Community Forums

term_paint · 08-19-2010, 06:21 PM

Ok i have dishnet at home and a spare Dish which is a 500 3 lnb dish. What do i have to do to use this in the rv...Can i use my existing dishnet receiver even when i am on the road>>? Additionally how does everyone line up the dish once they park...Just a compass....?

kjburns · 08-19-2010, 06:39 PM

The 500 is normally a two LNB dish, not three.

Setup is pretty simple. You'll need a tripod or something to mount it on. You need to lookup the settings for the location. Dishpointer.com can provide the azimuth, elevation and skew. A signal meter can help peak the signal better than the one on the receiver.

wa8yxm · 08-19-2010, 07:22 PM

Dish 500 is 2 LNB dual output
Dish 1000 is 3 LNB dual output

Dish 500 is Dishnetwork Standard (NTSC style) defination

Dish 1000 is everything the 500 is PLUS HDTV.

IF your receiver is not HD, both will work.. IF it is you need the 1000

NOTE: Local stations are normally SPOT beamed (That is your network NBC, ABC et-al) and if you are too far from home you will be "In the dark" where they are concerned.

There is something called Distant Network Service, LA and NYC area stations are broadcast on special channels nation wide.. HOWEVER DISH is not allowed to sell this service thus they have turned it to a 3rd party.

A home account,, that has local stations, DOES NOT QUALIFY for DNS.

AN RV account.. Does.

JoeT · 08-19-2010, 07:32 PM

And yes, you can use your home DishNet receiver when on the road.
Regarding local stations. You can change your service address while on the road to get the locals where you happen to be. I do this occasionally. I did it in Red Bay, AL recently so I could watch the Cowboy game.

edj · 08-19-2010, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by term_paint

? Additionally how does everyone line up the dish once they park...Just a compass....?

Each location will have a different adjustment on the dish. Look up the DISH 500 install menu for the Azimuth, SKEW and ELEVATION numbers for the zip code you are in. After you have the numbers, adjust the dish antenna for the correct SKEW and ELEVATION. Be sure that the dish is plumb vertical or you will have all sorts of grief getting a signal. Use you compass to find the azimuth to aim the dish. Usually, you will get it relatively close the first try. Have someone monitoring the signal level on the dish install screen as you turn the dish SLOWLY one way or the other to get max signal. To get some practice (and avoid being camp entertainment...), try out the procedure in your yard at home till you get the procedure down pat.

grtharris · 08-22-2010, 03:14 PM

By all means get a signal meter from Radio Shack. We did the wife looks at the TV and I turned the dish, does not work very well.

Stevegd007 · 09-02-2010, 08:26 PM

Most campgrounds now post in the camping information Azimuth, SKEW and ELEVATION numbers for the zip code of the campground. A signal meter is a must. Clear view of the sky is another. Some campgrounds know which of their camp sites have a clear view, if not ask, does no good to setup in a campsite only to find that you do not have a clear view to the sky to find the satellites.

P.S. I have been using dish on the road for years now. I broke down and purchased my own 301 receiver and a King Dome auto satellite dish.

rvgrandma · 09-08-2010, 11:56 PM

We fought for a week to bring the dish in where we are. I finally broke down and paid for an installer to come out and bring it in. Long story short - the guys 'helping' my hb had messed up the dish. This tech showed us how to find out if the satellite the 'sat finder' is showing is what we want, regardless of whether we have a line inside, is to put your hand between the dish and LNB. If it is the 119 or 110 the signal will be lost. When he had the 119, even without a green line inside, he did a check switch which showed both satellites. The green line came in after that. Next time we set up which will be in a week, we will try it if having problems.

When we signed up with DISH this time it was in an RV park in Nevada. We leased the equipment. While trying to troubleshoot this time with DISH the guy kept telling me we were breaking the law by having a leased receiver in our RV. I kept telling him we were mobile when it was setup so it is legal. He was in India and could not understand. When we had a stick home we always took it out of the house to the RV.