Portable Satellite Antenna - Idea Maybe

[Old Rv'er]

Yeah, I am getting lazy. What about finding a used Kingdome Satellite Dome, and make up a control box for it, and use it for a portable dish. Ok, they are larger than the little portable units, but setup would be a snap. And you would have a spare if you presently have the King Dome on top anyway. I would replace what I have with another one, simply don't need HD, because we don't watch sports, well female swim suit competation, but the little lady pitches a fit.

what do you think? I would then be able to take out the portable dish, and the stand, plus not having to futz with all the setup. Push a button, and it would find it for me.

[Wayne M]

Monty,
A plausible idea. If you could find one with the controller you would just have to find space to store it. I think it would work.

[Old Rv'er]

That is just one option, Winguard makes a GM-1518 portable automatic unit and there is the VuQube from King Controls. All three are spendy. That is why I figured used, even if it needed a new dome as long as the basic unit worked, and if I could get it cheap. I am going to call around to dealers in the area to see if thay have any they need to get rid of. I will also check salvage places. I already looked on e-bay with no results, and will check craigslist as we move along. There is a salvege place north of Tampa, FL, but don't remember if they had any. Problem is, it would not be used a lot of the time, so it would take a long time to recover it's cost.

[wa8yxm]

If you have a storage bay that will hold it.. Great idea (in my humble opinion)

[Dave and Jaime]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Rv'er Yeah, I am getting lazy. What about finding a used Kingdome Satellite Dome, and make up a control box for it, and use it for a portable dish. Ok, they are larger than the little portable units, but setup would be a snap. And you would have a spare if you presently have the King Dome on top anyway. I would replace what I have with another one, simply don't need HD, because we don't watch sports, well female swim suit competation, but the little lady pitches a fit. what do you think? I would then be able to take out the portable dish, and the stand, plus not having to futz with all the setup. Push a button, and it would find it for me.

Sorry, I don't get it. What's the purpose of having a portable Dome if you already have a Kingdome on the roof that is in working condition? How can dragging out a portable unit and setting it up be easier? Is it solely for those times when you don't have line of sight due to trees?

[Bill Adams]

This is a very workable solution. We take King Dome units off on a fairly regular basis when installing HD antennas. I suspect that you could pick up a complete system for around $300. The only thing you have do to is maybe hookup the 12V power line to a cigarette lighter adapter or have another handy 12V source available and run the coax to the back of the receiver and you would be good to go. You could easily run 50 feet of cable to the picnic table or other location that was free of trees and hit the on button. You won't want to leave it out while you are gone or over night as I suspect it might grow legs, but otherwise it would be a quick and inexpensive way to get the equivalent of a Carryout or VuQube.

[cajunjohn]

Monty, If you can find 2 cheapies, please put my name on onof them!
Cajun John

[wa8yxm]

Good Idea, in fact it's already been done, I think it's called the Carry out, or if you like the VU-Cube.. both are "Dome" type antennas and the portable version
Automatic Portable Satellite Dish - Winegard Carryout

[Old Rv'er]

All, I purchased the carry out one, but would still like to find a used King Dome, to set up one for a friend and have a spare. I will also look for them in used RV places. One fellow has a broken one, whcih I am trying to figure out how to get from him with using UPS/FEDEX. We are working on the logistics. Camping world has specials on their web site concerning all the above models. I talked them into providing the stand for free, and with the Presidents Club membership saved 170 on my final bill. But I will keep looking for the king dome regardless.

[Basil Shannon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Rv'er All, I purchased the carry out one, but would still like to find a used King Dome........

Monty, too bad you were not at the Quartzsite Desert Rat IX rally in January. I gave away a working Kingdome complete with control panel. Bill Adams replaced it with a HD Winegard Traveler which we absolutely love. There was also another one for sale at the yard sale but I don't know who was selling it.