Satellite TV


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[Ron] I need advice on adding a satellite for my motorhome. Which is best - DISH or DIRECTV? What do I need to hook up the satellite? Is using a tripod the best way to go? Where can I find the best deal? I will be using it only 4 or 5 months a year, therefore, I do not wish to sign a contract for 12 or 24 months service. I will appreciate any advice. Thanks
 

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Satellite TV

[John] Here in San Angelo, Tx they are advertising "free" set-ups in todays paper but that requires the one year activation. They will get their money one way or the other. With a tripod you won&#039t have to worry about parking under a tree. One of many alternatives is a plow disc (18") with about 2&#039 of pipe welded to it and dish affixed to that. Just pull the dish off and you have two easy parts to move. Mine never blew over.
 

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Satellite TV

[Jim M] Agree with above--also, separate dish not mounted on motorhome is more flexible when it comes to finding a path through obstructions. If you can find a bargain basement receiver/dish--they are out there--You can add a second receiver to your in home direct-tv system for 5 bucks per month. All you need to do is unplug the receiver from your home, plug it into your motorhome, and take it with you on the road. Don&#039t know what Dish network policy is on second systems or how difficult they might be to remove and replace. Final comment, I wasn&#039t too excited about even having sat capability in my motorhome, but now that I&#039ve got it, it is one of my must haves!
 

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Satellite TV

[Donak] We just purchased a 5th wheel with satellite dish, never have dealt with them because we have cable at home. Would like to know if there is a server who offers month to month service for when we are "on the road"
 

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Satellite TV

[nash] I have the dish system at home and when we go camping I just take the box out and take it with me. I do have a extra dish and a homemade tripod that I keep in the trailer so I won&#039t have to remove my dish every time. I just pay for my home unit and it has worked fine so far but, you have to have a telephone line if you rent the movies. Aiming has been no problem. Just find another camper with the dish system and aim in the same direction while the wife watches the signal. good luck
Nash
 

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Satellite TV

[Gary R.] Ron-- I have DISH TV and if you buy an extra Dish antenna for your motor home all you have to do is take the receiver out of your house and put in your motor home at no extra charge. I have heard numerous things about Direct TV such as you have to have the receiver hooked up to a telephone line at certain times because it has to have two way communications at that time or they will charge you more or disconnect you. Also I do have an extra receiver in my motor home because I am forgetful and I keep forgetting where all those wires go so it is just easier for me to leave it hooked up and ready to go. That receiver costs me an extra $4.99 per month. But if I was still young and could remember how I connected it 6 months ago I could move the one from the house to the MH. You can get a satellite Signal Meter from CAMPERS CHOICE cateloge out of Red Bay, AL for $35.19. It is inserted into the cable just a short distance from the antenna while you are aiming it and it will buzz loudly when you have the antenna aimed at the satellite. It will also buzz loudly whenever it is aimed at any satellite, wheather it is the right one or another one. Anyway thats about all I know about this stuff. Good Luck Gary.
 

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Satellite TV

[travelers1999] We have direct tv and have NEVER had a phone line involved. You actually do not even need it for the pay for movies. As for partial year packages, I don&#039t know, but why not use it in the hosue when not on the road!
 

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Satellite TV

[Teresa P] We have had Dish Network for over 2 years now. We have an extra dish that we keep in our MH so we do not have to move it from home to MH each time. We pay extra $5 bucks for our extra receiver but I use it at home too - so I would pay the extra $5 anyway.

I never keep a phone line in either of my receivers - if we want to rent pay per view I have in the past had to plug phone line in back for 10 seconds but after that I can go for several months without ever plugging it in again.

Dish Network&#039s system allows you to enter in the zip code where you are & it gives you the angles to tilt your dish - the biggest problem I see in the campground that people do not do is keep the dish level. It must be level to get a good signal strength. If you can read a compass you will not have any problems setting up your dish. I have helped many people set theirs up and most have been other providers other than Dish Network - they all pretty much work the same.

I would be happy to give you any further info if you need it.

Happy trails!
Teresa
 

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Satellite TV

[RonS] I agree with everything you have said, and I am doing the same thing. However I wish I could take you along for when I&#039m looking for the satellite signal, takes me forever to find it. I have the dish mounted on the Motor home and move it from the inside while looking at the TV and listening to the thing and still have a very hard time getting it set. My guess is that I&#039m moving the dish to fast and not waiting for the receiver to react. Maybe this next trip (Wisconsin to Oregon) I will get it right.
RonS
 

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Satellite TV

[Jim M] Would like to echo the experiences above. I am using an "extra" receiver as mentioned above, on DSS for 5 bucks per month. It is true that you can even get PPV movies without hooking up the phone line, but I am told that after a while the receiver will "fill up" since it cannot dump to the phone line and may lock up. Also, technically, when you do this you are "pirating" movies. So, don&#039t recommend getting PPV&#039s while in this mode. I usually hook the phone line up over night at home after I sign up for a PPV. The movie then comes out on my next bill. My Sony SAT B2 seems to take its sweet time communicating with Direct TV. I have not had good luck in making the phone connection and then unhooking it quickly as mentioned above. ALso, once, I had been unhooked from the telephone line for several months, (I had not wanted PPV for a long time) One evening my wife wanted a movie, and none of the movies would activate. I called DIrect TV and they explaind that they had detected a problem with my phone line and had disabled the PPV. I asked them to check it and fix the problem--they did and I have had no problem since. Since then I have been unhooked from the phone line most of the time. Don&#039t know what caused that anomaly, but it does confirm that at least sometimes they check to see if you are connected to the phone line. None of this phone line stuff is a problem if you just forget PPV exists--that plan works well for me. We just rent videos! PPV is costing more now anyway and is not such a great bargain.
 

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Satellite TV

[Marlene] Can you rent videos when you&#039re on the road and you don&#039t have a local address for the video store? We&#039re just starting to try to figure out this whole "full-time rving thing." We&#039ve always had cable for both tv and internet, but now it looks like satallite is the only option, if it will work.

Thanks,
Marlene
 

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Satellite TV

[Jim M] Hi Marlene: Have only done it a couple of times, but some campgrounds have a limited selection of movies for rent these days. Havn&#039t tried it, but seems like we often visit family and friends while traveling across the country and you might could take advantage of their video library or use their card at the local rental place. Also, I think that both Direct TV and Dish network have a special RV type program that makes some provision for PPV movies. I bet it costs a lot more than 5 bucks a month though. If anyone knows about this maybe we will hear from them. Also, a friend of mine has just installed a DVD in his motorhome, don&#039t know where he plans on getting the discs to play.
 
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