Dish TV

[BandJ]

I am having Dish Satalite TV installed in my RV today prior to taking off on our winter trip.

Since the Dish is low to the ground (not on the house roof), how does this effect the picture...Do trees at the campgrounds block the reception ?

[ken]

Any obstruction between the antenna and the satellite will disrupt the reception of your signal. Trees in full bloom wili be the biggest culpert. Know where your satellite is in respect on where you park. A little research before you travel will help. Dish and Direct TV has menues that you can call up with the zip codes where you will be staying. They will give you the elevation of your dish and the azimuth that you will need when you arrive. All of them will be pointing to the south somewere. The elevation angle and azimuth will vary as you travel. Also take a long RG-6 cable to attach the antenna with the RV.
WE have to do the same thing when we travel even though ours is on the roof.
Ken and Velda Taylor
Dahlgren VA
2003 3655FL Montana/Ford F350 Diesel

[Glenn and Lorraine]

Where the dish sets height wise has little bearing on the picture as long as it is sighted in properly. I've seen them as low as barely 3 feet off the ground. Trees and any other objects blocking that line of sight will definitely have an affect on your reception. Be sure you have plenty of cable as you may have to set the dish some distance away from the rig in order to get that clear shot.

[azstar]

We have the collapsible dish and it winds up either on the table or right on the ground. As long as you have line of sight with the Satellite you'll be in good shape. As Glenn said have plenty of cable as some time you might have quite a distance to get line of sight away from your Rig.

Also I use the Satellite Finder from camping world. It makes the dialing in a lot easer. They sometimes refer to it as the Marriage saver. You'll understand this the first time you set it up. LOL

If you do get a Sat. Finder, put a short piece of cable on the Dish, about 3' and use a female/female connector. This is where you will install the Sat. Finder in the Cable when setting up. When dialed in you just remove the Sat. Finder and connect the cable back together.

Our Dish has only one eye (LBN) so we have to choose which Satellite we want to use as Dish Net. is using more than one Sat. At home we have two eyes and get both Sats. Your portable dish probably has two eyes, which does complicate the process a little, but will give you all your stations. I have been thinking for quite awhile of going to Direct TV so I can have it all with my nice little portable dish. I think their still using one Satellite for their programing.

Happy Camping

[Random Line]

We agree that the satellite finder (or signal strength meter from CW or your dealer is worth the money in time saved and family harmony) don't leave home without it.

Also remember that in windy country it is important to keep the dish stable and upright.

The cheap litlle tripod and aiming circle that CW sells hardly does the job without considerable modification. If you're handy and have the time a home built arrangement would probably be much better.

Since Dish Network uses the two eyeball system remember that the thing won't work with the basic CW roof mount fold down system. Seems like they cost about $250 and the CW catalogue doesn't tell you that it isn't for the dish system.

Good luck and quick set ups.

[patodonn]

Definitely look into the Satellite Finder (signal strength meter). I got mine at Radio Shack for around $30. You will need a 2-3 ft cable length (mentioned above) to hook the Finder into the dish for sighting.

Height above the ground of the dish shouldn't make any real difference, but "line of sight" to the satellite is critical. We use a tripod, about 4 ft high, on which to mount the dish. I just made some extensions for the legs of the short tripod that came with the dish. For stability of the tripod and dish, I use a large screw type stake centered underneath it and a bungee cord to attach it to the tripod. In addition, I have also used three stakes with support lines in high wind locations. If you need to have it on a concrete pad, you can attach a filled water pail in place of the screw-in stake.

We found a neat ball socket type leveling device which makes the leveling of the dish a real snap. It is about 3 ft long, with a big "clampable" ball socket joint near the bottom and a leveling bubble mounted in the top. It replaces the standard post that the dish clamps onto.

You will need a long length of RG-6 cable, to make sure you have a good position for "line of sight". I carry 30 footer and 70 footer plus a connector so I can get 100 ft if needed. I have needed the 100 feet a couple of times, once to go across an interior road in the RV park! I use the 30 footer about 80% of the time.

If you haven't yet, I would suggest taking a few min to practice a setup of the rig's system before setting off on your adventure. That way, you will know what connectors, leveling items and stabilizing items you will really need before you get out in the "boonies".

Best Regards,

[Parrothead]

Just saw a new product advertised in either Trailer Life or Highways (I read both on this trip so don't know which). A tripod for Dish that has a base you fill with water. Sounds great. We currently have ours anchored with bricks.

[Montana_265]

We have the satellite finder, but don't use it. We find it easier to use the two way radios. I sit with the tv in the setup mode (muted sound) while Phil moves it around outside. Soon as I get any green I let him know and we fine tune it in. Usually setup in 1-5 min. I will admit with the two eye it is harder... we sometimes settler for one satellite or the other.

[tweir]

Went through the "junk box" and found an old "industrial tripod" and some ABS block stuff. Took 4 of the blocks & sawed them in half; clamped them together & drilled holes about 1/16 of an inch less than the tubing diameter of the mounted ladder on the rear of the RV and through-drilled two 5/16 holes parallel to the "big hole" for two bolts. These work like a clamp around the ladder tubing. Mounted the old wall-mount dish bracket to the ABS blocks using the 5/16" holes & bolts & affixed the "apparatus" to the rear ladder so the dish was just above head-height (I wonder why...?). Futzed (technical term) with the collapsable tripod so the old dish mounting bracket could be bolted to it---in case I needed clearance from obstacles away from the RV or in case the rear orientation would not permit a "southern exposure". This stuff works great and all I'm out is an hour or so of "dumpster diving" aka cleaning up the stuff under my workbench & drilling a couple of holes. I leave the ladder apparatus affixed, but remove the dish & stow it in the basement cargo hold. Takes less than 5 minutes to set this doo-dad up once we get to our site.

[Ishler]

I'll add my 2 cents and say the signal meter makes the aiming much easier. Below is a link to my favorite dish mount, very flexable.
http://www.rvdishmount.com/

Mike