VuCube

[budinfla]

Anyone have one of these? I am thinking of adding satellite TV to my motorhome and am considering the VuCube. The dome would be easier, but costs a bunch more. What I really want to know is whether I can hook up the Cube where I now hook up cable and then route it through the Direct TV box or if I have to hook up the box directly to the cube? So many options! Thanks

[whodo]

First, the sat. receiver has to be in line with the Sat Dish, regardless of whether it is a reg. dish, dome, or VuCube.
Here is a picture of how Winegard's method of hooking up the sat. dish.


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/Browzin/Winegardsathookup.jpg

Now a couple of things to remember; The VuCube is not automatic, you still have to aim it at the Sat. If you have any obstruction in the way (tree, bldg, bush, etc.) you will not receive a signal. Secondly it is only a standard dish, it will not work with multi-satellite feeds as required for HD reception.
Due to this, you need to carry a portable dish along with you so that when you do run into something in the way, you can drag out the portable an still receive TV.

[utmtman]

You cannot have any hookups or connections between your dish or vu and the direct tv box. They just wont connect. You will have to run the cable thru a window to the box.

[budinfla]

You cannot have any hookups or connections between your dish or vu and the direct tv box. They just wont connect. You will have to run the cable thru a window to the box.
According to VuCube, you can plug in where you plug in cable and then run that cable into the cable box and go out from there to your switch box or tv.

[utmtman]

Well I used a dish and tried it on my new motor home and it would not work, found out from others on forums and finally from a tech that they will not give you a connection that route. I finally bought the movin view dome for my rv and have used it since. If it will work thats great, good luck to ya.

[budinfla]

I have heard conflicting reports. Think I may just go with a dome on the RV and live w/o TV when there are trees. I have heard just what you suggest and would hate to invest $700 and then have to rewire my motorhome

[1stsgt]

budinfla,

Here is a setup to consider. You don't have to be without TV when under trees.

I have a Winegard stationary dome on my 5ver. I also have a switch box inside that allows me to switch from sat dome or portable dish to regular antena for recieving local channels. Along with the switch box I also have a through the wall external dual cable connection box for connecting my portable dish when or if I can't lock on with my dome.

I have dual LNB's in the dome and on the dish that allows me to recieve two different sat channels on two TV's. I can also watch Local channels through the regular antena on one TV while watching sat channels through the dome or dish on the other TV.

With the Dish DVR reciever installed I require only one reciever also.

I've not been without TV yet and really like my system. It may sound difficult but it's very simple to set up and very easy to operate and change modes.

Another concern would be expense. My system was very reasonable. The dome was on sale for 900.00 (search for lowest price, not Camping World), The dish with dual LNB's was inexpensive at Radio Shack, the Dish DVR was a free two reciever upgrade for our home (One DVR in the house and one in the 5ver), the switch box was provided by my Dealer along with the thru the wall external dual cable connector box.

There are many options so it comes down to what works best for you. As always, do your homework before you buy.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[whodo]

budinfla
I have just spent the last two days helping a friend install and setup a VuQube on his Class 8 tractor that is used for towing 5th wheel. We did a little side by side comparison test as well.

Here is first hand experience;
The internal dish ant. is small, so signal can be blocked easier by obstructions and appears rain/cloud cover could be a factor as well (unfortunately we only had clear sunny skies to test in at the time) this is compared to a standard 18" dish. But this should not be a problem, the ant. can be moved around (it is portable, it doesn't have to be permanently mounted, little more info on this below).

As far as connecting to the receiver, standard straight forward setup, just a simple matter of making sure that what ever feed line is used (outside cable tv or batwing cable) that the amplifier is by passed (like is shown in picture I posted above), or ran directly to the receiver.
All set up is done through the remote control (read the instructions first, it really helps :eek: ) after understanding the operation of the remote, all of us took turns playing with the Satellite locating setup and found that it was straightforward and actually much easier than a "Movinview" dome satellite to lock on to the satellite an have a picture on the tv.

Now for a little more info on portability; it can be mounted permanently or made to be used portable, for portable use it appears that approx 100 ft of quad cable is the max range before signal loss is measurable enough to start becoming a problem compared to approx 150ft with a standard 18" dish. This minor limitation should not be a problem unless you are in a real bad spot trying to find a clear shot at the satellites.

The prices vary greatly from dealer to dealer so shop around, this one was purchased off the internet for $639 delivered, is this a good price? I have no idea, it's not mine and I didn't buy it, I just helped install it and put it through a few test.

Now for a few personal thoughts: Is it worth the money? If you have no intention of upgrading to HD in the future, then probably so if you want a portable/stationary remote control sat. dish. (These units are not designed to be used for Multi-Sat. HD use.)
Advantages compared to a standard portable Sat. Dish: If your in a open spot (no obstructions) it works great roof mounted, if your in a obstructed location, it can be used portable. If you pull into a rest area/wal-mart/truckstop etc. you can have sat tv in a manner of minutes with out having to worry about finding a place to set up the dish.
Disadvantages: Cost $$$. Moving components inside to fail. Lack of any type of anchor point connection to prevent theft when used portable (you could design your own though).

NOTE: Being this was installed on the back of a Class 8 tractor sleeper compartment. Designing a removable mount installation along with coax cable routing to the 5th wheel was a problem that consumed time for this particular installation. If you roof mount this unit, everything is straight forward and can be accomplished by any one that is comfortable doing this type of work.

Sorry I don't have any pictures that I can post at this time.

[budinfla]

Thanks for all the information. I have yet to decide, but will post when I do. I like the cost of the Cube, but the ease of the roof system. Seems like it will cost about $500 more to go with the roof mount dome. Just need to figure out exactly how I am going to hook up the cube. Am leaning toward having a jack installed on the outside of the unit, if necessary.