direct tv and internet help

[Deviousjay]

My wife and I just bought our first rv and trying to figure out how to go about setting up internet and tv in it while we are living out of our rv.  we had direct tv in our place when we moved out and we wanted to continue the service the company didnt now what we were talking about in regards to putting it in a rv and traveling and stuff... Can somebody give me the correct info in regards to this. I now i have to mount the dish or get a tripod.. I went to a rv place this afternoon and she said said it was easy she just uses a reciever from her house and goes all over with the dish she has on her bus.

thanks

 

[Tom]

I too use one of the Direct TV receivers from our house while traveling in the coach and move it back when we get home (or not, if our next trip isn't far away). As you mentioned, you'll need a dish, either roof mounted or on a tripod or other suitable stand. Most roof mounted ones will have a way to automatically find the satellite, but you'll need to find it manually with a tripod/ground mounted dish. Camping World sells a satellite finder (also known as a 'marriage saver') that helps with this task.

Internet is a different issue, with several options available and a wide price difference. Try the Search function above and you'll find numerous prior topics explaining these options.

 

[John From Detroit]

One thing you may wish to do (Depending on how far from home you camp) is download the RV-Waiver form from Direc and follow the instructions,  It will add 5 to 10 bucks to your monthly bill, but it lets you get all your network shows all over

That, and learning how to point a dish if you do not use an automatic dish, is about all you need to do other than move the receiver.

Now, as for internet, you have choices.

Park/Flying-J/Panera Bread wi-fi,  Many parks are now offering Wi-Fi, quality varies,  A LOT

Flying-J truck stops (You need to go to www.flyingj.com and grab the flyer showing their locations, also find out about the RV card they have, gets you discounts on fuel and occasionally other stuff as well, no charge for card)  Cost is about 20/month

Panera Bread, and several other eateries and locations including some rest areas along the highway offer FREE wi-fi service, no charge.  NOTE: Panera Bread firewalls and won't let you access sites they deem "Naughty" this includes gambling sites.

Cell-Phone, Vorizion and Sprint/Nextel offer high speed in many markets and at least 9600 in other markets.  All other cell providers offer service as well however speeds generally run from 9600 to around 128,000  Where as the two mentioned by name can bust a million bits per second (DSL or better speeds) in SOME MARKETS

Satellite  Ron of Ron's Internet Solutions, is a member of this forum.. He is an installer of the HUGHES (Formerly DirecWay) internet system that I am using right now to send you this post.  Near DSL speeds all locations

 

[Karl]

With a rooftop mounted tv dish of the manual type, there's a crank inside the coach to crank it up from its' stowed position to the proper elevation, and a large knob to rotate it to point to the satellite azimuth. Even though it's manual, it seldom takes more than 2-3 minutes to start receiving the tv signal (unless you don't know South from North ;D) The 'marriage saver' is used when you use a tripod or ground mount some distance from the tv set and can't see the screen or hear the signal level - a varying frequency tone that tells you when you're on target. Of course there are automatic models that will find the satellite for you - much more expensive.

Internet setups are similar in many ways. There are totally automatic units like the Motosat; push a button and it does all the work, manual rooftop mounts where you climb up on the roof and do your setup with the aid of a 'bird-dog' or OPI signal finder (again, you manually adjust elevation, azimuth, and skew), and tripod mounts that you can place in a clearing between trees within cabling limits. These too require manual setup, including the surveyors tripod to hold the antenna, and a bird-dog or OPI to locate the satellite and fine tune it. Tuning is more critical with an Internet setup than a t.v. dish, but can be accomplished in about 10-15 minutes after you've done it a few times. 

 

[Clay L]

Verizon and several other carriers offer internet access in two ways, tethered to a cell phone (USB cable connected to laptop) or with an aircard. Both will offer National Access that is the equivalent of 56 kbps dial up just about anyplace you can get a cellphone signal and in many urban areas Broadband Access is available.

Verizon says the download speeds are:
"National Access, 60 to 80 kbps with bursts up to 144 kbps.
Broadband Access, 400 to 700 kbps with bursts up to 2000 kbps."

Clay

 

[John From Detroit]

Verizon and several other carriers offer internet access in two ways, tethered to a cell phone (USB cable connected to laptop) or with an aircard.

Actually, all Cell Phone Providers who offer internet access (Far as I know that's all of them) offer these options, however that's not two methods,  An air card IS a cell phone, it uses the computer's battery and CPU but it IS a cell phone, many have a headphone jack for voice calls or can use the computer's mic/speaker for voice calls.

Air card phones have been around since my Analog cell phone days (late 90's)