Local channels n Direct TV while traveling

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

lb0456

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Posts
80
Does anyone else have a problem getting local channels thru Direct TV? We have a 5th wheel parked with the Genie and travel in a motorhome in the summer. We have aWinegard portable satellite receiver and the Durect TV DVR in the motorhome. No one at Direct TV knew how to handle the situation. After an hour they finally told us to contact Winegard. They were closed by then of course.
 
I assume that you get all other DirecTV channels you are subscribed to except the Local channels.  I also assume you are using the correct Satellite Dish, a Single LNB dish won't work.

The Local Channels are "Spot Beamed" and not available after you travel a couple of hundred miles from home.  You will have to change the Service Address on your account to your current location.  You might get some push-back if you get an inexperienced Tech at DirecTV, they will try to get you setup a separate account for your RV, which is not necessary. 

I generally do not bother unless I am going to be at the location for a week. 
 
As Walt mentioned, you cannot get the local channels in all areas with a single LNB dish/dome. In fact, in some areas you need a different type satellite dish because locals are on a Ka band satellite - I'm in one of those right now, on the central Maine Coast..

If you changed your service address and still can't get local service, that may be it. What is the zip code there?
 
We have a dual LNB. Right now the zip is 97444 but tomorrow it will be different as we move a lot, just traveling.
 
Can't you use the antenna for local channels and Satellite for the rest?
 
Hmmm. The tv usually has a switching system of some sort that connects different video sources. Either an external video switch box or via selection from the tv's own inputs. Can you describe in a bit more detail what RV make & model you have, and the tv and its related components? Maybe you just aren't getting the signal into the tv.
 
We have a2008 Coachmen Freedom Express 31SS but I don't think this TV is original as it is flat and hangs on the outside of the cabinet. The TV is a Samsung. According to my husband there is no specific video in or whatever for the TV.
 
Yes. We did that. I know we must be doing something wrong but we can't figure out what. Lol.
 
The tv has multiple inlet jacks and odds are the satellite uses a different one than the antenna tv (coax). Typically the satellite uses HDMI or component video (RGB) or even composite video (+ separate audio), while the OTA antenna uses a coax with combined audio/video. You may also have a DVD player of VCR connected somewhere to it. Samsung tvs typically have an extensive menu of input sources. Which one is it now set to, and have you tried selecting any of the others?

What model of satellite receiver is it? From that we can probably guess what the tv connection is.  And what do you see, if anything, when you try to view tv via satellite? Do you get the Direct TV logo and "searching for signal"? Or just a blank screen? Or maybe "snow"?

Same questions as above for antenna tv: what do you see on the screen?
 
We can get direct tv channels, no problem. Just can't get locals, cbs, nbc,  abc, etc. For antenna we have input on air,(we've tried them all) screen is blue except while searching for channels, then it is snow.
 
You have to change the TV input to the antenna before searching for the local channels.
 
Isn't that what we did when we input to air? Doesn't air equal antenna?
 
Can you get the DirecTV channels in the 390 series?  It will be even numbers (390) if you're east of the Mississippi and odd numbers (391) if west of the Mississippi.  Those are the major network channels which take the place of the low number local channels when you're on the road and move out of the spot beam.

The Input key on your TV remote is very important when you shift between satellite, over-the-air and the campground's cable TV so you have to make sure you're on the correct system.  When you move you need to re-program both the over-the-air and the CATV, depending on which one you want to use.  Have you reprogrammed the TV for the new channels?

ArdraF
 
Oh. Whew. I thought I was even more confused than I thought. Lol
 
We have reprogrammed. And no, We don't get the 390 series. We did last year but this year I think direct tv is confused.
 
You would only get the 39x channels if you had the Distant Network Stations feature on your RV account.
 
That's why I don't understand why direct tv doesn't just give us those channels since had them last year
 
Back
Top Bottom