Portable Hughesnet - Montana Owners Club

Dean A Van Peursem · 09-10-2006, 11:00 AM

I am interested in trying to add internet service via satellite when we travel with our late 2006 3400RL. I'm currently running Direct Tv with the Rv and have had no difficulty setting up the dish/receiver for that in several different locations.

But now I want to take the next step.

After doing a little research I am a bit astounded that "rv-anywhere" is charging $2965 for this capability. Then I see eBay offers for similar capability in the less than $1,000 area. But even that seems too much for what is really received. So with limited research knowledge it seems to me the way to go is just get a home installation of Hughesnet for the $300 and then convert that instalation into a portable one with a tripod and one or two alignment aids. Then use the portable capability for home as well.

Am I underestimating the complexity here or is this the only real cost effective way to go? PS: I don't need internet while traveling. Just once I get parked.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Parrothead · 09-10-2006, 01:59 PM

Dean
We bought directly from Hughes (DirecWay) and it was a mistake. We had it on a pole at a campground we were parked at for over a year. When we left there we packed it up and put a pole in our yard for it. Now they tell us we aren't allowed to move it and won't change the site address. Those that have bought from one of the mobile outfits don't have this problem. Try dustyfoot.com. We paid $600 for the dish and modem and we can put it on a tripod but will need a special bracket made to do it. We are still undecided about whether we are going to full time with it or not. WiFi is getting to be more and more available.
Happy trails..................

Sue and Ed Rowe
Hemet California

2005 3400RL

2006 GMC 3500 Dually, D/A, Crew Cab, Long Bed

richfaa · 09-10-2006, 02:30 PM

We got a good up close look at the Hughes net(direcway) set up..It is a fairly LARGE and Heavy dish.It does not look to portable to me.We will take our chances with Wi Fi or a cell phone hookup for now and see how that works out.. IMO Dustyfoot.com may be a better way to go...If you choose to go with Sat..

Rich& Helen N.Ridgeville,Ohio.

F-350SD, Lariat, V-10,4:30 Diff, tow command Long bed, Crew Cab Dually, 06 3400RL
Mor-Ryde Pin Box

Dean A Van Peursem · 09-11-2006, 06:45 AM

Parrothead,

Where you asking Hughesnet to re-install your Satellite dish at home or were you going to set it up yourself at home?

Richfaa:

As far as I can tell the dish used with Dustyfoot is the exact same one used as if purchased directly from Hughesnet. So I don't understand what the advantage may be.

richfaa · 09-11-2006, 07:19 AM

I Think Dustyfoot is a bit more portable as you can mount it on a tripod.You are correct they are the same dish and large.

Rich& Helen N.Ridgeville,Ohio.

F-350SD, Lariat, V-10,4:30 Diff, tow command Long bed, Crew Cab Dually, 06 3400RL
Mor-Ryde Pin Box

Parrothead · 09-11-2006, 07:58 AM

When you buy from Dustyfoot you get the tripod and all the brackets, align a site gizmo, etc. It is meant to be portable. Hughes insist that the dish is mounted on a fixed object, either your house or a pole in the ground. It is the same dish, Several of our members have them. HamRad (Dennis) purchased his from Dustyfoot. Firetrucker and Firetrucker's Wife (Bob and Sharon) put theirs together by having a bracket made (welded) for a contractor's tripod. Both systems work - we have used them at the rallys. The dish is about twice as large as the TV one and the transponder is heavy and sticks out further. Plus you have a modem that is about the size of a small laptop. This is all hooked together with 2 cables because you are both downloading and uploading. Download speeds are usally very fast, however, if you need to upload very large files, that is not so fast. I was told this is true with a lot of DSL. Don't know if that is true or not. When I was working, I needed to upload huge files and had to wait until I got to work where we had T lines. If it is important that you have daily high speed connections then DirecWay is the way to go. But if you are just connecting for recreational purposes, I think it is bit of an overkill. The monthly rate is $60. I hope this helps and is just my opinion.
Happy trails.......................

Sue and Ed Rowe
Hemet California

2005 3400RL

2006 GMC 3500 Dually, D/A, Crew Cab, Long Bed

Dean A Van Peursem · 09-12-2006, 05:51 PM

Thanks for all the input on this subject. I've connected my laptop at various campgrounds with widely varied success. One place the system went down several times in just a few hours. Another place the signal was too week at our location so I had to move closer to the park antenna to get it to work. One place I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Worked flawlessly. If I knew it was going to work like that all over I wouldn't mess with a satellite dish except for one other reason. I need the Satellite dish at home too. No DSL, no cable no broadband at all. I was hoping that maybe I could kill two birds with one stone. Satellite Broadband at home and on the road with the same portable system. Our neighbor has Hughesnet at their house and isn't too happy with it. The weather (clouds & rain) seems to bother it way more than expected.

Parrothead · 09-12-2006, 08:21 PM

Dean
Having it at home and taking it with us was originally our idea also and I think the people I mention before do just that. We plan to park for at least a month at most places when we start full timing and maybe it will work for that. I also use the mobile office connection from Verizon when we can't get WiFi. Since I am retired I really only need the internet for the MOC, emails from children and to pay bills. I can be without it for a few days but being without the MOC causes real withdrawals. LOL

Sue and Ed Rowe
Hemet California

2005 3400RL

2006 GMC 3500 Dually, D/A, Crew Cab, Long Bed

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