| Author | Message | ||
| Randy Schlotthauer (Up8009)
Rating: N/A |
What experiences have any of you had regarding Hughes Direcway internet. We're considering getting some sort of internet that we can use out in the wilds. Does anyone know if a currently unused Wingard antentnna can be used with the Hughes recevier heads? We upgraded from a manual TV sat to an automatic one, but the old dish is still in place. | ||
| Ron Walker (Prevost82)
Rating: N/A |
No... it can not. You have to use "ALL" Hughes equipment. | ||
| jack martin (Htcrkjak)
Rating: N/A |
You might check with Hughes about using their system on the road. They will tell you that under no circumstances are you to move their system. I know there are a lot of them out there, but they are operating under the radar. If Hughes is aware you are moving their system they will cut you off. There are dealers who deny this, but if you call Hughes, they will verify it cannot be moved. There is another sat internet provider, Starband, that , with training by a qualified dealer, does support moving the system. One dealer is RV SatLink in Gila Bend, Az. I can give you their email if you wish. | ||
| JW Smythe (Jwsmythe)
Rating: N/A |
Randy, You have to consider a few things, based on what you use the Internet for. Satellite has long latency. That is, it takes time for the signal to go from your dish, bounce off the satellite, and back down to the ground station to reach the rest of the Internet. Download speeds are generally ok (faster than a dialup modem), but upload speeds aren't fantastic. If you're just using it to browse and read email, it's great. There is an extra delay when browsing to a web page. (tech mode on) Your browser sends a request, which is the first part of the latency you'll see. It can take a full second for the request to get to the server. Then you'll see another full second delay before you'll start getting a response. This will happen on every element of the page (the HTML itself, the included pictures which can number in the hundreds depending on the page). The page you're reading right now has 17 elements, each of which is requested seperately. This delay is on top of the normal latency experienced on the Internet. For most "high speed" users on their own continent, it's under 100ms (0.1 seconds). Browsing to say Europe or Asia, I've seen latency close to 3000ms (3 seconds). (tech mode off) If you want to play online games, upload files (like, pictures or whatever), or do technical stuff remotely, you'll feel that it isn't really fast enough. I'm pretty sure Ron is right. They don't use the same dish, and I'm sure it doesn't use the same LNB (the thing on a stick hanging in front of the dish). There is a somewhat mobile antenna available, but it's not to be used while driving. When you park, you can then tell it to acquire the satellite. That takes about 2 minutes for it to align itself, and then several more minutes for it to make a connection. Those are rather pricy. I had a friend with a 5th wheel trailer (sticks & staples, of course), who used it for a while. At the time, there were no other options where he was parked, but eventually the local cable company brought service to his house, so he switched. With all that said, when we finally get on the road (hopefully this decade {grin}), I'll be getting the Direcway service to go with my other ways of connecting, just in case we are in the middle of nowhere. It's something, compared to absolutely nothing. I have Vonage phones too. Those work over Internet connections. If you turn the quality setting all the way down (still doesn't sound bad), it will work over the DirecWay connection. So, if we are outside of cell phone service areas, my phone would still work, at least when we're parked. I kinda picture parking in the middle of the desert, 100 miles from anywhere, and someone freaking out because my phone rings, and I say "excuse me for a minute, I need to do a bit of work."  For me, *most* emergency issues only take a few minutes to fix. | ||
| Ross Carlisle (Rrc62)
Rating: N/A |
The easiest way to get mobile Hughsnet service is to call one of the dealers that do mobile systems, like Dustyfoot, and buy a complete mobile setup. The cheapest way to do it is to call Hughsnet and order up a system to be installed on your house. The installer will come out and install it, commission the modem and get it running on your PC. If you plan on using a laptop in the bus, I would have them set that computer up. You then remove the dish from the house and put it on a tripod. Aiming can be tricky. If you go with a mobile dealer, they will help you with all of that. If you go the cheaper route, you'll have to get help through the yahoo groups or datastorm web site forum. The mobile dealer will commission the modem prior to shipping it to you. It is true that Hughs does not support tripod mounting, so you'll want to keep that hush-hush and if you have trouble, you'll have to figure it out for yourself. The Starband thing isn't quite as simple as just getting trained by a dealer. You have to pass a test given by Starband and become a certified installer. Then every time you point your dish, you have to call in with your installer number in order to pass cross-pol. If you can't call in for some reason, you can't get on line. This was a deal killer for me and is why I'm going with Hughsnet. What if your cell phone dies, falls in the lake, gets run over, etc. I wouldn't worry about being shut off by Hughsnet. These dealers are openly supporting and selling mobile systems and Hughs knows it. I don't think there has ever been a case of someone being shut off, but just the same, I wouldn't go bragging to Hughsnet about your shiny new tripod system. Also, don't fall for cheap used prices on eBay. It will cost you $200 for a certified installer to come out and commission the modem and right now you can get a $200 rebate from Hughsnet on a brand new system. The best way to go is to connect the sat modem to a WiFi router, then use a WiFi card in the PC. That way if you happen to be near a WiFi hotspot you can use that instead of setting up the dish. | ||
| JW Smythe (Jwsmythe)
Rating: N/A |
Jack, There's good reason for it, even though I'd kinda ignore the rules. One of the big things that the installer is checking is that there is no chance of a person getting in front of the dish while it's on. For satellite dishes that receive, it's not a big deal. The only places with anything resembling a strong signal is at the LNB. For satllite dishes that TRANSMIT (like the DirecWay), you have a bigger problem. Instead of a trivially weak signal, you have a 1 to 2 watt microwave emission. Honestly, I don't believe it's a big problem, but it is a concern. Most people are walking and driving with a 600mw (0.6 watt) microwave transmitter on their ear all day (cell phone). Your computer with a wireless network card is transmitting somewhere between 20mw (0.02 watts) and 400mw (0.4 watts) Putting your hand in front of a 1 watt transmitter for a second isn't really dangerous, but I'm sure there are laws protecting you. If it say was aimed past a bedroom window, after long exposure from the side lobe, that could be dangerous. I know there was recently an issue with cell phone antennas on the top floor of a building. Lots of buildings sublet their roof space for various purposes. There were something like 7 cases of cancer in a year in employees on the top floor. They attributed it to the cell phone antennas. They put off a lot more power though. A microwave oven puts off about 1000 watts. You would be relatively safe in front of the emitter for a second or so, but obviously much more than that would be dangerous, and a minute or so would be leathal. I've put together a combination of wireless network transmitter and high gain antenna which put off somewhere in the ballpark of 6 watts. Lots stronger than the DirecWay transmitter. For giggles, I put my hand in front of it. Since I'm still typing this, I obviously didn't damage myself. I couldn't even feel any heat. Microwaves excite water molecules, which you will feel heat from, if they're heating you. I saw someone did a thing a while back, where they hard boiled eggs with two cell phones. They'd do a call between two handsets, put the egg between them, and put reflectors on the outside, to radiate the emissions in towards the egg. If I remember right, it took about 3 minutes to cook the egg. Stupid radiation tricks. | ||
| motorcoach1 Rating: N/A |
Gezz things Motorola doesn't want you to know mmmm JW lol | ||
| John MC9 Rating: N/A |
Oooooh, ok... Cook an egg with two cellphones So, the next time I'm between two cellphone users yakking away... will my head *POP* unexpectedly? | ||
| Craig (Ceieio)
Rating: N/A |
A fellow busnut started a Yahoo group on internet sat. comm. a couple of years ago. You may get more specific help here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RVInternetBySatellite/?yguid=158816540 Craig - MC7 Oregon | ||
| JW Smythe (Jwsmythe)
Rating: N/A |
John, Thanks for finding the link. I guess I was wrong on the reflectors. I do a lot of radio frequency stuff. I'm not a HAM operator, but I play with the frequencies that I can, mostly 2.4Ghz. I guess the reflectors were from another project I read. | ||
| Stephen Fessenden (Sffess)
Posted From: 67.142.130.47 Rating: N/A |
It seems Hughes knows and tolerates the tripod portable systems. It is not strictly acording to FCC regs for a not technician to aim it so they cannot officially accept it. You will have to know how to get the modem to let you re-aim and then re-register after aiming. There may be a program now that bypasses re- registration. With a good compass and Dustyfoots fine adjustment for elevation, it is pretty easy. Standard without the fine elevation control it is very very hard. There are other companies offering dishes to work with Hughesnet, but yo have to have the right LNB and transmitter. The dish could be anybody's as long as everything focused and aimed right. If you check Ebay, there are always DirecWay (Hughesnet) systems for sale. People seem to switch to cable or DSL as soon as it is available. Satellite is for the boonies. I am using it right now. | ||
| jack martin (Htcrkjak)
Posted From: 148.64.170.130 Rating: N/A |
If the dealer for Starband is certified to provide the mobile system, he assists you in passing the test. The call in is to check your copol and crosspole. You can use the internet without making the call but it is best to check the levels to get the most out of the system. With Direcway, if you do not pass an automatic crosspole, you cannot surf. As for using Direcway as a mobile system, some people have no problem breaking the rules. I guess it is a matter of your level of ethics. | ||
| JW Smythe (Jwsmythe)
Posted From: 66.133.203.29 Rating: N/A |
Jack, ya, I skip some of the ethics, when I'm confident that I know the topic material and am well informed of the dangers. For >99.9% of the population, I'd say they shouldn't bend the rules. I know there are people who know more than me, but depending on the topic, they may be very hard to find. Stephen, I've set up DirecTV dishes with a vauge idea of where South was, and nothing more than the guided setup signal meter. The last place I moved into, I let them come out. There were a few reasons. The first was because the best location was 40 feet up on a chimney. My ladder is only 16', so I was kinda stuck. We also took advantage of one of their install deals. We wanted a new hidef DirecTiVo, and to get them to wire the place, since it wasn't prewired. Sometimes it's easier to let them do it. The biggest reason was, when I went on the roof of the old house to grab the old dish (only about a year old), there were a few black widow spiders crawling around. I'd never seen one in person, but it was enough encouragement for me to leave it exactly where it was. I was talking to the installer, and he said they very rarely use a compass. They just have a good idea of the area, so they know which direction the satellites are. He was pretty good, he got 50% signal strength right off, and got us up to 97% in just a couple minutes. He was very pleased that I have such a kick-ass sound system. He could hear it at the top of the chimney. When I move again, I'm going to do it myself. I'm finally buying a house (hopefully), so I can either be very demanding of how an installer does things, or I can just do it myself exactly like I want it. | ||
| Stephen Fessenden (Sffess)
Posted From: 67.142.130.12 Rating: N/A |
It's no big deal to have an installer do your house. Calling one at every RV park is not so easy and they won't want to set up a tripod system. If you have no FCC licenses to jeopardize there is no problem doing it yourself as long as you get your cross polarization right (have the skew from vertical set up right in a Direcway system) and don't aim at places where people might be. It obviously should not be aimed to just clear the front of an RV up the hill. (The dishes we see set up low by RVs are receive only TV dishes.) Remember when you needed a CB Radio License to operate a CB radio. Truckers changed that. So rules change from changes in usage too. If we all drove 50 mph, we probably wouldn't have 70 mph speed limits. The demand we create will lead to changes in FCC rules (they are not laws, though they may have the force of law). There will probably be equipment changes too, to make it idiot proof. |