| Author |
Message |
captain ron (Captain_ron)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 12:08 am: | |
a friend of mine is giving me a dish satelite system, how do you guys wire your systems? how much extra wire do you leave for the dish to be located in areas where you don't have a direct access to a clear southern sky.or do you rig a mount on the bus? |
James Maxwell (Jmaxwell)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 12:50 am: | |
Cap'n: This may have changed. However, both major services refuse to activate receivers that are "passed on" even when you have the card for it. DISH network is about to undergo a card change, as they are in the process of changing security schemes, and it reportedly will involve a nation-wide card swap. Direct went thru this a little over a year ago.
There are several different types of ground mounts used, ranging from a simple stand to a nifty little compact base that retails at $130. I would suggest a 100' RG6 co-ax for when u have to remote for view clearance. Most common and versatile ground stand and mount is a tri-pod arrangement, a simple pipe to fit the stand-pipe mount on the dish, with 3 adjustable legs. Make provisions to hang a 1 gallon jug of water between the legs to keep breezes from blowing it over. For on the bus, I have seen a few simple ones that just put a stand pipe near the front driver's window that elevates the dish above the roof and is adjustable thru the window. This depends a lot on your window style.
Worth the effort is to install a co-axial jack on the bus exterior or a convenient bay and hard wire it into the location of the receiver. Just attach your external co-ax to it and saves the hassle of having to run thru a window into the bus. Keep your eyes open for a roof mount Weingard dish. You often see them @swap meets for sale and dealers that sell the auto tracking systems |
CoryDaneRTS
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 3:53 am: | |
Cap'n
I have the Direct TV service for home. When I travel, the receiver goes with.
I talked to a couple of people who have the dish on the bus roof. They like it but they do admit that once in a while it is unable to find the satilite. Then I would recommend 100' coax. There are a lot of cheap dish mounts(for on the ground) that you can use. To save storage space, get the one that folds up and made of metal. The plastic works (Camp'n World) but is a bit flimsy to me. The dish mount can be made also if you feel energetic.
The roof unit is nice to have, but not required if you don't mind setting up the dish every time you camp. Camp'n World sells a little meter($40) that helps find the satilite if you don't have an automatic locator system.
Its great to take the home stations with you, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Yeah, when I camp, I like to "Rough it". Har
cd |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 8:53 am: | |
Ron-
Get that meter that CD mentioned. It's indispensable if you're
going to be in a different location every week. The box has
it's own location devices, but you'll go crazy trying to use it.
You'll connect the meter as close to the dish as you desire,
and be able to see instantly when you've got it on target.
With Direct TV, you will have to ask for the mobile/RV/truck
package if you want it. It will allow you to receive both east
coast and west coast networks. Nice and handy if you like
to watch that 6pm east coast show at 9pm no matter where
you are. They'll want a copy of your registration to be sent
back with the form they send you.
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/learn/dns_vehicles.dsp |
Nick Morris (Nick3751)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 8:54 am: | |
I can't speak for havin one in/on a motorhome YET but I've taken my in home system to three different location now and not had a problem. I refuse to pay DTV to set it up and just don't like the idea of being forced into another years contract just cause I moved. The service address on the bill is still the same I just changed the mailing address and all is lovely. |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 12:52 pm: | |
get a 1 1/4 pipe ...drive it in the ground ...takes 5 minutes |
captain ron (Captain_ron)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 1:12 pm: | |
I've got speaker tri-pods I can use for that... my main issue is how much wire do I need to have extra and is it ok to put a junction box in with the low signal that you get from dish? |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 3:31 pm: | |
100 foot...use the regular coax...not that expencive stuff with the external ground wire...suggest (4) 25 foot rolls..just use what you need....don't know what you mean by juction box...I use the male couplers to connect the coax together |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 6:03 pm: | |
Ron-
Radio shack and Walmart both had a combiner that claims
to allow you to feed both dish signals and the low freq stuff
on the same cable.
Walmart also has an antenna that clips to the dish, for local broadcast reception, using the same cable...
You can't use the standard VHF/UHF combiner for combining
the sat and vhf/uhf... |
captain ron (Captain_ron)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 9:21 pm: | |
The friend who gave it to me said I had to use a special cable for low signal between dish and box, then I can use regular cable between box and tv. What I ment by junction box was where it would screw into bus before it got to box, mabee one on each side. |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 10, 2005 - 9:47 pm: | |
I've used every 75 ohm coax around, and even 50 ohm coax...
But use what the manufacturer says to, to insure you won't have
problems... Because when you do have problems getting a signal,
it'll be one less thing in the mix to consider...
Try to make the connections between dish and box as best
possible. Any loss there will mean no reception in poor areas..
Down here in Florida, it's hard not to get a signal. Up north,
it's a lil' more difficult..
The antenna that mounts on the dish that I mentioned, is for picking
up local tv stations and can be handy when it's pouring out and
the dish doesn't work. They claim that the vhf/uhf and dish all are
fed on the same coax to the box... separators are included... |
tony bare
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 11, 2005 - 12:35 am: | |
The signal strength meter is a must; It makes setting up the dish much easier. For me the roof mount auto locating dish was almost useless. It worked great as long as there was no trees in the way ,or signs, or mountains,which was usually the case. The best and easiest to set up was the least expensive tripod I tried. Radio Shack roof top antenna mount. Its cheap and colapsable. I had trouble finding the correct size mast for the tripod. Electrical conduit was to big or to small to fit the dish. Finally found- Lowes chain link fence post fits perfect. I carry and have used 300 ft of coax. Dish doesnt recommend longer than 300 ft. Lead boat anchor works good to weight it down to keep it from moving. The radio shack tripod has holes in the feet for large nails or spikes to anchor it down. |