Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

Exnavydiver · 10-08-2008, 02:48 PM

We have had Hughes for the last 7 years, we have for the most part been very satisfied with the service. We live in the armpit of northern Wisconsin with zero cell reception and very shakey hardline phones. Hughes was the only option we had or have for high speed internet. When we went on the road I scrounged an extra dish, ordered an offset bracket, and bought a CST/Berger tripod from Home Depot for 49 dollars. I downloaded a couple of programs from Datastorm users group to help with aiming and have never had a problem getting online. I have set it up and taken it down so many times that I could do it in my sleep. I am on AMC9,(83w) satellite, This particular bird and the transponder I am on has been very stable for the full time we have been on the road. Hughes and Starband are about the only systems available to the average RVer. There are other systems but the monthly cost are VERY high. Our Hughes service is 59 a month and short of trying to download feature length movies it has supplies us with all the service we need. If we were to dump Hughes we would go to Starband. One of the nice things about Starband is that when you get a system they train you and you become a licensed Starband installer which allows you to switch birds depending where you are and how the bird is working. Hughes on the other hand can be a pain in the butt and unless you get certified as one of their installers they will almost Never switch birds for you. For tech support Starband has it hands down. I no longer deal with Hughes support as it is non-existent for RVers unless you go through an installer that specializes in RV installs. As soon as I knew we were going on the road I joined Datastorm Users Group, for Sat. internet they are like the MOC. In the beginning it can all be daunting but after a few setups you get comfortable and it is a breeze. I have setup and been online in less than 10 minutes, and I have taken an hour to setup also. I took over an hour to set up both DTV and Hughes at the rally as I kept going over to talk to other people (first rally)but on the average it takes me between 15 and 25 minutes to get online. I do get rain fade but usually only when a big storm rolls through. I hope this helps... Dave P.S. Motosat is an equipment manufacturer mostly automatic systems, Hughes and starband are service providers, if you get a Motosat system you can have either Hughes or Starband.

10-08-2008, 02:48 PM	#12
Exnavydiver Montana Master Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Land O Lakes Posts: 2,751 M.O.C. #7753	We have had Hughes for the last 7 years, we have for the most part been very satisfied with the service. We live in the armpit of northern Wisconsin with zero cell reception and very shakey hardline phones. Hughes was the only option we had or have for high speed internet. When we went on the road I scrounged an extra dish, ordered an offset bracket, and bought a CST/Berger tripod from Home Depot for 49 dollars. I downloaded a couple of programs from Datastorm users group to help with aiming and have never had a problem getting online. I have set it up and taken it down so many times that I could do it in my sleep. I am on AMC9,(83w) satellite, This particular bird and the transponder I am on has been very stable for the full time we have been on the road. Hughes and Starband are about the only systems available to the average RVer. There are other systems but the monthly cost are VERY high. Our Hughes service is 59 a month and short of trying to download feature length movies it has supplies us with all the service we need. If we were to dump Hughes we would go to Starband. One of the nice things about Starband is that when you get a system they train you and you become a licensed Starband installer which allows you to switch birds depending where you are and how the bird is working. Hughes on the other hand can be a pain in the butt and unless you get certified as one of their installers they will almost Never switch birds for you. For tech support Starband has it hands down. I no longer deal with Hughes support as it is non-existent for RVers unless you go through an installer that specializes in RV installs. As soon as I knew we were going on the road I joined Datastorm Users Group, for Sat. internet they are like the MOC. In the beginning it can all be daunting but after a few setups you get comfortable and it is a breeze. I have setup and been online in less than 10 minutes, and I have taken an hour to setup also. I took over an hour to set up both DTV and Hughes at the rally as I kept going over to talk to other people (first rally)but on the average it takes me between 15 and 25 minutes to get online. I do get rain fade but usually only when a big storm rolls through. I hope this helps... Dave P.S. Motosat is an equipment manufacturer mostly automatic systems, Hughes and starband are service providers, if you get a Motosat system you can have either Hughes or Starband.