Satellite Systems & WiFi

[bigduke1956]

Hello All, what are your experiences w/Satellite systems; Amazon has a portable for $100 - $175

Also, I am a PC Geek, love connecting, have mobile devices, but I have a killer laptop/desktop that I want to haul

I know it sounds a bit strange, RVer's should be out seeing the sights, etc; but this is for those rainy days....ahem, or days my Honey is on marathon fishing binges or casino.....I don't do either

Any experiences are greatly appreciated

[Technorick]

It you are a news junkie and want your TV and all the bells and whistles including two outputs so you can record on DVR or hopper my best bet would be to go with the dish traveler. It's pricey but is automated to find he sats and fold itself down when off. It will get full HD on dish and had a large dish that is quiet . Connected to the right recur that would allow you to watch two different channels or record one and watch another on two TV's

If you will " watch anything thats on TV " you could go with a Wineguard carry out. Plugs in and sits on picnic table. Allows you to find line of site to the sats incase you are parked under a tree. This dome is portable.

I chose a Wineguard in motion low profile fixed mount dome and I would not purchase it again. Almost every where I park there is a tree line obstruction. It's loud when it seeks. It actually works well on the major highways while traveling as it follows the bird in the sky. But it's so low profile (small inside dish) it doesn't find my locals on hd at least not in the northeast.

I'm sure there are other opinions on this but my view is that Dish network will provide you more choices of HD and locals than Direct TV and they allow you to call them to switch areas as you travel and shut off service during the winter to save money.


2014 FR330 DS

[iowasparrow]

Originally Posted by bigduke1956

Hello All, what are your experiences w/Satellite systems; Amazon has a portable for $100 - $175

Also, I am a PC Geek, love connecting, have mobile devices, but I have a killer laptop/desktop that I want to haul

I know it sounds a bit strange, RVer's should be out seeing the sights, etc; but this is for those rainy days....ahem, or days my Honey is on marathon fishing binges or casino.....I don't do either

Any experiences are greatly appreciated

Which one on Amazon is $100? I'd be in for that price.

Edited to add: Nevermind, you were probably talking about a manual dish and tripod not a tailgater type system.

[bigduke1956]

Hello All, this is the unit I bought, just delivered, will set and let you know how it works; Called DirecTV, they tell my receiver should work

[bigduke1956]

Hello All, this is the unit I bought, just delivered, will set and let you know how it works; Called DirecTV, they tell my receiver should work
DirecTV SWM SL3S Portable Satellite RV Dish Kit Camping Tailgating with Tripod SWiM and level, $165

[Technorick]

As for wifi and internet, see you tube "outside our bubble". By David Bott. He's a former IT guy now full time RV motor homer who has great and informative videos. One called "RV internet and RV wifi in RV parks". Shows how to install a wifi antenna that pulls in signals either directly to a router or direct to your laptop.

The advantage of adding the router will let you connect multiple devices to a single logon in the campground.


2014 FR330 DS

[spicyrv]

Big Duke, we went with a satellite dish on the roof of the RV that works while driving (In-motion). It's a great advantage if you have kids or anyone that wants to watch tv while you're driving. Reception is ok. The downside is that without fail at some point you'll be in a location that has overhanding branches or some obstruction that blocks the signal. I can live with that, but for many it's a deal-breaker and they need a portable dish that can be moved to a position where there is a signal, should that happen. As a previous poster mentioned, you can get your coach set up almost like you home with a dvr, etc. If you're a tech guy, so should be able to figure that out with little or no help.

Wifi is a whole different question. You'll find that many RV parks have very marginal wifi. I have yet to find one that has great wifi speed at all hours of the day. Half of the time I will use my cellular connection for wifi, using my cell phone as a hot spot. It's been so bad that I've started doing speed tests of upload and download speeds at parks that I've stayed in. At the last one I was at in Door County, Wisconsin, at one point early in the morning had download speeds of almost 12 mps and uploads nearly 5 mps. By mid-morning, those numbers had dropped to 2 mps and less than 1 mps, respectively. At a park last year I was literally unable to keep a connection for more than a minute or two, and it was incredibly poor speed. Just something to keep in mind when the whole family is trying to use their devices that need some kind of a connection to the Internet.

[RiverRat22]

Originally Posted by bigduke1956

Hello All, this is the unit I bought, just delivered, will set and let you know how it works; Called DirecTV, they tell my receiver should work
DirecTV SWM SL3S Portable Satellite RV Dish Kit Camping Tailgating with Tripod SWiM and level, $165

BigDuke, how did the Portable Satellite that you bought work out for you. How did you get your connections inside the RV?