Community Forums

Dutch Star Don · 11-02-2020, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vseasport

Wow! this is an eye opener for me. We are West coasters and our roof top dish locks on 110, 119 & 129. Living in my cave I never realized there is another arc. How do I figure out if our dish has the capability to find the East coast arc? We are planning a cross country trip next spring so also I wonder how far East we can wander before loosing the West coast signal?

We stream also and have unlimited data on AT&T and also Verizon. Just like having all the bases covered.

I think there is some miss information being put out. We've made two coast to to coast trips and on both, we received our HD signal on both coasts. As a matter of fact, DirecTV is eliminating SD. The only time you MIGHT have issues with DirecTV is in the far north, where the satellite dish almost points horizontally.

Bigd9 · 11-02-2020, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

I think there is some miss information being put out. We've made two coast to to coast trips and on both, we received our HD signal on both coasts. As a matter of fact, DirecTV is eliminating SD. The only time you MIGHT have issues with DirecTV is in the far north, where the satellite dish almost points horizontally.

I thought the OP is only interested in Dish Network? Did I misread something?

bentjm · 11-02-2020, 04:53 PM

With Dish you can see the Western arc pretty much everywhere except in the extreme northeast.

Bigd9 · 11-02-2020, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentjm

With Dish you can see the Western arc pretty much everywhere except in the extreme northeast.

Correct, but not all locals are transmitted on Western Arc. As you travel East some locals are only on the Eastern Arc. Then there is the SD and HD transmission being available on one arc or the other. Besides, if the Western Arc is blocked by that one small tiny leaf or twig high up in that tree, the other arc is usually available.

Unfortunately, there is no one place to go that will tell you which is which. Even the first line Dish technicians don't know.

bentjm · 11-03-2020, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Correct, but not all locals are transmitted on Western Arc. As you travel East some locals are only on the Eastern Arc. Then there is the SD and HD transmission being available on one arc or the other. Besides, if the Western Arc is blocked by that one small tiny leaf or twig high up in that tree, the other arc is usually available.

Unfortunately, there is no one place to go that will tell you which is which. Even the first line Dish technicians don't know.

Satelliteguys used to have maps of coverage areas and lists of local stations and what satellite and transponder they were on. I have not been on their site for a couple of years so, I don't know if they up to date.

I use a Pathway X2 which has been flawless so far. I use the Wingard signal finder app to help figure out where to place the X2, plug it up, and let it do its thing.

Bigd9 · 11-03-2020, 05:29 AM

I used to use the Satelliteguys chart all the time. Over time, I have received other charts from different sources, but they are too hard to decipher and get meaningful information.

I've used the Winegard X2 for many years now and it has never let me down. Last winter I took it all apart, cleaned and applied a dry lubricant, then put it back together. Over the years of use, it had accumulated a significant amount of dust/dirt/ants inside!

bevandtomH · 11-03-2020, 06:53 AM

We FT. Been Dish customers for 25 yrs. when we had S & B.
Bought our Hopper outright for the coach but in hind sight, should have rented. You are on the hook for repairs and upgrades if you buy.
So why not stream? As others said it is the future, and it may be. But you pay for something to stream. I don’t particularly like having to worry about how much data we’ve used, cell service, etc. just to watch tv. Yes, we have Apple TV but I like to come home, turn on the tv and watch what I want, record it, etc.
Easy to get locals where ever we park. Just call or chat with Dish.
Try to avoid tree covered sites, but if we can’t watch the sat, we will survive. Every one has their ideal of KISS.
Mine includes a satellite.

Pine Stump · 11-03-2020, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krbjmpr

Stay the hell away from Camping World.
That being said, The DishTV Pay As You Go can be quite beneficial for occasional users. If you have Dish at home already, you can add the receiver to your account for no additional charge. If you want a fancy receiver (trust me, you don't) you can pay rental for one and be problematic thereafter.

May I suggest that unless you are wanting to watch tv while on the road (In Motion), that you look seriously at the portable satellite solutions? When I was traveling, I always preferred to park in the shade, especially if electrical was limited (30A). This usually makes satellite unavailable, unless you have a portable unit that you can string coax out to and get a signal. Its also 1 less thing to leak, get hit by branch, fall on/over, birds roost on, etc. I gave up live TV some time ago. I just use my Roku and Plex Server (local mode).

We have a very good camping world where we live sorry u do not....I have had several things done including AF1 installed for 49 bucks 3 years ago and works perfect as it should....Techs with over 25 years working on RVs that know their stuff...

Bigd9 · 11-03-2020, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bevandtomH

We FT. Been Dish customers for 25 yrs. when we had S & B.
Bought our Hopper outright for the coach but in hind sight, should have rented. You are on the hook for repairs and upgrades if you buy.
So why not stream? As others said it is the future, and it may be. But you pay for something to stream. I don’t particularly like having to worry about how much data we’ve used, cell service, etc. just to watch tv. Yes, we have Apple TV but I like to come home, turn on the tv and watch what I want, record it, etc.
Easy to get locals where ever we park. Just call or chat with Dish.
Try to avoid tree covered sites, but if we can’t watch the sat, we will survive. Every one has their ideal of KISS.
Mine includes a satellite.

My understanding is streaming requires a good cell phone connection. Many of the areas we love to camp are state, national forest and COE campgrounds and good cell connections are not as reliable. But with the portable dish, I can usually, within a 150 feet, find a clear spot to 'see' the satellites.

Funny, we do the opposite and we look for tree/secluded sites. They are our 'bread and butter' campgrounds!

Rev. Roy · 11-04-2020, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigd9

My understanding is streaming requires a good cell phone connection. Many of the areas we love to camp are state, national forest and COE campgrounds and good cell connections are not as reliable. But with the portable dish, I can usually, within a 150 feet, find a clear spot to 'see' the satellites.

Funny, we do the opposite and we look for tree/secluded sites. They are our 'bread and butter' campgrounds!

You're right about needing a cell signal which is where a good cell booster comes in. If we have any signal we can boost it. More and more of RV reviews gives cell signal information as well. As more full-timers are working remotely, the demand is going up. We use nomadinternet for our provider. It's unlimited with no throttling but not cheap. ($130) I'm waiting for skylink and to see how much competition to the market it will be.