Switching from DirecTV to Dish

[Rafstar]

Hi Everyone.

I currently have a Winegard Trav'ler DirecTV SWM Slimline - SK-SWM3 Multi Satellite TV Antenna installed on my 2018 Jayco Seneca 37FS and want to switch from DirecTV to Dish network.

Is this possible without replacing the satellite antenna and if so, how would I do that?

On another note, for those of you who have switched, are you happy you switched from DirecTV to Dish?

Also, which is better, DirecTV or Dish (or is this like asking which is better Ford or Chevy, it just comes down to personal preference.)

Thanks in advance for your help.

Bob

[Bassdogs]

I have been with Dish since the previous Ice Age and while it seems like a regular ongoing battle to context new fees and other charges, I think it is the best alternative to Sat or Cable tv. I have no experience with converting from Direct equipment but I would strongly advise to go straight to Dish customer retention [or in your case customer conversion] and tell them you are considering switching. I would not go into the details of your ??'s other than to say that the potential cost of changing out equipment is pretty much a show stopper for you. Don't pay attention to the specials they are offering to new customers. That is a good starting point but I promise they will agree to give you a lot of additional consessions if you are sincere with considering a switch. The key to all this is NOT to talk to the standard customer service person. Tell them you want to speak directly to a retention department or at a minimum the Supervisor of the CS department.

I doubt they will pop for replacing your roof top SWM equipment but if it is possible to convert it over to support Dish they may well supply the necessary parts and expertise. As for new receivers and a commitment to no fee increases for at least 2 years.

Good luck. Trust me they want you.

[Rustynuts]

We used to be with Direct and switched to Dish about 4 years ago and couldnt be happier. They recently upgraded our home equipment to the Hopper 3 and new Joey for no charge and gave us a monthly credit of $25 per month for a year for being a loyal customer.

The Seneca with the traveler come set up for Direct and to switch to Dish you obviously will need a Dish receiver and then you just need to go up on the roof and remove the dome cover and change a couple DIP switches on the board....takes about 5 minutes and you are good to go. The instructions are in the Traveler manual.


I have attached a copy of the manual and the settings are on page 3.

[Les7h]

Rusty is right - very easy and the difference is night and day Dish is much better
Les

[blujay40]

I don't have Dish in the RV or in the home, but I have been researching what it would take to convert a Winegard SWM3 Trav'ler to Dish AND be able to use a Hopper 3.

From what I can determine so far, it doesn't appear to be that difficult but it will take a few "pieces and parts" to do it, especially if your looking to use a Hopper 3 setup in your RV like I am.

There also seems to be an issue with leaving a Hopper 3 connected to the dish while the dish is acquiring the sats.

Here are a couple of resources I have been referring to. This one has some info and various wiring diagrams for the conversion and different setups with Dish equipment.

https://rvseniormoments.com/tech-doc...r-conversions/

Then to get the converted Trav'ler to work with a Hopper 3, it appears I would need to do a bit more to make it work with a Hopper 3 setup. The above setup refers to a "hybrid" LNB but I have seen other posts mentioning that the better way is to install a hybrid "switch" and solo node like the video below shows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4ap0RqEsI0

There is probably more out there but I just started digging a day or so ago.