Another 'HELP with Hopper plus 2 Joeys in my camper!' thread. I need to get educated!

[shaferz]

Long time reader - first time poster Where do I start with this post?

My house setup is 2 hoppers - 4 Joeys. Everything works great - and am VERY happy with the package we got. I currently have 3 Joeys 'linked' to one hopper (this hopper and joeys get fairly heavy usage,) and 1 Joey 'linked' to the 2nd hopper (this hopper and joey gets very light usage.) This setup seems to work best for our families usage habits. On to the challenge...

Last fall we bought a new Keystone Sprinter Camper - which came with a 'Satellite Prep' package that supposedly uses RG6 coax. The camper still has an OTA antenna, plus it has a switch to turn on an amplifier for the antenna. 3 TV's (one in main living area - one in bunkhouse area for the kids, and one in the outside kitchen area.) We live in the middle of nowhere, so OTA stations are few and far between.

Here is what I would like to do if everything were easy: When we we go camping - I want to disconnect and bring that 'light usage' Hopper with us. There is already a LOT saved on the built-in DVR, and would save some cost as opposed to adding another hopper to our fleet. I would also buy (amazon?) two Joeys to supply video to the two other TV's in the camper. So again, 1 hopper + 2 Joeys is the goal here.

Here are primary questions:
1. Has anyone successfully set this up in their camper?
2. Assuming I am able to bring one of my current hoppers, and buy 2 new Joeys, will the Hopper recognize and be able to 'link' to the the two Camper Joeys? And then will it recognize and 're-link' to the Joeys in the house when we return from our trip?
3. Which actual Satellite dish would I need for this? Want to do one of the setups where I can place the dish on a tri-pod. Really do not want one of the Wineguard setups. Not familiar with a 'LNB' and have no clue what I would need 'before the node.' Need some big help here.
4. How does the 'aiming' of a dish work? Is this relatively easy?

Here is my understanding of what I would need to acquire to accomplish this:

- LUCK! ( )
- 2 New Joeys.
- 1 Solo Node
- 1 dish + lnb (?)
- RG6 Coax with connectors? I'm fine with running new coax inside the camper if needed - but was hopeful that I could mount the 'Solo Node' on the outside of the camper by the the satellite prep hookup inlet - which hopefully would avoid having to run any new cables from the outside of the camper to the inside of the camper.

Thanks all for any help and suggestions. I am not a satellite installer obviously - but have a quick learning curve - and have lofty goals regarding when I can get this done - we are going camping next weekend and want to get this stuff bought and shipped to me for install THIS COMING FRIDAY. Eeek!

Zach

 

[Joe Satellite Fan]

Your setup is similar to what I have. But my install is permanent, I don't move anything back and forth. However, I have moved Hoppers and Joeys from a solo node system to a duo node system and other than time, there's not a lot of difficulty involved. Another must is that when you move the Hopper, make sure you do a switch check or you will have multiple issues once they are turned on. Not knowing where you are, the 1000.2 is the dish you probably want. Mine works from the west coast to at least Alabama (all the further east I've been). In order to run 2 Joeys and a Hopper, you need 3 cable inputs to the camper. As for the node, my is atop my camper but I have the Winegard Trav'ler. It's totally automatic, but a bit pricey. I had mine installed when I ordered the camper, so was little impact price-wise to me. I only use 1 Joey, and my camper came with 3 inputs on the roof, so that wasn't a problem for me.

Good luck with your short time frame. Have you ever aimed a dish? The Hopper makes this task a little more difficult. Your wiring should be sufficient. You won't know that until you try it.

My 2 cents

 

[boba]

For a simple camper system you might want to try a 1000.2 dish with two 211 receivers. You can add a hard drive if you want a DVR in the camper. 211 and 211K have RF outputs so you can use coax to send signals to outside and bunkhouse. If owned you can turn on and off subscriptions at will.

 

[shaferz]

Your setup is similar to what I have. But my install is permanent, I don't move anything back and forth. However, I have moved Hoppers and Joeys from a solo node system to a duo node system and other than time, there's not a lot of difficulty involved. Another must is that when you move the Hopper, make sure you do a switch check or you will have multiple issues once they are turned on. Not knowing where you are, the 1000.2 is the dish you probably want. Mine works from the west coast to at least Alabama (all the further east I've been). In order to run 2 Joeys and a Hopper, you need 3 cable inputs to the camper. As for the node, my is atop my camper but I have the Winegard Trav'ler. It's totally automatic, but a bit pricey. I had mine installed when I ordered the camper, so was little impact price-wise to me. I only use 1 Joey, and my camper came with 3 inputs on the roof, so that wasn't a problem for me.

Good luck with your short time frame. Have you ever aimed a dish? The Hopper makes this task a little more difficult. Your wiring should be sufficient. You won't know that until you try it.

My 2 cents

Thanks for the input. I am in central Illinois. I am a bit confused in regards to needing 3 inputs into the camper though.

My home setup (two hoppers, 4 Joeys) has 3 coax cables going into the Duo Node (I presume from somewhere on the dish itself.) On the output side of the Duo Node, There are coax cables hooked up like so:

'TO HOST' -----> This feeds into the house and is connected directly to a Hopper.
'TO HOST' -----> This feeds into the house and connects to a 'TAP' that splits the signal some how. One side says 'To Host' and is connected to the 2nd Hopper. The other side says 'To Client' and is hooked up to a splitter that splits 3 ways to feed 3 Joeys.
'TO CLIENT' -----> This feeds into the garage and is connected directly to a Joey.

So if I want to do 1 Hopper and 2 Joeys, wouldn't I have two feeds out of the Node? I'd assume one would hook to a 'To Host' which would connect to the Hopper, and another would connect to 'To Client' which I could then split inside to feed the two Joeys...?

Or maybe I'm just not understanding in a basic sense how the system works. Like I said - brand new to this stuff - so I am just comparing to what we've got here now.

Also... no... I've never aimed a dish. Was hopeful there was some sort of nifty little tool that I could buy that would assist with this. lol

 

[shaferz]

For a simple camper system you might want to try a 1000.2 dish with two 211 receivers. You can add a hard drive if you want a DVR in the camper. 211 and 211K have RF outputs so you can use coax to send signals to outside and bunkhouse. If owned you can turn on and off subscriptions at will.

We need (rather want) to be able to watch all 3 TV's at the same time and all be able to watch different programming. Was thinking that if I am able to just bring my 2nd Hopper (which we are already paying for) with me, my subscriptions wouldn't be affected....? Maybe not. Joeys are even cheaper than the 211k's that I saw..

 

[shaferz]

Reading online it sounds like I would still owe Dish another $14 a month ($7 per each new Joey) whether I buy them outright or not... ? Not a huge deal - just want to be clear. I understand that talking to Dish CSR's about this would likely lead to mass confusion.

Wonder if I could just call Dish and say I want to 'add' two more TV's (Joeys) and they'd send a tech out with two of the things - and then when the dude gets here - SURPRISE!? WE ARE INSTALLING INTO A CAMPER! Presuming I already had the dish itself and the Hopper out in the camper...? This makes my brain hurt. haha

 

[lucky86]

Yes, $7 each.

Posted Via The FREE SatelliteGuys Reader App!

 

[shaferz]

Yes, $7 each.

Posted Via The FREE SatelliteGuys Reader App!

Thanks for clearing that up. Can each be deactivated for months at a time while they are not used?

 

[lucky86]

Of purchased, yes

Posted Via The FREE SatelliteGuys Reader App!

 

[boba]

Long time reader - first time poster Where do I start with this post?

My house setup is 2 hoppers - 4 Joeys. Everything works great - and am VERY happy with the package we got. I currently have 3 Joeys 'linked' to one hopper (this hopper and joeys get fairly heavy usage,) and 1 Joey 'linked' to the 2nd hopper (this hopper and joey gets very light usage.) This setup seems to work best for our families usage habits. On to the challenge...

Last fall we bought a new Keystone Sprinter Camper - which came with a 'Satellite Prep' package that supposedly uses RG6 coax. The camper still has an OTA antenna, plus it has a switch to turn on an amplifier for the antenna. 3 TV's (one in main living area - one in bunkhouse area for the kids, and one in the outside kitchen area.) We live in the middle of nowhere, so OTA stations are few and far between.

Here is what I would like to do if everything were easy: When we we go camping - I want to disconnect and bring that 'light usage' Hopper with us. There is already a LOT saved on the built-in DVR, and would save some cost as opposed to adding another hopper to our fleet. I would also buy (amazon?) two Joeys to supply video to the two other TV's in the camper. So again, 1 hopper + 2 Joeys is the goal here.

Here are primary questions:
1. Has anyone successfully set this up in their camper?
2. Assuming I am able to bring one of my current hoppers, and buy 2 new Joeys, will the Hopper recognize and be able to 'link' to the the two Camper Joeys? And then will it recognize and 're-link' to the Joeys in the house when we return from our trip?
3. Which actual Satellite dish would I need for this? Want to do one of the setups where I can place the dish on a tri-pod. Really do not want one of the Wineguard setups. Not familiar with a 'LNB' and have no clue what I would need 'before the node.' Need some big help here.
4. How does the 'aiming' of a dish work? Is this relatively easy?

Here is my understanding of what I would need to acquire to accomplish this:

- LUCK! ( )
- 2 New Joeys.
- 1 Solo Node
- 1 dish + lnb (?)
- RG6 Coax with connectors? I'm fine with running new coax inside the camper if needed - but was hopeful that I could mount the 'Solo Node' on the outside of the camper by the the satellite prep hookup inlet - which hopefully would avoid having to run any new cables from the outside of the camper to the inside of the camper.

Thanks all for any help and suggestions. I am not a satellite installer obviously - but have a quick learning curve - and have lofty goals regarding when I can get this done - we are going camping next weekend and want to get this stuff bought and shipped to me for install THIS COMING FRIDAY. Eeek!

Zach

Suggest you buy a 1000.2 and a tripod and a tuning meter and using your Hopper try setting just the one receiver up in your driveway before FRI. Bet you can't do it!!!!

 

[SomeDishGuy]

Reading online it sounds like I would still owe Dish another $14 a month ($7 per each new Joey) whether I buy them outright or not... ? Not a huge deal - just want to be clear. I understand that talking to Dish CSR's about this would likely lead to mass confusion.

Wonder if I could just call Dish and say I want to 'add' two more TV's (Joeys) and they'd send a tech out with two of the things - and then when the dude gets here - SURPRISE!? WE ARE INSTALLING INTO A CAMPER! Presuming I already had the dish itself and the Hopper out in the camper...? This makes my brain hurt. haha

Whole lot of info in the thread, so I am going to cherry-pick a little.

If you run one Hopper in the RV, I'd recommend getting a solo node to only use in the RV. Two lines from the Dish antenna. One line out to host (Hopper), one line out of client that would use a splitter, and those two lines go to each of the two Joeys.

Don't set up a tech and say "surprise RV!". I hope one of the techs on the board will weigh in, but they're not supposed to do anything with an RV, but if you just ask the tech to leave the Joeys and not install them, I am hoping they would do so. If you purchase the two extra Joeys, (and you don't have to do that through Dish, there are retailers and online retailers that sell them, for what you're doing, buying from a retailer makes a lot more sense), you can activate and de-activate them at your pleasure, and the $7/month is only charged during the time they're activated.

Disclaimer: As a Dish employee, my writing and opinions are my own, and not those of my employer.

 

[david_jr]

Since you already plan on taking one of your Hoppers out of the house to use in RV I see no good reason not to grab 2 of your Joeys to take as well and save $14 a month. That is unless someone is going to be watching them while you are gone. You should be able to get enough help on this board as to what to order and how to do the install. The trickiest part will probably be the dish pointing. Might want to get one of those Dish Buddy sat meters since you will be pointing everytime you go camping.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

I realize that it is expensive,but if you could afford a Winegard Trav'ler,that would be the optimal way to go. I myself have no confidence that I could ever both set up a dish or locate a satellite. If a Trav'ler,Tailgater,or Pathway X2 can do the satellite search for me,I'm going the path of least resistance.

 

[Bobby]

I realize that it is expensive,but if you could afford a Winegard Trav'ler,that would be the optimal way to go. I myself have no confidence that I could ever both set up a dish or locate a satellite. If a Trav'ler,Tailgater,or Pathway X2 can do the satellite search for me,I'm going the path of least resistance.

but will they work with a Hopper/Joey configuration? Tailgaters and Pathway definitely not...

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

but will they work with a Hopper/Joey configuration? Tailgaters and Pathway definitely not...

Trav'ler ideally should. You just have to add the node(duo if you want 2 Hoppers/solo if you only want 1 Hopper or 1 Hopper & Super Joey plus integrator).

 

[satnewb]

As a former tech I will say this. Don't assume the "surprise RV!" will go over well. I was always willing to do it, as long as the customer was patient and understanding of the situation. I would always leave a dish/lnb/some sort of mount for folks to try and use. Just remember you'll have to set up and re-aim the dish every time you stop. I imagine it could get frustrating without the proper tools/meter. Also, the skew/elevation settings will vary depending on where you stop, so some slight adjustments will be needed.

Some techs, on the other hand, will outright refuse to help you and walk away from the job. Going thru a retailer, if you can find one, would eliminate that.

As far as joeys. I would also advise either using 2 of your existing from the house, or purchasing on amazon, etc. Once you call and deactivate a leased joey Dish will expect it to be returned within 30ish days.

 

[harshness]

Joeys are even cheaper than the 211k's that I saw..

The monthly charges for six Joeys isn't cheap.

 

[satnewb]

Monthly charges for 6 joeys is the same as it would be for 4 joeys and 2 211's.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

Avoid future frustration & regret(in trying to set up a dish each time you park your RV for the night) & just get the Trav'ler. Also,if you can wait until the Wireless Joey is released,just exchange 2 of your Joeys for Wireless Joeys & take those from your house to your RV when you go on vacation. You can always carry a back up satellite dish with you if for some reason you park somewhere that doesn't have LOS for the Trav'ler,& your hair pulling will be reduced to a minimum. But all of this advice I'm giving you,I'm probably sounding like the government spending YOUR money

 

[Joe Satellite Fan]

Been watching this from the start, already chimed in. My camper is setup with the Trav'ler and hookup is pretty simple, providing your camper is wired correctly. Even if it's not, whoever installs that dish will get everything working for you. I love the fact that I just push a button and it's done. Watching TV in just a few minutes. Why did I get the Trav'ler? I always set up my own dishes and got really good at it. But all that "honey, what's the signal now" shouting grew pretty old pretty quick. Not to mention annoying the neighbors.
About the equipment, I agree with the others, if you're going to move the Hopper, why not move all of it that you need. And I did the "surprise" thing on my initial install and the tech was very understanding ... but made it perfectly clear that he wouldn't go up on the top of the camper, so I had to do all the wiring myself (which was not a problem for me). Good luck with this!