HOW do y'all get local channels when on the road?

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by dkperez

Twinboat, can you elaborate on how you’re getting this to work?
You’re using a Toms River NJ address with Directv, but you’re getting the NY networks whether you’re in Michigan or Arizona? HOW? Once you’ve left your local spot beam, the only way I know of to do that is with the “distant stations” (or whatever the thing is where you get the east coast networks or the west coast networks) thing from Directv and they’ve told me that is EXTREMELY difficult to get them to agree to these days and is going to get even MORE difficult.
How are you getting the NY channels in all those locations, and why isn’t everybody doing what you’re doing?

OK, let me elaborate………. I can GET local channels when there are any (in Death Valley there AREN’T any). What I WANT isn’t just to GET the OTA channels, but to GET THEM TO THE DVR… That’s what the AM-21, now obsolete, not supported, and not particularly good does when it works… So YES, if there are channels where I am, I can get ‘em, but I want to RECORD them…
As for the Directv non-local channels, MOST of the time the Winegard dome works and I have those.

From the replies in here it’s sounding very much like Dish is a LOT more responsive to RVers than Directv. And it has the benefit of having the Winegard provide HD for dish as opposed to SD with Directv.

Jim A, same question as the one to twinboat – HOW are you getting local channels all over the country from Directv? Is it because your “local” channels are actually the “west coast feed” and NOT stuck in a spot beam?

In any case, I’m going to try the script from Jim T and see if it works. Can’t be any worse than it currently is…

I believe Toms River, which has no locals, gets included in the eastern feed.

I don't understand all of It, but others are doing it as well.

As a boater, DirecTV and Dish Network do not offer DNS, and we know what a pain it is to get them to understand something, so I have never changed my service address, just my billing address, a few times.

I lived in Toms River, when I had my system setup so it just always worked for me, but many boaters and some RVers are doing it.

[dkperez]

Tried the script to change the service address. Woould have worked great... EXCEPT, I specifically told the person NOT to do anything that would affect the programming on the Genie that's sitting at home (even though there's no one there) recording as programmed.
Can't be done at Directv... Change the service address and the Genie gets stupid and can't record the network programming on the local channels at home...

Hopefully, Dish has something a lot more flexible 'cause it doesn't appear Directv is much interested in supporting people who travel.

[PJStough]

Originally Posted by dkperez

Tried the script to change the service address. Woould have worked great... EXCEPT, I specifically told the person NOT to do anything that would affect the programming on the Genie that's sitting at home (even though there's no one there) recording as programmed.
Can't be done at Directv... Change the service address and the Genie gets stupid and can't record the network programming on the local channels at home...

Hopefully, Dish has something a lot more flexible 'cause it doesn't appear Directv is much interested in supporting people who travel.

I believe it violates DirecTVs TOS to have one account active in two different places.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by dkperez

Tried the script to change the service address. Woould have worked great... EXCEPT, I specifically told the person NOT to do anything that would affect the programming on the Genie that's sitting at home (even though there's no one there) recording as programmed.
Can't be done at Directv... Change the service address and the Genie gets stupid and can't record the network programming on the local channels at home...

Hopefully, Dish has something a lot more flexible 'cause it doesn't appear Directv is much interested in supporting people who travel.

Your not going to get Dish to allow 2 local feeds to work unless you subscribe to 2 accounts.

[tquarles]

Tom's river, N.J. is in the New York City local area, and the 'local' channels are WABC, WNBC, WCBS, etc. These *are* the 'eastern national feeds', so they aren't on spot-beams but on the nationwide beam transceivers.
Similarly for the Los Angeles stations and the western feeds. (except Dish, which uses some LA and some SF for western, or at least it did 15 years ago when I moved out of a 'no service' area and lost the national feeds).

[Bigbird65]

When we are camping, if we are out of our spot beam area for DirecTV we can usually always get OTA local channels.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is this. With my Samsung GS5, the DirecTV app, and a MHL to HDMI converter I can watch any of the channels in my plan with the possible exception of the local channels. Since I leave the HR-44 at home it is recording our favorite programs which we can watch when we get ready. AT&T does not charge for data when using the smart phone to watch DirecTV.



If we are going to be at a location for a week or so then I usually set up the dish. It takes all of about 15 minutes to set it up and tune in the satellites. Our TV watching is usually at night time when we are not fishing. Oh, and I am a news junkie.

[Jim A]

Dkperez,

Yes, because my Directv local stations are the west coast feed. I use OTA to get local stations where we are camping, if available. And the Tablo to record them.

[Btipton]

With Dish, it’s a 10 minute chat to change the service address, and another 10 minutes for the receiver to update, and we have local channels. Never had a problem.

[djholmes01]

Originally Posted by rk911

we’ve been with DISH for 3-seasons and all we do is call, change our service zipcode and 10-min later we have the locals for that zipcode. very EZ

Been doing this very thing for 7 years and has worked very well for us. The only problem is having to reset recordings that we want because the channel numbers change. Thinking DNS would solve this problem.

[WagonMaster]

I also use the AM21 with my HR-44. Went to upgrade equipment and found out the new equipment doesn't support the AM21. I canceled the upgrade. It's hard to beat that AM21....

[MisterT]

with our normal RV ota antenna, and our DISH account(either our portable KingTailgater2 or 1000.2 tripod mounted 3LNB antenna):

we can either...

- receive locals via the normal 'Over the Air' RV antenna(but, you must change the TV's 'input' and scan for the channels, and then also change the 'input' whenever you want to again watch satellite channels)

- receive locals via the normal OTA antenna, but INTEGRATE them into the Dish receiver VIP211k(a separate coax input for 'antenna in')... allowing them to be seen in the GUIDE alongside all other satellite channels(so, watching them is easy and a part of the guide, but no 'program information' is available since it is not 'from' Dish)

- receive locals via Dish's SPOTBEAM for that zip code/area, by 'chat' with Dish either on the laptop or mobile app, to update the 'Service Address'. This brings in the 'Dish' locals directly to your GUIDE, after several minutes for the receiver to receive the update. The current locals will turn RED for a while when it is updating, then the new ones should show.
Sometimes you can travel several hundred miles, change your 'Service Address' and still be in the same spot beam as before, or other times a new spot beam area. Sometime you can even NOT chat to change the service address as you may find that you are still in the same spot beam and like the same 'locals', even if you crossed state lines, or feel that you are closer to another 'local' metro area. Atlanta is like this. You can be in Atlanta, or 50 miles away and receive all it's locals. You can pick up and drive south 120 miles and still receive Atlanta, or update your service address and receive Columbus, Macon, Albany, or even Tifton. You can drive 100 miles north of Atlanta, to the western North Carolina mountains and STILL receive Atlanta locals, or change your service address and receive ASHEVILLE NC locals. It all depends on WHERE you want to receive locals just as well as what Dish considers your 'real' locals by your zip code.
We've moved away from Atlanta, but still wanted to receive their locals, so we just DON'T update our service address, and can still receive them.
Of course, once you drive 'so far' away, you WILL eventually move out of a spot beam and therefore will have to update the service address, THOUGH, you can get creative and use another address for an area that you'd 'rather' receive locals from - such as being in W NC, normally receiving Asheville locals, but would 'rather' receive Atlanta locals - so use an 'Atlanta' address(find one on google maps). You may find that you can have 'locals' from several different spot beam areas, as the spot beams 'overlap' in almost all situations.

[pasdad1]

This might work....

SiliconDust HDHR5-4US HDHomeRun CONNECT Quatro 4-Tuner Live TV for Cord Cutters

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LH47CD..._UzsRAbCJSS5CG

[tommar]

This has been a thorn in my side and a pet peeve since I got my MH one year ago. I have a Wineguard dome satellite antenna and I signed up with DirecTV since I had a DirecTV home account. What a mistake! First, the Wineguard dome antenna CANNOT pick up DirecTV local spotbeam satellite signals because those signals come from a satellite that the dome antenna can't pick up. What I do get is all in SD (standard definition). So no HD. I sent all the paperwork in so that I could get the network feeds. Guess what? While I was approved, in order to get these feeds, I would have to get a separate account with DirecTV, and another contract which would be both cost prohibitive and get locked into another contract. All this for inferior SD TV. What I should have done was get Dish. Meanwhile, DirecTV is planning to stop supporting the SD satellite in two years which means my Wineguard dome antenna will be obsolete for DirecTV. So, either I will have to get a Wineguard Travel'r antenna ($$$), possibly switch to Dish, or some other option to be determined. I agree 100% with those posters that say DirecTV is not responsive to RVers. BTW, DirecTV says that the company is moving away from satellites and moving toward Internet streaming for all programming. This will effectively lock out rural satellite customers who can't access Internet; and also all RVers because we cannot get Internet unless we're at an RV park that has wired Internet service. (Wireless Internet won't work because of bandwidth issues.) So rural folks and RVers will be screwed.

[TonyDi]

With Dish Network you can get the local channels from anywhere just by calling them and giving the the zip code.