HD Satellite

[jimbrown]

Anyone have a preference for MotoSat HD SL5 or Wineguard SK3005?
Jim B
09 Monaco Exec

[rmerritt]

I ordered an SK3005 because I think it's the only one that can pick up 5 different satellites - getting all the Direct TV HD channels. It was $1499 on Amazon.

[jimbrown]

Thanks, Did you install yourself? Was it a new intall or replace? I am replacing a KVH.
Jim

[kketterling]

I have the Moto Sat system and have no complaints. It also picks up all the satellites. Believe you will be happy with either one but you might contact someone who sells both and ask them which they recommend.

[RickO]

I've heard great things about the MotoSat but have no experience with them. I had the old Winegard ASC2003 and hated it. IMO is was junk.

When it failed, my extended wty credited me for both labor and about $1100 replacement cost for the dish. I ended up paying something like $650 to get the SK3005 and couldn't be happier with it. We've had it a bit over a year now and we full time so it gets a workout. Love it.

Rick

[FlyingDiver]

The installers I've talked to of late seem to prefer the Winegard over the Motosat. We have the Motosat, but it was installed before Winegard released the 3005.

jow

[Spikester]

I have a HD DP-3 (3 Satellite) MotoSat system, the only basic difference between it and the SL-5 system is the number of satellites it looks at (5 vs 3). I couldn't be happier with it. Had it installed by professional. Pricey, but worth the $$.

IMO MotoSat construction seems more substantial than Winegard. Draw back to MotoSat systems is the need to continually update the Satellite Controller software. MotoSat antenna's did take a long time to acquire satellite's in the past, but latest software updates have remedied that problem for the most part. Controller now remembers your last locations (Azimuth and elevation) and starts it search from that point, instead of starting from scratch.

Spike

[TechWriter]

I installed the DishTV version of the Winegard Travler and it was very straightforward. I added an aluminum plate under it for more stability, but that's only because I was worried about my RV roof construction, not the dish itself.

I checked out the Motosat version and it was more expensive (as was mentioned).

I know that Winegard used to have quality/material issues, but the Travler is a home run. Get it.

[CoolJourney]

We had the Motosat SL-5 installed in February 2008. We are fulltimers, so it gets regular use. We had trouble-free service from it until June 2010 when the controller died. Took three weeks to get it back from Motosat. In August 2010 it died again. This time it took 1 month to get it back from Motosat. When I consider the constant software updates and several controller failures I think maybe I should have gone with the Winegard Travler.

By the way Motosat support is definitely hit and miss. The first failure I had was handled by a helpful technician. The second failure was a terrible experience with many calls to unhelpful people. Wonder how they would feel if their TV service was out for a month. They have some sort of arcane system where the folks you talk to on the phone cannot readily access the folks doing the repairs. They cannot look at the status of your repair without physically going into another room/building (?) to get a status update. For a tech type of organization this is very strange.

Good luck with your decision.

Bill