Community Forums

PeteDr · 11-01-2020, 04:59 PM

Just returned from Newmar Service in Nappanee yesterday, after two weeks of productive warranty repair items and customer requested work. Overall good experience, best of this type I have experienced. Made it back to eastern NC just in time as sub-freezing temperature and snow flying are coming tonight to Nappanee, per the weather forecast.

So on to the next project, satellite TV. I believe our 2019 37 Ventana LE is prewired for a dish on the roof. Years back I had a poor Direct TV experience and still not interested in their service. So, DishTV would be the software provider. I am also looking for a professional turn key installation.

My request is the rest of the story. Where to go for a good turn key job, and all the other advice those who have gone down this path have to offer. BTW, we are not full timers so the DishTV monthly on/off plan looks inviting, when we get to that decision.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Bigd9 · 11-01-2020, 05:29 PM

What type of camping do you do? We generally camp where there are trees that block the satellite signals, so I opted to go with a portable automatic dish (Winegard X2). Once I had to set that dish 150 feet away from the coach so the dish could see the sat birds up there at 22,500+- miles above the earth.

Next big decision is where do you camp? Eastern or Western part of the country? Dish Network uses 61.5, 72, and 77 for eastern arc and 110, 119, and 129 for western arc. Some dishes can only get the Western Arc, while others get both arcs.

How much do you want to spend? Some roof mounted dishes are in the multiple thousands, while automatic searching portables are in the $500+- and 'you aim' dishes are sometimes free. But IMO they are a PIA to set up.

I've had Dish Network for 20+ years now. No complaints.

Krbjmpr · 11-01-2020, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteDr

Where to go for a good turn key job, and all the other advice those who have gone down this path have to offer. BTW, we are not full timers so the DishTV monthly on/off plan looks inviting, when we get to that decision.

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).

Bigd9 · 11-01-2020, 05:58 PM

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).

Are you sure about that? It cost me $5 per month for the additional receiver I own.

Johninar · 11-01-2020, 06:24 PM

I would suggest RF Mogul (much superior antenna), or second choice is the Wingard traveler if you are going to roof mount.

I take our Hopper and one Joey from our house. Both home and RV are the same type of antenna so no retuning. Just plug in and go. This way we have all our recordings and we are not paying for extra receivers. The RF remotes work through walls etc. So the outside dish is connected to the bedroom Joey. Easy to change channels outside. One can watch outside while others can use the living room receiver.

I also have a tripod for those times that we are parked under trees for extended times. Tripod aiming is not that hard after you do it a few times.

I use the Western arc dish.

Dish allows you to change your "service address" for local channels. The feds require "spot beaming" of locals so you have to be within a small range ~200miles to get whatever market you are in. I just do a chat session to update the address to the current park we are at.

I strongly suggest you buy online if you buy a Hopper. You can save a ton some dealers are quite proud of them.

Good luck

John

PeteDr · 11-01-2020, 11:18 PM

Let me answer a few questions. We are East coast RV users. We much prefer to spend our nights at an RV resort than any form of boon docking. I try to stay away from trees, having just paid Newmar to renew the results of an encounter. I prefer permanent mounting on the roof to anything requiring setup and break down at the camp site. I have no desire for another piece of complex electronics with an additional 25 button remote. I will not even go in a Camping World parking lot much less their place of business. Been there, done that.

Just looking for a really good place to pay to install what is required, without messing up anything else in the process. NIRV in Atlanta is one company that interest me. Anyone have experience with them, opinions?

Thanks

Krbjmpr · 11-02-2020, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigd9

Are you sure about that? It cost me $5 per month for the additional receiver I own.

Very sure right up to Hurricane Harvey and just after (when I gave my portable to a shelter). Donation status did not affect service price though I kept service on through Christmas. I later got it back and gave to a local fire department. Dish then kicked in with basic service at no charge.

There was a catch though, that receiver had to be online, whether it be wired ethernet or WiFi via dongle. I was also Western Arc on 110/119.

Then there was some confusion about 3rd party branded / sources receivers. Mine was Winegard branded, and really was a hot turd.

Thinking back, I might have had this on my installer account, as I was technically still in the industry. But even then, I cannot remember any of my customers being charged $5.

I suspect that you may have already had 4 receivers.

Another work around is grab one from home. The VIP211 works fantastic for Western Arc. Eastern Arc was a crapshoot lot of birds in close proximity. 61.5 worked alright, 72.7 was infuriating. Might Still be.

Krbjmpr · 11-02-2020, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johninar

I would suggest RF Mogul (much superior antenna), or second choice is the Wingard traveler if you are going to roof mount.

RF Mogul was formed by "the old guys" from MotoSATl. And I agree, their equipment has no equal. Excellent customer service. I still hit up Royal Lamb (old hiya muckamuck) when I need an occasional rare part despite him being retired.

Come to think of it, I still have an old MotoSAT Internet setup for iDirect. I need to donate that expensive albatross to an Alaskan village. Maybe in 2023.

bluefin · 11-02-2020, 08:40 AM

We have the Dish antenna and we are very happy with the setup. It is a relatively simple project to do install. I did the install with no experience and posted each step of the project. You can search my posts and review the project if you're interested. Good luck!

Dutch Star Don · 11-02-2020, 10:40 AM

Pete.....often, prewiring is just a 12 volt power cable. If you go with something like a Winegard Open dish satellite, you'll need to run their proprietary cable that controls the antenna, same with RF Mogul.

Just my opinion....regarding the antenna type...we've been running a Winegard Travler open face automatic satellite since 2007 with no issues. Both Winegard and RF Mogul are good satellites. Keep in mind though....RF Mogul use to be MotoSat. When they got tired of DirecTV making changes to the programming and required satellite updates, MotoSat just gave up and went out of business. Winegard has been around for a loooong time.

In terms of portable or roof mount.....that's a decision only you can make. In 14 years of running a roof mount satellite and hundreds of campgrounds, I can only think of maybe 10 times, I was blocked by a tree. For the way we camp, I don't want to be messing with setting up dishes on the ground or a table.

Receivers....... people buy a $100K, $200K or $300K coach and then drag the receivers in and out of their house to save $60.00 a year. We rent a DVR from DirecTV that costs us $10.00 a month. I leave it in the coach, no messing with connecting and disconnecting cables every time you go camping. With the DVR, you can record movies and keep them on the hard drive. On the rare occasion that we don't get satellite, or I just want to watch a movie, I can watch what I have on the DVR.

Rev. Roy · 11-02-2020, 11:42 AM

I don't get why anyone gets a dish these days. The new trend is to skip the dish and go with a good cell booster and a streaming service. My wife and I don't want a satellite dish on our next RV. We can spend a lot less boosting our cell signal plus we can park anywhere we can get a signal. I need reliable internet while on the road anyway so it's a win/win for us.

brandss · 11-02-2020, 12:00 PM

One thing to keep in mind is if you end up with the roof mounted winegard traveler, it only uses the western arc satellites. So if you are camped in the eastern half of the US your locals will be in SD not HD. Not sure if this matters to you but I like my sports and I like HD.

I didn't understand this until after paying for the traveler. So now I am the proud owner of a portable Pathway X2 which will pick up the eastern arc sat's

enjoyrv · 11-02-2020, 12:03 PM

Another vote for RF Mogal satelitte. Dish much better

vseasport · 11-02-2020, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigd9

What type of camping do you do? We generally camp where there are trees that block the satellite signals, so I opted to go with a portable automatic dish (Winegard X2). Once I had to set that dish 150 feet away from the coach so the dish could see the sat birds up there at 22,500+- miles above the earth.

Next big decision is where do you camp? Eastern or Western part of the country? Dish Network uses 61.5, 72, and 77 for eastern arc and 110, 119, and 129 for western arc. Some dishes can only get the Western Arc, while others get both arcs.

How much do you want to spend? Some roof mounted dishes are in the multiple thousands, while automatic searching portables are in the $500+- and 'you aim' dishes are sometimes free. But IMO they are a PIA to set up.

I've had Dish Network for 20+ years now. No complaints.

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.