Direct TV Satellite receiver

[dangerdave]

Sorry if this has been answered already, but I'm interested in the best, no hassle, portable (ground use not roof) Direct TV satellite receiver antenna. I hear Winegard is a top maker. I want to use it at a cabin as well as the RV.

Recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

[dangerdave]

No ideas??!!

And we do have HD channels...I understand it's important to know this when evaluating.

[blujay40]

Originally Posted by dangerdave

Sorry if this has been answered already, but I'm interested in the best, no hassle, portable (ground use not roof) Direct TV satellite receiver antenna. I hear Winegard is a top maker. I want to use it at a cabin as well as the RV.

Recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

Given the parameters you have stated, it is impossible to meet all of them when talking about DirecTV. But let's give you a little more info on each solution so you can pick what works best for you.

In my opinion, the "best" and most "portable" solution as well as the least expensive option is a tripod mounted Slimline dish setup. However, it is not hassle free because you have to spend some time setting it up and aligning it every time you move locations. But outside of the Winegard Travl'er (mentioned next) a Slimline dish on a tripod gives you the most "home like" solution you will have. And depending on your definition of "hassle free", this may be your best option. Most that use this solution can do it in 30 minutes or less once they have done it a few times.

Although you ruled out a roof mounted solution, I am going to mention this anyway. The Winegard Travl'er is probably the best, hassle free solution there is. However, portable is not necessarily in the cards here. Although it is meant to be roof mounted, I have seen a few rig up a appliance dolly, other wheeled device, or even mount it on a picnic table. It is heavy all by itself (about 60 lbs) and is by far the most expensive solution at 1500.00+ but it takes the hassle of aligning the dish away by auto aligning, and once aligned, works just like the Slimline tripod or home, rooftop setup would.

Next would be going to the Winegard G2+ domed dish that is hassle free and portable, less expensive than the Travl'er but more expensive than the tripod Slimline setup, but are not necessarily the best. There is no HD reception with them, can only feed 2 receivers at a time, only point to one sat at a time so channel changes may be slow if the dish needs to switch sats, you may not be able to watch different channels on different TV's at the same time if the two channels are on different sat's, etc. There is also the consideration that DirecTV is planning on phasing our SD broadcasting altogether in 2019 so you may end up with a very large, expensive, paper weight if Winegard doesn't offer some kind of upgrade package to these dishes by then. So without knowing if any of this matters to you, I can't say if the domed dishes are what your looking for.

So as you can see, your going to have to compromise somewhere, but only you can decide which solution is the "best" for your situation.

[dangerdave]

Well getting that answer was like waiting all day for a trophy bass with no bites at all.....then landing a 9 pounder!

Thank you very much. Great info.

[blujay40]

Originally Posted by dangerdave

Well getting that answer was like waiting all day for a trophy bass with no bites at all.....then landing a 9 pounder!

Thank you very much. Great info.

Your very welcome. Glad I could help. If you decide to go with a Slimline tripod setup, a good resource is TV4RV.com. You can piece together a system a little cheaper than what they sell things for (if you know what all of your needs are), but as a "one stop shopping" place, they are probably the best and are great at answering any questions you may have.

But I also want to suggest that if your not adamant about DirecTV, (ie: already have it at home and want to use your existing receivers, NFL Sunday Ticket, etc.), Dish is much more "RV friendly" in many ways. They have pay as you go plans and their domed dishes do HD, programming can be a little cheaper, etc. That is why you will see many more portable Dish setups than you will DirecTV.

Just thought I would toss that out there as well.

Good Luck!

[Rustysocket]

I have a Winegard Travl'er for DirectTV. It doesn't meet your install parameters as it is roof mounted. Im very happy with it however in that I push a button and watch TV and it works with HD signals unlike the portable dome solutions. I used tripods and portable dish's in the past and the setup always took me every bit of 30 minutes time if not more and was a hassle to setup and store. If i were not a weekend camper it would be an acceptable solution some of the time.

If a dome solution is what your looking for I'd look towards DISH rather than DirecTV

[dangerdave]

I have a cabin up north in Arizona that I'm paying $100 for cable and internet at. I was hoping to maybe dump the cable company (Cable One is terrible) and use this dome up there too....to get full use out of the investment.

We have Direct TV already and an extra receiver.

I read that Direct TV is going to get rid of their SD programming all together so people buying these WIngard X2 portables are going to have a problem because it doesn't get DirectTV HD?

So that puts me up in the air a bit. We are not hard core RV'ers so a perm roof mount anything wouldn't get much use.

[blujay40]

Originally Posted by dangerdave

I have a cabin up north in Arizona that I'm paying $100 for cable and internet at. I was hoping to maybe dump the cable company (Cable One is terrible) and use this dome up there too....to get full use out of the investment.

We have Direct TV already and an extra receiver.

I read that Direct TV is going to get rid of their SD programming all together so people buying these WIngard X2 portables are going to have a problem because it doesn't get DirectTV HD?

So that puts me up in the air a bit. We are not hard core RV'ers so a perm roof mount anything wouldn't get much use.

Sounds like a tripod Slimline setup will be your best bang for the buck solution but your going to have to learn how to level and aim it. It really isn't that hard and once you have done it a time or two, it will become second nature.

There is one other option you could consider if you spend most of your time at the cabin vs. in the RV which would be to find an independent contractor in that area that could do a dish install on a pole or roof at the cabin. Then you can just take the receiver back and forth with you and it basically becomes "plug and play". Then for the RV, it's up to you if you get a tripod unit or domed dish for the time being. Even if you got the tripod setup for the RV and the dish install for the cabin, you would probably still come out cheaper overall than a single domed dish would cost you.

One thing I would mention to make it even a little easier would be to try and make sure that whatever dish/LNB setup you have at home, is duplicated for the cabin/tripod setup. That way, you don't have to worry about reconfiguring your receiver setup each time you move it. Your receiver will "usually" auto configure itself if the dish type/LNB are different but I have had a few times where it didn't and unless you know the settings for that particular setup, it may be confusing to say the least. It isn't that big of a problem, but it would be one less hassle to possibly deal with and makes whatever solution your using a little more "plug and play".

You can find out what you currently have at home by going into settings, Satellite, Satellite setup and write that info down (dish type, switch type, etc.), then just cancel out of the screen so you don't change anything. Your receiver may go thru a channel guide update afterwards but don't worry, it won't mess anything up. Then you can provide that information to whomever you end up getting the dish from to make sure you have the same hardware in each instance.

[culleokapapa]

WE went the tripod route .it sets in the shed now. WE have the king quest for direct and it works great.It weighs 8 lbs and you can put it any where you like and finds your satellite signal automatically. cost 350.00 to 450.oo

[Dagwood]

I use the Wineguard Carryout with the Tripod. Works great on campsites and at home (If I choose to hook it up). The only issue is trees <grrr> You need a good line of site to the Bird. I use the Satellite Director App to set it up. Sometimes it's less than 5 min, others, a little more tricky but that's when I have obstructions.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by dangerdave

I I read that Direct TV is going to get rid of their SD programming all together so people buying these WIngard X2 portables are going to have a problem because it doesn't get DirectTV HD?

So that puts me up in the air a bit. We are not hard core RV'ers so a perm roof mount anything wouldn't get much use.

The winegard pathway x2 is a dish only mobile antanee. As far as direct tv is concerned, as the previous poster stated, their mobile units only support SD and it is because of the SWM technology that they use to send their signal. As it stands if direct drops SD, none of the Direct tv mobiles will work.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by culleokapapa

WE went the tripod route .it sets in the shed now. WE have the king quest for direct and it works great.It weighs 8 lbs and you can put it any where you like and finds your satellite signal automatically. cost 350.00 to 450.oo

All true but you can only get SD programming on your quest. Never understand how direct customers put up with not being able to get HD on an expensive moble setup.

[StormPOD]

15 Min. Setup.

I use the Directv SWM SL3S Portable Satellite Dish RV Kit for Camping Tailgating

Directv SWM SL3S Portable Satellite RV Kit for Camping or Tailgating


With this meter.
Max Tracker Plus Satellite Signal Meter LOCKED

[JEFF1963]

Reviewing all the responses to your initial post, I'll say I agree with most of them - with a couple caveats. First, I spoke at length with DirecTV (which I have at home) about your very subject. Though SD will eventually "go away", it is the gear (receiver & portable DirecTV dish) you have dictating what you receive. Yes, you can easily reconfigure your HD receiver to accept SD transmissions DEPENDING on which portable dish you have. Less expensive is the smaller SD dish. I purchased mine new from SATELIZ (706) 868 7828 for $109. It came with everything I needed (too much to list), and both they and DirecTV were extremely helpful in setting up everything. Because I also purchased a 20" LED TV and needed only 1 TV in my rig, I really didn't need HD (even though the aforementioned 20" TV was HD) the difference in that small TV (by today's standards) between HD and SD was negligible. I'm uninformed regarding multiple TV's in an RV, but given the comparatively little use for a TV in my RV as well as the smaller SD DirecTV dish, the savings over HD were significant. The flexibility afforded by a portable dish vis 'a vis a roof mount as well as the inherent savings are obvious. Let us all know what you decide and how you fared.

[blujay40]

Originally Posted by Bassdogs

The winegard pathway x2 is a dish only mobile antanee. As far as direct tv is concerned, as the previous poster stated, their mobile units only support SD and it is because of the SWM technology that they use to send their signal. As it stands if direct drops SD, none of the Direct tv mobiles will work.

I also thought that SWM was the main issue, but I just read something this morning that gave me even more information on this. Although the post I read is about 5 years old, it was posted by a Winegard tech and the reasoning would still apply since the same technology still exists in regards to DirecTV HD.

According to that post, the fact that DirecTV uses Ka band frequencies (sat 99 101 and 103) to broadcast much of it's HD channels is the main issue.

He stated that in order to get an acceptable signal strength for Ka bands, a much larger dish surface than is currently used in the domed dishes would be required, such as the Travl'er and Slimline dishes have. So they felt that such a domed solution would not really be portable enough, easily storable, and would require a much higher price point.

Since Dish still broadcasts everything on the older Ku bands, this is not an issue for them.

I never considered that, but it makes sense.

[Dagwood]

I get HD no problem with my Carryout, mind you I am on Bell ExpressVu here in Canada. I point at 82 Degree for HD, or 91 degree for SD. I just can't get both at the same time. I can't believe you couldn't point to a DishNet Bird @ 110 and not get HD providing you have the HD Rcv. Dish and Bell is essentially the same hardware.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by blujay40

I also thought that SWM was the main issue, but I just read something this morning that gave me even more information on this. Although the post I read is about 5 years old, it was posted by a Winegard tech and the reasoning would still apply since the same technology still exists in regards to DirecTV HD.

According to that post, the fact that DirecTV uses Ka band frequencies (sat 99 101 and 103) to broadcast much of it's HD channels is the main issue.

He stated that in order to get an acceptable signal strength for Ka bands, a much larger dish surface than is currently used in the domed dishes would be required, such as the Travl'er and Slimline dishes have. So they felt that such a domed solution would not really be portable enough, easily storable, and would require a much higher price point.

Since Dish still broadcasts everything on the older Ku bands, this is not an issue for them.

I never considered that, but it makes sense.

Thanks for this correction. Doesn't the Ka band use have something to do with the Swm thing? What I understand is that switching over from Ka would be a major redesign for Direct and they don't want to do it. At the end of the day, regardless of the technical reason, Direct tv customers are limited to SD when using a mobile antanae.

[Rustysocket]

Originally Posted by Bassdogs

Thanks for this correction. Doesn't the Ka band use have something to do with the Swm thing? What I understand is that switching over from Ka would be a major redesign for Direct and they don't want to do it. At the end of the day, regardless of the technical reason, Direct tv customers are limited to SD when using a mobile antanae.

Again, not an entirely accurate statement. The Winegard Traveller can get HD signal on DirecTV.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by blujay40

I also thought that SWM was the main issue, but I just read something this morning that gave me even more information on this. Although the post I read is about 5 years old, it was posted by a Winegard tech and the reasoning would still apply since the same technology still exists in regards to DirecTV HD.

According to that post, the fact that DirecTV uses Ka band frequencies (sat 99 101 and 103) to broadcast much of it's HD channels is the main issue.

He stated that in order to get an acceptable signal strength for Ka bands, a much larger dish surface than is currently used in the domed dishes would be required, such as the Travl'er and Slimline dishes have. So they felt that such a domed solution would not really be portable enough, easily storable, and would require a much higher price point.

Since Dish still broadcasts everything on the older Ku bands, this is not an issue for them.

I never considered that, but it makes sense.

Thanks for this correction. Doesn't the Ka band use have something to do with the Swm thing? What I understand is that switching over from Ka would be a major redesign for Direct and they don't want to do it. At the end of the day, regardless of the technical reason, Direct tv customers are limited to SD when using a mobile antanae.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by Rustysocket

Again, not an entirely accurate statement. The Winegard Traveller can get HD signal on DirecTV.

Well your reference to the traveler is a bit of an apples and oranges comparison. My reference to "mobile" vs portable is where we are not on the same page. The traveler is a roof mounted system that is mobile in that it will work on an RV but not portable. Use of a portable is an important distinction since it allows for use on sun restricted sites by being able to set up the antanae a reasonable distance from the RV. Another point you may have made is that the traveler cost is on the North side of $1000 while most mobiles are half that. For that reason most people don't want to go with a roof mounted unit.