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Old 08-28-2008, 06:15 AM   #1
gojodo
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Hughes Dish for Internet

Anyone who has used the Hughes Dish for Internet access can you please help educate me on this system.
1. How easy is the dish to set up, especially if I am relocating every several days?
2. Can I purchase this system directly from Hughes for my RV or do I have to use a dealer? Somewhere I had heard that Hughes would not sell to an RVer.
3. Can I use this system anywhere across the country? I am wondering if I purchased it in Virginia would I have to aim it at a different satellite if I was in Montana?
4. What is the rough cost?
Thanks, John
 
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Old 08-28-2008, 06:34 AM   #2
OntMont
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I have not used a sat. for internet on the road, but unless you are planning on going into the boonies where there is no cell service, I would go with an air card from Verizon or Sprint. We have a sat. connection at home (not Hughes) and a Verizon card when we are on the road in the U.S. The air card wins hands down. (and you can use it while traveling). No doubt others will offer their views of the Hughes system.
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Old 08-28-2008, 06:49 AM   #3
gojodo
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Thanks for the advice. I actually am going into the back woods where air cards don't seem to work so the more powerful the service the better.
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Old 08-28-2008, 06:55 AM   #4
Mrs. CountryGuy
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Pretty much everyone here knows how Al and I feel about Hughes.

BLAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH NO

We had here on the stick built for 5 years, we have now had a Sprint air card for about 18 months. LOVE THAT AIRCARD!

Now, we did NOT use the Hughes while traveling, we did suspend the service, last time for 4 months, and it took Al 8 hours on the phone with some nice people from India (?), or some other country, to re-start the service. They were pleasant, the experience was NOT!

So, my answer is only partically relevant to your questions.

Some who have reported on fulltiming with Hughes have had great success, others have gone over to an air card.

Our bill here at the stickbuilt was $70.00 a month, and our air card bill is less by about $10.00 a month. We live in the "country" and there is no cable or DSL service available.

The air card works well, some of the companies will let you try one out for 30 days, if you can get that kind of deal, try it at home and at some of the campgrounds you are likely to visit.

No cell service, no air card service. Have heard this is not soooooo good out west.

In the 18 months, we have lost service 3 times, 2 in one day in rural ranch country of route 79 in deep Texas. The other was in a campground 8 miles from Monticello (Virginia). We were in a cove in a KOA, and NO cell phones worked out there. NOTHING. They did have great wifi tho, free, etc.

When we went to Hughes, it was Direcway, and I think we paid like $500 or more for that dish. 5 years later we gave it away.
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Old 08-28-2008, 06:55 AM   #5
ols1932
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Check out http://www.mobileinternetsatellite.com/

We have this system and are very happy with it. It's expensive but I believe you get what you pay for.

Orv
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Old 08-28-2008, 07:13 AM   #6
HamRad
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Gojodo,

Hughes does not support you technically if you are a mobile system. I got our system through a dealer (DustyFoot). Ended up with great support from them. I needed their help on several different occasions and always got prompt assistance.

The satellite you get in VA could be the same one you would get in MT. The various birds do have different footprints and you would need to decide which one would work best for your needs. If you spend a lot of time in the far south or down in Mexico you would want a different bird than if you were mostly in WA or OR or southern Canada. Your dealer will help you with that selection process. You can change birds after you have service but from what I understand it is a real hassle. Now if you go with the MOTOSAT system (very expensive) you can change sats as needed.

The MOTOSAT system is also completely automatic as compared to the tripod system.

Setup and breakdown can get to be a pain. It is just a physical problem to get take down and setup on a daily basis. When we were only staying overnight we would not put the system up. Pointing or aiming the system is fairly easy after you've done it a couple of times. The problems we had aiming often ended up being other problems. The connectors would sometime get corroded and block the signal. Or we'd get a bad cable. We had some frustrations from time to time with that sort of thing.

A new tripod system costs about $1500. That would include the tripod, dish, lnb, special bracket for mounting dish and some sort of aiming device. Monthly packages range from about $49 to a couple of hundred. It just depends on how fast and how much bandwidth you want or need.

A used system will run about $200 to $600 or so. Lots of used systems out there right now.

We no longer use our system and it is for sale. The reason is that where we travel we have good air card service. We have the Verizon system. If we were in an area where there was little or no cell service the satellite system would be the way to go. But if you have cell service the air card systems are the way to go.

Air card systems are as fast if not faster than the standard satellite service. At least that was our experience.

John I think I addressed all your concerns. If you have any questions just drop a post or email. Good luck.

HamRad
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Old 08-28-2008, 11:28 AM   #7
bigmurf
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Just got my Hughes Net turned back on and changed satellites, now I am a happy camper again. Good bye to the worthless Verizon air card. Have tried to use the aircard for 2 months now across Northern WI and MI.

BTW: Take a look at Maxwellsatellite.com for more info.
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Old 10-08-2008, 04:28 AM   #8
WACOT
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We all are spoiled brats. We all want our systems to work perfectly each and every time. I have AT&T cell service( national plan ) and it works better than the others I hear people trying to use in our area here near Corsicana, TX. We work at a lake just SW of there and we always get a good signal, many other people with Sprint, Verizon etc. cannot use their phones at all. I think cell phone service, satellite TV & internet service depend on one central component, ( is there a tower within a few miles of your location and what is the line of sight to your antenna). There have been times when we could not use our phone while traveling across the SW part of the country when you are 100 miles or more from anywhere, but for the most part is works pretty well. It may be that some of the other systems would work well out there, it just depends. By the way. The USACE park we work at uses Hughes satellite for connection to the national reservation system and if a bird fly's by or a cloud passes the signal goes with them, very slow as well.
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Old 10-08-2008, 05:12 AM   #9
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by WACOT

I think cell phone service, satellite TV & internet service depend on one central component, ( is there a tower within a few miles of your location and what is the line of sight to your antenna). There have been times when we could not use our phone while traveling across the SW part of the country when you are 100 miles or more from anywhere, but for the most part is works pretty well. It may be that some of the other systems would work well out there, it just depends. By the way. The USACE park we work at uses Hughes satellite for connection to the national reservation system and if a bird fly's by or a cloud passes the signal goes with them, very slow as well.
We use the Starband High Speed Satellite Internet Service and we've never had anything but great success no matter where we are located in the U.S. Birds flying by have no affect on signal strength. But of course, we bought the best package offered, $99/month. Since my wife maintains several church and Christian Ministry websites, I saw the need for her to have instant internet access. Using her Verizon phone was just to slow and unreliable for this type of thing.

Orv
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Old 10-08-2008, 05:25 AM   #10
stiles watson
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I purchased the Hughes net system from Maxwell. When I finally got it set up at our home base, it worked OK. However, it was slow in comparison to air card or cable/DSL. Taking it on the road was a nightmare. Often there was not a "clear view of the southern sky." Trying to get vectored on the satellite was frustrating. The equipment was bulky and took space better used otherwise. Weather interruptions were common. The $1700 +/- I spent was wasted in my opinion. There was no way I would spend $5000 to the automatic system.

I finally gave it all away to someone who was going to have a permanent sight. They used it for two months and brought it back and went back to dial up. They said it was not worth the extra cost.

The only way I could recommend Hughes net is to someone who had no other choice, someone isolated from all other internet service. We switched to Verizon and, while not perfect, found it to function well on our 5000 mile trip through the north central and western states.

In fairness to HughesNet, maybe I am just too stupid to follow a multi-layered setup protocol. I still have the tripod and satellite dish that I couldn't give away cluttering up space.
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Old 10-08-2008, 06:25 AM   #11
ols1932
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by stiles watson

However, it was slow in comparison to air card or cable/DSL. Taking it on the road was a nightmare. Often there was not a "clear view of the southern sky." Trying to get vectored on the satellite was frustrating. The equipment was bulky and took space better used otherwise. Weather interruptions were common. The $1700 +/- I spent was wasted in my opinion.

The only way I could recommend Hughes net is to someone who had no other choice, someone isolated from all other internet service. We switched to Verizon and, while not perfect, found it to function well on our 5000 mile trip through the north central and western states.
Stiles,
You're not giving yourself enough credit. Actually, you probably know more about satellite internet service than many others. The biggest problem I have found with those who first start using satellite internet service, whether it be Hughes, Starband, MotoSat or whatever, is that they usually purchase the cheapest program available. Those are the slowest one and have the smallest bandwidth. When you begin to reach the end of your allowed weekly bandwidth used, things begin to get really slooooooooow. In our case with Starband, we purchased the top program with the most bandwidth and we've never been sorry.

Orv
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Old 10-08-2008, 02:48 PM   #12
Exnavydiver
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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.
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Old 10-08-2008, 03:18 PM   #13
sailer
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I use a verizon air card , but in northern wisconsin i have to use a antenna that is 30' above the roof and a booster besides.. ,, the truckes antenna is not strong enough but this unit i got from wilson which sent me to batters one sorce in missippi i think they can get a signal where no one else can ,, the built in verizon card in the new dell is not strong enough as there is no spot to plug in an antenna , you have to have a port in the air card to plug in .. its very small as the size of the lead in a pencil or less ,,, sailer
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Old 10-08-2008, 05:48 PM   #14
Waynem
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I also use the ATT, USB 881, air card. Traveled from Texas to Maine and back with not one problem. Many a night I only had 1 bar, but still had service. So far I'm vary happy with the ATT service.

John,
In the area that you are going into, have you tired an external antenna and booster? They make then just for low reception areas, and some on this forum have set them up in their RV's.
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Old 10-09-2008, 06:16 AM   #15
bigmurf
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Dave: If you ever need to change satellites try these people. Cost is $50.00 and takes two days.
http://www.montanasatellite.com/
They do speak English.
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Old 10-09-2008, 08:52 AM   #16
Exnavydiver
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Thanks bigmurf, I will file that away if needed. But at present the setup we have is working very well. This wasn't always the case but those days are behind us (I hope). This bird (83w) and transponder set are great. After reading a lot of posts about the problems folks have had on SatMex 6 I won't be changing anytime soon.. Dave
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Old 10-09-2008, 01:01 PM   #17
simonsrf
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by gojodo

Anyone who has used the Hughes Dish for Internet access can you please help educate me on this system.
1. How easy is the dish to set up, especially if I am relocating every several days?
2. Can I purchase this system directly from Hughes for my RV or do I have to use a dealer? Somewhere I had heard that Hughes would not sell to an RVer.
3. Can I use this system anywhere across the country? I am wondering if I purchased it in Virginia would I have to aim it at a different satellite if I was in Montana?
4. What is the rough cost?
Thanks, John
John,

We've had both the HugesNet (Maxwell Satellite) and the Verizon aircard. There are advantages to both, and it just depends on how you plan to use it.

We liked the HugesNet because once we had the tripod setup and pointed, the reception and speed were great. We had access to the internet anywhere we had the dish setup. The disadvantage to the dish was that you had to spend the time to set it up and carry all that extra equipment.

On the other hand, we now have the Verizon aircard with a 3-watt power antenna. The advantages for our needs are far outnumbered with the aircard above the dish. Being able to actively use your internet is the biggest bonus for us. Driving down the road and having access is wonderful. ie: finding the best fuel prices and being able to drive there using their map. Or looking at google earth to decide whether or not moving the 5er down there would be a good idea...there are so many uses of the aircard.

We are also very surprised at how few places we can't find a Verizon signal. We just find a way to do without the internet, but that may not be a choice for you.

Our cost for the Maxwell Satellite (Maxwellsatellite.com) system was about $1700, and then $69 per month. With the satellite system, you can get the internet anywhere in the United States.

The Verizon aircard is a flat $69 per month.
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Old 10-11-2008, 04:55 AM   #18
Alex Sian
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by simonsrf ...The Verizon aircard is a flat $69 per month.
actually the current offering is $59.99/mo (plus any state/local taxes)
and not "flat" -- there are overage charges after first 5GB data use per billing cycle.
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Old 02-23-2009, 12:47 AM   #19
sdroots
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We just got our HughesNet system setup and working about a week ago. We bought the gray fiberglass dish and HN7000S modem on Craigslist and eBay, respectively. We bought the tripod new from Terry at http://www.rovinginternet.com/. This meant we had no contract and saved over $1000 compared to the typical $1500 turnkey system. Terry provided all the info we needed via email to get setup and running without any significant hitches. We did pay him $50 to open a HughesNet account and obtain the all important SAN (site account number) and PIN. We were FAP'd within the first 4 days so we upgraded the service from Home to Pro at an additional $10/mo. We've also added BOW (bird on a wire) to our feed arm. This allows us to obtain Dish Network from the same dish without any addtional setup or hardware required. As previously stated, this system is more complicated and difficult to setup and store than any other option, but we plan to RV in Mexico where it is essential. We feel we made the very best choice for our situation. We've previously tried park WiFi systems and cellular broadband, but they didn't serve our needs. By the way, we found the HughesNet tech support out of India to be worthless. Fortunately, the various discussion forums offer excellent and timely help.
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