Satellite TV Options - Newbie Qs

[Lt Dan]

Originally Posted by sbleiweiss

Thanks for the tutorial. That is a good start. So what you are doing is only giving you satellite TV when you are near home. Do I have that right?

The only thing you give up when you get away from your local programming area are the network stations such as NBC, CBS, FOX, etc. All of the national satellite channels are available anywhere. You can change your service area to where you are located and then receive the local network channels for that area, or you can just use the over the air antenna.

[Ludmilla]

A satellite dish works anywhere that you can get a clear view of the southern sky - where the satellites are. You can get a portable one that works with Dish or Direct TV. I have Dish and I have the same channels on the road that I have at home. You purchase a receiver for the RV. The receiver connected to the dish through a coax cable. The receiver outputs coax and HDI signals. You run a cable from the receiver to the TV.


I have an X2 automatic dish. That means you point it generally south and it finds the satellites automatically. You can also point a dish manually, but I do not recommend that. It is cheaper but takes more time.

[Robmat]

Originally Posted by sbleiweiss

So far we only have a roof antenna and a cable to plug into cable TV at RV parks that have it. Can someone explain to me what the more sophisticated options are; what they do; how they work; and how much they cost? I have heard of Direct TV, Dish, and Wineguard, but don't really know how any of them works. Do you need monthly accounts with all of them? What networks does each receive? Everything else that would go into a TV 101 remedial class will be much appreciated too. We just broke our antenna so now may be the time to upgrade. Thanks in advance.

I like Lt. Dan have a Dish network home account and pay $7/mo for an additional receiver. I purchased a Dish Vip211z receiver just for the RV so I pay $7 monthly for the entire year. I could change my billing address to receive the local network channels but that also changes all my home receivers so they will not receive my home local channels and as my home is out of the RV Local channel spot beam area they don't receive the local channels I would in the RV. Since my son is home when we are on the road after trying it once I don't change my billing location. I would have to have a separate account to change the billing address for the Receiver just in my RV and not at home. The good news is virtually every other Dish channel is received on the road. My RV came with the Winegard roadtrip on it and it can receive either Dish or Direct Signals by flipping a few dip switches on the unit. When I get to a campground I connect the cable if they have it to get local channels and I generally check what is available over the air. What ever is better I then simply switch of the input form HDMI (satellite) to COAX (cable) or ANT(Antenna) to get the different channels. If you have to do the channel search once for either input. Out of about 90 days of camping with this setup I have only two days where I had tree issues and a few days of no local signals or cable at the Grand Canyon. You are probably going to have to get another antenna anyway. Since your RV is a 2014 you should have a Jack Antenna or similar antenna. The Jack has a two years parts and one year labor warranty.

[kiethco]

I have the roof mounted expensive back when new sat dish. It had an outdated Dish receiver. All junk with today's operating modes.
I bought a used portable satellite from a friend, $50.00 bucks. I too had the problems of connectivity and spaghetti in the overheads.
I bought a Direct tv receiver for 75.00 bucks and got a 75.00 rebate so zero net cost for a tuner and $6.50 a month for service.
I took my RV to Marks audio/visual in Irwindale CA and had them clean up everything, wire in surround, build an outside entertainment station with speakers and hook up for the 32 inch LED tv that came from Amazon today. They put a co-ax connector in the front gennie compartment, so I put my sat on the ground and hook into the lead. Sweet set up and now we have music and tv in and out with a professional, clean install.

[bobsharon]

Originally Posted by sbleiweiss

So what you are doing is only giving you satellite TV when you are near home. Do I have that right?

Not exactly...info is in a couple posts but you receive satellite TV nationwide.
What you don't get are your home local stations (NBC, CBS, etc.).
If you move out of the local home area, you will wish to contact Dish/DirecTV and change your service address (not billing address) to receive local channels where you are.

[Dale & Mark Bruss]

Clarification. Locals mean the four broadcast channels (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC). They are not the stations of your local home address.

You can get the Locals by changing your service address to the location you are. This will the broadcast channels, not you home address channels.

Changing your Service Address for this is easier with Dish TV.

With DirecTV, you can get Distance Networks Services (DNS) which let you receive the broadcast channels from either New York or Los Angeles (depending on your Billing Address so you don't need to change your Service Address.

For both Dish TV and DirecTV, the other channels are available across the country without changing your Service Address.

Another consideration. With DirecTV, with any dome dish (roof or ground) you will be limited to Standard Definition programming. DirecTV HD transmission are done on different LNBF then are found in Domes. Advantage Dish TV.

[TLGPE]

DLDUCK,

I'm not sure if anyone has given you an answer about hooking up your X2 dish, and maybe I can't either, but this is what I know.

If your coach has a connector outside for connecting to a park cable, you can hook your X2 cable to that. Go to your inside connection point (BOMB) and select the "cable" as your input to the receiver (probably 211z). The output from the receiver will be HDMI, so that has to get to your TV somehow. My TV is in the living room so I use a wireless HDMI system (ACTIONTEC from Amazon or somewhere). This works quite well most of the time.

If you have an android tablet, you can download an app called "DISH POINTER" (there are others). This looks though the camera and shows a line in the sky with little dots on it. The dots are labeled with numbers like 110, 119, 129, etc. Those are the satellites. There will be a little cross in the center of the screen. Move the device until the cross is on a satellite. If the screen shows nothing in the way of the satellite, you will get a good signal unless the weather is really bad. You are in the eastern area (Maine?), so you may need to tune to the eastern arc satellites (61.5, etc.). The X2 will give you that option, but whichever gives you a clear sky is what you want.

TMI? not enough? Send me a PM if you want.

Tom

[Robmat]

Originally Posted by sbleiweiss

Thanks for the tutorial. That is a good start. So what you are doing is only giving you satellite TV when you are near home. Do I have that right?

I think that my post may have cause some confusion - The first question I should have asked is what service do you have a home for TV? If you have any thing other than a satellite then you have two choices - Dish or DirectTV. For Dish which in my opinion the easier and better system to use and the one I have most knowledge about. You have a service address and a billing address. If your are in your driveway both addresses would be the same if you are traveling you call in when you get to a campground and change your service address to the campground address and you will receive the Dish local channels that are delivered (by a spot beam from the satellite to that area only) for the campground you are at - The local channels included ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS and any other non network channel that originates in the that specific local area it could 10 or more channels. There is no fee to change your service address. My local channels are the Philadelphia region channels when I go out of the area, say North Carolina I get a out of area message where my local channels are however I receive all of the other Dish channels for the package I have. If I wanted to I could call Dish with the campground address and get the North Carolina channels. When you change your service address it affects all the receivers on your account. Because I simply added a receiver for the RV to my home account when I change my service address it changes the local channels at home and as my home is not the spot beam (i.e. only Miami channels can be received in the Miami area) the receivers at home will get an out of area message and not the local channels. Sorry for the confusion.