Dish Network Blues - Montana Owners Club

simonsrf · 10-28-2006, 02:57 PM

I should have known, but I thought I had done the research, and now I am asking the forum to help me get out of this jam.

I purchased dish network with the local channels for Seattle before starting to fulltime. We are fulltiming now, and in Santa Rosa CA, but do not get any of our local channels. So, I called dish and was told that I had to have a RV waiver faxed to them and then it would be 3-4 weeks before we could get any of the network channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX). I talked with the represenative and she told me that I would have to select a network programming of Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York for a charge of $5.99 a month. If the solution to this problem is to throw money at dish network that would be fine with me, but I'm guessing that if I'm not within a certain radius of Los Angeles, I won't get these channels.

My problem is that we will be travelling. If I select Los Angeles, does that mean that I will lose the network channels?

There has to be a cure to this problem. We want to be able to record out DVR programs wherever we are located...Somebody has to have the solution......HELP!

Thanks!

richfaa · 10-28-2006, 03:27 PM

Perhaps I am missing something here but every city has the local network channels, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX. You can pick up the networks anywhere you are via the camper TV antenna. True you will not get, in our case the local Cleveland, Ohio area news and weather but if we are wintering in Lake Havasu Az we are not all the interested in the Cleveland news and weather. We pick up the networks via the Havasu Tv channels... When we set up our satellite we just run the Camper Tv antenna through the satellite receiver and when we want to watch the network programing..switch over... Am I missing something or not understanding something???

Charlie · 10-28-2006, 03:55 PM

Blame it on the cable companies. Yes there is considerable confusion about what is available. Just last week I was told that the E/W Coast feeds were no longer available on Dish Network. Someone just posted because of litigation Dish was unable to do this after Dec. 1.

From what you are saying it sounds like that if you subscribed for the majors from Los Angles you should be able to get them anywhere you traveled. Check this thread as fulltimedreamer uses Atlanta and said he gets it everywhere he goes. The situation may not be as bad you think. I have not talked with Dish, but with a local dealer, and he may not know what is going on.

http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...36&whichpage=3

ols1932 · 10-28-2006, 04:00 PM

I wouldn't recommend that any full-time RVers subscribe to Dish right now. It doesn't look good. Maybe their appeal may carry some weight but I doubt it. They, along with DirecTV have been in litigation for quite awhile. As I mentioned in another thread, DirecTV won their case.

Orv

Redrover98 · 10-28-2006, 04:07 PM

There is a little confusion on the terms,"local channels" and distant networks. When you subscribe to local channels you receive ABC,CBS,NBC,Fox and a PBS channel from your home area. In my case it would be Jacksonville, Fl. These are fed via a Spot Beam and can only be viewed within a radius of your home. I had to apply for a waiver from the local channels in my area to subscribe to get "Distant Networks" from either NY, Chicago,Los Angeles, and Atlanta.I had Atlanta for 4 years but that city has been dropped and I now get my networks from NY. I can get all the networks any place that I am stopped. You can call Dish and have them send you the waiver form or download it from their wedsite. You will need to send them a copy of your RV registration and state that the dish is permanently installed in your RV. It is the local tv stations that require the waiver ,not Dish Network. I hope this did not muddy the wate for you.

Lambchop · 10-29-2006, 02:49 AM

We have Dish Network without local channels. We travel all over & always use the 5ver antenna for local chanels. It gives us local weather & news. We also use our laptop to read our local paper at home.

Works for us

Lambchop

rickfox · 10-29-2006, 09:16 AM

There are a lot of places where we stop that have poor TV reception from the coach antenna. Sometimes these places have a cable connection, sometimes not. And boy, does my wife get upset when she does not get to watch her TV shows - most of which are on the network stations.

Having these network stations available via. satelite TV will sure make my life better - if Momma ain't happy, ain't noboby happy.

RonS · 10-29-2006, 09:28 AM

I have the DISH Network waiver, and get the NY network stations for extra $5.99 month. Dont like the roof antenna reception, most of the time its very poor unless real close to a larger city. Only use the roof antenna for the weather and area news. I am happy with Dish Network now that I have the waiver.

richfaa · 10-30-2006, 02:38 AM

This might clear up some questions on Spot beam and Local channels

http://www.tivofan.com/directv/channels.html

mobilrvn · 10-30-2006, 09:02 AM

There is an alternative and that is StarChoice from Canada. We get east coast and west coast stations and you can get programming all over Mexico (which is why we have it). Go to www.global.net for more info.

Charlotte · 10-31-2006, 04:11 PM

We have Direct TV. We just call them when we move and tell where we are and that we want local channels. No problem with that, they just switch us.
Charlotte and Leon

toolmanroy · 11-01-2006, 03:46 AM

We recently switched from Dish Network to Direct TV. We had the east coast feeds on Dish Network and loved having the shows early. When we applied to Direct TV they said it was up to our local networks unless we wanted to have 2 accounts that we turn off and on when we travel. I do not like that option. We are in the process of applying for waivers from each individual network. They will probably turn us down. If they do, we are then allowed to call the network and plead our case.

We also pay $10 a month extra for HD at home. After we signed up we found none of our local channels is in HD, thus we pay $10 for a few HD channels, I think it is about 5, which don't have much of interest to us and repeat often. When we asked for a waiver, we got one channel, so we have ABC in HD out of LA. At least there was no extra charge for that.

There is a lot that has happened to the industry since we first had a big antenna in our field and picked up everything we wanted!

You may also like: