John&Sandy
Chilton, WI
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Joined: 09/12/2004
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We are going full-time in 7-8 months and want to setup our motorhome with Satellite TV. We are thinking that we would like an automatic dish setup (for ease of setup and we don't have to worry about where to store the dish) with HD. We do not currently have Satellite TV with our Sticks and Bricks, so we do not currently have any equipment (receivers, etc..) now. Any advice/suggestions on equipment and the best place to purchase it from is appreciated
Also, Do I need separate receivers or not for multiple TV’s ( I have read something about a splitter)?
Thanks, Sandy
John and Sandy
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creeper
Richmond Hill, Georgia
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Joined: 12/22/2003
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Before you spend the money on an automatic dish you have to realize that you will have to carry a separate dish also. Too many campground where the automatic dish is useless.
You service IE: Dish vs Diret will determine if you need only one receiver or multiple receivers.
So first off decide which service you want... DIsh is cheaper, but doesn't offer the big sport packages. IF you sports like NFL or MLB is a must then you might want to go with diret tv.
Dish network has much better receivers and you will need only one to get tv to two rooms.
Some will say that DIrect is easier to get a signal , which is not true. For HD both need to point at 3 satellites and when you aim you're only aiming at one.
Dish also offers a pay as you go plan. If that's the way you want to go, then you will have to buy one of their special receivers and I'm not sure if they do HD or not.
I've had both Direct and Dish.. Direct was a nightmare with their forever locking up receivers.
Dish receiver is great and I only have to take one out to the camper and get tv in two rooms. Wiring the dish receiver was a breeze and only minor changes to wiring. Direct requires much more modification to wiring.
Hope that is enough to get you started..
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houtrz
Lake Jackson Texas
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creeper is right about keeping a spare dish and tripod handy because if you are parked under tree's and can't get a signal, you can remotely mount a tripod/dish away from your RV in an open area and pick up your channels. VuCube and Winegard Carryout are portable, automatic dishes that you can mount to your ladder and when you do need to move your dish, it can be removed easily and with a spare set of cables, be remotely mounted and find the birds automatically. I"m not sure about the VuCube as far as HD but with the Winegard Carryout, you can get regular programming on both Dish and DirecTV and you can get HD on Dish.
Also right about the dual receiver. WIth Dish, you can buy one dual output receiver and with one receiver you can watch two different TV stations at one time. Keep in mind if you buy something like the Carryout, it has to look at three different satellites to get all the channels but can only look at one at a time. It will switch to different satellites as you change channels. Only real problem is with two TV's, both TV's have to watch channels from the same satellite. They can be different channels but must be from the same satellite number. Dish will look at 110, 119 and 129 for HD (unless your on the east coast and its something like 61.5 or 62.5, can't remember right now)
Winegard makes a more expensive Travl'er Dish system that mounts on your roof and is totally automatic and it has a much larger dish which is capable of seeing all three birds at the same time, just like you would at home but if you went with that dish, just like creeper said, I"d have a back up on a tripod incase you are parked under tree's.
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2oldman
Las Vegas
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Take receiver from house
Basic DTV from house
Directv on the road from house
Setup dish.
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John&Sandy
Chilton, WI
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Thanks for the info thus far, and any further suggestions on which HD automatic dishes are the best let us know.
My husband really does not want to carry along a portable dish for backup as he feels it would take up just too much room. I think if we were just camping and we could fit it in somewhere he would be fine, but when we are going to be full-timing I think the space is going to be limited. Some full-timers that we spoke to said they have one had a 4-5 instances in several years where they couldn't get receiption with a roof-mount He is the "TV guy" so I guess I'll let the portable dish part up to him and if he doesn't get to see his TV a few nights he probably will be out getting a portable dish then.
Thanks, Sandy
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CrossCountryNomad
Anywhere but Georgia
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Joined: 09/06/2003
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John&Sandy wrote:Some full-timers that we spoke to said they have one had a 4-5 instances in several years where they couldn't get receiption with a roof-mount
These folks you speak of might only be looking a one satellite. With the newer HD requirements you will need a dish antenna with 3 LNBs as a minimum.
Sometimes when parked near trees you might get only one satellite signal or maybe two signals. What this means is while you are getting reception you will not get all the channels you are subscribing to.
Your DH might not realize that satellite antennas do break down into 2 different pieces. Which makes them much easier to store in areas like under you bed. I've converted the antenna mounting hardware from nuts and bolts to wing nuts and bolts. No tools necessary to assemble the antenna.
In fact we have a KVH automatic system on the roof of our motor home, but now rarely use it. I typically just setup our extra antenna we carry with us. Takes more time to set up but then we get all of our 250+ channels and HD vs 40/60 of our KVH system.
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houtrz
Lake Jackson Texas
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If he is dead set against carrying a second dish in case of tree's, then I think the Winegard Carryout is the ticket. It will mount to your ladder rack and stay there while going down the road. If you are in a camp site that has a clear view of the south then push the power button and your watching TV but if you are in a place where there are tree's, climb up the ladder and in about one minute the dish is in hand and can be remotely mounted with a second set of cables. Piece of cake and when you leave, you re-store it back on the ladder mount which is out of the way.
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Broccoli1
Los Angeles
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Another handy thing is the DVR part of the system:
I record lots of shows that are run in the wee hours while I am asleep so I can watch them whenever I want.
You can store quite a bit of shows to get one through an area where no signal is avialble. 
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Triker33
Homestead, FL
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Joined: 11/30/2002
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Quote:Before you spend the money on an automatic dish you have to realize that you will have to carry a separate dish also. Too many campground where the automatic dish is useless.
Full time for over 9 years and have two roof only mounted dishes.
No need for a carry along dish to take up storage space.
Very few campgrounds don't have satellite friendly spots. If they don't I don't stay there. They will be another down the road that does.
Quote:Some will say that DIrect is easier to get a signal , which is not true. For HD both need to point at 3 satellites and when you aim you're only aiming at one.
With a roof mounted dish they only push a button to search. It finds the satellites with no problem. They won't even need to know what zip code they are in.
Quote:Winegard makes a more expensive Travl'er Dish system that mounts on your roof and is totally automatic and it has a much larger dish which is capable of seeing all three birds at the same time,
Really it is 5 birds that the SK-3005 can see at one time. 99/101/102.8/110/119
Quote:Thanks for the info thus far, and any further suggestions on which HD automatic dishes are the best let us know.
Right now for HD it is either the Winegard Trav'ler or Motosat HD
Quote:Also, Do I need separate receivers or not for multiple TV’s ( I have read something about a splitter)?
With DirecTV a separate receiver works best if you want HD on every TV. From roof antenna run a separate cable for each receiver. If you want to watch the same program on two different TV's one HD receiver will work that way also. Splitters will not work on the receiver inputs.
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Duck
Miami Lakes, Fl
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We have the Winegard Traveler Sk 3005. When I make a reservation at a campground I ask about a site that can receive DirectTV. I do carry a portable dish but have not used it since I got the automatic dish 10 months ago. We do have Direct TV at home and just take the receivers from when we travel.
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