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Satellite Choice
When I get the bus back from the rivet/paint process, I have to
change out the Satellite. I have the original Tracvison dome and it
is basically junk, so I’m told by Tracvision and no longer supported.I have Direct at home and always have had the same in the bus and
have installed two domes in the past. My problem is, I don’t want to
have to drill any new holes and run cable. So, I need a dish that
will require only the coax and no separate power or data cables. That
can’t be done with Direct since there are no domes that will give me
HD and the only option is to install one of the new non dome dish
antennas. They require more than just the coax, so I’m out of luck
there. I also don’t care about in-motion, not needed. There are dome
options such as Tracstar with single coax, but I would only get
standard TV.So, that leaves Dish Network. I can buy a new King Dome for about
600 bucks and would have Dish HDTV. Only requires single cable coax,
no data or power. I haven’t talked to Dish, they were a nightmare
years ago, that’s why I have Direct.Anyone doing just a single account with Dish (one or two
receivers) for the bus without home service and if so, how has the
service been? -
17 Replies
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Are you sure that the King dome will use the same mounting holes as the Tracstar dish did? If you have to drill new holes to mount would that make you more ready to switch to a new dish that would be Direct compatible? There is a Winegard HD auto deployable dish that uses SWM that should only need two cables FWIW.
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I’m NOT impressed with Dish. I joined for a pay-as-you-go month to month RV account. We used it for 3 months and then stopped as their advertisement says you can.
Just last week I tried to restart service by paying for the next month. They deactivated my account so I could not log in and pay. I used “chat” with a customer service person likely from India who told me that I had not paid for months. I refered her to their website with the RV program terms. After 30 minutes she agreed I would only have to pay for next month. I asked her to “unlock” my account so I could pay. Don’t want to give out CC over chat. She said she did but when I tried the account was still locked. Tried to get a live person over the weekend. Impossible. I gave up.
I do not understand how these companies survive. I’m considering a 4G MIFI internet cell setup and just forget sat TV.
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Tom, we are perfectly satisfied with Direct TV. Using the King Dome we were able to run two seperate recievers. Even though we use their HD recievers for their other functions, we know we don’t get a true HD signal, but that would entail replacing all the cables with HDMI ones which we deemed not worth it. Some people install the the folding dish that gets all three satellites, but not realizing that to get HD they need HDMI throughout. In addition that set up is only good parked.
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Tom,
If you are pleased with DirecTV, then added a second cable really is no big deal.
BTW, even though the DISH compatible dome receives HD it can only point at one satellite at a time. That means that all receivers, to include the DVR, must all be tuned to a stations that are all on the same satellite.
Which even way you go, I’d recommend the open antenna with 3 LNBs. Opps, even the open antenna for DISH requires 2 cables.
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Tom, would this help any? Depending on the programming you are after, if you have wifi or an Apple device (you have downloaded to) you can install Apple TV to your TV ( it’s about a 4 inch square and 2 inches thick and price generally $990). You can then stream wirelessly to the TV. I’m just getting to know the system but my son has had it awhile and loves it. NetFlicks and HULU are a couple of the program/movie providers but I think there are many. Just a thought. I will provide more input once my coach is back if anyone is interested.
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We changed to dish for reasons to long for here. When we changed we purchased the sling adapter. Now we can access our DVD with an Internet connection. This enables us to watch live TV with IPad, kindle or laptop. Laptop has hdmi out put allowing us to watch live TV on the TV via the laptop. Our old Tracvision dome no longer worked. This works if we have cell data. I think Direct has the same function. No extra charge for another receiver.
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Larry,
If you are using a sling box to access your home TV system, why have satellite at all on the coach? At some point a sling box or Apple TV like product will likely be the best solution. Unfortunately, today you can’t get fast reliable data over 3G or 4G systems in a lot of places outside of the NFL cities and watching a lot of TV will really eat up a data plan.
I too have a satellite system that DirecTV no longer supports, so I have to figure out what to do. Except for premium channels, I’ve had pretty good luck with over the air reception.
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Tom,
When I bought my 94 XL last year it came with a tracstar dish I don’t recall the model number and I’m not home to look . Single Co-ax cable from the roof.
I bought a Dish 411K receiver and installed it. I receive all three satelites – one at a time of course. I get an HD signal in the bedroom but since – as Jon says – “my vintage coach” only has a single co-ax cable to the front of the coach I get a SD signal in the living area and in the curb side bay for outdoor use.
I have dish at home and so I only pay the monthly fee when it is activated, I can activate or deactivate it anytime. Can’t offer any advice on other plans.
The tracstar will also work with direct and will get an HD signal but I think it takes an extra electronic box.
I had to do a software upgrade on the tracstar and had to go thru a set-up procedure but the trackstar dish como is pretty reliable. It is in motion and I do use it for XM going down the road.
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Gil
Our primary TV watching in the coach is over the air signal or RV park cable. We only use the Dish sling some of the time. We also use a BlueRay player to watch some disc. We are not big TV fans. Pat does a lot of reading with her kindle. We were in AZ over two months last winter with only one week without free cable.
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Thanks guys, all good information and great suggestions, decisions, decisions…
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I always had good luck with DirectTv.
In my opinion, the TV screen sizes that we had in our bus were not large enough to warrant any extraordinary efforts to bring an HD signal to them.
If you’re debating the creation of additional penetrations through the bus roof to accomplish a true HD installation, you might want to think about just how badly you really want it.
Hey, I don’t mind drilling into somebody else’s bus, and I’ve got some really nifty hole saws if you need a hand…..
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No thanks on the hole saw Paul and I’m now thinking the HD is not all that important. We can always get HD over the air antenna for local.
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Tom,
I think you’re on the right track……
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Remember the Direct tv number for RV owners is 800-769-4635. No recordings, no punching numbers and you get a real person!!!
I purchased a Winguard in motion sat. from camper World about 5 years ago and have been extremely satisfied! It was considerably cheaper than other brands.
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Great information, thanks for posting.
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