I have starband and I am in Mexico right now.I used mine in cancun, campeche and all the way down the gulf coast. It was a little hard to get some times but I have a birddog and with a little trying it would come in. I have a friend on the costa Esmeralda at a camp groung call De Alba Yuri. He set up one for the camp ground and only charges 20 pesos a day.
When I bought our Hughes system I did some research and if I remember correctly the Starband system will not work in Mexico. The footprints are not the same for both coasts. There are web sites where you can find your bird and look at the footprint.
Moisheh
That was the case when we got our tripod also, due to the fact that Starband did not have any southern birds. If Starband had had acess on a bird that gave a Mexican footprint, we would be Starband customers.
To the OP: you do not HAVE to contract through a VAR to have the ability to switch satellites if you go tripod. Having Motosat as your VAR will give you English/US tech support and the ability to switch birds, but Motosat cannot know that you are a tripod as they only support Datastorm users. You will also be paying $10 more a month for this service. Should you decide to contract directly with Hughes (as most tripoders do) you can contract a dealer who, for a fee (I've heard $50-200) switch your bird for you.
You can get a used system off DSU's marketplace or Ebay or check with your dealer. There is really no reason to pay $1500 for a tripod.
- Kathy
2002 Ford Econoline E350 PSD 7.3L TV.
2005 Ameri-Camp T315QBS.
R&S wrote: Harvestmoon,
Stupid question..what is 'VAR'? Also, do you mean that Starband does now have coverage in Mexico but not when you were signing up?
Thanks
Thanks for expanding the issue of sat switching in the US Harvestmmon.
Just a word of caution regarding buying a used system, make sure that you can return it if it doesn't pass muster on inspection. I looked at a used tripod system for a fellow camper in Mexico that had been bought used on-line, the dish had been dropped (blown over in the wind probably) and was cracked where the LNB attaches to the dish. It had been painted as well, which can impair the signal.
If you know what you are looking at, used may be a good deal, if not, buying new may be safer. There also may be the issue of outstanding time left on the contract agreement for the modem with Hughes.
We have had Hughes net for a year now at home and am some what satisfied with it, since it was basically the only way I could get on the Internet besides dial up until a few months ago which is next to not getting on at all. After having cable broadband, I find that the speed is slightly slower than half the speed of cable. It works, but on sites that have high resolution graphics it is slow coming up. I have found that AT&T air card is best if you have cell signal, and way faster. (about the same as DSL) You only buy the air card,(free with rebates) and the plan which is slightly cheaper than Hughes. I now have both, because I have a contract with Hughes for 2 years with 1 year left but with my home business Hughes is too slow and I use the AT&T all the time.
No sat dish to set up!!!
Tom & Beth
05,Grand Junction 35TMS
99, Dodge 3500 Dually.
Tom,
All that you say is great if you're in a populated area of the States or Canada. BUT, we are talking about RVing in Mexico; where air cards are unknown, cable in RV parks is extremely rare, and WiFi is only available about 30% of the time.
I also have an air card, but I've got a Hughes Net tripod setup from Maxwell in the basement of my RV for when I'm south of the border. It also comes into play in the wilds of both the US and Canada. When you're 60 miles from the nearest town, deep in a valley, cell based service is not an option.
Another point, my speed on Hughes Net is normally comprable to my air card on 1X mode, but then I have a Hughes business account (more bandwidth) and a 7000 modem. Hughes has several levels of service.
Turtle & Toad, On the Road
37' Georgetown XL w/3 slides, 1 1/2 bath, & 275 watts of solar power
06 Taco TRD (for "Off the Road") www.turtleandtoad.com I am here
Only States/Provinces that I have spent at least a week in are shown
We have had our DirecWay/Hughes for 3 years now. Purchased it in Arizona for $600 minus the $100 rebate with the standard year and a ½ contract. Once I learned how to handle the system (and the cabling issues that crop up) we’ve had great service. You don’t need the high dollar setup that some are selling unless you are uncomfortable with learning the technology. Then I would go with one of the tripod retailers.
There is a whole bunch of misinformed and disinformation out there concerning tripods and FCC regs, some of it posted by people trying to make a dollar or are flat out misinformed (the camp jabberwalky). Do a search on this board. I’ve seen some pretty hokey setups that work quite well.
A great resource Tripod Forum Check out their “tool box” some great add-ons for your laptop that pretty much resolves tuning issues. The members there are great help and resource.
We are on AMC-9 and have used it all the way from Mazatlan to Canada and from Washington, DC to Oregon.
R&S wrote: Harvestmoon,
Stupid question..what is 'VAR'? Also, do you mean that Starband does now have coverage in Mexico but not when you were signing up?
Thanks
VAR's re-sell the Hughes service, generally (to justify the added price they tack on) providing additional service. For example, if you contract directly with Hughes (as we do) if you call for tech support, you will be talking to India for quite a while and you cannot request a satellite move. If you contract with Ground Control or Motosat you will talk to US agents and can request satellite moves.
When we originally purchased our system (2005?) Starband did not offer a bird that covered Mexico. From the posts I'm reading (though I do not have direct experience) it seems that they now have service on birds with Mexican footprints, so it would seem that they are an option. I do believe, however, that they no longer provide the Mobile Flyer option. But I could be wrong; I'd talk to a Starband dealer like Barb and Joe of RV Networking or Terry Cannon of Roving Internet
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