Directv HD

[vblarry]

Getting ready to swith to Directv and like Dish their offering free HD. Should I expect any issues with dish alignment for the HD? Will the standard tri-pod still work?

[Triker56]

You will need a 3LNB for the KU 101(most SD programs)
The HD programs are on the KA 99 & 103

It is a bigger dish then the standard. Pole and all.

[lllkrob]

You are also aware you cannot receive DirecTV HD with a dome, only a open face dish with KU and KA band lnb.

[deaton]

Best solution out there for Direct TV HD on an RV - although pricey - is the Winegard 3005 dish. Expect to pay $1800 - $2000 installed, but it's fully automatic. I'm sure you can make a manual dish work as well, but when I tried it, I finally gave up and bit the bullet on the automatic solution.

[RickO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deaton Best solution out there for Direct TV HD on an RV - although pricey - is the Winegard 3005 dish. Expect to pay $1800 - $2000 installed, but it's fully automatic. .

Ditto and....

Rick

[dons2346]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deaton Best solution out there for Direct TV HD on an RV - although pricey - is the Winegard 3005 dish. Expect to pay $1800 - $2000 installed, but it's fully automatic. I'm sure you can make a manual dish work as well, but when I tried it, I finally gave up and bit the bullet on the automatic solution.

Ditto x2

All it takes is a push of the button and a few minutes later, you got it. Very easy to set it up in the rain

[paz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vblarry Getting ready to swith to Directv and like Dish their offering free HD. Should I expect any issues with dish alignment for the HD? Will the standard tri-pod still work?

Because there are several satellites you have to hit for DirecTV HD, tripod alignment can be tedious. The dish is a lot bigger than the 18" oval used for standard def (standard def regular programming is on one satellite - 101), therefore, you may need a heavier tripod if you want to try that route. As deaton said, the Winegard 3005 is your best bet for DirecTV HD. MotoSat also makes an automatic dish for DirecTV HD, but most people find the Winegard to be more trouble free.

[vblarry]

As usual IRV2 comes thru. Thanks everyone. Finagled a free manual dish from Directv so I'll probably give that a shot. I won't know till later this morning if it's an HD dish. I currently have a non-functioning dome on top of my rig, went bad after 4 yrs, so I'm a little auto gun shy. We'll see. Again, thanks everyone.

[ftv37]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vblarry As usual IRV2 comes thru. Thanks everyone. Finagled a free manual dish from Directv so I'll probably give that a shot. I won't know till later this morning if it's an HD dish. I currently have a non-functioning dome on top of my rig, went bad after 4 yrs, so I'm a little auto gun shy. We'll see. Again, thanks everyone.

How did you do that

[golden]

When I was going through the same thought process as you - portable vs roof mount - I got a LOT of good advice from proponents of the portable variety. I'm pretty sure they were members of this board and they were from Canada, if I recall correctly.

I eventually chose to go with the 3005 because it is foolproof, but I wouldn't hesitate to try to portable first, because it's MUCH cheaper and you can move it around. Just be aware that there is much more that you have to do than with the old SD antenna. Also, it is much bigger and therefore will need more space to store it in while in transit.

My guess is that once you have the hang of it you'll be happy. Plus you can use in in the trees where the rest of us with roof mounts may not be able to.

[K-Star]

Trees are the biggest reason I went with a tripod.

I switched to DirecTV last year and have moved the dish a few time. I took a little finagling the first few times, but got it down now.

Use Satellite Finder / Dish Pointing Calculator with Google Maps | DishPointer.com to figure out where to point the dish. Level and plumb the pole, set the angles on the dish, attach the dish to the pole and use the TV Satellite Setup screen to dial it in. Make sure you check signal on all of the satellites.

[RickO]

I think that a good criteria to use when choosing between an automatic dish or a tri pod would by how you intend to travel. If you're going to be staying in one place for a week(s) at a time it may well be best to use a tri pod since the set up/tear down isn't taking place too often. If you're going to be doing a lot of frequent hopping the auto feature is sure nice.

Rick

[DaveyD1]

We do the samething that you want to do.We started out with a single LNB and upgraded to a 5 LNB.Make sure you get a very good tri-pod as we were out a few weeks ago and the wind blew our tri-pod over thus destroying the arm on our 5 LNB. As of now we are in the process of getting the new 3LNB that will get most of the HIDEF stations.
As the others have said when you use your reciver from home you will need to make the changes in your menu like single line in or 2 lines also the type of dish you have, once you play around with it its easy to do GOOD LUCK and enjoy

[Triker56]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveyD1 We started out with a single LNB and upgraded to a 5 LNB.Make sure you get a very good tri-pod as we were out a few weeks ago and the wind blew our tri-pod over thus destroying the arm on our 5 LNB. As of now we are in the process of getting the new 3LNB that will get most of the HIDEF stations.

The 3LNB will get all the same HD channel's a 5LNB will.
There is no longer any HD being broadcast on the 110 & 119 that the 5LNB got.

All DirecTV HD is on the 99 and 102.8 satellites.

But a Winegard Trav'ler does use the 110/119 to lock on.