| Author | Message | ||
| Dean Stoops (63.178.24.254)
Rating: N/A |
I'm shopping for a satellite dish antenna. I see everything from manual adjustment @ $200-300 to in-motion at $3000. I'm not particularly interested in in-motion but I'd be curious to know of the experiences of the group with different designs. There are stationary "dome" antennas that vary in price by $1000. I dont understand why there is such a difference in price. Thanks, Dean | ||
| Bob Compton (Allboyzoo) (198.81.26.45)
Rating: N/A |
I have a crank up with a Digital Magic that I am very pleased with. I have never been unable to access satellite TV with a clear line of sight. | ||
| TWO DOGS (4.227.113.100) Rating: N/A |
I have direc t v in my bus...can drive a pipe in the ground & have it set up in five minutes | ||
| Cory Dane (66.155.188.118) Rating: N/A |
I agree with 2Dogs. (WHAT?, wait aminute, maybe it will pass!) I have the Direct tv with dish and I also have a normal tv antenna on the coach. During storms, the Direct tv will black out so to keep aware of the storm troubles, you need the regular antenna. I used to use the tripod for the dish, like 2Dogs, it takes only minutes to find the satelite and you can move it about to the clear areas for signal. For remote action, I found at SURPLUS CENTER, a dish control system that was used for a different type dish but still searches out the signal automatically with DTV. If you want to look at it... www.surpluscenter.com search item# 5-1459 Last time I looked, they had a lot left. I bought it as a hobbyist thing but it worked so well I used it for the dish. Cost wise, I just use the regular service from home and travel with it. I think you can get the system almost free with a subscription. They will tell you that the phone line MUST be attached to the receiver to work. The receiver will work without the phone line attached. But you need the phone line for the box to talk to DTV to tell them what PAY movies you watched. It will let you buy moves for about a month before it has to be plugged in again to upload to DTV again. I also have a dish on the bus with auto satilite finding capabilities. Problem is if you stay where there are a lot of trees, you may need the remote dish to find a clear spot. good luck "RTSII" cd | ||
| John that newguy (199.232.240.193) Rating: N/A |
That RV roof mounted sat dish may look great, but when the only spot to park that's available is under a tree, or there's one between you and the sat... You're gonna' wish you had a free-standing dish setup like Two Dog, CD, me and the rest. At least we can set the dish where there's a clear shot at the sat. | ||
| bruce king (67.170.101.3)
Rating: N/A |
Topics in this message: 1) local channels don't work out of your area on directtv 2) i've got an kvh L3 in motion, for reasons i explain in the rest of the message 3) digital video recorders are one of the best things ever made for tv. There is a wrinkle about using home service for your rv. Local channels are broadcast to the general area -- eg. I pay for local seattle channels, but cannot get those channels if I am more than about 60 miles from seattle because they have a small spotlot coverage on the seattle area. I could get the nationwide feeds with a disclaimer form, but your local service won't work. all other channels work great; they don't know where you're at when you receive them. this only applies to local channels. I've got an in-motion dome on the roof of my bus, with an auxilary tripod/dish setup with 100' of cable; i can either run off the dome, or, if parked under a tree, run the tripod out. i've got the kvh l3, which supports 2 recievers; i've got one in the bedroom area, and one near the front; allows the kids to watch what they want or to record something and watch something else. I haven't tested how far north it works, but it worked fine on the four trips i've taken from seattle to missouri and seattle to san diego. The in-motion tends to freeze for 1/8th of a second or so when you go under a bridge or behind trees, but generally speaking it's been pretty good, and is definitely watchable. If you see something you wanna watch, you can just park somewhere and go. The reason that I picked in-motion was to allow me to use my digital video recorder to record shows whenever they were on. i tell it which shows i want, and it goes, finds them and records them, and then I can view them at my leisure; no stopping to set up the dish and waiting for the show to end, and then continuing, just drive wherever you want, the show gets recorded, watch it, etc. The digital video recorder also allows you to move the recorded show off your dvr onto your computer. what I do at home is have a computer with a couple of large hard disks, and it serves as my tv-show server. it was cheaper to make a 2nd computer and have it store the shows than buy the equivalent amount of storage in the form of a dvr. | ||
| Cory Dane (66.155.188.21) Rating: N/A |
EXCUSE ME My Direct TV service works where ever I go. The only thing to remember is you will be on your home local time. Home for me Is north of Chicago and I enjoy direct RV at WaltDisneyWorld, lets see, 1300 miles, is that over 60 miles?? I think so. I don't know where these unproven rumours come from. Thank you cd | ||
| LHD (216.58.210.25) Rating: N/A |
Cory you are wrong. re read post LHD | ||
| CoryDane RTSII (66.155.188.21) Rating: N/A |
Your right, Im wrong, I just saw that before I read your post I reread the post, However, my local comes through DTV, how would the satilite split the signal from normal channels, which I do get everywhere? Its all from the same sat. oops cd | ||
| Bob Compton (Allboyzoo) (198.81.26.45)
Rating: N/A |
I must respectfully disagree. Cory is correct. I live on the west coast, and all my TV is on West Coast time, regardless as to where I am. If I am on the East Coast and I want to watch West Coast news I must stay up until 3:00 AM to catch the 11:00 o'clock news d fron Los Angeles. | ||
| Cory Dane (66.155.188.21) Rating: N/A |
Hey Bob Kinda makes ya want to be on Central time, eh? LOL "RTSII" cd | ||
| bruce king (67.170.101.3)
Rating: N/A |
I really do try to be precise in what I write. and it pains me when what I write isn't correct. but what REALLY pains me is when I get contradicted by folks that clearly really don't know what they're talking about. What's a suitable punishment for folks that spout off about stuff without checking it out or knowing what they're talking about? How about a $25 donation to my favorite charity, the big brothers? https://www.kintera.org/site/pp.asp?c=iuJ3JgO2F&b=79853&kntaw 1105=0DD33288D434422D826249B5A5C977F4 What I wrote is correct. In every aspect. http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/learn/FAQ_DTVProgramming_Local.dsp#1.5 (Editor's Note: I was forced to chop up your URL into two bits because your message changed the formatting of this page. Users wishing to see the listed URL must cut & paste each of the two pieces together in the "Location" or "Address" line of their browser. IG) | ||
| madbrit (67.136.98.38) Rating: N/A |
All very well for you guys who park in RV parks, but when I use my RV, it is often in a packed racecar pit or a truck stop and a roof mounted unit works just fine thank you. Especially if it's raining and one just wants to stop and put one's feet up for an hour or two. I am including an external connection to add the the facility for the moveable ground mount to counter the tree problem in RV parks. Even though my homebase is in Arizona, my locals are from New York. I prefer it that way as the Phoenix stations are rubbish and the West Coast come on in the middle of the evening when there are other things on TLC and Discovery. By using the New York feeds, they come on much earlier and I can record whatever I want. I use Dish, it was cheaper than Direct and had programming that Direct did not offer. Peter. | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (68.79.120.182)
Rating: N/A |
I hauled one of my receivers from my house in Oregon to my boat in San Francisco, I had Oregon Channels in SF. Is that the argument here? Whether you can get Local "Home" TV when "Away"? I sure can. Gary | ||
| John that newguy (199.232.240.6) Rating: N/A |
Where'd ya' go, Dean? Didja' get lost in there? Your question was regarding if the roof dish is best, the "dome" thing, the "auto sat tracking dish", and why the price difference between them all. I gave you my thoughts regarding roof mount vs tripod. Some others raved about their roof mount. The "dome" vs the "auto-track" wasn't answered. The cheap "dome" isn't likely a sat auto-tracking dish, it's likely an omnidirectional "local" vhf/uhf antenna that's probably amplifies the signal also. The auto-tracking sat dish may look similar in it's closed position (although some of them now have domed enclosures) but involve electronics and servos that will precisely locate your sat's signal and lock onto it. You can see why there's a major cost difference. There's also a nice folding table model that can sit on the ground or a table top and has auto-locating devices.... Also very pricey. (not sure if they still make it) The roof top models look like they'd be easy to use and their owners love 'em. But aside from the faults that I and others have pointed out, you will also have one other: You'll need to poke more holes in the roof to - 1. mount it and - 2. feed the wires through. More holes in the roof always equates to more chances for leaks. Leaky roofs equates to damage. Always. When the roof unit fails (and they do), you will have to climb up on the roof to repair, remove it, or hire someone to do that for you. But then.... I've always been a doomsayer. | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
Rating: N/A |
I have the foldup one on my boat. Same receiver, get Eugene, OR channels in SF. Has anyone seen the new KVH (I think) IN Motion CARTOP! dish? Just saw a clip about it, Flat, Appeared to be about 4" tall, $2,500 with receiver. Probably 12V to boot. Gary | ||
| Ian Giffin (Admin) (69.156.209.218)
Rating: N/A |
From FMCA Magazine: "Bush Campaign And Media Stay In Touch With KVH Equipment When President George W. Bush's re-election campaign hit the road for a bus tour of the American heartland in May, the president, his staff, and the media were never in the dark when it came to breaking news. That's because the custom motor coaches used by the entourage were equipped with TracVision L3 satellite TV antennas and the TracNet mobile high-speed Internet system from KVH Industries Inc., C6909. The TracVision systems offer complete in-motion access to satellite TV programming, including 24-hour news networks, ensuring that everyone traveling with the president could receive all of the latest updates. "The speed of political campaigns is increasing, with breaking news followed by immediate responses from the competition," said Jim Dodez, vice president of marketing for KVH. "When a campaign or the media is on the road, they need to have access to all of that news from all of the same sources that they depend on in their offices." The president's press pool is not the only media to make use of KVH's TracVision antennas. ABC News has mobilized three campaign buses — known as "Red," "White, and "Blue" — to cover the 2004 presidential election. The buses serve as mobile television and radio studios in which reports can be produced and filed and interviews can be conducted from remote locations. Each of the buses is equipped with KVH TracVision satellite TV systems, which allow the producers and reporters traveling aboard to watch ABC's own news shows, as well as other programming, virtually anywhere as they travel throughout the United States. The coaches in the president's entourage, as well as those utilized by ABC, were customized by Hemphill Brothers Coach Company, of Nashville, Tennessee. For more information about KVH's full line of in-motion satellite TV and Internet systems, visit www.tracvision.com." Ian www.busnut.com | ||
| John that newguy (199.232.240.6) Rating: N/A |
$2,500 ? To watch TV? I'll feel just a little bit wealthier every time I set up my tripod mounted dish. (heh heh) | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
Rating: N/A |
It would be silly to spend $2,500 to watch TV while in the RV park, but this is an "In Motion" system. Prices are coming down... Gary | ||
| John that newguy (199.232.240.6) Rating: N/A |
It's funny Gary.... Well... strangely funny...odd.. We take a trip to see the scenery and learn about new areas. Looking at everything along the way is part of the enjoyment of traveling. Are we so addicted to TV, that we can't miss a moment of it? Egads. Even full-timing as we had been, I'd prefer to use the $2,500 for a years worth of greasy food or maybe some new tires...or fuel. I guess we all "do it our way". | ||
| Jim Ashworth (Jimnh) (172.165.189.251)
Rating: N/A |
$2500 is nothing. The 4" high cartop unit is right around $4000. New technology-- wait a while and it should come down. I have the mobile rooftop unit and when I get into a campground I turn it on and make sure the site I'm assigned to has reception. I can move back and forth to assure coverage or move to another site. Most campgrounds are chopping trees away in some sites to accomodate vehicle mounted dishes. The only time I couldn't get coverage, they had free cable that I used. Only problem-- I didn't have the "guide" that DTV has for program schedules. I don't understand being able to get local channels away from home. Maybe SF is not far enough away from Oregon. I switched to NY & LA network coverage. I get the on-air network stations at home anyway so it wasn't a big deal. Jim | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
Rating: N/A |
"Are we so addicted to TV, that we can't miss a moment of it? " I have two receivers that I'm paying for and haven't bothered to hook them up at my new place, so in my case......No. "$2500 is nothing. The 4" high cartop unit is right around $4000. New technology-- wait a while and it should come down." Jim--it IS the 4" cartop that was $2500. Just saw the ad this morning. Local Channels come through the dish. Satellite doesn't know where the dish is. Gary | ||
| Jim Ashworth (Jimnh) (172.165.189.251)
Rating: N/A |
See, I told you the price would come down.LOL- The last I saw them was last summer at $4k. I had local channels (Boston) and when in NY I was too far away to receive them. It is a pretty small target they transmit to from the satellite. Jim | ||
| ChuckMC9 (Chucks) (69.3.74.181)
Rating: N/A |
The $6,700 Power Cord If you like expensive satellite, you'll love these... The $350,000 Amplifier: Wavac SH-833 Related The $6,700 Power Cord [Gizmodo] The $3,000 Power Cord [Gizmodo] The $744 Power Cord [Gizmodo] The $500 Power Cord [Gizmodo] | ||
| TWO DOGS (4.226.105.73) Rating: N/A |
STAND BACK AND THROW MONEY | ||
| Cory Dane (66.155.188.11) Rating: N/A |
The $2500 unit was about 1000 bucks higher a year ago. At least the one I was following was. My home DTV system works so well on the road I have no need for the higher priced model. My dishes are not the watch on the fly type. Nobody really misses it that much anyway. throw in a dvd if the addiction starts to bother and all is better LOL. As I have stated before, you really need the regular RV type antenna, which will pick up local to the area channels when the dish has a black out during storms. I don't think the $2500 brand dish can get around the storms. As for me not knowing what I am talking about, I have had the dish since DTV started selling the dish and I had to put my name on a waiting list just to by the receiver/dish set up. The brands, other than RCA had'nt even started selling for 9 months yet. The Apartment buildings didn't like the looks of the small 18" dish so many banned them. My friend and I pioneered the "barbeque facade" dish, that is a dish hidden inside the body of a Webber grill. We experimented and found that when you cover the grill/Sat dish, with a certain garbage type plastic bag, the sat signal would come through as the plastic was "INVISIBLE" to the signal. Apartment people could not see the dish and were happy since everyone had grills. Not to mention the dish in North Carolina whos neighborhood banned dishes because they were "ugly" to look at. The family placed the dish under the protection of a shade umbrella, again, the fabric was invisable to the signal. I've travel with the dish and my home service and have missed none of the channels. We as campers do have a habit of turning on the tube a bit too much, but I tend to turn it on for the weather channel more often then not. theres too much to do when traveling to pay $2500 bucks for a dish that is nearly free these days. "Thank you" cd | ||
| John that newguy (199.232.240.6) Rating: N/A |
Hey Two D.... Get a load of the "I just buy Playboy for the articles" comments! HAR HAR Hey.... whatever turns the groove, right? No biggie. | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
Rating: N/A |
"I don't think the $2500 brand dish can get around the storms. " I think storms are not a problem: http://www.kvh.com/products/product.asp?id=79 This is the one I saw this morning. Gary | ||
| John that newguy (199.232.240.6) Rating: N/A |
Ehhhhhhh....? "I think storms are not a problem: " http://www.kvh.com/products/product.asp?id=79 "*TracVision A5 provides full in-motion reception of satellite TV signals on open roads with a clear view of the TV satellite in the southern sky." I think that would legally cover "cloudy days". | ||
| CoryDane RTSII (66.155.188.11) Rating: N/A |
Gary I am referring to the blackout. I think all disks are prey to this. But, hey, GOOD NEWS. That dish is now $2295, we get the discount, lets all run down to Walmart and get a couple, hey? SPeaking of storms I read that the phones and such are still down in Florida. Seems strange, how impatient one gets when you know someone down there. The shop In Arcadia, where Buss'n 2004 was held are a loss, none of the guys that work there were hurt but most lost their homes. Still hoping to hear from Jack and wife as well as others. The pictures that are coming in are incredible, to see so much devastation, pain and suffering. I can only hope that everyone will be ok, but reports do not reflect that result. To my friends - all my hopes and prayers cd | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
Rating: N/A |
Cory-- gotcha, Well, anything that shuts down the 'Lectricity will have a profound effect on one's viewing experience. However....It's a CAR (Bus) mount, so the storm is still no effect  Besides, if there's houses flying around outside, I'm not watching TV, except maybe the weather report. Now if a house lands on your Car/Bus that would have quite an impact on your reception. John--Clouds? That's a joke, right? Gary | ||
| CoryDane RTSII (66.155.188.14) Rating: N/A |
OK, OK, I give Now back to the question..... "There are stationary "dome" antennas that vary in price by $1000. I dont understand why there is such a difference in price. " The original DTV sat dish/receiver was $700. There were no auto seek dishes yet. NOW, you can get the dish for house attachment for almost nothing with a service contract. The auto seek dishes are mainly for mobile use and has dish controllers, motors and remote controls. (this is all without the program box) The motor apperatus must be able to withstand weather, heat, cold and be available 24/7. This is a tall order and you pay for what you get. Used to be around 500 - 1000 buckeroos Then come the people who want to see programming while on the move. In comes the satilite domes, which essentially is a low profile dome on the roof of the RV with a smaller sensitive dish inside with the capability to know which way to turn to keep the signal strong as the vehicle turns hether to. Boats use them as well. These started at $3 to 5000 buckaroos, but have come down a bit. The variance in price for the domes is components cost, the cost of miniaturization (if you look at the domes, the size of the dome varies as much as the cost. You are paying for the miniaturization technology. THE LATEST is the flat panel satilite "dish" that lays flat on the roof of the RV, boat, what ever. It has thousands of receivers in the surface which gives capability to keep track of the satelite with no moving parts. You will pay plenty for this new technology. I saw it last year for $3500 but now it has come down to about 2500 buckeroos. I am totally a candidate for the latest flat dish technology as soon as the technology comes down to my price range. There, thats better, Hope I was helpful LLOLOLOLOL cd | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (209.128.79.46)
Rating: N/A |
i was thinking about the logic of getting myself an In-Motion. I'm a guy that hasn't even bothered to hook up the stationary dish in my house (Yet I'm paying for it), but I'm thinking about how cool it would be to be able to watch network TV while on the road. Unsure if you can relate, but it reminds me of the earlier days of dial up, where guys would dial each other up to type at each other, just 'cause it was cool. Ah, the lure of techno-goodies. Gary | ||
| Cliff (Floridacracker) (65.33.17.47)
Rating: N/A |
The "flat panel" sounds like old technology taken from the phased array radars that were set up in the early sixties to keep an eye on the ruskies. Old, but still watching over the ice cap for any surprizes. Cliff | ||
| H3Jim (68.107.62.94) Rating: N/A |
The in motion version also gest the satellite music for no extra charge. I know some that got the in motion just for the music going down the road. | ||
| Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary) (68.79.120.182)
Rating: N/A |
"....taken from the phased array radars....." I think the basic principle is similar, however the Radar is only looking for a "Bounce" while the Sat is a digital stream. Other than that no difference Gary | ||
| Dean Stoops (63.181.232.93) Rating: N/A |
Thanks to all of you for your responses! I currently have a Winegard combo Sat dish/TV antenna. I installed it about 6 yrs ago. It has worked OK but the crank up mechanism (mostly plastic and aluminum) has worn to the point that I think it is not accurate enough to adjust the elevation. At any rate I am suddenly having trouble finding 119West. I can sometimes find 110West but not 119. I know that sounds strange but that has been my experience. Since I'm not real happy with the design of this dish I thought I'd just update it to one that might be easier to use. We use our Motorhome (1978 Newell) 3-4 weeks / year so a manual adjust will be adequate. I'm seriously considering the Winegard Digital Magic. I would then need to mount a local channel antenna seperately. I'm thinking about one of those dome style directional antennas like I recently had installed on my house. A little background info: I bought my Newell about 7 yrs ago. I was searching for a bus at the time but this was close and was a good buy. I have rebuilt or modified most of the systems on it over the years. This forum has been very helpful. The Newell has been somewhat sidelined over the last 2 years since we bought an 1870's Victorian house that we have been restoring into a Bed+Breakfast. Incidently I have room to park and can provide a 20 amp hook-up if any of you are coming through North-east Indiana! Dean 1978 Newell 35' 555 Cummins |