Direct tv...will this work?...info?

dougw

Well-known member
So I was in SAMs club to day and I ordered direct tv. We have 3 hd tv's in thy house and the Jensen in the trailer. (Part time weekend campers) We ordered there "genie" with 3 satellite boxes for the tv's in the hose and one standard receiver for the trailer. None of the 4 boxes cost me out of pocket, and I only have to pay the $6 per 3 of the receivers.

I was told the the standard receiver could used out of the house on the same account.

So unlike dish tv's pay as you go, yes I'm in for the $6 a month for the 2 years. I will need need to get an antenna now.

any thoughts before the contract becomes official and I can cancel or change?

What is a cheap easy to carry dish? The only thing I know is the receiver for the trailer is its a standard def basic receiver.

Thanks
doug
 

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
We also have Directv, account billing address is the home. The house has 3 receivers, one being a dvr and the camper has 3 receivers, all hd. We do not have the genie system cuz Directv was going to charge us 299.00 to upgrade while new customers get it free. What's wrong with that picture????
The system for both the camper and home is the swm. We had to buy the 2nd swm setup for the camper's dish. We got the 2nd dish which is in the camper from a neighbor who was moving away. A local electronic store was selling dishes for around 75.00 but free is better. The dish stays in the front compartment of the camper when not in use.
 

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
Oh I forgot what swm stands for but it changed the number of leads from the dish to the camper/house. Originally we had the 5 lnbs dish which would have one coax line for every receiver but the swm system only has one line coming into the camper/house with a slitter at a central location for leads to each receiver. If you are planning on having only 1 receiver for the camper, then this wouldn't make a big difference for you in that you would only need one lead to the receiver. If you are only using a standard receiver (not HD), then you would only need dish with 1 lnb which can be found pretty e-z (camping world, satellite dealer, etc).
 

danemayer

Well-known member
SWM is single wire module. The LNB that mounts on the end of the dish arm is either SWM or Multiswitch. The receiver has to match the LNB. Some receivers work with Multiswitch only, some SWM only, some are menu selectable to work with either.

Check the capabilities of your receiver and get a dish to match. Good chance the receiver is not SWM unless it was supposed to work with the Genie setup.



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Vtxkid

Well-known member
The nice thing about the SWM system is that it only requires one wire from the dish to the RV and if you have a DVR, one wire can give the receiver(s) 2 separate feeds for dual recording or recording and watching live TV both when needed. Pretty awesome since we will be running 2 DVR's in our RV.

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Gaffer

Well-known member
The round Direct dish with single LNB can be found very cheap. Craig's list will often have an ad from an installer. They can be found on abandoned houses. I got mine for free from a friend who collects scrap metal.
 

Buckeye

Well-known member
The single LNB is pretty easy to find a signal. Just make sure you secure your tripod in place with bungee straps and stakes once you get it set up. Check your local campgrounds for used Dishes since many campers forget them when they pull out. I paid only $20 for mine.
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
We use the 18" round dish. We get digital TV not HD. I have found this tripod setup is the best of everything I used in the past. TV 4 RV

This may be a bit expensive but it is adjustable for sites that are not level. It is easy to set up and take down. I strongly suggest you use this tipod with your antenna.

DSC_0884 [800x600].JPG


FWIW
BC
 

dougw

Well-known member
Thanks to all that have responded. A few questions come to mind though.


Is one brand of antenna / lnb better then another (winegard, direct tv) and does it matter for a standard def receiver?

How does one know if the antenna matches the receiver or not?

another ?, I've been reading some of the winegard instructions, and they are saying to connect the reciever straight to the antenna to set the reciever up and not to go thru the pass thru plate on the coach. Are you guys doing this or are you having good luck just connecting the antenna to the sat connector outside and leaving the ex inside?

thanks
 
Last edited:

danemayer

Well-known member
Thanks to all that have responded. A few questions come to mind though.

Is one brand of antenna / lnb better then another (winegard, direct tv) and does it matter for a standard def receiver?

How does one know if the antenna matches the receiver or not?

another ?, I've been reading some of the winegard instructions, and they are saying to connect the reciever straight to the antenna to set the reciever up and not to go thru the pass thru plate on the coach. Are you guys doing this or are you having good luck just connecting the antenna to the sat connector outside and leaving the ex inside?

thanks
Doug,

For setup, they advise a direct connection so that setup is successful without depending on good internal coach connections. Once setup, you can change over to the internal connections and if everything still works ok, you're done. If it stops working, you'll have to figure out what's wrong with your wiring connections. It's not unheard of to find mislabeled connections, or poorly crimped connectors.

To determine the type of LNB and receiver, you have to look at their specs. The receiver manual should tell you if it's SWM or not. Also, you should be able to look up the specs for the model online. When buying a dish with LNB, most of the time, if SWM, it will say so.

As to which is best, If it's a manual aiming dish, I doubt it makes any difference. For auto-aiming dishes, you'll probably have to look for reviews and ask questions about a specific device.
 

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
Why not just by a veiw cube or something like that. About 300 bucks. No searching for a signal or anything. A auto dish will take most of the work out of set up.
 
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