Portable Satellite Dish?

Smurf · 07-10-2018, 07:28 PM

We have Directv at the house, so I ill be using them for my provider, What portable dish does everyone use? I am not mounting it, just setting it on a tripod. Also do you get the receiver through directv or the retailer you get the satellite dish from?
Thanks for any insight, lot of money, want to make sure I do it right.

Woodworker · 07-11-2018, 03:05 AM

We have the Tailgater pay as a you go. Works good but depending on where your at with tree etc it's hard for the dish to pick up all 3 of the satellites. It seems we watch more races without HD than we do with. When we go to Darlington with no trees every channel is HD. It's always most helpful that when you have it turned on you supply them with the zip code of where your at so you can get the local channels. If you don't need it for the next month you have to let them know or they will bill you. Not very cheap for a one weekend deal, 120+ channel package is $80.
I have am app on my phone that someone at Tailgater told me about that makes locating the 3 satellites very easy.

Grumpy · 07-11-2018, 07:06 AM

Unless you get a dish similar to what's on your house you will only get SD stations with DIRECT no HD. None of the portable units can get the HD satellites for DIRECT.

You'll need to find a good Tripod too:

https://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...RoCtFEQAvD_BwE

shadester · 07-11-2018, 07:26 AM

I've been using the 18" x 20" dish triple lnb for years. Haven t had any problems. SD is fine with us. A guy gave me a tripod and dish with a single lnb he bought from camper world. I just added the triple lnb to it. Ran all my cabling underneath the unit from the input connection to the rear of unit so it s a easy hookup when arriving at the campground. Oh, and I take my 3 receivers from the house and then call direct to change location to get locals.

TWP723 · 07-11-2018, 07:32 AM

Try John From Central Florida. He's selling a setup.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...tml#post662651

nunyadamn · 07-12-2018, 08:26 AM

I have been using my Winegard (don't remember which model - looks like G3). Works great. before that, I bought a normal LNB off craigslist for $25 and mounted it on a post in a bucket of concrete. I used that while I was at a campground for a few months for work. The only problem with self aligning ones is it can be hard to find the satellites. I got so tired of it that I said no more and bought the Winegard.

SloPoke · 07-12-2018, 09:09 AM

We have Direct at home too...

We had to buy a receiver that works with the Winegard (self locating) antenna, the ones we have at home will not work with the Winegard. We bought the receiver thru Winegard (Mellisa Keen was our representative) and paid $99 for the RC-0H24 Direct TV Receiver that we own.

Mellisa also added the box to our existing plan where it is considered an additional receiver on our account for $12/month. (We could have given up one of the additional receivers in the house spare bedrooms - and avoided the 12/month, but didn't)

When it arrived in the mail... I called the Tech Support at Winegard, they walked me through the install and it was up and running in 10 minutes.

We have not had an issue with it for two years now, never need to call to add/remove service as it is always at the ready.

blujay40 · 07-12-2018, 09:14 AM

Bear with me as it may get a little long. I also will point you to what I used for my setup but know that there are many other options out there and probably for less than what I am referring to. It's up to you to choose what works for you.

As Grumpy mentioned, if you want DirecTV HD and want a tripod setup, then your ONLY choice is to purchase a Slimline or other round/oval dish from somewhere or maybe find one that someone might be selling cheap or even giving away on sites like Craigslist, off of a rental house, etc. making sure it has a SWM3 LNB on it. Here is a link to a site I purchased my tripod setup from. They are really helpful in getting you what you need if you feel you want that kind of guidance. There are dozens of others out there as well such as Solid Signal so it's up to you which way you go.

Satellite TV for RV - Tripod - Slimline - Dish - DirectTV - RV television - Recreational Vehicles - RVers - DishTV - Satellite Dish - FTA - Tripod

I already had a dish and just bought the tripod setup which is a very nice one that allows you to adjust the length/height of each leg as well so easily level/plumb things on uneven terrain. You can also buy the exact same tripod (Bosch brand instead) from say Amazon for a little less and just buy the dish mast from the site I linked if you wish also.

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-Aluminu.../dp/B004EIL4R2

Replacement Mast for Heavy-Duty Tripod for RV TV satellite dish

If SD is ok with you, then you can also either use one of the smaller round/oval dishes on a tripod or purchase one of the domed portable carry outs that you see around but just know that depending on what receivers you are going to be using with it, you may or may not need additional equipment. All of the newer DirecTV receivers are "swm only" which means they cannot work alone with the domed carry outs and will need a SWM multi switch kit also installed in your RV for them to work.

As for receivers, the smartest thing to do is if possible, just move a receiver back and forth between your house and your RV. If you add another receiver to dedicate to the RV, you WILL restart your 2 year commitment to DirecTV. If that doesn't matter to you, then it's a mute point but thought it should be mentioned.

Older model receivers can simply use a BBC (B band converter) to work with the domed carry outs. Here are a couple links that show each carryout, compatible receiver models, and which receivers will work with just a BBC and which will require a multiswitch kit.

DIRECTV Compatible Satellite Antennas for RV, Camping, Tailgating

https://kingconnect.com/support/receivers/

In regards to the carry outs, I would recommend the Winegard G3, which is their newest model and is supposed to have a 20 percent larger reflector in it which will have at least some effect on rain fade prevention. Others will work also and many seem to like the King model since it is usually the cheapest.

It may sound a lot more complicated than it really is, but doing the due diligence up front makes things go a lot smoother in the end. Hopefully, this info will get you pointed in the right direction.

SloPoke · 07-12-2018, 09:17 AM

have you checked out the classifieds? there are some previously owned auto dishes out there...

https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/52804394

groundhog72 · 07-12-2018, 03:33 PM

I like the firestick. And with direct tv at home I'm able to access all my channels. I use my phone as a hot spot. Basically as long as I have a cell signal I have tv. This set up works on 3 tv's. Just have to have a stick for each tv.

nunyadamn · 07-12-2018, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by groundhog72

I like the firestick. And with direct tv at home I'm able to access all my channels. I use my phone as a hot spot. Basically as long as I have a cell signal I have tv. This set up works on 3 tv's. Just have to have a stick for each tv.

We do this as well. We were in San Diego for the last two weeks and my kids/wife almost used all of our minutes (26GB when we left for vacation with 15 days left). I used 3GB for the month - they used 29GB for last month. Lesson learned - turn off the kids and wife's internet before we leave on vacation

groundhog72 · 07-12-2018, 05:48 PM

I think my bill only went up 25.00 a month for unlimited data.

jbrnigan · 07-12-2018, 06:36 PM

Moved a Direct TV receiver # H24-100 from house to RV. Use an 18" dish, single LNB on a small tripod. Have a signal meter for finding satellites. Signal is in SD. Use our cell phone as a hot spot, with Verizon unlimited data plan, with a Firestick, for Amazon movies etc. and for internet access on a laptop. Not the highest tech set up, but, simple to set up and use.

Mick · 07-14-2018, 02:34 PM

Instead of buying a tripod you can make a stand out of 2" pvc pipe 4 elbows and 3 tees. Think of a number "8" (on a desk calculator) shape with the vertical pole rising from center "crossbar" of the "8" Glue all joints except center tee so you can fold down flat and move back and forth to get plumb. Less than $10

Find a local independant dtv installer and buy a dish from him (about $60) and move a receiver from house to camper when needed.

The receivers need to be receiving a signal from the satellites on a regular basis or they timeout and loose authorization requiring a call to dtv to reactivate. So can't be left in camper unpowered and not in contact with satellite more than 2-3 days.

Springhook · 08-25-2018, 05:36 PM

Hey Grumpy, I hear DirecTv will discontinue SD service some time in 2019. That will kinda force Directv customers to open face dishes, since many Directv dome dishes are somewhat HD restricted. I was considering a Winegard Roadtrip Mission dome. Now I am reconsidering...

SloPoke · 08-25-2018, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Springhook

Hey Grumpy, I hear DirecTv will discontinue SD service some time in 2019. That will kinda force Directv customers to open face dishes, since many Directv dome dishes are somewhat HD restricted. I was considering a Winegard Roadtrip Mission dome. Now I am reconsidering...

If they are... they have not notified their customers...

We never added the HD to our package, and if they are going to discontinue our service, that will impact a huge part of their business.

blujay40 · 08-25-2018, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Springhook

Hey Grumpy, I hear DirecTv will discontinue SD service some time in 2019. That will kinda force Directv customers to open face dishes, since many Directv dome dishes are somewhat HD restricted. I was considering a Winegard Roadtrip Mission dome. Now I am reconsidering...

That is a somewhat incorrect statement by saying DirecTV is ending all SD transmissions. What they are ending is MPEG2 format transmissions, which is what DirecTV currently transmits their SD service with and all HD is transmitted in MPEG4.

What is happening is that DirecTV is converting everything to MPEG4 but that doesn't prevent DirecTV to continue to offer the same SD channels via MPEG4 but until they actually come out with more details about what the transition will look like and what the end result will be, it's all speculation about what if any effects this might have on the domed carryouts or other older round dishes.

Right now, the ONLY thing DirecTV is doing in regards to this transition is contacting all subscribers that have SD "receivers" like the R12 that can only process MPEG2 transmissions and telling them they need to upgrade. DirecTV is also making stick and brick owners with the smaller round dishes to move up to the slimlines.

But with that said, there is nothing right now to indicate that the current carryout dishes or older and smaller round dishes won't continue to work after the transmission to MPEG4 as long as the receivers being used can process mpeg4 and DirecTV keeps their SD channel packages all on 101 as they are now so you don't need the slimline dishes to get signals from more than one satellite at a time. There is a possible issue with the smaller reflectors in the older carry outs and round 18" dishes due to MPEG4 signals being much more prone to rain fade and heavy cloud cover but until things actually are converted, that is also speculation. But given the fact that Winegard just released a new G3 domed carryout for DirecTV that has a 20 percent larger reflector in it, that tends to make me believe that the older, smaller reflector carryouts may have those types of issues.

At the end of the day, all we can do is wait until the transition gets closer, which I understand to be sometime in April of 2019 to see what DirecTV's guidance will be in regards to these older carryout dishes and whether any upgrades or modifications will be needed. I suspect Winegard, King, and others already have some information on what is going to happen, but right now they are not releasing any info either.

rollingrockTX · 08-25-2018, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by groundhog72

I like the firestick. And with direct tv at home I'm able to access all my channels. I use my phone as a hot spot. Basically as long as I have a cell signal I have tv. This set up works on 3 tv's. Just have to have a stick for each tv.

BOOM BINGO. We had DirecTV in our last 3 rigs, for this new one, we are not going to get the Winegard multi switch and mess with that stuff.

3 Fire sticks and ATT hotspot with DiredtTV....Donezo!

RR

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