Direcway

I was looking at Direcway, for internet  and TV access , on their web site . they say professional installation is required by FCC be cause of two way transmission . I was thinking of just putting one on a tripod where ever I happen to be. Is this possible ? --------Ron

Yes, possible...but you need training, such as offered by my friend Ron R who can be found in Yuma AZ.

Alternatives are manually pointed rooftop dishes and fully automated dishes (much more expensive). I have one of these and my installer lives in the same CG here in NW Phoenix AZ

As Russ indicated is is possible and several of us have these systems.  As I recall there were ten Direcway systems among the Framily at the RV Forum Moab  rally last year and I suspect there will be almost that many at the Quartzsite RV Forum rally in January.

Can the Dieccway dish be mounted on a tripod and set up the same as the TV dishes you see every where ?

Oh yeah , I almost forgot , where is a good Direcway dealer ? I live in Glendale ,Arizona.

Not exactly. ?You should have a heavy duty alumnimum tripod with a offset adaptor to center the dish over the tripod. ?Some of the framily have tripod setups, some have manual roof mounts, and some have the Datastorm automatic systems.  Sent you a PM.

I have been looking at ways to cut costs.  We travel about 5-6 months per year at 4-6 week stints.  To have TV and internet access both at home and on the road we have Satellite that we use at home and on the road (we pay extra $5 to receive local channels within ~400 mile radius) and a DSL line (home) and cell phone (road) that we use for internet connection.  We also have a home phone line which we retain just for the DSL.  I am thinking that if I sign up for direct TV dual TV/internet that it could eliminate carrying both DSL/Phone and Satellite that I now have and replace with one service.  I am concerned tho about how I would manage the satellite service when traveling.  I do like the idea of having better internet service when traveling (not locked into a cell service) but am unsure of what the extra costs and setup would be.  Help anyone...Tim

Several framily members have been using satellite internet.  If you recall our group had 10 satellite internet systems in our group alone.
Completely possible and is easy.

Tim Lassen said:

I have been looking at ways to cut costs. 

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Tim

Some thoughts. First, since you use DirecTV both at home and on the road there would be effectively no change there regardless of your setup other than perhaps switching between local channels and national channels when more than 400 miles away.

As for internet. Do you have a separate line for DSL? It is my understanding that DSL works on your standard home phone connection without impacting your regular phone service. If you travel for an extended period during the summer your provider may offer reduced coverage for a lot smaller monthly fee. We have to be gone for 3 months to qualify here. If you only have 1 phone line and you dropped it to go to satellite internet, it would probably take over 100 months of service just to recoup the equipment cost of internet satellite and you would still have the monthly connection fee to pay, which would not be much less, if any, than your current fees for phone and DSL. And unless you go to an automatic system, which could triple your equipment costs, the setup for a manual antenna could get cumbersome.

Satellite internet is great but I wouldn't recommend it to save money.

Direct TV I can't talk about since I have not invested much in them, Directway I'll know a lot more about after QZ

Which reminds me of a call I need to make

DISH I can address as I just, and I mean JUST (like an hour ago) got off the phone with them

I was asking about DISH for my motor home... Here is the difference between a Motor Home and fixed home instalation

1: Motor home:  you call them, agree to the contract, and they ship you a receiver, you hook it up and call in to activate

2: Fixed home... You call them, agree to the contract, They come out and install it for you and call in to activate it

3: Home is currently six dollars a month cheaper and you get a much larger selection of receivers including some with built in digital video recorders

Humm...... Something wrong with item 3 there:  yup, it's 7 bucks, 19.95 v/s26.95/month for home/Mobile and you can only get a model 311 receiver (single room, no DVR no HDTV)  Not the receiver I want

I'll speak to a dealer tomorrow.. Out of time today

RLC:

Some of us have purchased a complete DirecWay tripod system from Dustyfoot in Quartzsite. There are other dealers there that also offer a tripod system, but they use cheap tripods - some you have to weight down with concrete blocks! Go here for details. http://www.dustyfoot.com/Dish.html  I had mine shipped to me in Milwaukee and it came in a BIG box, so be prepared.

I think the cheap tripods are a thing of the past for the most part.  All of the dealers that I am aware of are using heavy duty Alumnimum tripods.  There were some that had the fiberglass and wood ones that would go to pot in a hurry but I haven't seen any of them being sold for over a year now.

Ron,

I hope you're right. Bob Buchannan and I walked around the grounds last year and saw several dealers selling really flimsy tripods. I even had a problem with my heavy duty tripod slipping occasionally, but solved the problem by dipping the friction locks in tool dip.

The CST Berger is probably the one of the best available as long as it is heavy duty.  I think Terry C has mounted the .98 dish on one he has and it withstood Colorado winds with gusts up 50 MPH with no problems.  That is a big sail on a tripod.

Ron,

That's the one I have, but mine has round tubes and I understand that the new models use square or rectangular tubes. Maybe they hold better. I also drive 2-two-foot sections of rebar into the ground and attach 2 cargo straps from the trpod head to them, and another 2 straps to points on the coach. Maybe a little overkill, and I doubt the hardscrabble at QZ would yield to the rebar

Karl said:

and another 2 straps to points on the coach.

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You know... all factors considered... Those two straps might just be a very good idea.

And make at least one of them lock with a padlock just in case....I mean, I know the tripods have legs... But I'd hate to have mine grow 2 more legs in the middle of the night

I use two different methods of securing the tripod, although not necessarily at the same time:

• Two, or sometimes three, motorcycle type straps to stakes.
• A couple of water jugs hung from an eye under the top part of the tripod.

See attached photos.

Since Ron donated the jugs, I've rarely needed the straps. But, when the wind really picks up, they're good insurance. I don't use them in a private campground though or, for that matter, any campground that has underground services; Some of those water lines are only a few inches below the surface.

Haven't had a problem with the tripod closing up; That could cause some real damage to the dish.

Actually I have not heard of anybodies tripod walking off yet.  It may just be luck or thieves have no interest. 

The water jugs will pretty much protect from winds as long as you have them touching the ground as Tom has shown in the photo.  If not touching the ground they can become pendulums and actually end up pulling the tripod over.

There is no way to use a dish from Direc Way on a tripod and still meet the FCC regulations or to have Direc Way supply any kind of support for it. That program does not have FCC approval nor is it supported by Direc Way. No amount of dealer training will change that, although it would help when you set the dish up.

If you want an internet dish that does have FCC approval and that is also supported by the company that supplies the internet service, there is only one and that is Starband. The Starband company now has a program that has approval from the FCC and that also gets technical support from the company via toll free phone service. The service that they provide costs more to set up due to the required hands on training that you must pass first, and the fact that all dealers must be company certified to sell the program and they are required to include the proper test equipment needed to locate the satellite as a part of the package. The program is the Starband Manual Flyer, and it is completely legal and fully supported by the company. And the monthly fee is also $5 per month less than with Direc Way and the data speed is faster. We have used the Starband equipment for almost a year and it is great. It takes me about 15 min. to set up and get on-line.

There is no single dish for both TV and internet, although there are kits to mount a bracket on the internet dish for the TV required LNB's. These are different services and they come from different satellites and have separate billing.

Kirk:

I feel pretty certain what you are saying is only partially true.

It is true Direcway will not support tripods in terms of a help desk.  They require installers of tripods to be the support providers.

But my understanding is that has nothing to do with FCC regulations.  It is a combination of their reluctance to upset their Datastorm vendors, combined with their judgment that tripoders are pretty experienced and that their support efforts are better directed to the roof mount people.  They do not go out of their way to make it easy for RVers, but they recognize RVers as an important segment.  Others here like Ron, who are more experienced can correct me if I am wrong about this.

I do not see any rationale for the FCC supporting Starband and not Direcway.

Also when I bought my motorhome I was offered a KVH Tracvision dish that could do both Internet and TV.  I opted instead for a 2 lnb in motion TV only dish, because the internet and TV could not be used at the same time on the integrated dish.  I had a separate dish installed on my roof that does internet.  It has the advantage that it can be quickly lowered from the roof and set on a tripod in the rare occasions the view from the roof is blocked.