I recently built the upside-down PVC stand mentioned on RV.NET threds. It cost about $10 for pipe fittings, & pvc glue. Plus I bought a brand new dish off of craigslist for $12. Used our reciver from the bedroom.
Tried it last weekend. After 15 min with compass & level gave up. DW said "I thought you said I'd have satellite TV, like at home?" (ARGGggg...) I went back out (with out compass or level) looked at another DirectTV dish already set up & tried to aim mine the same, and I could here the TV beeping(setup menu) made a few adjustments and had a 92 signal strength. Took about 4 min.
Later I moved it to make room for a guest to park, and took maybe 2-3 min to have 94 signal strength!
It seems once you get the hang of it, it is real easy! Forget all the extra toys for aiming its easier to just copy others. If no other dish around then once setup and working(at home), mark on you tripod exactly where north it, and re-aiming at camp should be easy.
* This post was
edited 07/31/08 01:08pm by FamilyCamping *
I have DTV, my privider gave me a new dish in the box, I had to come up with the lnb. I bought a tripod stand for roof antennas and use it with a piece of metal conduit for the pole.
I have 2nd-tier regular digital DirecTV, my next-door neighbor has top-level Dish Network, including HD on one home TV. We both normally use the same campground repeatedly. My receiver gives me azimuth and elevation with the input of a zip code. I leave my elevation set (unless going to a different campground), level my tripod and face the big "N" to the north (it has a compass rose cast into the tripod base), and usually the TV is working or is loading the channel guide when I re-enter the trailer. My neighbor's task at finding mulitiple satellites with the multi-satellite dish and several-input-and-output receiver (non-HD) is a whole lot harder to set up and aim, and sometimes he just gives up and uses his trailer antenna for TV.
I don't know if setting up a DirecTV multi-satellite dish would be any easier, but if it was as hard as my neighbor's Dish Network setup is to aim and get a good strong signal with no missing channels, I'd think I'd give up satellite TV. Which is why, for as long as I can, I'm keeping my present, setup-in-5-minutes non-HD setup. I do have a multi-satellite dish on my house ( which I did in 2002 in anticipation of needing it for future HD), but I don't continually take down and set up that dish. For the trailer I use a simple round dish on a small Camping World portable tripod, which I anchor with 3 tent stakes and bungeee cords. The only change I make on the receiver is to remember to change the dish selection from "oval" to "round" before I take it out of the house and hook it up in the RV.
2003 GMC Sierra Crew HD; 6.0L; Prodigy
2006 Thor Tundra 30RL-DSL; Reese Strait-Line & Dual-cam HP
2001 Honda Elite Scooter
Jim & Gayle Bryant
Murphy's Law: "Anything that CAN happen, WILL."
Bryant's Law: "31 years of RVing? Probably already HAS."
If you are currently receiving the major networks on your DISH local channels, you will not be able to view these once you leave your area. However, you will still be able to receive the other 100 plus junk channels. Jack
outdoorsman2007 wrote: You can also purchase a satellite finder for very cheap and it helps you get the best signal. Not absolutely necessary, but very helpful.
There are many of these on ebay for half this cost (delivered).
Just bought one off ebay for $5.50, you gotta love it.
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