RoadTrip T4 Hybrid Setup

This may be old news but a search didn't find a mention. I've always struggled with getting a good signal on the Dish western arc for one reason or another. Our old MH had a manual dish you had to hunt the signal with and I carried a freestanding dish to set away from the site if needed. Still had to hunt the signal. I had Earl add a RoadTrip T4 setup for Dish (default is Direct TV) on our 2017 2910T before picking it up. Worked ok but trees were still a problem at some locations and I no longer carried an extra antennae. Until my sister had Dish installed I hadn't heard of their eastern arc satellites. I thought it would be neat to be able to get a western or eastern signal if I was in a tight situation. I tried switching the T4 over to the eastern arc but never made it work. After many internet searches on many forums I found someone that had posted a setting that was supposed to get both western and eastern arcs. Found out there are many sets of instruction for satellites with varying info. The info this person posted had a hybrid setting for the T4. With nothing to lose but a little work I pulled the dome off again and reset the dip switches. Depending on how I park at the house I can now get 61.5 from the eastern arc one direction or 110, 119 and 61.5 from the western and eastern arc at the same time when backed in. The hybrid setting I used for the dip switches is 1 up, 2-3-4 down, 5-6 up, 7-8 down. I'm using a new wally now in place of the older 211 I previously used. I think it took about 3 resets (unplugging) on the wally but once the satellites were acquired it's fine. One downside depending on which arc your service is with you might lose your local stations but have others. Don't know if this might be of use to anyone but I like having the option for western and eastern sats and not needing to carry extra equipment when obstacles block reception. But, sometimes over the air is still all you can get.

George

So we finally got around to purchasing Dish RV for our 2018 2552 equipped with roof mounted satellite dish. We bought the Wally receiver directly from Dish and had no issues installing it or getting it to operate (after moving the rig to get out from under the trees). Our issue is that after pairing the Wally remote to operate our TVs we have now lost the ability to scan over the air channels when forced to park under trees that block the satellite signal. Dish RV technical support has pretty much been useless and has consumed 5 hours of phone time, mostly on hold while getting passed around from department to department.
Even when using the factory Samsung remote to scan for over the air channels a message pops up that says that function is not available. Has anyone had this experience? Does anyone know how to unpair the Wally remote so we can get back the ability to watch local channels when unable to receive satellite signal? I have even gone so far as to totally disconnected the satellite antenna, the Wally receiver and the RCA video cables and still cannot get the TVs to function properly like they did before the Wally remote commandeered our TVs. I am now thinking that our TVs have been infected with Covid 19! Help!

More than likely, you are using a HDMI cable to connect the Wally to the TV.  To view OTA channels, you need to switch the TV input to antenna and make sure the LED on the TV antenna is turned on.

My older Dish receiver can also take a TV antenna input and there's a "Scan for Local Channels" menu item so you use the Dish receiver to do the local channels and don't have to switch between the TV and Dish remotes.   Again, the LED on the TV amplifier needs to be on and a cable from the amplifier to the TV antenna input on the Dish receiver.

Don - thank you for replying. We are not using an HDMI cable. The MH came with a TV splitter that only accepts RCA audio and video cables so we connected the Wally that way so both TVs would receive satellite programming. 
The LED TV amplifier is on but the cable coax runs from the amplifier behind the front panel to the front TV not to the Wally. As I stated the Wally connects to the splitter with RCA cables. Are you suggesting that I should fish an HDMI cable to the front TV to connect it directly to the Wally? The scan TV screen only shows OTA and cable as options no satellite. Maybe I will reach out to PC for some direction. - Dick

No, first things first.  Get the TV remote.  Turn the TV on and on the TV remote, find the key that says INPUT.   On my Samsung TV remote, it is at the top center key.

Once you get the INPUT screen, select "Tuner" (may be labeled Antenna) and select that.  Now when you scan for TV channels, on the TV, you should have no problem.

The issue is, your TV is set to receive it's picture from the composite output of the Wally.  You have to switch it back to use the TV's built in channel tuner.

To use the Wally, you have to switch the TV back to using the composite inputs.

I just looked at a Wally's inputs.  It does NOT have a local channel antenna input... So ignore the below!

You could run a piece of antenna cable from the TV amplifier to the local TV antenna input on the Wally... If it has one.  If so, you can use the Wally to act as the TV tuner for your TV.  Then, you wouldn't need to switch the TV's input back and forth.   The local  channels the Wally finds will show up on your Dish Channel guide, on mine (not a Wally tuner) they show as yellow in their normal Channel slot.

You can't scan satellite channels, only OTA or Cable channels. 

Thanks Don, will get right after it as soon as I get the rig out of the garage and to a clearing where I can test switching back and forth. - d.

I think it's just a $10 per month charge to have Dish add local channels. Local channels show up on the Dish guide. I use DishForMYRV. As I move locations I just text Dish my new zip code, wait a few minutes and rescan. I active/pay for Dish only when I need it. Dish is fighting with NBC and ABC. On our last trip we could not get NBC on Dish.

I think it's just a $10 per month charge to have Dish add local channels. Local channels show up on the Dish guide. I use DishForMYRV. As I move locations I just text Dish my new zip code, wait a few minutes and rescan. I active/pay for Dish only when I need it. Dish is fighting with NBC and ABC. On our last trip we could not get NBC on Dish.

Yes, if you have a clear view from your antenna to the satellites, you can change which local channels you get, that works fine unless:

1.   Your parked so your antenna doesn't have a clear view of the satellites.

2.   You use Dish within your home and not all family members come with you.  When you change your location, it changes it for all receivers on your account... So your home receiver won't get any local channels as Dish uses a very small "footprint" so the local stations can only be picked up when you are near the zip code you send them.

So if your home is Elkhart but you and your RV are in Des Moines your RV will get Des Moines locals and your home will get no locals.   That's not a problem if you don't have someone at home watching local channels or you only have 1 receiver and move it back and forth between home and the RV.

We do have our son living at home, and 2 receivers so don't change local channels as we RV.

So if no satellite reception or you need to keep your home local stations set to home, then you need to be able to set your TV in the RV to receive via the TV's built in tuner to scan for local channels (or cable channels if you are connected to cable at a park) via OTA or cable channels by switching your TV's input from composite or HDMI input to its own tuner.

That's what I am explaining to RVcamper.

DONC13,
Just trying to help.
Thanks for the FLAMES!

 

DONC13,
Just trying to help.
Thanks for the FLAMES!

If you think that was a flame... You ain't seen nothing yet!
      hi there 

Sorry you thought that was a flame... Seriously, that wasn't my intention.

 
 

Don - took the coach out, locked on to the Dish signal and followed you instructions, mystery resolved, thank you very much. We can now simultaneously have either TV receiving satellite signal and the other TV on OTA local channels!
The reasons we did not purchase the local channels from Dish is because we already invested in the rig with TVs and roof mounted OTA antennas which we wanted the option to use if the satellite signal is unavailable due to trees or buildings blocking the signal. Now everything works as designed and the wife is happy.
Thanks again. - Dick and Chris.