Satellite dish question June 15, 2023, 11:55:22 am My 2002 has a satellite dish that we have never used. We now have Directv in our home and the technician said we could use the home system in a rv. Anyone know how to hook it up?? Or is the original dish on the rv too old to use? I’m not very tech savvy lol.
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #1 – June 15, 2023, 12:32:51 pm You can make it work if you want to bad enough but technology has moved on with auto aiming satellite dishes.The good news is Directv will only charge you around $7 a month to add another receiver for your RV or you can move the one in your house for no charge.A self aiming antenna for the roof will cost up to $2500. A portable starts at $500.The other bad news is you cannot get your local channels of ABC, NBC, PBS, etc unless you have an RV account which is $70 or so per month.A better solution is Starlink which gets you the internet and then you can get everything including your own Wifi.I have both. If you just want a TV system you can turn on and off a Winegard Traveler system on the roof would be your best solution. Starlink is a whole new world and generally has to be set up and taken down at each stop. You will be a techie after playing with it for awhile. Just an opinion. For me Starlink is the way to go. 2 Likes
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #2 – June 15, 2023, 12:44:51 pm We have the same dish (I think) and we’re able to use it with Dish TV. Of course we had to buy a Dish receiver which was not too expensive. So my suggestion is to contact Direct TV and see if their system is compatible with your satellite dish. My uneducated guess it will work but using the manual settings for each new location is not fun. That is, at each new location it’s necessary to find the correct elevation and direction settings for the dish. If the RV isn’t level, then it’s necessary to hunt for correct settings. Now you probably know the factory installed dish can only pickup one (1) satellite at a time which means you’ll only receive the channels for that satellite. If Direct TV uses more than one (1) satellite, then it’s necessary to manually change the direction and elevation of the RV’s dish to receive the other stations. It’s a pain as compared to the newer automatic systems. Frankly, we haven’t used our satellite dish in 3-4 years. I hope this helps a little bit. 1 Likes
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #3 – June 15, 2023, 02:14:20 pm I’ve been a happy StarLink user for 13 months now, able to respond now from south of Wrangell Alaska because of StarLink, as I have no cell here. It really shines in the middle of nowhere.Caveats* It’s expensive, $150 a month, but you can pause service by the month.* Requires 120V power out of the box, there are kits to convert it to 12V, not a problem with my always on inverter.* Need a pretty clear view of the sky to stream, but I can get texts out with openings in trees* RV users have the lowest priority in a cell, which means lousy speed near cities. But I don’t bother setting up the StarLink where there is strong cell coverage (cities)Was about to get a cell booster when StarLink became available for RV use. Boosters are fine, but can’t boost what isn’t there.Setup is simple, put the dish on the ground with a decent northern view, clear of trees. Plug in the router, then plug in the cable from the dish. The dish boots up and self aligns to the best direction to face.On my to do list is to cut the StarLink cable and wire up a waterproof connection from inside to outside. Right now I still run the cable through an open window in the back. Part lazy, part convenience, sometimes it’s better to feed the 75’ cable to the left or right based on location, or even from the front. 2 Likes
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #4 – June 15, 2023, 04:19:48 pm "A better solution is Starlink which gets you the internet and then you can get everything including your own Wifi."Starlink only gets you internet. While there's a lot to watch on various streaming channels, Duro was asking about TV. Are all the channels provided by DirecTV available for streaming over the internet? If not, this is an apples and oranges comparison. 1 Likes
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #5 – June 15, 2023, 05:50:11 pm Quote from: Andy Baird - June 15, 2023, 04:19:48 pm"A better solution is Starlink which gets you the internet and then you can get everything including your own Wifi."Starlink only gets you internet. While there's a lot to watch on various streaming channels, Duro was asking about TV. Are all the channels provided by DirecTV available for streaming over the internet? If not, this is an apples and oranges comparison.Yep, it is all available. Apple TV, Directv streaming, Roku, etc, etc. It ain’t free but a lot of it is. PBS live, Peacock you have to pay for. With a Starlink system you can get anything you want but you may have to pay. Just choose what you want. Your channel surfing days with a remote and a channel guide are gone.I have a $4000 phased array KVH antenna system with Directv called Tracvision A9. I use it less and less. It also works with Dish and works in motion. Eventually into the dustbin of history. Starlink can also work in motion if you just have to have it.Just pop open the escape hatch, lift the antenna through the opening and into it’s permanently mounted base, plug it into the waterproof connector and turn it on. If you want to park under trees you have to move it to a remote stand with it’s 100ft cable.Your local news channel is probably available on line. Just log into the website. You cannot get that on Directv or Dish if out of state. The future is here.You have to do more than turn it on and switch channels. I use an iPad with an HDMI cable to the TV. AppleTV does it wirelessly. A laptop works, also. 1 Likes
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #6 – June 15, 2023, 06:25:22 pm With Starlink when things don’t go right you cannot call them up and bitch at them. There is no phone number. It is all online and they will contact you when they get around to it. They will contact you and they are not in India!There is a facebook page called “Starlink for RVers and other mobile users.” I don’t know what the percentage of people having trouble is but you can monitor that and get a feel for the problems some are having. Mostly self inflicted but the learning curve is a bit steep. It does not tolerate stupid.Buy it from Starlink and be aware if you don’t use it for a while it can get so out of date with firmware updates it will never turn on again. That is called “Bricked” and you are done. Buy a new setup. 2 Likes
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #7 – June 16, 2023, 12:52:02 pm Thanks for the additional information, Harry. Sounds as if Starlink is a viable alternative to DirecTV, aside from the lack of customer service. 1 Likes
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #8 – June 17, 2023, 06:28:53 am Not that anyone cares but Tracvision A9 is a $5500 item nowadays. Mainly used on sailboats and tour busses, I think. It is really quite a remarkable system. Only 5” high on your roof.There are no local dealers or installers anymore. KVH in Rhode Island still supports it. Starlink at $700 and $150/mo is a better deal but for TV you have to dig for what you want. It is all there but you need to be somewhat computer literate. Most of us are, these days, at least enough to stream TV.
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #9 – June 17, 2023, 11:55:32 am Hi Harry; The Tracvision A9 seems to still be available, at least from Amazon Amazon.com: KVH TracVision A9 w/IP-Enabled TV-Hub - Direct Roof Mount... but no mention of a monthly cost for a 'plan'. 50# on the roof is a lot. I think I have seen them on limo's. The Starlink is certainly lighter and more relocatable to ground use in tree occluded campsites. As Dave Katleman mentioned, service may decline in throughput for busier locations. RonB As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #10 – June 17, 2023, 12:46:23 pm KVH does not have a monthly cost. It is just the antenna. The monthly charge is to Directv or Dish. It works for either.LD seems to handle the weight after 13 years. The support points are on a 3ft square or so. Mine is held on by VHB tape with no roof penetration and near the right rear corner taking support from the sides.The Starlink antenna mount is also by VHB tape. Would rather it had some bolt penetration as it flexes the aluminum in high winds. I probably would do that if I could tell where the cross pieces were. Sometimes you can see the locations in the morning dew but I haven’t given it any effort. I could also tape a wider area aluminum support plate.Yes, they used to put them on Escalades and Limo’s. The Cadillac dealer here was a dealer and installer.I have never noticed any lack of bandwidth with Starlink but then I am not a business user. I’ll share with anyone nearby but I don’t broadcast an open wifi. Most people aren’t interested. Cell is good enough. In remote spots no one is close enough. Most still don’t recognize the antenna but that is changing.Wifi calling is amazing. I have been parked with zero cell signal and I get spam calls! 1 Likes
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #11 – June 17, 2023, 01:25:50 pm Hi Harry; I looked at this Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyqhLD9JYrw RonB
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #12 – June 17, 2023, 02:48:34 pm Yes. I think it is called a hybrid antenna rather than a full phased array. It does mechanically point. Original use was for sailboats 20 or so years ago.I bought a Roadtrek that had an A5 on the roof. The owner was a financial person out of New York City and she needed contact with the financial markets on the road. There were certain cable channels that filled the bill.I used the A5 on the LD for years. Was able to fix some problems when they came up but the receiver box failed and KVH had withdrawn support for the A5. I had gotten spoiled by being able to park at truck-stops and such and have TV without sticking an antenna up so I paid for the A9. Stone reliable and before the days of broadband I had TV anywhere.Today I find very few cable channels to watch. Used to be big on news but I have turned that off to keep from being upset so I use it less and less.I’m still exploring Starlink and watch less and less TV with it. It is essentially unlimited for movies and documentaries. Anything you want you can find. I will put a flat mount Starlink on the Roadtrek this fall. I use the Roadtrek for traveling and the LD for sitting.If you want a multipart series on Roman engineering, it is there! 1 Likes
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #13 – June 17, 2023, 06:33:13 pm Thanks everyone.I’m not looking to pay for a different service. We really don’t watch it enough to justify that. With the age of that relic on the roof. It sounds like I should just grab a used portable automatic dish off marketplace.
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #14 – June 17, 2023, 06:52:07 pm If you want a permanently mounted receiver for your portable dish that is around $7 a month to Directv added to your present account. Directv no longer leases a 12 volt receiver so you must have an inverter to run it. You can also just bring along your in house receiver at no charge. Can’t talk you into an A9, heh, heh?Obviously the most practical solution.
Re: Satellite dish question Reply #15 – June 22, 2023, 04:34:16 am Duro,Assuming you will take the most cost effective route to satellite TV would you post which antenna you chose to go with when you get it all resolved? 1 Likes
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