Satellite Receivers and services

[quilesad]

Hello fellow travelers,
I recently purchased a 2015 Itasca Sunstar 35F, it's a great coach so far for me I haven't had the opportunity to take a long trip to date but planning is in progress.  My question is the coach has a sat dish already installed (Winegard G2 Plus) and Power Inserter.  I have no idea what goes where with regards to the setup, for example once I decide on a service provider where do the receivers go? Secondly I have a TV in the living room, bedroom and on the outside as well where are these receivers going to be located?  I'm completed confused as to the setup I've called Direct tv and they were not able to provide me any information because it's an "RV" not a residential hookup.  Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

 

[donn]

It all depends on what the dish is setup for.  With a power inserter Im guessing it may be Directv as Direct uses a power inserter.  No matter, your sat receiver will go after the power inserter and before the TV.  Usually the main receiver sits inmthe LR with the main TV.  Direct calls what you want the Genie.  Dish version is Hopper.  Both offer wireless minis or slaves for the other TVs you may want to connect.  The slaves get everything from the main box so you can watch different channels at the same time on the different TVs.  Each system unless your familiar with sat setups you will want to hire an independent contractor to do the work for you.  Direct will refuse to setup an RV.  Are you full time or weekender?  Do you have sat at home?  When we were traveling we simply took equipment from home that way we were not paying more for part time use.

 

[NY_Dutch]

The G2+ uses a power inserter regardless of the carrier it's used with. None of the dome style automatic aiming dishes can be used for HD service from DirecTV, and none work with the Dish Hopper series receivers. For Dish, where the G2+ does receive HD, the choices are the Wally or VIP 211 series receivers. The Wally and VIP's can be upgraded to DVR's by adding an external USB hard drive and paying a small one-time fee.

 

[JudyJB]

If you have more than one TV, a big question is "Are you going to watch two different channels at one time?"  For example, I live and travel alone, so I either watch the TV in my living room or the TV in the bedroom.  I never watch two TVs at once.  So, I only need one receiver with both TVs hooked up to that one receiver.

If there are two people, and one wants to watch a channel in the front and the other person wants to watch a different channel in the rear, or wherever the second TV is, you need two receivers.  Each one will go near the TV they work with.

The second question is do you plan to watch TV while driving?  Or actually, does someone else in the rig want to watch TV while you are driving?  If so, you need a slightly more expensive satellite and receiver.  Since you already have a satellite, you need to find out if it will work while you are  driving, and if it will work with either DISH or Direct or with both.  If your satellite is already set up for one provider, you may need to either buy a new satellite or have someone adjust it if you want to use the other provider.

Also, you will find more RV dealers sell and service DISH than Direct TV.  Also, if you call DISH and tell them you have a mobile setup, they are more likely to help you solve problems. 

I just replaced my satellite and receiver last summer and the cost for the DISH Playmaker satellite was $250 plus installation.  (Mine is permanently affixed to my roof, but you can just carry around most of the newer satellites and use them at home or on the road.)  The receiver was $99.  That is a LOT cheaper than the setup I bought in 2013, which cost a total of $900 plus installation.  I get HD TV and my setup is automatically aimed.

Note that I bought only one receiver (a Wally) and a satellite that worked only when my rig was stationary.  In fact, my motorhome has a power cutoff that prevents driving and watching TV anyway.  Bad enough that people use cell phones while driving, let alone watching or even listening to TV while driving!!!!

 

[quilesad]

Thank you everyone for the great information, I'm a single traveler so probably won't be watching TV in different rooms  , and I don't think I'll watching the tube while driving heck I get annoyed when my phone rings while I'm driving or when I get text messages.  I don't currently have a satellite service provider at home but I did have Direct Tv that's why I reached out to them initially.  With all the information I've received I think I may contact Dish and see what they have to offer as well.  The price for the Direct Tv was NOT what I had expected either over $85.00 a month, ridiculous it's almost just better to not bother with the service all together and use the local channels instead.  I've considered using my phone as a hot spot but that seems a bit pricey as well, the research continues thank you everyone again I appreciate the information.  Safe travels to all

 

[NY_Dutch]

You might want to check this site for Dish "Outdoor" service that you can start and stop at will with no contract. With a Dish "Outdoor" account you'll also have the ability to change the local stations to your current location with a few taps on a phone app instead of with a phone call or chat session.

 

[jymbee]

With a Dish "Outdoor" account you'll also have the ability to change the local stations to your current location with a few taps on a phone app instead of with a phone call or chat session.

You may recall that I had reported previously that updating local stations from the Dish app NEVER worked for me. Uh... only recently discovered that I didn't go to that last screen in the app where you had to enter your secure ID! Since figuring that out, does seem to work pretty reliably.  Sheesh...  :

 

[NY_Dutch]

You may recall that I had reported previously that updating local stations from the Dish app NEVER worked for me. Uh... only recently discovered that I didn't go to that last screen in the app where you had to enter your secure ID! Since figuring that out, does seem to work pretty reliably.  Sheesh...  :

Great! I'm glad to see you finally got it sorted out...

 

[ArdraF]

In addition to the hardware, the programming that's available may make a difference as to whether you order DirecTV or Dish.  We happen to like DirecTV because it suits our needs.  People who watch a lot of sports, for example, may prefer one over the other.  If you have specific channels you like be sure they're included in the programming for whichever system you choose.  Also, make sure you get the correct dish for the system you choose because the dish probably is system-specific.  In other words, choose the system that has the programming you want and then make sure the hardware is compatible with that system.  The hardware is a lot more sophisticated than it used to be which means it may be easier to set up but, on the other hand, it has more complex features that can be important.  We have DirecTV using a roof mounted RF Mogul Eagle dish and it's phenomenal.  When you arrive at a campsite you turn the system on and, while you're getting set up it's finding the satellite which usually takes about two minutes or less.  No more use of the compass to make sure the dish is facing in the right direction!

By the way, your comment about not using the TV in two different rooms because you're alone might not be accurate.  We like a specific channel in the morning and put it on both TVs so we can watch it while dressing, getting breakfast and eating.  If it's not set up properly you may have a sound lag from front to rear which can be annoying.

ArdraF

 

[jymbee]

We have DirecTV using a roof mounted RF Mogul Eagle dish and it's phenomenal.  When you arrive at a campsite you turn the system on and, while you're getting set up it's finding the satellite which usually takes about two minutes or less.  No more use of the compass to make sure the dish is facing in the right direction!

Do you have many issues with your fixed system where satellite view is obstructed by trees? I went with a portable Dish system and often need to place the receiver some distance away from the coach in order to clear trees that would otherwise block the signal. In some sites, well over 100 feet even.

But obviously what you have seems to work fine for you and the simple plug-n-play to get set up is a nice convenience. 

 

[NY_Dutch]

Do you have many issues with your fixed system where satellite view is obstructed by trees? I went with a portable Dish system and often need to place the receiver some distance away from the coach in order to clear trees that would otherwise block the signal. In some sites, well over 100 feet even.

But obviously what you have seems to work fine for you and the simple plug-n-play to get set up is a nice convenience. 

I don't recall which part of the country Ardra favors, but we stay pretty much east of the Mississippi. We have a roof mounted manually aimed dish and also carry a tripod mounted manually aimed dish that we can set where needed on our site. In our first full year of satellite service, out of 34 campsites, only 7 were suitable for using the roof dish. In 12 years of fulltiming though, we've never landed on a site where we could not get service with the portable tripod dish. And we've never selected sites for the satellite view. It's not even on our list of things we look for when selecting new sites.

 

[Old_Crow]

When I bought my 20 year old coach it had an old Winegard dome type antenna installed, but no receiver.  I did a bit of research and found that there were switches under the dome that I could use to change the dome to work with the Dish receiver that I had with a Tailgater system I had bought for our old coach(Vip311).  I bought a second 311 receiver and I use the Tailgater for the rear TV.  This allowed my wife to watch whatever she wanted on the rear TV.
I have the ability to move the tailgater out from under the trees if I have to, so not once in the 4 years we've full timed have I not been able to get a signal on at least one of the TV's.
I think if the old, mounted dome ever dies(I expect it every time I move, but not so far)I'll get another Tailgater with a roof mount to replace it.
I think it costs $7/month for the 2nd receiver.

 

[ArdraF]

We're primarily in the west but family is east so we go there too.  We both like our TV shows so making sure we're clear of obstructions is a primary criterion when going into a new site.  We have been known to move if we can't see the satellites!  We have a compass app so have a general direction of the satellite location if we've been meandering along the way anddon't know which way is south.  We also have a nifty app called Satellite AR.  Using your cell phone camera, you point toward the general direction of the DirecTV (or other) satellite and it shows you where the satellite is in the sky.  It also shows if there's a tree trunk in the way or if you have a clear view!  You can do it outside or even from inside the RV standing approximately under the antenna.  Obviously we tend to ask for a clear-of-trees site!

In addition to the TV satellites it has others such as the International Space Station.  We heard on TV that the ISS would be going overhead at a certain time, walked outside and pointed toward the direction they mentioned.  Sure enough, right on schedule the ISS went right over our house.  That was fun.

ArdraF

 

[JudyJB]

I use this site when selecting campsites with clear views.  You enter the address or name of the campground and then select your satellite and it shows you the line of sight.  https://www.dishpointer.com/

One advantage of DISH over DirectTV is that you don't have to sign a contract with DISH, and i have found their customer service very good over the years.