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RE: How far South into Mexico can you pick Dish Network?
We wintered in Celestino, Mazatlán, and Teacapán in 2009. We carried a 32" single-LNB dish. In Celestino (about 40 miles north of Mazatlán), we were able to get most transponders on the Dish satellite. In Mazatlán and Teacapán we couldn't get any signal at all.
Yeah we did also then below Guadalajara with a 48" dish dual LNB we use to carry with us in our old Toyhauler. But around 2011 Dish Network added a replacement satellite in orbit that narrowed down the footprint and now you can't get the signal any longer very far below the USA Southern border with any type of dish you could carry on/in a RV. ...
rocmoc n AZ/MexicoGood to know. We won't bother carrying the big dish down there next time.
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Dave From AK
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04/27/13 09:24am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: How far South into Mexico can you pick Dish Network?
We wintered in Celestino, Mazatlán, and Teacapán in 2009. We carried a 32" single-LNB dish. In Celestino (about 40 miles north of Mazatlán), we were able to get most transponders on the Dish satellite. In Mazatlán and Teacapán we couldn't get any signal at all.
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Dave From AK
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04/23/13 04:49pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Gas Price?
We paid the equivalent of $3.29US/gal for regular gas in Puerto Peñasco and $3.41US/gal for diesel in Sonoyta last week.
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Dave From AK
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03/27/13 01:30pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Puerto Peñasco / Rocky Point
We left Puerto Peñasco a week ago. While there were lots of spaces available, the drunks shooting off fireworks at night made it unpleasant for us once Spring Break started. One bozo was setting off quarter sticks of dynamite. If we didn't have a dog that turns into a quivering mass of fear when that happens, it wouldn't have been so bad.
After Spring Break and Semana Santa, the parks will be empty, but it's too hot for us down there now.
Enjoy your retirement! We have enjoyed every day of ours, for 11 years now.
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Dave From AK
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03/27/13 01:26pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Traveling in Mexico (Puerto Penasco-Rocky Pointe)
Galvanizd gave a great summary in his post.
We have been down here since December, and I have been making a list of things that are difficult to get in Puerto Peñasco:
Velveeta
Coffee beans (CS Restaurant Supply has them, though)
Unsugared cold cereal
Canned stewed tomatoes
Canned black olives (whole, sliced, or chopped)
Blue cheese (CS Restaurant Supply)
Sharp cheddar cheese (CS Restaurant Supply)
Good paper napkins (what they sell down here are like flimsy cocktail napkins)
Good plastic wrap (but Sam's has Reynolds brand, 300 meters, 72 pesos)
Shower cleaner that removes soap scum
Unscented drier sheets
Vacuum cleaner bags
Tapatío hot sauce (CS Restauant Supply)
Laundry products, unscented
CS Restaurant Supply was a real find. We were directed there by Russ (Thanks, Russ!). They have American butter, cheeses that we Americans like but Mexicans don't generally eat, and other foodstuffs that you can't find in the regular supermarkets here. They are the only place in town that roasts coffee beans.
Sam's is the only place in town that I have found that sells diet cola by the case. Diet Coke was 135 pesos ($10.80US) for a case of 24 12 oz. cans today.
It's getting late to get down here "prior to Easter holiday". The Spring Break crowds started arriving a week ago.
We like The Reef RV Park. It's about three miles from downtown, but the sites are huge, most have 50 amp power, and even now it's only about a third full. There is an excellent, but pricey, fine dining restaurant as well as a great bar that sells very good breakfast and lunch food here at the park.
I just wish there weren't so many of the Spring Break crowd setting off fireworks late into the night. It really scares our dog.
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Dave From AK
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03/16/13 04:08pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Pollen in Spring time Mexico!
We have been in Puerto Peñasco since December. Beginning three days ago I have been having the worst hayfever symptoms I have had in decades.
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Dave From AK
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03/15/13 09:36am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: One Month
There is a lot more to Mexico than Puerto Penasco. If you're taking the trouble to buy vehicle insurance, why not go a bit farther than the 100 miles you have suggested. True, the Mexican government welcomes you with "no hassels" while there, but don't forget to bring your US dollars - they get you cheaper everything, in PP....We have been in Puerto Peñasco since December. Stores all seem to accept US dollars here, but there is no advantage to using them. We have been using pesos exclusively, That's what you get from the ATMs, after all. Almost everyplace that posts an exchange rate uses somewhere between 12 and 13 pesos/dollar. The individual vendors often price their wares in dollars but cheerfully accept pesos at 12.5/dollar or better. Our favorite tortillaria sells a dozen flour tortillas two dollars or 20 pesos. Paying by dollars would be a mistake.
In short, don't bother bringing a bunch of dollars. ATMs and credit cards give the best exchange rate you can get, and dealing in dollars would be a hassle. The large stores that take dollars always give you your change in pesos anyway.
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Dave From AK
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03/08/13 08:19am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Insurance!
We have National Interstate insurance. Collision and comp coverage for Mexico is $4 (yes, four dollars) a year. They don't have an option for Mexican liability coverage, so we still need to buy that separately. This year we paid $128 for liability on both the coach and towed.
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Dave From AK
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03/05/13 07:57am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Looking for a David L Pasula
...Few Pemex stations take cards so the employee was probably not used to them.We have used four or five Pemex stations since we have been in Puerto Peñasco this winter, and they have all taken credit cards. In fact, they have wireless portable card readers that the attendants use at the pumps. This is our first winter in Mexico since 2009, when we almost never saw a Pemex station that took credit cards. That was 800 miles further south, though.
Is the prevalence of stations that take credit cards just a Puerto Peñasco phenomenon?
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Dave From AK
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02/27/13 06:49am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Rig Destroyed by Fire at The Reef
The fire victims and their friends in the damaged motor home left today, headed home. They left a very nice card in the office thanking everybody here for the help they received. People in the park donated about $500 to them. They personally thanked all of us that they saw.
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Dave From AK
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02/26/13 05:23pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Rig Destroyed by Fire at The Reef
Do you know if they have a place to stay while they are working things out? Do they need transport to the states? Let me know if there is something we can do to assist. We live only a few minutes from the Reef.Thanks, Russ, but they seem to have things in hand.
People in the park took up a collection, and they are staying in a motel. They have other family here that happened to arrive the day before. In addition to the couple they traveled down here with, the folks parked behind us are good friends of theirs.
The remains of the fiver were chopped up and hauled out of here today. Their pickup is still sitting there. We hear that it's waiting for an adjuster to look at it. It's a burned out hulk.
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Dave From AK
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02/25/13 05:22pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Rig Destroyed by Fire at The Reef
I have no expertise in these matters, but the first place the fire burned through to the outside was at the water heater. Several of us emptied our fire extinguishers into that hole, then two of us directed water from hoses into it, to no avail.
I've been wondering if I should get an extra fire extinguisher or two in addition to the small factory supplied unit.
How many extinguisher did you guys use?
Were they the small extinguishers?
Do you think it would have helped if one or two or bigger additional fire extinguishers were available and employed?I don't know how many fire extinguishers we used. I used both of ours, and other people rushed over with theirs. They were all the typical small RV fire extinguishers.
By the time we saw the smoke, I don't think any number of portable fire extinguishers would have helped. When we exhausted the fire extinguishers, two of us were pouring water in from hoses, and they didn't have any visible effect.
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Dave From AK
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02/25/13 05:17pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Rig Destroyed by Fire at The Reef
Sorry to read about this. Those poor people. Glad no one was injured. Was it an old trailer? Where were the owners of the MH? Very scary!
MoishehThe fiver looked to be a late '90s model. The owners of the motor home were at church with the owners of the fiver when it happened.
They moved the motor home to a different site this afternoon, so at least the slideouts work and it moves.
Folks in the park collected about $500 in cash for them today, to help them get a place to stay, clothes, toiletries, etc.
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Dave From AK
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02/24/13 08:14pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Rig Destroyed by Fire at The Reef
I have no expertise in these matters, but the first place the fire burned through to the outside was at the water heater. Several of us emptied our fire extinguishers into that hole, then two of us directed water from hoses into it, to no avail.
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Dave From AK
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02/24/13 04:39pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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Rig Destroyed by Fire at The Reef
A fiver across the aisle from us caught fire this morning. It, and the pickup parked in their site, burned to the ground pretty quickly. Winds are around 20 MPH today.
The owners were at church with the owners of the motorhome parked right next to them. No injuries, no pets in the rigs. The windshield on the motor home was shattered by the heat, and the fiberglass damaged. Folks in the park are collecting money for the victims, a couple from Utah. Their passports, along with their cash, were in the rig.
Fire 1
Fire 2
Fire 3
Fire 4
Fire 5
Fire 6
Fire 7
It took about 10 minutes for the first fire truck to arrive. It ran out of water before a second truck arrived. A little later a water tanker showed up. Given the way it was burning, I don't think it could have been saved even if they had showed up with unlimited water five minutes after we called them.
The first thing I did after the fire was make a copy of our passports and put it in the glove box of the car.
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Dave From AK
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02/24/13 03:25pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: FOXFI
Does anyone know if it will work with Sprint, nexus s 4g.? Wireless, I can use PDA Net with plug in.According to the vendor, FoxFi does not work with that device after it is updated to Jelly Bean: FoxFi supported devices
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Dave From AK
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02/22/13 08:01am |
Technology Corner
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RE: FOXFI
I have used FoxFI in the past and it was a great program. What I am not understanding though is why I would need to continue using it. Given that I am on Verizon and that they lost the court battle over extra tethering charges why can't I just use their mobile hotspot feature and obtain the same results?That FTC ruling does not affect those of us on grandfathered unlimited data plans. We still need to use FoxFi to use our phones as free Wi-Fi hotspots.
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Dave From AK
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02/20/13 01:26pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Hot spot,( straight talk cell service)
Are you using the phone's own wifi hotspot app? This is why Straight Talk stopped your hotspot - as they do not permit its use (as per other replies here). Download the free FoxFi app and see what happens. It is set up so that the carrier cannot tell that data is being used by another device. ...FoxFi has an option that will prevent a carrier from using one of several ways that they could detect tethering, and when you use that option not all web sites will work.
That said, I have never heard of any carrier using anything other than the volume of data consumed to try to detect tethering. Verizon and Sprint have in the past "updated" phones over the air to disable tethering, but I have only seen that on older "dumb" phones.
By the way, you probably knew this, but the free version of FoxFi is now severely hobbled. The full version only costs $6.97, though. Well worth it.
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Dave From AK
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02/20/13 01:18pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Textfree for free international texting
Hi,
Has anyone tried Textfree for free texting from their laptop?
I see it is also available for smart phones.
www.pinger.com/textfree/Don:
We have been in Mexico for the last two months, and I use Textfree on both my Droid and my laptop to send and receive texts (including picture texts) to and from the US.
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Dave From AK
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02/20/13 01:07pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Spill on laptop
Remember: The OP is on an extended vacation in Mexico. I don't know where he is, but I know that there is no Best Buy or mail service where we are!
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Dave From AK
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02/18/13 08:46am |
Technology Corner
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