customer service asking for a map/diagram of the existing wiring. I got the following response:

Thank you for contacting Keystone/Dutchmen/Crossroads RV. I am sorry; we do not have such diagrams available to publish. Please contact your nearest authorized dealer for assistance.

I haven't recontacted DCS to explain what this means. Any thoughts?

Apparently, according to the Spectrum technician who came out to troubleshoot the wiring, there was interference from the external input to the cable/antenna switch as well as from the switch to the bedroom connector. Also, it seems that our year-old Hisense TV was generating interference via its coax connector. We wound up having to watch local cable programming through a spectrum app on our Roku. Any suggestions about where to start with this project would be great.
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Old 04-21-2018, 05:55 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EdsonSchaus View Post
We've had problems with getting/keeping internet service and cable through Spectrum because of interference in the built-in cabling. So, on the suggestion of a number of other posters, I contacted Dutchmen Customer service asking for a map/diagram of the existing wiring. I got the following response:

Thank you for contacting Keystone/Dutchmen/Crossroads RV. I am sorry; we do not have such diagrams available to publish. Please contact your nearest authorized dealer for assistance.

I haven't recontacted DCS to explain what this means. Any thoughts?

Apparently, according to the Spectrum technician who came out to troubleshoot the wiring, there was interference from the external input to the cable/antenna switch as well as from the switch to the bedroom connector. Also, it seems that our year-old Hisense TV was generating interference via its coax connector. We wound up having to watch local cable programming through a spectrum app on our Roku. Any suggestions about where to start with this project would be great.
Not unusual for the manufacture not to know how circuits and systems are installed.

Regarding the gobbly-gook from the technician it looks like a lot of 'dazzle 'em with details' kind of crap for saying he didn't know.

What most have done for starters is to replace all the crimped on coax connectors with high quality compression fittings. Next was to find all the bottom of the barrel splitters and combiners and replace them with high quality 2.4 ghz splitters. Those to be compliant with satellite TV. You may want to replace the OTA antenna amplifier as well. They don't usually pose a problem so that could be a last option.
Those easy fixes may very well solve your problems. That's not to say a blind installer didn't push a staple through one of the coax cables. That can be diagnosed with a VOM. If a cable is disconnected at both ends and it has continuity then there's a problem with that cable.
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Old 04-21-2018, 11:35 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EdsonSchaus View Post
We've had problems with getting/keeping internet service and cable through Spectrum because of interference in the built-in cabling. So, on the suggestion of a number of other posters, I contacted Dutchmen Customer service asking for a map/diagram of the existing wiring. I got the following response:

Thank you for contacting Keystone/Dutchmen/Crossroads RV. I am sorry; we do not have such diagrams available to publish. Please contact your nearest authorized dealer for assistance.

I haven't recontacted DCS to explain what this means. Any thoughts?

Apparently, according to the Spectrum technician who came out to troubleshoot the wiring, there was interference from the external input to the cable/antenna switch as well as from the switch to the bedroom connector. Also, it seems that our year-old Hisense TV was generating interference via its coax connector. We wound up having to watch local cable programming through a spectrum app on our Roku. Any suggestions about where to start with this project would be great.

Funny, I called them this week about the same issue with my Denali. They gave me the same answer. Go to the dealer...laughs out loud! The dealer is in the same boat and can’t give any answers. I have two satellite connections and found out that one for the bedroom and one for the living room. Go figure! I do this for a living so I changed all the connectors with Klein crimp on, changed the splitters to ones that compliment direct tv and made sure all the coax was RV-6 (which it was). Spectrum uses the 50 hz area for internet so you must have s-litters that pass those 5-50 frequencies bi-directionally which they don’t install in an RV. You will probably need to replace or bypass the amplifier portion of the antenna system also.
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Old 04-21-2018, 11:53 PM   #4
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My bad on the 2.4 ghz frequency, I had WIFI on the brain.
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Old 04-22-2018, 12:41 PM   #5
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Thanks for the info. I have very limited experience in this area, basically running coax from a bedroom to an antenna above our garage at home. But like any "homeowner", I'll giver a go!
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Old 04-22-2018, 12:44 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sundancer 87 View Post
Not unusual for the manufacture not to know how circuits and systems are installed.

Regarding the gobbly-gook from the technician it looks like a lot of 'dazzle 'em with details' kind of crap for saying he didn't know.
Thanks for the info. I have very limited experience in this area, basically running coax from a bedroom to an antenna above our garage at home. But like any "homeowner", I'll giver a go!
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Old 04-22-2018, 12:51 PM   #7
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Funny, I called them this week about the same issue with my Denali. They gave me the same answer. Go to the dealer...laughs out loud!
Thanks for the reply. The reply from the service was so oddly worded is what throws me, " we do not have such diagrams available to publish." It almost sounds like they have the diagrams but they don't want to give them directly to owners? Anyway, it'll be just another project form the spring and summer once we get back from the Reo Grande Valley. Take care.
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Old 04-22-2018, 03:27 PM   #8
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Sounds like a "complete run through of the entertainment system" need to be added to the pdi. Make the dealer fix this stuff before it leaves the yard. Hell, I would take my satellite dish with me and set it up right at the dealership.
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Old 04-22-2018, 05:40 PM   #9
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Sounds like a "complete run through of the entertainment system" need to be added to the pdi. Make the dealer fix this stuff before it leaves the yard. Hell, I would take my satellite dish with me and set it up right at the dealership.
PDI?

Thanks in advance!
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Old 04-22-2018, 06:04 PM   #10
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Pre-Delivery Inspection; PDI. You make sure everything is satisfactory before you turn over the check. Once you turn over the check, for the most part, you're dead to them (usually). I don't believe there are any "official wiring diagrams. This is evident in the fact that people on this site can compare their plumbing/wiring and no two are identical.
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Old 04-22-2018, 07:59 PM   #11
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Pre-Delivery Inspection; PDI.
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Our rig is a 2013, so that shipped has sailed.
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Old 04-23-2018, 04:53 PM   #12
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Spectrum is a catv internet company that supplies triple play through the coaxial system. This requires the dreaded set top cable box and a hard wired cable connection from the provider. They do not do satellite. This is a pretty easy fix for the most part. Replace the splitters with splitters that are 5-2.4 GHz capable. You can get them at Walmart or Lowe’s for about seven bucks. Secondly the coax cable should be RG-6. Copper covered steel center conductor and aluminum shield (not copper).
https://www.lowes.com/pd/IDEAL-Zinc-...CABEgJYffD_BwE

The power amp (the connection with the push button and the little light) will probable need to be bypassed with one of these splitters... if you want to have off-the-air capability, you will need to bypass it with a splitter, combiner and it will be a little tricky but can be done. You will most likely need to add another jack in the area of the amp and a bypass cable (there is a post here that details,how that’s done). It’s very doable but remember, most of the splitters that are installed will be in the area of the tv and radio (the radio feeds off the antenna system). I got around that by installing a separate antenna for the radio and taking it completely out of the internal system).

Good luck.
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Old 04-23-2018, 04:55 PM   #13
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By the way, a combiner is a splitter placed backwards in the system. Instead of a one to two it becomes a two to one..not rocket science.
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