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Old 08-08-2018, 08:27 AM   #15
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Re: 2002 Alpine, 36' FDDS, Trac Vision L3, Direct SD service.

Recently contacted Direct to replace one box. They have no old boxes. The tech noted ATT/Direct, plans to shut down SD service in 2019. Eventual plans are to eliminate sat boxes and push wifi (new 5G service).

The old Trac Vision works great!

Bernie
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Old 08-08-2018, 08:41 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BernieS View Post
Re: 2002 Alpine, 36' FDDS, Trac Vision L3, Direct SD service.

Recently contacted Direct to replace one box. They have no old boxes. The tech noted ATT/Direct, plans to shut down SD service in 2019. Eventual plans are to eliminate sat boxes and push wifi (new 5G service).

The old Trac Vision works great!

Bernie
Correct, but how and when are still the issue. I have 5 SD boxes on my account and have not yet heard anything from DirecTV about hardware and dish upgrades. My bet is that the drop locals from SD but keep nationals. Maybe add a couple of HD channels to 101, which will still be in service.
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Old 08-08-2018, 09:07 AM   #17
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Scott, hope your right. The unknown is if they keep the KU band. If they do, my L3 should still find the signal, then I might be able to upgrade the two coach SD boxes to HD and receive some channels.

A Tiffin rep indicated the new TVs with wifi are a possible option for in motion.

Here is a link with more info than I need to know. Note the link takes you to page 8.

https://www.dbstalk.com/community/in....221602/page-8

Bernie
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Old 08-08-2018, 09:10 AM   #18
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Not sure if it has a receiver...looks like it has a VCR and a control/switch and something else.

Thanks for your time and help everyone.
I also can't tell what the upper right hand box is, but the rest of the stuff is exactly the same as my last motorhome and it worked great with a SD receiver from Direct TV.
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Old 08-08-2018, 06:50 PM   #19
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…..curious, does your new antenna self-aim/lock or do you do it manually? I still use the OEM dish that came with my 2003--manual aim but works just fine. There was another thread on IRV2 suggesting that both Dish and Direct were going to high def only so the older-style dishes would at some point in the future, no longer work? Lot of discussion on the thread, not sure there was a conclusion about "if or when."
King was saying that it would work, but I figured for a dome that automatically tracks the satellites on the western arc (whole US coverage, with superb coverage in the areas we typically travel) and the box ($119.00 through Dish) for $300 was a pretty bang up deal. I traced the coax with a sounder to ensure the line from the roof was a straight shot to the cabinet, so no issues there. It should be in tomorrow. If weather cooperates, I plan to install this weekend. Plus I now have a satellite that I know is good for a while with Dish. We don't use DirecTV, so I wasn't worried about their SD issues.

I also didn't want to fool with all the on and off functions to align the satellite to the right azimuth, then manually switching between birds. If I change a channel that requires another bird, the new dish I purchased automatically switches birds.
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Old 08-08-2018, 07:14 PM   #20
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Not sure if it has a receiver...looks like it has a VCR and a control/switch and something else.

Thanks for your time and help everyone.
fwiw, Looks like a Panasonic DVD player to me with a selector switch box to choose input/output.
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Old 08-09-2018, 11:39 AM   #21
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I use a carryout Dish on a tripod. It connects to the barb in the tank bay (passenger side) and point it using a Birdog. We have the Dish 722k DVR mounted in the front cabinet above and forward of the passenger seat. The front tv is HDMI while the rear is coax.
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Old 08-11-2018, 10:50 AM   #22
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I think that we can begin to see DirecTV's plan emerging from those who have said that they received a letter from DTV in the past 8 months. The date mentioned is 4/30/2019. However, verbatim transcriptions of the letters always mentions the customer's inability to receive "local SD channels" on their current equipment. This implies that they will drop the hundreds of rebroadcast local channels that are currently gumming up their systems on Mpeg-2 spot beams. Of course, unless you live in metro NY or LA, you can't get those channels today with an 18" dish anyway. Sounds like they might be going to leave the majors on 101, perhaps with Mpeg 4 SD. Not that many channels and preserve the marine and RV market where it is, minus local channels. It also lets them continue to get a $10 monthly premium from their HD customers...and that is a big piece of change when you factor it against their 20,000,000 customers.

Now, we might need Mpeg4 compatible receivers and SWM power injectors and a new LNB, but that isn't the end of the world. I have an SWM/multiswitch compatible SD receiver already in my coach...question is if it is Mpeg-4 compatible.

They are clearly rolling this out slowly since I know that CT subscribers have heard, but nothing about my 5 SD only receivers in Florida. They push more power to us because of rain fade during the summer months.

Might even have the option of paying $10 a month on an 18" dish to get HD of all the major cable channels.

I'll keep google searching DirecTV and 4/30/2019 as more information should continue to leak out.

I am sure that Winegard knows, but won't tell. All of their 18" units are now on back order, including at Amazon. Perhaps there is a new version with a new SWM LNB but they cannot release it yet. They are strangely silent, considering their market is right in the middle of this.
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Old 08-12-2018, 11:55 AM   #23
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Done!

So I finished the job Friday evening. I was amazed at how easy the job was. The worst part was removing the old King Dome. I utilized the straight run of coax already up there. Added bonus using a coax sounder/tester, using a female/female connector, I can remove the box and use the connection in the storage bay for tailgating (setting a TV up on a table). Mounted the new dish right where the old one was and sealed everything up with good outdoor caulk. The newer dish is a smaller footprint, but I’m the only one getting on the roof. Took longer for the box to set up and lock on than the install did.

Very happy with how it came out!

Just to clarify, I use Dish, not DirecTV...
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Old 08-12-2018, 12:43 PM   #24
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.. curious, is your new dish a dome or an open-face fold-down, like the Traveler? As a tip to others who might be contemplating a dish swap out--the original OEM location for the King Dome is not necessarily the best for an open-face dish antenna....wind noise and vibration can be an issue for open face antennas mounted near the front edge of the roof.....
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Old 08-12-2018, 03:11 PM   #25
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.. curious, is your new dish a dome or an open-face fold-down, like the Traveler? As a tip to others who might be contemplating a dish swap out--the original OEM location for the King Dome is not necessarily the best for an open-face dish antenna....wind noise and vibration can be an issue for open face antennas mounted near the front edge of the roof.....
The new one is a dome-based antenna. The Traveler and RF Mogul were a bit out of our price range.
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Old 08-12-2018, 05:09 PM   #26
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I'm in the same boat trying to figure out how to redo everything on our coach. Know we will go with dish. What I'm unsure of is can some of the fixed mounts handle 3 TV's - front, BR and one in cargo bay? Do you just use 3 receiver boxes and do they have to be where you have to have a line of sight for channel changing like our Direct TV. Everything is ran with coax so how do you work around the HDMI parts. Then to be able to switch between a regular antenna and the sat one if wanted can an A/B switch work. Anyone noticed some basic layouts to do all this. The PO was using Direct I think and there was a pile of wires going all over the place. Been trying to figure some of these out a little at a time and have cable to the TV we moved in the main area and to the BR. Seems like the cable hookup in the hookup area in the back is not working. Have a signal tracer and just need to track it down. This can't be that complicated. Been reading around on it. So down to just picking a dish for the roof and jump in

Thanks
Bruce
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Old 08-12-2018, 09:02 PM   #27
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I'm in the same boat trying to figure out how to redo everything on our coach. Know we will go with dish. What I'm unsure of is can some of the fixed mounts handle 3 TV's - front, BR and one in cargo bay? Do you just use 3 receiver boxes and do they have to be where you have to have a line of sight for channel changing like our Direct TV. Everything is ran with coax so how do you work around the HDMI parts. Then to be able to switch between a regular antenna and the sat one if wanted can an A/B switch work. Anyone noticed some basic layouts to do all this. The PO was using Direct I think and there was a pile of wires going all over the place. Been trying to figure some of these out a little at a time and have cable to the TV we moved in the main area and to the BR. Seems like the cable hookup in the hookup area in the back is not working. Have a signal tracer and just need to track it down. This can't be that complicated. Been reading around on it. So down to just picking a dish for the roof and jump in

Thanks
Bruce
Bruce,

The Playmaker comes in a single or dual set up, so the max you can get is two boxes off that dish. The caveat is that it has to be a dedicated run to the box from the dish (i.e. no splitters). We aren’t going to pay for more than one box, so we went with the single set up. I used a simple sounder ($20 at Lowe’s) to trace the wire from the cabinet to the outlet in the storage bay (Winegard metal faceplate that says “Cable TV”). When I want to move the box, I simply unplug it in the cabinet (I have two power cords and two HDMI cables so they don’t have to be unhooked in the cabinet), connect the cabinet coax to the coax running to the outlet in the storage bay using a female/female connector, then set the TV up out there. If you wanted a true dual system, you could always extend that cable and run it up to the dish. That would be simple using the old power cord that the King Dome system used as a fish cable. I just didn’t see the need to pay for an extra box or the additional money for the “dual” version of the Playmaker. We won’t be watching more than one TV at a time. We also don’t watch the TV in the bedroom to warrant another receiver there.

Happy to answer any further questions you might have.
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Old 08-12-2018, 09:57 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BernieS View Post
Re: 2002 Alpine, 36' FDDS, Trac Vision L3, Direct SD service.
Recently contacted Direct to replace one box. They have no old boxes. The tech noted ATT/Direct, plans to shut down SD service in 2019. Eventual plans are to eliminate sat boxes and push wifi (new 5G service).
The old Trac Vision works great!

Bernie
Please note than DirecTV is not going to stop ALL SD transmissions. When the D-4 sat in the 101 orbit is de-orbited, the spare sat in the 101 orbit (D-9) will take over the SD transmissions. What DirecTV announced is that they cease SD MPEG-2 transmissions. All receivers and DVRs with number 20 to 24 can receive and decode MPEG-4 SD transmissions from non-SWM LNBs. Receivers and DVRs numbered 25 and above plus the HS-17 are SWM capable only. DirecTV currently has a total of 11 operational sat in the 99, 101 and 103 orbits and another hybrid sat is scheduled for launch later this year. DirecTV current own 48 sat frequency in the 101 orbit in the Ku band used for SD transmission. Using selective polarization and multiplexing there are over 200 separate channels avail for video transmissions in SD. All HD transmission will continue from the 8 active sats using the Ka band, leaving 3 spares. This caps the HD transmission 1200 available channels (40% are leased to private companies and governmental agencies). The 4K (UTV transmissions will continue on the reverse band (RB) and require a special LNB and receivers but are backward comparable with legacy equipment.
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