Satellite TV - Montana Owners Club

mperk · 09-22-2009, 10:24 AM

Wanting to get Satellite in the 5ver but not sure where to start, for those who have it what company works the best for you, do you have to buy the receiver if you are moving around or can you still lease it, any info to get me started would be great. When we call Dish and Direct they act like we are talking a foreign languge and are not much help.

exav8tr · 09-22-2009, 01:27 PM

We have the Winegard Traveler HD Slimline dish which was installed by CW. It is truly automatic and fantastic. We have had DirectTV service that we initially got from CW. The folks at Driect are not very knowledgeable about service in the RVs and say their folks won't install in a trailer, We have the HD receiver and will be upgrading to the HD DVR this winter while wintering over in Texas. There are other options as I'm sure others will be along to weigh in. BTW, we did remove the OEM TV and installed a 32" LCD HDTV. Had to do a little carpentry on the cabinet. Also added a 7.1 receiver with Bose speakers. We went a little overboard, but we fulltime and love it. One can only sightsee a fixed number of hours/days in a week. Hope this helps, if not PM me....

Countryfolks · 09-22-2009, 02:05 PM

We have Dish at our stick home. We just move the tuner into the rig when we go. There are several options for antennas, we use an extra home type antenna on the road and did use a portable antenna we got from Camping World until it quit working.

ols1932 · 09-22-2009, 09:10 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by mperk

Wanting to get Satellite in the 5ver but not sure where to start, for those who have it what company works the best for you, do you have to buy the receiver if you are moving around or can you still lease it, any info to get me started would be great. When we call Dish and Direct they act like we are talking a foreign languge and are not much help.

We full time and have DirecTV. I use a dish mounted on a 1 ft x 2in x 8 in board and I stake it to the ground when I locate the satellite. Has served us well and the satellite is extremely easy to locate.

Orv

Waynem · 09-23-2009, 03:05 AM

In all the readings that I have done on this subject, it is easier to tune to a DirectTV satellite than a DISH Network satellite. The automatic antenna mounted on the roof is an almost foolproof way of tuning in a satellite, but it has it's drawbacks when you are encamped in a wooded area with lots of trees. Some carry an additional antenna for just a situation like that, and others prefer to have just a portable antenna. Portable antennae now come in automatic alignment features - but are subject to growing legs and walking away. Although you do not hear to much of that (yet).

As for technology, wow, there have been some technological advancments in the past two years. I hear DirectTV has a receiver out that will allow you to record 4 shows at one time to the DVR. I am not familiar with the DirectTV receivers so I will let someone else speak for them.

As for the DISH, I have the DISH VIP 722 DVR. I believe it is the high end technological receiver for DISH. It is a dual tuner receiver so you have the options of PIP, or recording 2 and playback of 1 at the same time, or recording two while watching one being recorded, or recoding one while watching another channel. There may be some other variances in there but I cannot remember right off the top of myhead. The 722 also has an RF output that would feed the back bedroom television. Then, depending on the mode of single or dual, you would be able to watch two different television channels at the same time on the different televisions.

Remember that the local channels when associated with a stick house have about a 250 mile radius for reception, then you loose the spot beam from the satellite. If you sign up as an RV you would most likely be able to get the "America Direct" East/West coast feeds for the national channels. Otherwise you will be relying on the batwing for your national stations.

I just move the satellite from the house to the RV when traveling. So far I have relied on locally broadcast national tv stations and use the satellite for movies and other items. It's actually getting to the point that I'll start leaving the satellite reciever home and just use the batwing. I'm just tired messing with it - but of course I have to check with CinCHouse. The nice thing about the DVR is you can record tons of hours of programs and then take the DVR with you and use it as a player. No need to hook up a dish antenna. At present I have 13 hours, 52 minutes of HD Available HD record Space left, OR 88 hours, 14 minutes of SD (Standard Definition) still available to record on the VIP-722. I have 133 hours of recorded programs on the DVR. Most are Earlene's HGTV and FOOD network programs. If she's happy, it makes my life easier.

Good luck.

jjackflash · 09-23-2009, 08:30 AM

Here's the easiest way I've found to mount our Directv dish. I can mount it anywhere on the trailer including the windows,it takes me no more than 5 minutes to locate the satellites.
Jack

timandsusan · 09-23-2009, 08:32 AM

I have a DISH system with a receiver that I bought along with a DISH Antenna. Most RVers who have DIRECT say it is easier to tune the antenna into the satellite than with the DISH that requires AZ, EL, and Tilt be set to get both satellites tuned into the system. Once I figured this out and I am an retired electrical engineer with specialization in antennas, I can get everything set up in about 10-15 minutes. Trees can be a problem but with 100 feet of good cable, I can usually find a spot that works for the antenna. My advice, check with both Direct and Dish before making a decision. Also we only use our satellite system in the Monty and not in our home. When we are not on the road, the put the subscription on "VACATION" mode and only pay $5/month.

skypilot · 09-23-2009, 12:21 PM

I must be satelite challenged because I could never get the dish antennae aligned so the wife and I bought a VuCube 2000 last Christmas as a present to ourselves. We simply set it on the ground with a clear line of sight to the south, turn it on and go inside to let the receiver do its thing (capture the satelites, download the guide, etc.). Quick, portable, and it works for me. Now - that said, you might have noticed that several people mentioned they bring their tuners from their homes. We have a dedicated tuner in the trailer -- it is a pain in the rear if you do not leave it connected for periods of time -- we had the trailer down for 2 months and when we went to use it 3 weeks ago, the tuner wouldn't work -- had to call Dish and get software upgrades pushed to the tuner (normally come down during the early morning hours to the stick house); then had to get it re-authorized, etc... Have not used it for 2 weeks now so we'll find out Friday night / Saturday if it still works.

HughM · 09-23-2009, 04:10 PM

I was told by Direct TV that if the receiver was without power and satellite connection for over 24 hours it would be deactivated. I would then have to call and restart the receiver thru customer service.
Hugh

exav8tr · 09-23-2009, 04:22 PM

Hugh, that is not correct, my system is down when I am using cable (due to a heavily treed site, usually), and when I get somewhere where sat is available, it boots right up. Gotta love those techs at Direct......

bigmurf · 09-23-2009, 04:31 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by HughM

I was told by Direct TV that if the receiver was without power and satellite connection for over 24 hours it would be deactivated. I would then have to call and restart the receiver thru customer service.
Hugh

NOT true on our system.

HamRad · 09-23-2009, 04:56 PM

HughM,
We have DirecTV and when we are disconnected for more than a month we end up having to call them to get it going again. Usually just a few minutes and all is well.

24 hours sounds totally unrealistic. I've never heard that one before.

HamRad

rickfox · 09-23-2009, 06:16 PM

Most have not mentioned what type of TV they are watching. By that I mean that DirecTV has 5 satellites in the sky - all of which must be visible to your satellite dish if you want to recieve all programming. Dish has only 3 satellites that carry all programming. Once you travel out of your local area, reception from the local channel satellite goes away.

If you are using DirecTV and are not interested in HD programming, you only have to receive one of the 4 remaining satellites. But for full programming including HD, you must be able to point the DirecTV dish quite accurately, and this can take quite some time.

If you are using Dish, you only have to point the dish accurately enough to capture reception from the 2 remaining satellites. After carting the DirecTV Slimline around for about 6 months and sweating over getting it pointed properly - the wife just has to have HD - I decided to change to Dish.

The Dish antenna is perhaps 30 percent smaller, and about half the weight compared to the DirecTV dish. And pointing it to capture just 2 satellites is much easier than pointing the DirecTV to capture reception of 4 satellites. This of course is only true if you point the dish manually. Things are much easier with the rooftop automatic units.

But most of the rooftop automatic units do not support DirecTV in HD. So again, I believe things are cheaper and easier with Dish. No I don't sell Dish, just my thoughts based upon trying to satisfy my wife.

jjackflash · 09-23-2009, 09:28 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by HamRad

HughM,
We have DirecTV and when we are disconnected for more than a month we end up having to call them to get it going again. Usually just a few minutes and all is well.

24 hours sounds totally unrealistic. I've never heard that one before.

HamRad

Dennis, I've had our receiver disconnected over 2 months,no phone no power no dish. What I did learn after I reconnected the receiver is to hit the reset button and everything came back on.
Same thing with the hard drive,I've learned if we stop just over night and don't want to set the dish up I just hit the reset button and it allows you to watch anything on your hard drive list.
Jack

HamRad · 09-23-2009, 10:47 PM

Jack,
Thanks for the information. I'll try that next time the situation arises. We may not have the problem again since we take both boxes from the house with us when we travel. So they both are off for only a few hours while we are actually moving.

Good info to know. Thanks again.

Dennis

ols1932 · 09-24-2009, 12:37 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by HughM

I was told by Direct TV that if the receiver was without power and satellite connection for over 24 hours it would be deactivated. I would then have to call and restart the receiver thru customer service.
Hugh

That's not true. Many times in our travels we will not set up the satellite antenna and we might be off-air for as many as three days. NEVER have we been deactivated. As Richfaa once said, talk to a different tech. Every tech you talk to will give you a different answer.

Orv

scattershot · 10-23-2009, 06:34 AM

We are just about to pull the trigger for Dish Network, and plan to take the receiver with us when we travel. How do you find out your coordinates in order to set up the antenna?

BTW, I was told by a Directv associate that I would have to subscribe to a separate account for RV use. Any legal ramifications to using the dish on the road?

ols1932 · 10-23-2009, 10:34 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by scattershot

We are just about to pull the trigger for Dish Network, and plan to take the receiver with us when we travel. How do you find out your coordinates in order to set up the antenna?

BTW, I was told by a Directv associate that I would have to subscribe to a separate account for RV use. Any legal ramifications to using the dish on the road?

There are many on this forum who just take their DirecTV receiver with them in their RV. In our case, we have an RV waiver to allow us to have the receiver in our RV legally.

I don't think you need a separate account if they don't know you just take the receiver out of your home into your RV when you travel.

Orv

scattershot · 10-23-2009, 10:46 AM

Thanks, Orv. How do you know where to point the dish?

Gene

Countryfolks · 10-23-2009, 11:02 AM

Go to the menu and press 6-1-1 which takes you to the setup screen. There is a selection there that will allow you to enter the zip of your location and gives the azimuth, elevation and offset. This is for
Dish Network.

We take our receiver from home and haven't had any problems. We have never been connected to a phone line either [which is only needed if ordering PPV as far as I know].

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