KevinH Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 My Winegard traveler will not connect to satellites. I have checked everything Winegard has told me to check an the bottom line is they want me to pack it up and ship it to them. At a minimum of $350 plus tax plus shipping. I’m debating whether it’s worth it or not. The following items are in perfect condition reflector ,feed arm sheath cable and LMB. I’ve inspected all the cables and connections there’s no corrosion anywhere. I connected a new cable from the LNB to the turret still no connection. It’s out of warranty and it’s about a year and a half away from being out of repair. Winegard will only repair items that are less than five years old. I talked to Joh at Rf Mogul. I had read somewhere that they sold parts for travelers. That was false but he went out of his way to find me somebody that could possibly fix it and sell me parts. If I decide to pitch this thing I’m definitely going to go with Rf Mogul. They sell parts for every component in their unit. Not like traveler they’ll only sell you an LMB and they discourage you from purchasing an LMB because they say one in 10,000 go bad. Not sure about all that. Just wondering if anybody else has had a similar situation that I am in thanks Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis H Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Have you UNPLUGGED the unit inside the coach? Unplug it for 30 minutes and plug it back in if you haven't. This will reset it. I'm assuming, from your description, that the dish continues to spin without connecting. If that correct? Unless you hit it on something the head shouldn't matter. That said, grab one off another dish, and install it. Then try it. I found out about the reset thingy at an FMCA convention because mine was doing that. Cost me $65 bucks for the 'techie' to come to the coach and do it. Live n learn.....Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) Have you looked inside the turret, there are cables that twist with the reflector rotations. Might have pulled out or broke, maybe. Edited November 7, 2020 by Ivan K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry W Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Read pages 7-9 and try the suggestions for hard reset and Calibrate El. Have used the calibrate El several times and Travler started working correctly. TRAVLER Antennas Module.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Nodine Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 18 hours ago, Ivan K said: Have you looked inside the turret, there are cables that twist with the reflector rotations. Might have pulled out or broke, maybe. We once had a problem with the Traveler and could not get anyone to work on it. I finally determined that one of the cables inside the turret like Ivan is showing was bad. Ours was an older unit and had four cables, A,B,C, and D. One of them, can't remember which connects to the box under the turret like in Ivan's photo. That is how the dish sees the satellites and if it is bad the dish will hunt until it times out and then will store. If you do decide to take the turret apart be sure and pay close attention to how the key shown in the bottom of the photo above is placed in the slot. When I first put ours back together I did it wrong and had to take it back apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandick66 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 If the IDU (Indoor Unit) is indicating no connection, then more than likely there is a problem with the IDU or the wiring from it to the antenna assembly. The IDU needs to “talk” to the antenna before it will start searching for satellite signals. So, there is no need to look at LNBs or their cabling (yet). What Winegard told you about LNB failures is true, they rarely fail. My antenna got stuck in zenith (bird bath) position a couple of years ago and I opened it up and determined on of the motors was bad. I found a replacement motor, but there is some programming that needs to be done inside the assembly. I saw an RJ45 connector, but couldn’t find anything on how to program the assembly. Winegard runs a tight ship that way. They offered no troubleshooting help or assistance - just send the antenna and IDU to them for repair. I bit the bullet and sent it in. Turnaround was pretty quick, less than 2 weeks. Like Dennis H said, try unplugging it and waiting a while. Also, check the connection on the back of the IDU and make sure it is clicking/locking into position. Dan D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonwink Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 After troubleshooting my Winegard GM1518 Carryout via emails with tech support for over a week and trying to get them to sell me parts, I finally (after many months) shipped it to them. The flat rate on diagnosis was $70 after shipping it prepaid. The replaced a couple small components on the circuit board (I didn't know anyone had the skill to find and replace defective parts on a circuit board these days) and shipped it back to me with a new set of cables. The new cable set cost a lot more than cost to repair (on top of the cost for diagnosis). It's been working great since then. I went to my local UPS store to buy a 24" cube box to ship it to them. UPS wanted about $75 for shipping. I sent it through the USPS for $27. It came back in a box 23" x 23" x 17" high - the cost to ship that was only $17 (I saved that box - just in case). Burlington Iowa isn't that far from me - just up the river a few hours drive but I was told shipments had to arrive by common carrier. Yes, they will not sell parts like circuit boards but at least they don't scrap their circuit boards and sell you new ones when just a couple of components fail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinH Posted November 9, 2020 Author Share Posted November 9, 2020 Well I did everything everybody said to do new calibration, turned it off overnight turned it back on the next day, took it off and inspected all the wiring everything is super clean no corrosion and No worn parts. So I emailed Winegard the repair request form and they informed me that it’s not eligible for repair because it’s over five years old. I bought it brand new in 2017. According to them the serial number is from 2015. I have a call into the dealer Transwest to see what’s going on haven’t heard back from them yet. Winegard did say they would sell me a new turret but I haven’t received a price yet.Thanks for everybody’s help Just received an email from Winegard $1030.57 plus tax plus shipping for a new turret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 Did they give you a reason why it is the turret and not the control box? Anyway, that is crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandick66 Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 I just looked up my RMA info from when I sent in my unit. My coach is a 2012 and my Winegard Traveler failed in 2018. No where on the form does it ask for a serial number, so I don’t know how they determined your unit was from 2015. I just filled out a form with my credit card info. Repair charge was flat rate of $350. I’m assuming you have the SK1000, right? I would fight them about the 5 year deal. I’ve never heard of anything like that. Try escalating this to a supervisor or someone that can make a decision in your favor. Dan D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinH Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 When I bought my RV from Transwest in Denver it had an old satellite dish on it that didn’t work. So they swapped it out for a traveler. I just assumed it was a new one. Come to find out it was a two year old unit off another RV they did not tell me this until yesterday. So the unit is five years and eight months old. I’m attaching a copy of the new form that they have now prices have gone up and anything over five years is not repairable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinH Posted November 10, 2020 Author Share Posted November 10, 2020 This is the email I received from Winegard. I wasn’t trying to get them to warrantee it just repair it at my Expense.I will never buy another Winegard product again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 51 minutes ago, KevinH said: This is the email I received from Winegard. I wasn’t trying to get them to warrantee it just repair it at my Expense.I will never buy another Winegard product again. Yeah, don't blame you, that sucks. Have they told you what part you need? Once a while there is something on eBay, that's how I got ours working, pretty much swapped the whole thing for cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandick66 Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Unbelievable that they won’t fix it. I find it hard to believe that they don’t “have the parts” to repair it. I doubt they made any major changes to the turret. I know you already talked to Winegard, but what exactly are your symptoms? What does the IDU display indicate? Does the antenna assembly raise up and scan? Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinH Posted November 11, 2020 Author Share Posted November 11, 2020 No Winegard would not tell me what part could possibly be wrong with it at this point the only thing they’ll talk to me about is buying a new turret. The IDU functions as it always does powers up goes into search mode you can watch the satellite it points in the right direction it looks like it’s fine-tuning and nothing comes up on the display just says searching . Then after a while it will just stow itself. I’ve also tried it in manual search for each individual Satellite still does the same thing just says searching. Yesterday before I remove the turret from the RV I parked it in a parking lot with no obstruction and level. Also ran a new cable from the turret to the LNB as instructed by Winegard and still no single. I’m gonna bite the bullet and buy an Rf Mogul. Their technical support is awesome. They also sell parts for any component on their system. Winegard you call them they never answer the phone You leave a message sometimes they call you back that day sometimes it’s the next day call them on a Friday you won’t get a call back until Monday if they call you back. Maybe I can sell this thing to somebody for parts everything is in excellent condition looks brand new. I’m going to install the Rf Mogul myself so if anybody wants me to post how it goes let me know and I can post it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandick66 Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Sorry to hear you can’t get it fixed. One thing you might want to try before you buy the RF Mogul.... I know LNB failures are rare, but you might want to make sure the LNB is getting voltage. It is either 12 or 18 volts DC (I can’t remember). It sounds like the IDU is “talking “ to the antenna, otherwise you would be getting an error indicating it could not find the antenna. I hate to see you she’ll out money for a whole new system if it’s something minor. Something else to consider is picking up a Winegard Pathway X2. You can use it in place of the SK1000 and it will receive both Eastern and Western Arc satellites. I have one and it comes in handy when you’re in locations where the Western are satellites are blocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Hutto Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 @KevinH Your experience mirrors mine with Winegard. My issue was a nylon (?) gear in the adjusting mechanism that was badly worn. Probably a $0.10 part that they could have sold for $10. But they refused to sell parts. Like you it was an entire new turret or nothing. My solution was to dispose of all of my Winegard equipment and buy a King Traveller sat dish for $279 (it’s been a couple of years) and a King Jack OTA antenna. Winegard’s support - both tech support and parts - is very lacking, to be generous about it. I guess their philosophy is that their equipment is “throw-away ready”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandick66 Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 I know I’m responding late to this, but I wanted to say I agree with everyone about Winegard’s customer support. The only reason I had mine repaired is because of the amount of money I spent on the motorhome and didn’t want to have a “roof ornament”. I decided I would get the Traveler repaired 1 time and if it works for a long time, I’ll be ok. When it craps out I’ll probably go for the RF Mogul. To add insult to injury, here is a screenshot of an email I received from them the other day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinH Posted November 25, 2020 Author Share Posted November 25, 2020 LOL So much for traveler choice awards. Update on my situation I did send my LNB into to Rf Mogul and they tested it and it’s working properly. They’re going to use that LNB on their system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis H Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Winegard is a BIG company. When each employee writes a positive review, their status elevates. Same with Yelp. Like political polls, they can't be trusted....Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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