Satellite help

[skiphen]

Looking for help in which is the best Satellite service for my Motorhome. Which is better Direct TV or Dish TV ? Heard pro's and con's for both. Please help.

[whodo]

Opinions are like the human anatomy, every one has one.
Comparing dish network to directv is like comparing Fords & Chevy's. They both do the same thing, accomplish the same thing, cost about the same, offer the same basic service.
Which one is the best, the one that you decide to use that offers what you want for the price you are willing to pay.

[geothom]

I am very pleased with Direct TV, it has worked well in all parts of the country we have been in.
A little over 3 years ago, near Quartzsite, AZ 2 other fellows at the campground had nothing but problems with dish to the point that 1 guy dropped disn on the spot & signed up with Direct. He was able to do this because he had a direct receiver, don't know how the other guy made out.

[jdensie]

I use Directv with no problems as for service. I do have one question and that is some time ago on a forum there was a list of meters to made setting up easier, just wanted to know if any one could help?
Thank you in advance.

[smokeybear]

Jdenise,

There are several Meters that help "Find" the satellite.

Bird Dog is one that is very costly... but very accurate as well... it's in the $ 400 to $ 500 range. I tend to feel it's far more than most people need or are willing to pay. This meter will identify the satellite you have a signal for... and it will give you the strength of that signal.

Satellite Finder is another type of meter. These are pretty low cost meters. You can find several different brands of this style of analogue meter. This is the one I use... it has a simple dial that with an adjustment nob. This meter also emits a sound that increases when the signal strength increases.

I also find digital meters as well... just about any price range you could imagine. I feel the very best tool is " Practice " setting up and finding the signal.

As dish TV services advance... so does the complications of finding the signal for their Multi Satellite Dishes. Meaning the more LNB's the dish has... the more difficult it will be to perfectly align the dish to connect with each Satellite.

Hope this is of some help.

Marv

[utmtman]

Direct tv for television, moto sat for satellite internet or motosat for both television and internet.

[donnie]

We got Dish and were very disappointed with the results.
We have a "followme" type satellite dish and the sat did its thing with no prob but we couldnt receive anything.Kept showing "acquiring Signal".
Finally raised the"batwing" and had no prob.
Thinking about dropping Dish and going with Direct.

[darwin]

I have been using Dishnetwork for years with few problems. When I had a dome installed on my motorhome the tech at Camper World indicated that it works better with Direct TV. I was very disappointed with the installation at Camper World so I did not value his opinion.
I have been told that AT&T owns both, does anyone know if this is correct. I think you can get a package deal through AT&T for either one. My opinion is the same as Ford, Chevy or Dodge, personnel prefference.

[sjt43]

I have the Dish setup, and it was easier to set upthe direct when we had it, but since my honey wanted locals, we went Dish. At first it was difficult to get in. After a few tries it got a lot easier and faster. At one point the are on the dish got bent and I was setting on another sat and the gage intigated that I had a single, but no picture.:mad: I got back home and notice that the arm was bent,:rolleyes: so I straighten it and it worked better than before. I concluded that it was getting bent every time I stored it until it got to bad that it didn't work. If you have a choice go Direct. sjt:)

[jndwilli]

I have found it much easier to use direct tv. Dish networks sattelites are lower in the sky so if anything is in the way you can't get a signal. Using direct tv i get a signal very quickly. Also the further north you go the harder it is to get a signal with dish

[donnie]

As I previously posted, we had Dish.
When we returned home after our last trip, there was a special from DSirect for their service.
Contacted them, informed them I wanted the service strictly for the MH and they said it was no prob. Its getting installed this Wed.
After ordering Direct, contacted Dish and cancelled .
They (Dish) dont like to hear when someone wants to drop there service.
They kept asking what they could do to have me stay as a customer.

[utmtman]

You tell them they need to get together with a better service for fulltime rvers and they will probably hang up on ya.

[darwin]

I have Dishnetwork, I call a few days ago to change my programming, the first person spoke broken English, I had a very difficult time understanding her and I was not pleased with her response, I was forwarded to a supervisor, her English was no better. I am thinking of switching to Direct TV.
I had local channels and HD on Dishnetwork, they quit carring the station we watched the most over a cost increase. I found that HD came in much better on a local antenna than on the dish and I can get all of the local stations. I was paying $81 Per month, after deleteing the local channels and HD it dropped to $61 per month. I am going to check Direct TV for a better rate.

[donnie]

I just got a Direct tuner installed in the MH yesterday.
It will run me in the neighborhood of 38 bucks a month.
I called and told the rep exactly what I wanted and that it was going in the MH.
He said No Prob, we do it all the time.
I might add that I have a Winegard motion satellitte on the roof of the MH.
THe only drawback is, if Im over 150 miles from our home base, we wont get local channel.
The tech said to call and tell customer service that we changed location and they can unlock the locals whereever we are.
We re trying it out within the next week on a trip.

By the way, if anyone wants a dish satellite for dish network and a couple of old receivers, let me know.

[k0129rwv]

I have noticed some people stating that Direct will install their system in an RV now my RV has the wires already run thru the roof and a place marked on the ceiling to find the wires and where to install the antenna. Now am I understanding that Direct will install a roof top sat. antenna and hook it to the receiver and tv? I don't want to go to CW to get it done as I have had some bad experiences with them over the past year....:confused:

[darwin]

I had a King Dome satellite installed at Camper World. I told them more than once that my motorhome was prewired for a dome, and went through their interview, which was extensive. After all of that they ran the wire across the top, and drilled holes in the front cap. It is to late once the holes are drilled, I would not recommend camper world. I made a total of four trips to Camper World before it worked correctly. They insisted on installing a seperate power supply for the dish, it woild over heat and trip off after about 30 minutes. They finally wired it to the motorhome 12 volt system, now it works correctly.
Direct TV installed a system in a friends 5th wheel, the dish is mounted on a tripod on the ground. I don't know if they will install the dish or dome on top.

[donnie]

When we bought our MH, we had the Winegad Road Trip system installed before we took delievery.
We had a Dish receiver sitting in the garage from an old contract we had with them.
We tried to use for a while but were dis satisified with the reception.
Direct brought the receiver out, installed it and set the switchs on the satellitte for Direct.
It works great.
I like the fact that we dont have to setup anything.
Just flip a switch and we got tv.
In fact, we re in Utah at the moment and watching our home channels as we speak.
It followed us as we traveled from our home base to Utah.
DW is very happy with it.
And we all know that if DW is happy everyone is happy.:)

[gmandjj1980]

We have DirecTV only because we can buy the NFL package. We have a niece that is married to a Tackle for the Falcons. Dish does not offer the package were we can get all the games.

By the way, we don't miss Vick.

GML

[rolin]

I am in Alaska and dierect said that they could not install in a MH. Does any one know something that I don't

[whodo]

I am in Alaska and dierect said that they could not install in a MH. Does any one know something that I don't
First welcome to the forum.

Now a couple of questions to attempt offering assistance. Do you have a Satellite dish (dome, crank up, etc.) already installed on the MH?

IF you want this type of system you will have to have it installed by someone other than "Directv", they will not install them.
IF you plan on using a portable dish on a stand, Directv has a portable package that you can get "OR" you can tell them that you have a "post" that you want the regular dish mounted on and then when the installer gets there just have them mount it on a tri-pod stand, (Directv CS people have no idea what a tri-pod stand is, so just tell them you have a post in the ground, they understand that."

Next question; Is your MH already wired for Satellite TV?

If it is already wired for satelllite, no problem, the installers will connect the receiver box to the cable.

If it is not already wired for Satellite TV is it wired for "Cable TV" ?

If it is already wired for cable you will need to modify it so that you can use it for Satellite TV. (If this is the case and your not sure how to do it, let me know and I will post a picture diagram of how to modify your system)

There are other ways to get Directv to install Satellite in MH and I'm sure others will post the method they used.

[bschilz]

We bought our motorhome used and it came with the DirecTV setup, which was fine with me as that's what we have at home. Works great on the road, love the DVR feature so we can pick and choose what to watch when we want to. Our biggest issue was getting DTV to set us up with the network stations as our "local stations" were no good 50+ miles from home. It took over a month to get all four networks and finally we got referred to a group in Colorado who knew what they were doing and we instantly had it.

[smokeybear]

I am in Alaska and dierect said that they could not install in a MH. Does any one know something that I don't

Alaska is so very high above the equator it will be nearly impossible to get a Dish to work.

If you have looked at any that are installed on the houses... they aim the dish as low is they can to reach the satellite that orbit over the equator.

[sdianel]

We got DirecTV when we retired in both our home and our motorhome. We got the 4 receiver package and put one in the motorhome. The installer gave us a free dish for the RV. (don't think DirecTV had anything to do with that). Now we have a dome satellite and still use DirecTV. Their service is great. You can call and reset your satellite without even speaking to a live person! voila! Also can rent movies by going online or calling them. No phone line necessary. You don't get local channels when you are over 125 miles from home base (FCC stupid rule). So we just use the reg. antenna for that. They have NASCAR pitpass and Football Sunday ticket if you can't live without sports. (who can?) If/when you need to speak to someone at DirecTV we have found them to be very professional and courteous and patient! Now if I can figure out how to get satellite on my BR TV I would be a happier camper!

[jwillie44]

Looking for help in which is the best Satellite service for my Motorhome. Which is better Direct TV or Dish TV ? Heard pro's and con's for both. Please help.

If you are a big time TV watcher, and you want top of the line, go with DirecTV, Motosat SL5 roof antenna, and HD TV sets. Gotta love that HD.

[jwillie44]

<Quote>: "Our biggest issue was getting DTV to set us up with the network stations as our "local stations" were no good 150+ miles from home. It took over a month to get all four networks and finally we got referred to a group in Colorado who knew what they were doing and we instantly had it."

Both DTV and DISH will offer the network channels to your RV if you are willing to give up your local stations. DTV will give you NYC and/or L.A. DISH will give you Atlanta and/or San Francisco. These are options for mobile customers only and you have to send in a DNS waiver and proof of ownership of your RV.

As a "Mobile Customer" you are entitled to Distant Network Services (DNS). The trick with both providers is getting somebody on the telephone who knows what you are talking about. i.e. the Colorado group.

Key words to use... Mobile user, RV, DNS.

I get no local channels but I do get the networks in High Def from NYC. I also get the networks in Standard Def from L.A. My configuration is not unusual, but it is the most expensive.

[riggsrepair]

Direc TV is easier to get a signel when maually finding a sat. You could purchase an FTA reciever and it wouldnt cost you anything a month. FTA stands for Free to Air. Any stations that broadcast unscrammbled signels will be picked up by this reciever. People do purchase these to program to get dish network channels for free.