Satellite

jeffowen · 09-07-2016, 07:21 PM

wondering if its best to have a satellite mounted on r v our have a portable ? pro's & con's ?concerned if its permanently mounted I might not be parked in the best place to get correct reception ,verse being able to move to best area with portable unit ?

DaveSchwartz · 09-07-2016, 07:30 PM

That's why mine is on a portable tripod. Often the site is so shaded that its really a challenge to find a spot with line-of-sight reception.

itat · 09-07-2016, 07:54 PM

Satellite reception is "line of site" meaning there can't be any obstructions between the dish and the satellite (not even thick storms clouds), so, unless you never camp in wooded areas, it's best to have a portable dish.

Stormrider151 · 09-07-2016, 08:09 PM

The portable automatic dishes are by far and away the best choice IMO. Especially the new ones with the single wire hook up. However even those have their limitations in wooded areas. I have a first gen Carryout that works great in the fall and winter but can be a little picky in the summer.

moff34 · 09-07-2016, 08:37 PM

Just purchased the Pathway X2 portable dish, tripod mount, and DISH's new Wally receiver prior to our current trip. I set it up in a corner of our space that has a clear view of the southern sky and it was up and running in minutes. I am very impressed with the picture quality; so much better than the park cable. So far it has been trouble-free.

WFD · 09-07-2016, 08:50 PM

Agree with all the above....amazing sometimes how the simplest obstruction can make the difference between a good signal or none at all....Recently had a neighbor in a park who came to chat with me after I set up our dish. He talked about how frustrated he was with the amount of times he couldn't get a signal because his roof mounted dish was obstructed by a tree.
Many times I have to set the dish up many feet away from the trailer in a clear area.

NMWildcat · 09-08-2016, 01:33 AM

Portable works well for us. Several of our group have stationary mounts which work fine until we camp in heavily wooded areas. And then we have requests to set up our TV outside so they won't miss their shows

SilverbackMel · 09-11-2016, 05:30 AM

X2 on the X2. Only PITA is calling DISH STUPID WAIT TILL YOU ARE ALMOST DEAD, customer service!
You need the address and zip code to provide each new location with LOCAL CHANNELS.

That annoying recorded voice drives me nuts.

No one understands the RV concept. Heck many in the Philippines have never seen one!

A little true "customer" understanding and programming capabilities goes a long way.

db7512 · 09-11-2016, 05:49 AM

I have both one mounted and one portable and have found that I use the portable about 25 percent of the time. A lot of the SP and COE campgrounds i use have trees which causes problems some times. Most of the costal parks that I visit I have no problems with trees. So a lot of it is where you will be using the satellite.

bubbles · 09-11-2016, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverbackMel

X2 on the X2. Only PITA is calling DISH STUPID WAIT TILL YOU ARE ALMOST DEAD, customer service!
You need the address and zip code to provide each new location with LOCAL CHANNELS.

That annoying recorded voice drives me nuts.

No one understands the RV concept. Heck many in the Philippines have never seen one!

A little true "customer" understanding and programming capabilities goes a long way.

When you call for local channels to be added select technical support. I do not have any issues with getting local channels when doing that. Every individual that I have requested to add local channels are quite familiar with the request for my tailgater no matter their location.

SilverbackMel · 09-11-2016, 06:44 AM

Tnx. I will try that next venture out !

spock123 · 09-11-2016, 09:16 AM

We have a Direct Trav'ler and a portable one, Direct is a little better about getting a signal through trees than Dish is.

Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

NMWildcat · 09-11-2016, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubbles

When you call for local channels to be added select technical support. I do not have any issues with getting local channels when doing that. Every individual that I have requested to add local channels are quite familiar with the request for my tailgater no matter their location.

Yep, if they ask me for a physical address to change locals I ask for their supervisor. The good ones only need a zip and it takes about 2 minutes of on phone time. Usually no problem with customer service, but once in awhile you get one that just doesn't get it

. If I continue to have problems with them I ask for the RV tech department. They actually have one and those guys are great!!!

DKRITTER · 09-11-2016, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverbackMel

X2 on the X2. Only PITA is calling DISH STUPID WAIT TILL YOU ARE ALMOST DEAD, customer service!
You need the address and zip code to provide each new location with LOCAL CHANNELS.

That annoying recorded voice drives me nuts.

No one understands the RV concept. Heck many in the Philippines have never seen one!

A little true "customer" understanding and programming capabilities goes a long way.

Try Chat

Every time we move I get online and go to Tech Support Chat and tell them we are traveling in our RV and we need to change our service address to whatever the address is of where we are at, I've found if you give them a complete address it works better.

I also tell then I do not want to change my billing address.

Since we have started doing it this way it works easily 9 out of 10 times.

moff34 · 09-11-2016, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Yep, if they ask me for a physical address to change locations I ask for their supervisor. The good ones only need a zip and it takes about 2 minutes of on phone time. Usually no problem with customer service, but once in awhile you get one that just doesn't get it

. If I continue to have problems with them I ask for the RV tech department. They actually have one and those guys are great!!!

X2

Regular DISH customer support reps are clueless about their RV division. DishForMyRV is 800-472-1039.

NMWildcat · 09-11-2016, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spock123

We have a Direct Trav'ler and a portable one, Direct is a little better about getting a signal through trees than Dish is.

Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

Well spock.... That is one opinion

. I have found it depends more on what sat dish you have rather than sat service brand.

Ford Idaho · 09-11-2016, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffowen

wondering if its best to have a satellite mounted on r v our have a portable ? pro's & con's ?concerned if its permanently mounted I might not be parked in the best place to get correct reception ,verse being able to move to best area with portable unit ?

I thought easy way to go was with a ladder mount for the King Tailgater so I bought one.

First CG we went to, site was a pull thru nose facing south and clear of the trees unfortunately the back was buried under the trees.

Pulled the dish off the ladder mount and tied it to the hitch in the 250, it worked but not the best way to mount the dish.

Ordered a tripod, with 50 feet of coax I can place it where ever I need it for a clear view of the sky.

Gallon of water hanging on a bungee cord to stabilize it.

Clouds are a big issue but I see no way around those so we wait.

rgood · 09-11-2016, 06:38 PM

Ok. Along this same line I am a new B and some may laugh but for extended stays I would like to have my Direct TV SERVICE. Love my RV but at times would like to have more then the 5-6 channels I can get with my antenna . What would I need and how would I go about getting this service. I have Direct TV for my home. Thanks for any help. I have done some research but would like to have some input from here.

BandJCarm · 09-11-2016, 06:48 PM

Here's the deal. DISH uses 3 satellites. Direct uses 3 Satellites, plus 119 if you want spanish or some esoteric channels. However, DISH's 3 satellites are further apart. Direct's 3 are close together. SO, if you get a lock on 101 with Direct, you are very close to the other two.

The automatic portables with DISH are a great idea. But you have more chance of hitting trees since the arc of hitting all 3 is much greater than with Direct. With no trees in the LOS, it works awesome.

The portable with Direct is manual, thus harder. But with the help of a great friend on here, I found the Satlook Lite meter, and the TV4RV.COM adjustable tripod, and I lock on fast now with Direct. And Direct doesn't use overseas call centers, at least not that I've found. Now, I do expect ATT to mess them up beyond recognition!! LOL......waiting on that to occur.

And Direct is more expensive.

Many can live without HD. If so, DISH is the ticket if you can stand the customer service. I can't, and have Direct at Home, so Direct it is......and I've finally figured out how to aim the portable dish and hook up to the trailer, so I'm happy. But it's been 3 years of learning, I admit!!!

EDIT: Forgot to add........the reason that the Tailgater and Pathway and auto dishes work with DISH is that to change channels and get all the offered channels, the dish has to physically move. With Direct, all channels are received by one stationary location of the physical dish. The DISH dish (ha) moves physically. Without it being automatic, you'd have to reposition it every time you changed to a channel that's on another satellite.

BandJCarm · 09-11-2016, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgood

Ok. Along this same line I am a new B and some may laugh but for extended stays I would like to have my Direct TV SERVICE. Love my RV but at times would like to have more then the 5-6 channels I can get with my antenna . What would I need and how would I go about getting this service. I have Direct TV for my home. Thanks for any help. I have done some research but would like to have some input from here.

Call this guy.

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