Satellite set up question???

[barlin44]

Hey All,
I am fixing to go on our annual 2.5 week camping/fishing trip next month. I always miss my Nascar races because of the lack of antenna signal and some day we plan to get a fixed satellite. So my question is... I currently have DirectTV at home. I have a box that I can pull easily to take along with us. So can I buy a dish from Camping World and 25' cable ect. bring my box from home and make it work. It appears I need a compass and a signal finder. I see they have a dish on sell that I can place on the ground and hook it up to a TV I am bringing for outside to watch racing on Sundays. But Mama would want it in the home to watch Judge Judy and what not..can I switch box back & forth fom inside to outside.
Happy adventures to all..

[Alleyman]

Yes your home receiver will work okay. Be sure thr dish is level and plumb, if you are out of your home zone, you need to call dish and give them a new zip code in order to receive network channels. good luck

[jfran304]

A lot of people use the tuner from their house in their RV's to keep from having to pay the extra fee for another box. The only problem you will have is if you are too far out of your home viewing area you will not be able to pick up your local channels on the satellite. You can use your regular over the air antennae to pick up the local channels where you are.

I would purchase a longer cable than 25' just in case you have to move the dish farther from the RV due to trees or other obstructions. I carry a 100' cable and just put the excess in a compartment.

Jon

[barlin44]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alleyman Yes your home receiver will work okay. Be sure thr dish is level and plumb, if you are out of your home zone, you need to call dish and give them a new zip code in order to receive network channels. good luck

Thanks Alleyman,
I had no clue you have to give a zip code....I just figured it would find the sattelite if it was level and aimed correctly. It is the zip code and not the area code??

[barlin44]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfran304 A lot of people use the tuner from their house in their RV's to keep from having to pay the extra fee for another box. The only problem you will have is if you are too far out of your home viewing area you will not be able to pick up your local channels on the satellite. You can use your regular over the air antennae to pick up the local channels where you are. I would purchase a longer cable than 25' just in case you have to move the dish farther from the RV due to trees or other obstructions. I carry a 100' cable and just put the excess in a compartment. Jon

Good Points,
I would not be to concerned about local channels, so that would work. A longer cord does make sence, as you never know where you would have a clear shot to the moon or sattelite..

[CD]

One thing you need to know (if you don't already know) is how many LNBs you have. If you have more than one the setup is much more complex. We use our old reciever that only works on 1 LNB. Some people we knew a few years ago had a 2 LNB setup and used 2 dishs and tripods with single LNB because it was much easier to setup.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Since you have DirecTV you might need to be aware of local channels for NASCAR. NASCAR is on FOX so you're watching the races on your local FOX affiliate. Once you drive outside the "footprint" for your local channels you'll lose the FOX channel. If you stay within 100 miles or so of your home you should be okay, depending on where you live. For instance - I'm in San Jose, Ca and I can receive my local channels as far north as Redmond, Or and as far south as Santa Barbara, Ca. I haven't gone more than about 100 miles east yet so I'm not sure of the eastern limit of my locals.

Other than that, all you need is a dish and cable for your RV, and a receiver from home - it'll work fine in your RV. If you're leaving the wife at home she'll probably want a receiver so if you've only got a single receiver you'll need to keep her happy somehow - if you've got more than one receiver then you're good to go...

[toadswife]

We use our home dtv in our camper and it works great. Like others have said, you wont get local channels but you can use the antenea on your camper for locals.
As far as set up gors, there is no need to call dtv for set up. Simply find the zip code for the cg and in the set up options you put the zip code in and it will tell you what settings you need. I normally look at other sites to see where their dish is pointed and go from there. I never use a compass or signal meter, its just not needed.
If you use a tripod for your dish, bring a couple of empty gallon jugs, fill them with water, tie them together and hang over the tripod to keep it in place.
Finally, lots of cgs have the settings on their map if so, that makes it even easier. Happy camping!

[Wayne M]

The "list" of what you can and cannot do is quite a long list and not within my time line right now. I've been there, done that, just like a lot of other people. If you get complicated and want DTV HD you will need a portable antenna with more than one LNB. Personally I find these more difficult to aim than a single. Do not confuse Dual LNB with a two horn LBN. There are single LNB's with dual outputs so you can feed two tuners.

After two years of struggling with the set up of a portable, manual dish antenna I gave in and purchased the Winegard Carryout. With 50 foot of cable and the 50 foot power line that is supplied with it, I have been able to set it up in every campground I have been in. The Carryout presently will not receive DTV HD, and no other King Controls RV Satellite "DOME" will either. I like the simplicity of the Carryout. Set it up, walk away, go inside and push a button or two. It's not cheap.

You do not have to go to an RV store to get a dish to use. If you want a portable you can find one someone is throwing away or has switched over to DISH Network (There antenna's are different), or find a retailer that sells them. When I did find one of those they were less that $100 for a triple LNB. (Hmm! Maybe that's why I had trouble setting it up!)

[sniggles]

well my friend there is a lot you can't receive with a single LNB.
It will only pull in one satellite. I would opt for a three and that is not HD 3 either.
There standard 3 sets up like a single. only 2 setting but the HD will need the tilt also. So saying that the HD is harder to set up, but it can be done.

I hear other say just get the race on OTA antenna but if you can not receive OTA you are just out of luck.

We have missed many a race while tenting but with a coach that is a thing of the passed.
Good luck,
sniggles

[okie-dokie]

I was watching the Nascar race yesterday on FOX channel, got down to the last 48 laps when I lost all power to the coach. Some person had an accident, hit a pole and blew the transformer. Our electricity was out for 13 hours. Who won the race. I'm hoping it was JJ in # 48 car.

[Clifftall]

Quote:

Originally Posted by okie-dokie I was watching the Nascar race yesterday on FOX channel, got down to the last 48 laps when I lost all power to the coach. Some person had an accident, hit a pole and blew the transformer. Our electricity was out for 13 hours. Who won the race. I'm hoping it was JJ in # 48 car.

Your wish came true. He gave the checkered flag to Jr. He pushed him to victory. 2 one thousands of a second was the margin.

[barlin44]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn Since you have DirecTV you might need to be aware of local channels for NASCAR. NASCAR is on FOX so you're watching the races on your local FOX affiliate. Once you drive outside the "footprint" for your local channels you'll lose the FOX channel. If you stay within 100 miles or so of your home you should be okay, depending on where you live. For instance - I'm in San Jose, Ca and I can receive my local channels as far north as Redmond, Or and as far south as Santa Barbara, Ca. I haven't gone more than about 100 miles east yet so I'm not sure of the eastern limit of my locals. Other than that, all you need is a dish and cable for your RV, and a receiver from home - it'll work fine in your RV. If you're leaving the wife at home she'll probably want a receiver so if you've only got a single receiver you'll need to keep her happy somehow - if you've got more than one receiver then you're good to go...

This is actually good news here, as I live in Napa and only going up north out of Yuba City. So ESPN, Fox and Speed should not change. I just need to be able to bring the box inside the MH when not outside watching racing and hockey etc.. so mama can watch her programs..
Cool Thanks Alan

[barlin44]

Quote:

Originally Posted by okie-dokie I was watching the Nascar race yesterday on FOX channel, got down to the last 48 laps when I lost all power to the coach. Some person had an accident, hit a pole and blew the transformer. Our electricity was out for 13 hours. Who won the race. I'm hoping it was JJ in # 48 car.

That race was won by a team being a team. Not a big fan of the two car racing but that was one exciting finish Hope you were able to watch it, as that was RACING BOYS...