Dish or Direct

sjrellis

Well-known member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #1

What is the deal with these two as far as installing into the trailer? What I've been told is Dish will not have to drill a hole and Direct will. I would rather have Direct. Any advice on drilling a hole...where it should be, sealed with what?

Thanks!!

I'm finally headed to Wisconsin tomorrow!

 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #2

Jim;

I think that you are referring to mounting a dish on the roof. Here is something to think about. Many campsites are in the trees and fixed dish mounts may not be able to "see" the satellite because of location. I use a portable dish and can move it to a location where it can find the satellite. (I also have a tripod mount for satellite Internet) There are very few places that I have been that I was unable to connect. No hole to drill, just connect your cable to the connector in the UDC. You can see my dish at the rear of my GC. I have a very low mount and have sometimes put it on the roof. And to answer your question about Direct or Dish, I use direct and only have to sight in on one satellite. Dish requires sighting in on two, as I understand it.
John

 

snuffy

Well-known member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #3

I have Directtv and also use the portable pvc tripod mount with a 100' cable so I can pretty much move out of the trees most anywhere. It' s pretty easy to set up also.

 

sjrellis

Well-known member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #4

Yes, I am talking about it being portable. We have an extra Directv dish and also have a tripod. So, the connection is in the docking station? I want to get there and have it all figured out! Thanks!!

I got a lot of Bighorn learnin' to do!

 

medic9016

Active Member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #5

Another question. I have dish network at home. Can I buy a portable dish and use my receiver from home, by changing the set-up information?

Thanks
Shannon

 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #6

Shannon;

That's what we did for about six years before we went full time. You can buy a new dish for cheap on e-bay, or go to the local landfill and get one for nothing. I think I paid $0.99 for mine, brand new with LNB. and shipping was around $10.

 

C

caddojay

Tired and Retired member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #7

We have a portable tripod that is very stable( after a small modification to lower it), and lots of cable. As long as you can hear the sound of the positioning signal, you'll be able to position it anywhere in about 5 minutes, or less. Don't drill any holes, and we use Direct TV.

 

sjrellis

Well-known member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #8

I'm not sure about this positioning business! I may be hollerin' next week! If there is a simple tutorial, I probably need it!!!

ps...it has to face the south, right?

 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #9

You should purchase some type of a signal finder. This will help you zero in on your satellite after you get the dish parameters set. To do this, when you arrive at your location, turn on your TV and DirecTv box. With your remote, go to Menu, Set Up, Antenna. It will give you a choice of zip code or Lat/Lon. Enter one or the other. This will give you the settings for your dish in elevation and magnetic heading. Then, set up your dish to these settings and then you will be able to zero it in without too much difficulty. I recommend that you practice with these settings at your home location since your dish is already aligned. After you have done it a few times, it gets pretty easy to do.

Hope this helps,

John

 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #10

Jim;

The signal finder that I am referring to can cost between $5.00 and $425.00. Unless you are going for satellite internet, I wouldn't recommend the Birdog ($425.00) but something like this will do the job: Satellite Signal Finder

John

 

C

caddojay

Tired and Retired member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #11

JP is correct. It's pretty simple and the set-up menu gives you the info to set the dish. It will depend on how your dish is set with a single DNR or a dual DNR and oval or round dish. Don't let it intimidate you. Yes, the dish points toward the South. Get a good clear view, and give it a try.

 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #12

Jay;
I think you mean LNB, Low Noise Blocker instead of DNR. The difference between the single and dual, is that the dual supplies two different receivers (so that two tv's can watch different channels on one dish) and the single LNB supplies one receiver (but one receiver can supply two tv's but they have to watch the same channel).

John

 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator

• Nov 23, 2007

• #13

Sandra, Lin & I use Direct TV with a portable tri pod also. One very important factor in setting up the dish prior to alignment is the post the dish mounts to must be as close to plumb (straight up & down) as possible. We use a small 12" level to do this. This makes your elevation and compass direction more accurate. We use a compass and stand behind the dish to sight a spot on the horizon. With your receiver on the dish alignment screen and a window open near the dish, you can usually hear the tone. I'm betting there's someone in the campground in Rapids who can help with this the first time. Have fun and stay calm.

 

Deepsky3539

Active Member

• Nov 23, 2007

• #14

The new technology Dish Network LNB's (labeled DPP or Dish Pro Plus), can supply more than one receiver. I have to admit that pointing is always a real adventure with the manual dish's.

Using your home reciever in your rig is very easy. You just need to perform a "Check Switch" after you get the dish pointed properly.

I cannot go in to details about the service because of confidentiality agreements but I would be more than willing to answer Dish related questions (I can also answer to some extent about DirecTV) dealing with setup and troubleshooting. I have worked at the Dish Network uplink center for 10 years now.

 

C

caddojay

Tired and Retired member

• Nov 24, 2007

• #15

Yes, LNB...I don't know where DNR came from. I have turkey and dressing poisoning! Maybe it was Do Not Resucitate...

 

B

BigBlue

BigBlue

• Nov 25, 2007

• #16

I have direct TV and have found that I can align the antenna by listening to the sound from the TV a lot faster than by using the signal finder. The signal finder has to be constantly adjusted as you align the antenna. Could use three or maybe four hands to do it all.
I have one of those wireless headsets. You connect the transmitter to one of the aux outlets on your satallite receiver and then you can hear the signal no matter where you have to put your tripod/antenna.
After you do this a few times you'd be surprised how close you can get. I've set the tripod up, put the antenna on and hooked the cables up, walked into the rig to turn on the tv and have the signal already.