VuQube portable satellite experience?

StevieWonder

Well-known member
Does anybody have any experience with one of these units?

http://www.wallacet.com/vuqube/productDetailsPortable.asp

I thought about a roof mounted dish-in-a-dome but this thing is half the price and has a lot more flexibility. I can take it (and the receiver, of course) to my home or my lake condo as a supplement/replacement for our lousy cable TV provider.

As a side note, anybody ever have an issue with theft or vandalism of a portable satellite setup?
 

SmokeyBare

Well-known member
That cube is pretty costly.... in my view. Easy to set up a tri-pod on the ground and aim the dish. We have dish 500... which has two LNB that need to aim at two different satellites. I can assemble the tri-pod and the dish on top... and usually have it running in about 15 minutes.

If tree's are an issue... run the cable a little farther away from the RV. I have seen dishes quite a distance away from the RV... and no one bothers them. The Dish company's all have a plan to give you a new dish... when you move from house to house. Shows you the value isn't the dish but in the receiver and the card in the receiver.

Simple house tri-pod is what I use. short metal mounting mast and a length of good cable.
 

StevieWonder

Well-known member
I liked it because it's contained and has internal aiming. It's pricier than the tripod but half of the roof mount dome, and it still has flexibility for finding a signal through trees, etc.

But I sure would like to chat about it with somebody who actually has one.
 

BigBlue

BigBlue
Another thing to consider is that the cube has one output. Since my wife and I watch different shows, I wired our Landmark so we use two receivers, one in the bedroom and one in the rear lounge. We use an antenna with two outputs.
 

snuffy

Well-known member
I use this version with the pvc tripod. The legs are adjustable and the arm is hinged and folds to a height of about 15". With a couple of 50' cables, I can usually set the dish in the clear.

IMG_1088.jpg

IMG_1084.jpg
 

BigBlue

BigBlue
I don't know. I've never experimented with it. The antenna is powered by the receiver. When you have an antenna that feeds two receivers vs an antenna that feeds four receivers, I know they have a different switch. So if you connect two receivers to an antenna without the proper switch I don't know what happens.
 

snuffy

Well-known member
But wouldn't it look a lot better in the picture if it had a Landmark on it, not SOB?:D

It would look better sitting in my yard. I'm in the first stages of building it a new home and big enough to acommodate a new 3400RL too.;)
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Lets take a vote and ask Big Blue to post a new picture of his TV with the Landmark on it.

ALL IN FAVOR ...... SAY AYE!!!!
 

NewCyclone

Active Member
Does anybody have any experience with one of these units?

http://www.wallacet.com/vuqube/productDetailsPortable.asp

I thought about a roof mounted dish-in-a-dome but this thing is half the price and has a lot more flexibility. I can take it (and the receiver, of course) to my home or my lake condo as a supplement/replacement for our lousy cable TV provider.

As a side note, anybody ever have an issue with theft or vandalism of a portable satellite setup?

StevieWonder, any luck with the Vuqube? My wife and I just purchased one today and started to set it up but could not get a signal. We called the number on the box and they already left for the day.

I am also worried about someone walking up and taking the vuqube without us knowing.
 
Vue Cube

I have had a Vue Cube since January and love it. It sets up in 5 minutes, is completely self contained, so not affected by weather. If you cannot get the unit to respond to your remote turn off the remote.
Turn it back on and hold the 2 button for about 5 seconds. The unit should recognize the remote and respond to the normal adjustments. Give it a try and let me know.

Jorge
 

bowtorc

Well-known member
When you say not effected by weather my wife thinks that means no rain fade. Is that what you are saying?
 

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
Satellite TV

OK, gonna have to get Satellite TV, at least. Middle of nowhere Wyoming for no telliing how long...and nothing received by antenna! :( Would like some more feedback concerning this little cube thing! :) Or something else!

I would need to get a 'Single Tuner Receiver' according to the website. They recommend either the 301 or 311 from DISH. I would lean more towards DISH, since this little cube works better with DISH than DirecTV. (According to their website, DISH has HDTV thru the cube, DirecTV doesn't.) Would that have to come from DISH when one sets up the service? What does their service cost? I would assume I would definitely set it all up myself, rather than having them do it.

Also, it would seem to me I could set this puppy on the roof of the Cyclone (once parked - it's 17.5" tall, don't want to travel with it there!)and possibly use the cable from the antenna down into the inside, since it is already there. I'm sure I could fashion some sort of gizmo to hold it to the antenna bracket or something - it may prevent any temptation of theft while away or asleep! ;)

I just have never had any type of SAT TV and would like to get something. This thing seems like the simplest one I've seen. I can't go for the $5300 MotoSat TV/Internet at this time, although a good satellite internet would certainly beat my air card when at the Cyclone. One site I looked at had this thing for about $650-700. Seemed fair enough, if it works like 'they' say! :cool: Borntowade 'loves' his - anyone else using this. Or...should I hold off and get something else? I know there's lots of talk about different ones, but I don't know squat about them! Thanks for the feedback! :D
 

Oldlthrneck

Just an Old Jarhead
HT:
I would be leery about going with DishTV. We contacted them about getting satellite and they told us that their system is not designed for RVers and would not support it. We went with Direct TV and are very happy with the system and the customer service. We have had a couple of issues and they sent someone right out to fix it.
Fred
 

SmokeyBare

Well-known member
Well HT,

I've used Dish Network for some time now... our system is labeled "Dish 500" . It has two LNB's (2 eye's to the Satellites). Our package was once called "America top 150".

I just looked on Dish Network's web site... seems the closest package to what we have is now called "America Top 250" Our plan does not give us HDTV programing... but it is digital quality... far better picture quality than we get over the air... except for the HDTV programing that now is offered over the air.

I can't tell you much about the VuQube except what I have learned from those who have it. They say its the best ! Simple to get the Satellite signal... just set it out side the RV and cable it to the tv (Probably has a box inside as well) and let the LiL' Qube do its thing finding the Satellites.

I've seen them setting in the grass.... on picnic tables... on a small folding table... yep... I agree with you it would work well on top the RV. They are light weight... easy to handle... and require no other source to power them up except for the single cable.

I on the other hand... being quite "Thrifty" yeah I know... the other word is Cheap... plucked the dish off the side of the house when I started full timing... stuck the receiver in the cabinet of our Bighorn... and connected the cables... My Receiver is very old... could be near 8 years old.. maybe more. It's worked fine for us... NOTE: the reciever I use is able to work with a UHF remote control. I have the Reciever located behind the TV... out of a line of sight of a standard type (Infra-Red) remote control. The UHF type remote can send the signal through walls... in case you only want only one receiver but want to send the signal through a cable to another TV location. Dish Network charges a fee for each receiver... But with two receivers.. two TV's can watch two different programs at the same time...

What I do to set up... align the portable Dish I have....

I use a typical House tri-pod mount... I put a short mast in the Tri-Pod mount and attach the Dish to the mast... attached the cable from the Docking Station and to the cable coming from the LNB's... I then use the on screen menu from the receiver... type in the Zip Code where I am parked... to get the three Numbers so I can align the Dish to the Satellite. Azimuth Angle... Elevation Angle.. Skew.... I then set the dish to those adjustments... attach a Signal finder between the LNB's and the Cable from the RV... this signal finder will aid you in getting the highest signal possible... Then I begin moving the dish back and forth... up and down a little until I get a good signal...

The Mast the dish is attached to... should be Plumb... This helps in finding the satellite better... the Signal finder is a cheap analogue meter... it's not very bright... it'll show a strong signal... but it doesn't tell you if it's the RIGHT Satellite... the TV meter that you watch from the Receiver is far smarter... it clearly tells you if you've found the correct satellite.

Complicated sounding isn't it.... actually it's not... once you've done it a few dozen times.

...........................OR.....................

You attach the VuQube... to a cable... and let the LiL' Rascal do it's thing... have a beer and watch your favorite home shopping program.... or Food Network... or Speed channel.... or ..... or......

Now ain't ya sorry ya ask.... ;)

Marv
 
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