Datron 4000: Trouble shoot; Replace

1995 Liberty:
The coach has a Datron 4000 DBS satellite dish hooked to a Sony reciever. It seems to be living up to it's reputation as unreliable. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I have rebooted etc but is always "searching". The red indicator light is blinking indicating all is not well.

Q1. Do any of you all have any great trouble shooting tips?

Q2. I hate to spend any diagnostic money on a system that old and would just as soon replace with a new system if the current one is not an easy fix. Discussion with a forum Guru indicates a preference for TracStar as a replacement? In motion cabability is not firm requirement. Comments? Recommendations?

Q3. What is the group think on color matching the dome? I am inclined to do so but does it have to be done immediately while still new. Any tips on prep for painting, etc. Should one just leave this to someone who knowswhat they are doing. Comments?

Thanks,

Jim,

We discussed this briefly, but I went through a long process with my old satellite. The phone techs were very little help, so the Liberty guys plugged in the computer and proclaimed the receiver was bad. A new receiver did not solve the problem, so I attempted to at least identify what was wrong. Same symptoms as yours: it could not find the signal.

I turned off power to the dish, put the receiver on and went to the diagnostics and looked at the signal strength page on the TV. I manually aimed the dish in the area of the satellite (the receiver will tell you the heading and azumith if you give it a location or zip code) and BINGO, I got good reception. The problem was with the satellite dish's ability to sense and lock onto a signal. I found that my problems were not unique and I decided the solution for me was a new one. I made the decision since we are in this for the long haul and before we got the new one we had some problems on almost every trip.

We now have TracStar. Very pleased because it locks on very fast, and stays locked on. Very simple installation using only the single coax to the roof. We did not paint the dome. I understand painting the dome with non-metallic paint does not adversely affect the signal, but I did not want to add anything that would have the potential to affect it.

Ditto what Jon said. I have had to replace two datron units over the years (they were original equipment) after spending 6-800 dollars on parts to fix a poor system. Each time I put on a trac star. They work fantastic. The current one I painted with Dupont imron basecoat/clearcote to match the bus. No noticeable difference in reception. And don't even think about KVH.

What are the down sides to KVH? I see that at least one of the converters installs KVH as original.
Kevin

Jim,

We can only speak from our experience. We had a Trac-Star system in our Liberty and it would not work. After several phone calls with Dishnet, the problem ended up being one of the boxes in the Trac-Star unit. It was still under warranty, they replaced it at no charge, and the problem was solved. Extremely nice people to deal with.

We had the KVH system in both our Vantares and they worked perfectly, never a problem. (well other then Bob having a slight impact with the dome wand our overhead garage door track;) ) We also had one of the domes painted to match the coach. We were told that as long as you use non-metallic paint, there should not be an issue. We found that to be true.

We just ordered new access cards for the Millennium which has a KVH system as well. We will soon find out if they work or not but I am guessing they will be fine. So, there's our experience to add to your research.

Jim,

JDUB and I both have Tracvision with the flat top antenna and like the setup. You can't even see the antenna due to it's low profile. I don't think the rain effects it much more than the big round dishes. Mine seems to be real sensitive to voltage, so when dry camping, I set up the auto-start a little higher on start voltage and that seems to have solved the problem. When plugged in of course it's not a factor.

Thanks all.
Will be replacing mine with a TracStar