DSS Dish: Crank up or Tripod?

[Bambi_Bandit]

OK,

Just renewed my Direct TV subscription, and even added a new reciver for the house that included a DVR. Cool - that gives me an extra reciever to use in the trailer!

So, if I want to watch Direct TV at camp, all I need now is a dish, and TV right? TV is easy, but the dish throws me off. Should I get a crank up or one mounted on the ground with a tripod? I thought about these from campingworld:
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...18567&tab=desc
However, Need to find out if it will fit on top of my 19' CCD.

Does anyone have opinions or thoughts on this? If I go with a crank up, get the basic one or one with "digital magic"?

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...21928&src=SRQZ

One reason I might lean towrds a ground dish (or on tripod) is that my trailer is "prewired" for sat, so I have a seperate coax input outside. That might be easier than to re-wire my current coax....

[campcollector]

Many trailers use a tripod so they can move it in a location to get a better line of site through trees and such. The roof mounted models on a coach are hard to dial in if you have heavy foliage over head. A long cable and tripod will help in those situations so you can get the dish to a clear overhead spot.

[Condoluminum]

Several threads (maybe listed below or searchable here..) list issues with roof mounted antennas.. A quick summary:
1. More holes in roof to invite water inside...
2. Most Dish antennae are designed for FLAT roof, airstreams aren't
3. Dynamic dishes designed to allow watching when moving.. In trailer you won't..
4. Trees, buildings, obstructions etc can block a lot of low angle reception.. (Note trees in photo avatar from Lake Louise...) only with 50' cable and tripod can you get unit outside and assure clear view of satellite
5. Precise v. general tracking - On roof you can't use precise measures of azimuth and elevation, since trailer won't be level and you can't get up there to measure exactly.. On ground on tripod you can level and set with more precision...
6. Downside is less security, as dishonest neighbor can wander off with tripod and antenna if you're asleep or absent, leaving cable and hole in your wallet...

Life is about making trades....

John McG

[casarodante]

Check out the below thread. I have a link there for a dish mount that sits on the ground. Cheap and sturdy.

http://www.airforums.com/forum...ead.php?t=7426

[Big Dee]

I highly recommend this dish stand. http://www.accu-dish.com/

It makes leveling a breeze and has shorten set up time to a few minutes.

[wahoonc]

My unit has the crank up dish....it will be coming off! Airstream Factory DOES NOT reccomend the installtion of the dish on the unit. I also agree with the issues of having to always camp in the open if you want sattelite. FWIW I was staying at the KOA in Va Beach, which for the most part is heavily wooded, there was a dishfarm out along the roadway leading where people had run their cables and dishes out to be able to acess the sattelite

Aaron

[flyfisher]

Originally Posted by Big Dee

I highly recommend this dish stand. http://www.accu-dish.com/

It makes leveling a breeze and has shorten set up time to a few minutes.

I see they also sell a dish separate from the stand. Is there an advantage to getting their dish vs. another one? That stand is a bit pricey, but it sure looks nice.

Also, how about it's quality and durability?

Thanks, John

[Big Dee]

Originally Posted by flyfisher

I see they also sell a dish separate from the stand. Is there an advantage to getting their dish vs. another one? That stand is a bit pricey, but it sure looks nice.

Also, how about it's quality and durability?

My biggest headache before this Accu-dish stand was leveling the dish. Now it is no problem and saves me much time and frustration. If dish is dead level then finding a signal is quick work. The stand has a compass built in. Easy to anchor. Good quality. I highly recommend it.

Their dish looks exactly like the one I use, a Turk single LNB. There is no advatage to their dish, they just sell it for customer conveinance.

[flyfisher]

Thanks, I guess I'll have to save my allowance for a couple weeks to have the money for one of those!

John