Direct TV info needed

[Devoman]

We just got Direct TV today.One reason for getting it is because since we travel a lot in the winter our little one wants to see Disney all the time.I am wondering who all has this and where did you all get your tripods and extra dish from.I am just now looking around and will be looking on ebay also but maybe you all may know of a great deal on getting a dish and tripod from somewhere.
Also .. what do you think about direct TV.Our only problem is we can not get our local channels here.From what I am told it has something to do with our area but you know how the corporate world goes.

[2airishuman]

hi devoman

hows the sunshine state?

i am ready to make reservations for the can opener!

jack had some informative posts on this satellite tv issue here...

http://www.airforums.com/forum...t-tv-1479.html

of course they are one company now but the info is still useful.

cheers
2air'

[Devoman]

I need all the info I can get.Thanks.Any more info from all you TV users out there.

[thecatsandi]

I have the directivo in my trailer and I like it!.
I mounted my dish on a piece of plywood. That sits on the ground. if it was a SD dish I could have used a tripod. It is a HD dish and would tip over a standard tripod. I like the fact mine sits on the ground. That way it does not tip over.
You can get a folding Winegard dish from Camping World.

[Devoman]

Yea I remember seeing your dish sitting outside when you came down to florida at the rally.I have not got the HD setup so I may be better off just not getting it right now.We dont really watch a lot of TV but it is nice every now and then.My little one really likes disney so I think it is worth the change over to Direct TV.
Thank You.I will check out camping world.

[jspeer]

Originally Posted by Devoman

We just got Direct TV today.One reason for getting it is because since we travel a lot in the winter our little one wants to see Disney all the time.I am wondering who all has this and where did you all get your tripods and extra dish from.I am just now looking around and will be looking on ebay also but maybe you all may know of a great deal on getting a dish and tripod from somewhere.
Also .. what do you think about direct TV.Our only problem is we can not get our local channels here.From what I am told it has something to do with our area but you know how the corporate world goes.

We got dish, tripod and coax from DirecTV themselves. They sell the package for emergency purposes for about $50. Also got a $30 satellite finder and set up is quick and easy.

We can't get local channels on the roas either because the single-LNA dish we have in the Airstream doesn't get that satellite. We can usually get the networks out of the air, however.

[Pecos Pete]

We purchased the portable Winegard unit. If I had it to do all over again, I would buy the tripod and dish directly from Direct TV. It is the cheapest you will find, I think. The local channels are only available in your local area, which varies in size. Kind of inconvenient, but you can usually get network channels out of the air.

[WayWard Wind]

we just subscribed to Directv & they have really changed thier outlook on the mobility of sat tv. No problem if it isn't connected to a land based telephone, etc. This April they are supposed to be coming out with a new product called SatTV on the Go, which is a unit about the size of a small suit case. It contains a receiver, dish and tv screen ( 17" I think) all in one unit. The dish can be removed for a stand a lone unit. Price to be determined????
Best,

[bevman]

I read a great article in the NYT some months ago about the guy that invented the SAT-GO. He took his rolling-suitcase sized prototype unit into the Hughes offices in Marina Del Rey and tried pitching the idea. Took a lot of doing to get them to see the merits. Now they are sending me a slew of emails about its pending release. Sounds like a great concept to me - price to be determined....

[Devoman]

I have been looking around but it seems I will have to just suck it up and spend a bit of money on a dish and tripod.I looked around but it seems they are all the same price.
Anyone know of some great deals to get a stand and dish with some cable.I might not need the cable though.I have to check and see what type of cable I have in the camper.
Thanks All.

[carnegie1935]

Does anyone you know have a direct tv dish that they no longer use. (moved or disconected the service) That is how we got our extra dish. Our nephew moved into a house with an existing direct tv dish and he went with DISH and wanted to get rid of the direct tv dish. You know they advertize not to move your dish just call them when you move . There must be lots of idle dishes in your area. We just disconnect the receiver from the tv in the house and put it in the camper when we go. I have the tripod and it works well most of the time. In 2000 we spent 5 weeks traveling with 3 grandkids and direct tv was a sanity keeper. only had 1 campsite that I couldn't get a signal.

Good Luck

Kay

[SilverRanger]

I use an old aluminum heavy duty video cam tripod that I got at a yard sale for $3. I just removed the head and rigged the dish to fit the shaft. The shaft cranks up and down, the adjustable legs are great when the ground isn't level, and it folds up for storage. It's kept stable by hanging a weight from the bottom of the shaft, but I'm thinking about tethering it to the ground using a screw anchor (like the ones they sell to tie down awnings) and a spring. I got the dish (DirecTV) at a thrift shop for $5 and probably have less than $10 in the whole rig. It works great, and I should probably take a picture the next time I set it up.

[Devoman]

Good idea.I think I will hit a couple of the pawn shops around here to see if they have some used dishes laying around.Maybe I can find something and get lucky.It would be better than spending a $100.00 for something that is going to get abused in the outdoor florida weather.

[Devoman]

Ok...I broke down and went ahead and purchased one from an RV store.It has a stand and a meter so it worth it.
I could not find anything in town that had them for less.A lot of place want more than $100.00 just for a dish alone and nothing else.
Ok.Could all of you that use Direct TV help me out and tell or show me how to set it up in my 2005 Airstream.
Just needing some advise to make it easier on myself when setting this thing up.
When I hook up the reciever do I have to switch the little black button on the wall so the little green light comes on or do I set it where it is off?
Is there a certain way to get a reception that works really easy for you all.Whats the trick?Any advise is greatly appreciated.Thanks All.

[RoadKingMoe]

The cable from our rear compartment cable TV plug runs to a plate in the credenza with two outlets on it. One outlet is from the rear compartment, the other runs up to the plate with the cigarette lighter power outlet, switch, green light, and outlet that connects to the TV. From the factory, there was a short cable jumper between the two outlets. To use a cable box or satellite receiver, you remove the jumper, connect the input of the cable box or satellite receiver to one outlet, and the output of the cable box or satellite receiver to the other. Sorry, but I forget which is which. And it's probably important since the INPUT of a satellite receiver sends a DC voltage to the antenna to power it (and select polarization), and that might damage the existing antenna setup if you got them backwards.

In the rear compartment, you connect either the cable TV or the satellite antenna.

When you want to watch over-the-air TV from the bat wing antenna, you switch the green light on. That indicates power is going to the amplifier in the bat wing antenna. When you want to watch cable or satellite TV, you switch the green light off.

Hope this helps,

[Devoman]

I have been fooling with it but I was wondering what the little gray wire was for.It does say Sat/Cable on it but I have 2 more cable connectors to attach the cable wire to.One is in the cabinet above and the other is near the little jumper cable.I will try that and see what happens tomorrow.Any more help is appreciated.Thanks All.

[RoadKingMoe]

There are 3 cables coming out of the back of the plate with the switch and green light on it. One goes up to the batwing antenna. One goes to the plate with the two outlets and jumper, and a third goes to a second TV outlet, which on our unit is on a plate with cigarette lighter power (but no switch or green light) in the bedroom.

[edit] I guess I should add here that when using a cable box or satellite receiver in place of the jumper, you get the same channel on both the front and bedroom TV outlets.

[AgZep]

In a year of fulltiming, we found the stand from these folks to be fantastic:

Accu-Dish, Satellite Dish Stand, Ladder Mount, Leveling Device for RV Travel

It can be filled with water and comes with eyelets for tent pigs at each corner, so it is incredibly stable even in fierce winds. It has a really nifty adjustment on the top so that you can level it instantly, and includes a little bull's eye level right on the top. There's also a compass in the base so you can get the dish oriented right away. It even includes a set of thimb wheels and wing nuts to replace the fasteners on the dish so that you can break the whole thing down or put it together without any tools at all.

I often had ours running 5 minutes after parking. When you pack up, you just disconnect the cables, pull the pegs, empty the water out of the base, and pack it all up.

Trust me, this is one place where spending a few extra bucks makes your life a lot simpler.

[toastie]

Originally Posted by AgZep

Trust me, this is one place where spending a few extra bucks makes your life a lot simpler.

What was the cost?......thanks

[Silvertwinkie]

I had Direct TV and switched to Dish. Both are about the same in quality vs. value, with Dish being slightly less.