Satellite Question

[davthr]

I would like to add a direct tv satellite to my airstream, I have a extra dish I could use, can I take my second recever from my den with me or do I have to buy a third recever and pay for extra service.

[BobbyW]

I take my second receiver with me when we go to the cabin. I mounted an extra dish that I have to a scrap of 2' circular cut plywood and I set some stones on it to stabilize it. I then ground it with a rod driven into the ground. Someday I will buy one of the tripod mounts but this works for now.

-BobbyW

[Silvertwinkie]

You should be able to use the recv with the card, but you are going to have to make sure the dish you use is compatible with the receiver and the card that is matched to it.

There is a thread going on about which dishes to use on an A/S. From personal exp with fixed dishes, even with remote signal meters, would be a PITA to adjust on the top of an A/S or any camper for that matter. Not that it can't be done, but there are more exp dishes that can auto track the signal.

Regards,

Eric

[Pick]

Do not try and remove "Access Cards" from one IRD and attempt to use in another. Access Cards are "married" to the IRD they ship with.

[LeeC]

We take our second receiver from the house when we hit the road. Our on the road dish is mounted on a light weight plastic tripod that we got from camping world.

On the road we use our Dishnetwork receiver with a Direct TV dish. Been doing it that way for a couple of years. It has always worked fine. The dealer that gave me the dish told me that the dishes would interchange but the receivers will not.

A few months ago we were thinking it would be really cool to watch our local tv stations while we are camping so we subscribed to the local programming package. Turns out, those are "spot beamed" and won't work over 200 miles or so away from home.

Also the reciever that we take camping is never hooked to a phone line, here or elsewhere, so we have never tried subcribing to pay per view events.

I hope this helps,

Lee

[Tinsel Loaf]

I borrowed my neighbors satellite receiver (they want an A/S now) and built a temporary stand for the receiver dish to see how it would work with my A/S. I found it was a pain in several parts of the anatomy to get the signal strength good enough. I had to physically move the A/S with the truck to get a clear shot of the sky. It did finally work and it was a great picture and all. The A/S antenna works well on the locals and is a no hassle procedure, you either get TV, or not without mucking about outside. However considering the costs of satellite auto seeking dishes and the high monthly subscription payments, plus my neighbor told me that sometimes he gets TV 1000 stations and nothings is on worth watching.
I have concluded that a bright light and a good book is easier to set up and just as if not more entertaining. After a marvelous sunset, of course.

[Pick]

Tinsel Loaf, I agree. I am amazed at the number of sat dishes we see at campgrounds, especially with pop up style campers! I like the fact that you can get weather and instant news with the sat dishes, (my only reason for bringing one along) but often times turn the tube off when there is nothing to watch on 300 channels. I would rather roam the campground looking for a nice group around a campfire to join.

It is possible to watch PPV movies and events without a phone line, IF you are normally connected to a phone line. When you return home, and reconnect, the IRD will "phone home" and upload the movies watched to DirecTV.

[davthr]

Good morning and many thanks for all the helpful replies. I hooked everything up last night and
it all worked just fine, it took me about five minutes to find a good signal. For now I just
mounted the dish on a piece of plywood to set on the ground outside of the trailer, if this
becomes too much of a pain I will probably buy a better setup from camping world. I also agree
with the above post my reason for getting the trailer was to get away from the house & TV and
to get some fresh air and see different sights, but we have three children coming along so no TV
is just not an option. Now at sundown the kids are inside watching their favorite shows while
me and my wife can sit outside and relax or go for a walk by ourselves.

[wayner1239]

Several people have mentioned mounting their sat. dish to a piece of plywood. I am curious as to how that is done. Could anyone give a few details about how to do it - stuff like size and thickness of plywood, whether it is a permanent mount, etc. Thanks.
Wayne

[BobbyW]

5/8" by 2' circle scrap plywood. Used the mount that is used to attach it to your house. I used carriage bolts and wing nuts from the spare parts can to attach it to the plywood base so that I can take it apart easily to toss in the back of the truck. I keep the plywood in the back of the truck to use as a jacking base if I have a flat.

Be sure you ground the dish AT the dish. Static electricity can zap your receiver and TV. Mounting it on the plywood isolates it from the earth. Your home unit is grounded also, isn't it?

I think I have at least 4 dishes and mounts in my attic as I bought DirecTV the day it came out and have upgraded 3 times, 2 new units each time. First set up cost me $1400 USD. Last set up cost me $200. Once due to lighting thru the phone line and once due to the power company slamming a new meter on my house without killing the main. The new Meter was bad according to them ?? They never did explain that one properly.

-BobbyW

[wayner1239]

BobbyW,
Thanks. Could you tell me how you ground your dish. My home unit is grounded by running the cable from the dish on the roof to a grounding plate mounted on the side of my house. From there another cable runs to the receiver. (requires two separate cables) Can the ground be attached to the dish or does the cable have to be grounded? Thanks.
Wayne

[BobbyW]

Grounding again comes from the junk/spare parts pile. I used one of the inline cable gound kits and some aluminum ground wire that came with the first dish and attached it to a 4' copper ground rod from the old TV antennas days. Just pound the rod into the ground with a shop hammer and use a pair of ViseGrips to twist it out when I tear it down.

I don't think they include the aluminum ground wire in the new systems box. My first setup even came with a 2" thick ring binder with more info than you would care to read. I think the RCA/Hughes/Sony techs were really proud of their accomplishment and wanted to tell us all about it.

Sorry I don't have any pictures. Except for the plywood in the truck, it is all down at the storage locker.

-BobbyW