RE: changing to satellite
drpalmer.
Since you already have DirecTV, all you need is to get a dish and your current service will work. You do have several options to consider.
1. What kind of dish? Your options would be:
a. A tripod mounted dish that you set up each time you want to watch tv. They are pretty inexpensive, and if you like to camp in wooded areas, will allow you to find a hole in the trees easier than a roof mounted dish. The downside to this type of system is just having to manually go out and set up the dish, regardless of weather, and also where to store it while traveling.
b. A roof mounted "crank up" dish. From inside your RV you would manually crank up the dish and get your signal. These cost a little more, but you don't have to worry about getting out in the weather and you don't have to store it anywhere.
c. A roof mounted automatic dish. With these, you push a button and the dish will go up and lock onto 1, 3, or 5 satellites depending on the model. The advantage to these is that they are very user friendly, and the disadvantage is that they are considerably more money. You can expect to pay anywhere from $1500 to $3300 with installation. The automatic dishes come in two styles, dome and parabolic dish. You will get better performance from a parabolic dish than you will a dome. Also, the top of the line parabolic dish is about $600 less expensive than the top of the line dome. In my opinion, domes only have 2 advantages. One is that you can get tv while "in-motion" with a dome, and the second is that you don't have to worry about stowing the dish before you leave. Honestly, if you don't need "in-motion" tv, I think you would be much happier with a regular dish. A big advantage for a regular dish is the option to get ALL of DirecTV's programming. DirecTV has moved/is moving their HD programming over to 2 new satellites that are KA band instead of KU band. Currently, domes are unable to recieve KA signals. There are a couple of automatic dishes on the market that can receive both the KU and KA band signals. They are the MotoSAT and the Winegard.
If you are mechanically inclined, you could probably do the install yourself, but most people choose to have an installer, especially for the larger automatic units. You can expect to pay around $250 to $400 for an installation, depending on your location and what you are getting.
After the installation, there really is no need to have anyone from DirecTV come out. Your installer will wire everything and all you should have to do is call DirecTV and activate your new receiver. As far as the receiver goes, you can get either a single receiver, a dual receiver, or two single receivers. You do have options, but what you are wanting to accomplish will determine which option you choose.
Jamie Billingsley
Satellite Internet Solutions
MotoSAT XF2/iDirect/101W/Viper VoIP