Satellite dish on RV

[RMecum]

I need a new TV antenna on my Airstream and I'm wondering if anyone has comments on how or if they like their's. I have Direct TV at home and they said they would switch between the house unit and the trailer unit with just a phone call... no charge. I just need to put a dish on the Airstream and buy a box from any vender.



You thoughts are appreciated.



Mike

 

[klenger]

Her's what I have http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm?skunum=21928&src=SRQC





Works great. See http://www.klenger.net/arctic-fox/stereo/index.html for more info.



If you use the same receiver at home and in the RV, you don't even need to call DirecTV; just take it with you. We pay $5 / month for the RV serviece (in addition to our home service) and leave it installed all year.

 

[GerryDrake]

Dish

If you opt for a dish for the RV, bear in mind that depending on the campground, trees are often a real problem and if you have the one mounted on top of the rig, you have to move the whole rig to find a path through the trees, whereas if you have a portable one, you needn't move the rig. Many people with ones on the roof also have the portable one and use an AB switch when necessary. We have two receivers and use both in the house and take both with us in the RV. We have an east coast feed and a west coast feed so we can really get 'em all. Except, of course, our local stations when we are on the road, but with the spot beam system they are using it only covers something like a 150 mile radius.



We bought a 5 1/2' section of fence post (size for the dish mount) and I often bungee it to the electrical post in better laid out parks, and fine tune its level with a pack of wooden shims.

 

[pgleavitt]

I installed the roof mount on my old 5th wheel and would not go that route again. Like Gerry said you will have to move the whole trailer to get a signal at some places. More than once i've had to hook back up and move my trailer a few feet front or back to get around trees and such. Get a good tripod and 50' of cable.

 

[ramtifosi]

I have Direct TV also and just take a home box with me when I travel, no phone calls and no extra fee. As far as the dish goes get a portable one and cable your RG6 to the outside of your rig, then you can setup your dish and where in your campsite and not have a problem with trees. All you need is the local zipcode and a compass to set it up (5 minutes or less). The newer boxes even let you adjust the time zone if you want to. I have been doing this for about 10 years. The unit I use is a Winegard (has builtin compass) from Camping World with a few mods(cheap and easy) to keep it level and a sand bag to keep it upright in the wind. Can't miss my F1.



PS- By the way- I have traveled across the country W to E, CA to NJ and south to FL then back with this setup. It never let me down. My only observation is to never get a static mount dish unless you get one of those electronic tracking ones, (about $3000) last time I checked.

 

[klenger]

A comment on trees. What's a tree? Seriously, living in AZ, trees are not much of a problem when camping in the desert. I sitll have a tripod antenna that I used before I got the roof mount antenna, but have not had to use it since installing the roof mount. I keep the tripod antenna under the bed. I really like the simple setup of the rooftop antenna. I can get it aimed in about 60 seconds, all from inside the camper. A tripod mount does have a lower cost and more versitle in trees. Having both options is the best of both, but does cost a bit, but hey, it's only money.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I use this mount http://www.rvdishmount.com/index.htm#t4 and with that and a $40 signal finder and compass from Ebay it hasn't taken me more than 3 minutes to set my satellite up anywhere (and we have LOTS of trees here in Michigan). The bullseye mount has a bubble level built into it and adjustments in the mount that allow you to easily level the dish. I'm on dish network and I bought a Dish antenna from Ebay for $50 shipped and just put my home box from the basement in the trailer when we go camping - haven't called dish or anything.

 

[mpwalker]

We have roof mount on our 5iver and in the last 7 months as fulltimers and many campgrounds we have only had one where we could not get signal due to trees, lots of campgrounds will ask you at checkin if you have a dish, if not tell them, as the good campgrounds will try to put you in a spot where the dish will work. For those times when it does not pick up a stand alone dish cheap at a garage sale and carry it with you.

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

Funny thing about trees. Right now I'm set up in Corona, CA at an RV park and my dish will only work facing directly into a large tree. Figure that one out!

 

[GerryDrake]

In the trees

One time discussing the installation and aiming with a professional that was installing one for the folks in the next space to us, he explained that the actual location that the dish/LNB is aimed is 48° above 'straight out' from the dish. If you look at the location of the LNB relative to the dish, you can see that it is lower than the center(reflected 48°) so when you stand behind the dish and try to aim for that hole in the trees, you should be aiming for that hole in the trees that is the 48° above. One time I saw a sighting tube a guy had mounted on the back side of the dish and it was set at that angle and was about a 4" long 3/8" or so diameter tube that allegedly was aimed where the dish is looking. Haven't been able to find one of those to buy. :{

 

[rickhans]

I need an update from the satellite TV users

This being an older thread, I hope to get an answer to this question: Those who have been using their Direct TV or Dishnet in their Rv's for a while now, do you have any problem due to no telephone hookup to the receiver, and why do you have to pay $5 extra for RV service?



I have been researching getting one of these services and I am now told that Direct TV dials in and checks to see that all of the receivers are still hooked to the telephone line to ensure they don't leave the house. DishNetwork also requires a phone hookup but I don't know what they do with it once the receivers are activated. I want to get a 3 or 4 receiver system then use one or 2 portable after activating them. Anyone had any problems with this?

 

[Bill Stockard]

This being an older thread, I hope to get an answer to this question: Those who have been using their Direct TV or Dishnet in their Rv's for a while now, do you have any problem due to no telephone hookup to the receiver, and why do you have to pay $5 extra for RV service?



I have been researching getting one of these services and I am now told that Direct TV dials in and checks to see that all of the receivers are still hooked to the telephone line to ensure they don't leave the house. DishNetwork also requires a phone hookup but I don't know what they do with it once the receivers are activated. I want to get a 3 or 4 receiver system then use one or 2 portable after activating them. Anyone had any problems with this?

I've have DirecTV and use the same roof mounted dish as Klenger. I have a receiver mounted in the camper that hasn't been connected to a phone line for over 4 years. I told DirecTV that it was in the bedroom and pay the $5 per month fee. I didn't tell them that it was in a bedroom on wheels! It works great and no problems with it so far.



If I watched pay for view in the camper I would need a phone connection for the receiver to download the charges to my account. Since I don't watch pay for view in the camper, I don't have to remove the receiver. If I did watch pay for view movies, the receiver will store the charge for up to 10 pay for view movies and then not allow any more until it downloads the information over a phone line.



Bill

 

[Dieselnerd]

I carry my Dish receiver all over the country with no problem. Dish does not require that the phone line be hooked up. I never hook it up at home either. No extra RV charge.

 

[SnoKing]

We just did a 3000+ mile trip down the coast from Washington and back. In Northern Calif we lost the local channels (1-99 basically). Direct TV has what they call Distant Network Services. You have to fill out a form and send it in with a copy of your vehicle registration before they will turn on (for a fee) the CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX channels from LA and NY. SNOKING

 

[rickhans]

How would they know where you are? Is there a gps transmitter in the receiver? This is sort of what I have heard and got me to asking questions. Has anyone else had this happen? I don't see how it is any of their business having license numbers. It seems like if I pay for the service, especially to receive the local channels, then I should be able to receive them on that receiver anywhere I go. It does not cost them a cent more to broadcast to me in the RV vs in my home.



Has anyone experienced this with Dish Network?

 

[SnoKing]

How would they know where you are? Is there a gps transmitter in the receiver? This is sort of what I have heard and got me to asking questions. Has anyone else had this happen? I don't see how it is any of their business having license numbers. It seems like if I pay for the service, especially to receive the local channels, then I should be able to receive them on that receiver anywhere I go. It does not cost them a cent more to broadcast to me in the RV vs in my home.



Has anyone experienced this with Dish Network?

They spot beam the different transponders. So my local channels are on like 22 which is only beamed the the NW (Washington, Oregon and Idaho).



And yes I believe the dish does similar beaming.



SNOKING

 

[rickhans]

That makes sense. When you referr to transponders, I assume you are talking about separate satelites.



How is then that you can receive some of the channels but not others? Are they doing this because of positioning requirements and distance to an area, or to share the volume of data being transmitted and have a backup in case of a failure?



How many do they actually have? I have not worked with Satelite technology since 1984 when researching ways to distribute and transmit data between stores in the eastern U. S. and timesharing computers in Texas. We were working with spread spectrum technolodgy for for bi-directional transmission and the small dishes were just coming out for this purpose. I have forgotten a lot of what I knew and never did learn about how the video broadcasting was being done.

 

[rickhans]

I just did a search and understand the use of transponders on satellites. Until now, I only knew about the transponder I use when flying a plane.



So I will modify my question. I assume that each transponder has a separate area of the country it is transmitting to. The satellite is sort of a giant multiplexor. Do they maintain more than one satellite for different parts of the country as backup and an additional way to split the load, or does one satellite handle all of the U. S. ?



I assume that if one transponder goes out, they can re-program to use another one for a specific signal. Am I getting close to understanding? It seems like everything received would have to come from only one satellite otherwise there would be a problem aligning the dish.

 

[69RoadRunner]

I assume that if one transponder goes out, they can re-program to use another one for a specific signal. Am I getting close to understanding? It seems like everything received would have to come from only one satellite otherwise there would be a problem aligning the dish.

That's why there are different LNBs on the dish. They pull signals from satellites at different angles (101 degrees, 119 degrees etc. ).



The latest dish from DirecTV has 5 LNBs. That will get you all of the regular channels, standard definition locals from the spot beam, plus the HD "cable" networks like HBOHD, ShowtimeHD etc. You can get all of those with a 3 LNB dish.



If you have their latest HD receivers, you can get your local channels in HD off the spot beam satellites. This requires the 5 LNB dish, and you have to be in an area where they're broadcasting the locals in HD (they're adding markets all the time).

 

[SnoKing]

I just did a search and understand the use of transponders on satellites. Until now, I only knew about the transponder I use when flying a plane.



So I will modify my question. I assume that each transponder has a separate area of the country it is transmitting to. The satellite is sort of a giant multiplexor. Do they maintain more than one satellite for different parts of the country as backup and an additional way to split the load, or does one satellite handle all of the U. S. ?



I assume that if one transponder goes out, they can re-program to use another one for a specific signal. Am I getting close to understanding? It seems like everything received would have to come from only one satellite otherwise there would be a problem aligning the dish.

Based on your account, they determine which transponders they are going to let your receiver "pickup". They "talk" to your receiver(s) with account detail. They are in control. They are all powerful. They hid behind FCC rules, yet XM radio claims not to be controlled by the FCC. Go firgure! SNOKING