Well frankly, this is just not sinking in--my fault not yours. I think I need a face to face conversation so that I can interrupt with questions and get clarifications when I do not understand something. Maybe then I'll start to catch on. But I do appreciate all your efforts to help. TX
I would suggest calling either DirecTv or Dish and asking them about getting local channels or even just network feeds. I remember talking to a DirecTv rep and they were telling me my options for locals vs. network viewing. I would also suggest going to a friend who has a dish and examining his system-- at the very least, the interface for finding what you want to watch (I much preferr DirecTv's over Dish). Other than that, jump in feet first and see what happens. Talking about what to do forever doesn't get much actual stuff done.
QUOTE(Jerry S. @ Apr 3 2009, 08:50 PM) [snapback]15723[/snapback] Hi everybody, I am entering unfamiliar territory here so forgive my ignorance on the topic. I recently switched my home service from cable to DirecTV. I have never had satellite TV before and am considering having one of those "dome antennas" installed on the RV. I am certain that many of you have this situation where you use your home satellite service while on the road. I've asked the DirecTV salesman, the dome salesman at Camping World, and the guys who installed my home equipment how this is done. I got 3 slightly different, not very definitive answers. If you have home DirecTV and use it on the road, can you tell me how you do it. I'd prefer to buy a separate DirecTV receiver at Best Buy and keep it in the RV rather than undo one of my home receivers and hook it up in the RV every time I take a trip. Any advice you can provide concerning buying a separate receiver, setting it up, activating it or the hassle of using one of the home receivers during trips will be appreciated. Thanks, Jerry S. Jerry I understand your confusion. First no matter you get a Directv Receiver it will be leased. It will always belong to Directv. Now as far as taking a receiver from home, this is not a problem, other than having to disconnect it. If you get a dedicated receiver for the RV you will run into activation problems. You will either have to call Directv and have it turned off and on between trips (you will still have a monthly expense doing this.) Directv will set it up as a separate account from your home system. (Note: A receiver has to be connected to power and a sat. dish to receive periodic updates from Directv, if it doesn't receive the updates it will deactivate. You will then have to have the receiver reactivated by Directv.) You are better off getting another receiver and just hooking it up in the house where it is handy to disconnect and then take it to RV when you are ready to leave. (Only extra cost will be the $5 a month receiver fee.) Now as far as getting your local stations when traveling; all locals are spot beamed. Depending upon which "DMA" you happen to be in will determine how large the local spot beam is. Here is a couple of spot beam maps for Directv that are fairly accurate; Now as you can tell from the maps, spot beams vary in size (coverage area, determined by the "DMA" ) ("DMA" is Designated Market Area ) Now you also have the option of forgoing locals and getting "DNS" (distant network service) from Directv at ( http://www.directv.com/learn/pdf/DNS_Vehicles_Aff.pdf ) and then filling it out. You have the choice between "DNS" and Local, but not both. If you select DNS, you will get the network stations (ABC,NBC, CBS,Fox) from New York and Los Angeles any where you get Directv. I have the following files in PDF format for Directv if anyone is need of them. Channel Name Sequence. Channel Number Sequence. Network Number. Network DMA List Network Decoder Plus several other files. I know more information than the average person needs, but if anyone needs it I can forward them. They are current as of March 2009. Now if you have any other questions I will do my best to answer them.
QUOTE(Browzin @ May 2 2009, 01:43 AM) [snapback]16188[/snapback] Now as far as getting your local stations when traveling; all locals are spot beamed. Depending upon which "DMA" you happen to be in will determine how large the local spot beam is. Now you also have the option of forgoing locals and getting "DNS" (distant network service) from Directv at ( http://www.directv.com/learn/pdf/DNS_Vehicles_Aff.pdf ) and then filling it out. You have the choice between "DNS" and Local, but not both. If you select DNS, you will get the network stations (ABC,NBC, CBS,Fox) from New York and Los Angeles any where you get Directv. Browzin, I know your reply was to Jerry, but I'm going to jump in and thank you because what you have explained above is finally beginning to make a little sense. I'm sure others who tried to help probably said the same thing, but I just couldn't get it--my fault, not theirs. Even so I still have a ways to go before I will really have a grasp on this. Every little bit I learn helps. TX
QUOTE(Texasrvers @ May 2 2009, 09:35 AM) [snapback]16193[/snapback] Browzin, I know your reply was to Jerry, but I'm going to jump in and thank you because what you have explained above is finally beginning to make a little sense. I'm sure others who tried to help probably said the same thing, but I just couldn't get it--my fault, not theirs. Even so I still have a ways to go before I will really have a grasp on this. Every little bit I learn helps. TX Glad I was able to provide some help. IF any one has questions, don't hesitate to ask them. If you don't understand the answer, don't hesitate to say that you still don't understand. Everyone explains things in a different manner and along the way someone will explain it in a manner that makes sense and answers your question(s). (Just for what it is worth... I have a lot of instructional pictures that often answer a lot of questions better than words can. So ask your questions and if I have a inst. pic. that will help I will post it.)
Hi again everybody, Thanks again for all the input. I've recently returned from my first trip of the year and here's what happened. The first couple stops I had excellent cable but treed sites so I didn't bother trying the satellite. Our third stop, which was to be for 4 days, had no obstructions so I tried the satellite. All I got was a signal saying no connection. On day 2, I I found a fellow camper who had the same Winegard stationary satellite dome and DirecTV. He came over and checked out my setup and said he thought I had everything hooked up correctly. He thought the dome simply wasn't connecting with the satellite. Per the instructions the dome was supposed to be set for DirecTV. A few days later in Louisiana I set up an appointment with Camping World in Hammond, LA. After a short time at CW they showed me that they had it working. Evidently there a a number of different settings on the receiver, The one I had brought from home was set on 03. My dome required a setting of 02. (Or was it the other way around.) I hadn't noticed anything in the receiver instructions about different settings. The CW folks suggested I call DirecTV and get a third receiver from them for the home TV I took this one from and use it at home so I don't have to worry about changing the setting back and forth. I have't called them yet. The satellite worked perfectly the rest of the trip - no trees, no bad weather. As noted in several posts, I did lose all my local channels - the 4 networks, 2 PBS, and about 10 other non-network local stations I get at home (Chicago has a lot of local channels). I had to rely on cable or antenna for the network programing. It is a bit annoying to have to switch from satellite to get network TV and local (where I am staying) news and weather (more reliable and current than the weather channel). I know there were some discussions in previous posts in this thread about losing local (home) channels, but again I am not certain whether or not there is a solution to this problem. They way I jump from place to place in my travels, I can can't be calling DirecTV every day or two or three to change my address. While I may be in one state for up to a month, I am seldom in one park for as much as a week. Although I will be the DirecTV people when I call them, can anybody shed any additional light on this issue - just remember to word it as if you are writing for somebody who can't follow "Satellite TV for Dummies". Finally, I'm happy with what I've got, but would like to get the most out of it. I just don't have the knowledge to do it on my own. Talk about stating the obvious. Jerry S.
Jerry, Thank you for your report. Let me see if I'm understanding you. When you were on your trip you could not get the Chicago network channels (NBC, CBS, ABC, i.e. local broadcast channels), AND you also could not get the local network channels for the area you were in while you were using the satellite. But you could get them if you switched to antennae or cable from the park. I would not like that set up at all!! First I agree with you that it is better to hear about the weather from a local channel where I'm staying. Second I want to be able to get the main network channels. If these were from my home area I could live with that, but if I am going to pay for TV service I think it should include the major networks from somewhere. I'm glad you are satisfied with your system, but I know I wouldn't be if I have understood your setup. However, your information has been very helpful to me. Now I know that I will be sticking to parks that have cable.
QUOTE(Jerry S. @ Jun 7 2009, 07:08 PM) [snapback]16865[/snapback] "Snippet:" The satellite worked perfectly the rest of the trip - no trees, no bad weather. As noted in several posts, I did lose all my local channels - the 4 networks, 2 PBS, and about 10 other non-network local stations I get at home (Chicago has a lot of local channels). I had to rely on cable or antenna for the network programing. It is a bit annoying to have to switch from satellite to get network TV and local (where I am staying) news and weather (more reliable and current than the weather channel). I know there were some discussions in previous posts in this thread about losing local (home) channels, but again I am not certain whether or not there is a solution to this problem. They way I jump from place to place in my travels, I can can't be calling DirecTV every day or two or three to change my address. While I may be in one state for up to a month, I am seldom in one park for as much as a week. Although I will be the DirecTV people when I call them, can anybody shed any additional light on this issue - just remember to word it as if you are writing for somebody who can't follow "Satellite TV for Dummies". Finally, I'm happy with what I've got, but would like to get the most out of it. I just don't have the knowledge to do it on my own. Talk about stating the obvious. Jerry S. Trying to make this simple to understand and not go into a lot of details: As you have learned, once you leave your home area, you lose your locals. Now you can get the National Channels, CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, CW, PBS, out of Los Angeles & New York. But not the area locals. You will have to use a outside antenna for the local stations where you may be. Now in order to get the National Channels you need to fill out this forum ( http://www.directv.com/learn/pdf/DNS_Vehicles_Aff.pdf ) Plus being you already have a account with Directv you will have to contact them and verify current cost etc. requirements for setting up a "RV account". Be sure and tell Directv this is a RV Mobile Service request. If you don't they will auto tell you that you don't qualify because you can receive your local stations already. They will probably send you out the same form that I just posted the link for. Just print the forum off the web and mail it in. If you happen to have access to a FAX mach. I can give you a fax # to send it to. If you have questions feel free to ask, I will do my best to answer.
I won't get into all of the details that others have already covered but I do want to add my own experience with DirecTV. We live in Florida and have cable service. Our son lives in Maryland and has DirecTV. I called him and asked about getting an "extra" receiver for his house and allow us to use it in our motor home. He called DirecTV and told them that he wanted an extra box for us in Florida to use in our motor home. DirecTV not only agreed to give him another box, for an extra $5.00 per month added to his bill, but they also shipped the new box directly to our house in Florida. For the last two years we have been enjoying DirecTV while traveling. Since he is in the Washington DC area, this is a very big "local area" and we are able to get the abc,cbs, nbc stations as far north as New York state, west to West Virginia, and south into South Carolina. In all other areas we get everything in his DirecTV package and can usually find the local channels with our antenna, or using the RV parks cable. By the way, our standard unchanged Wineguard crank up antenna will pick up the local HD channels if they are being transmitted in the area where we are parked. You do not have to get a "special" HD antenna.
I don't know about Direct TV but when I get out of my home area code(dish says zip code) I lose my local channels and don't get any thing except the non net work channels which is fine with us as we don't watch much met work channels any way. I have a dome stationary which automatically finds the sats. for us use the receiver from the house works fine except in snow storms
Thought I would add here as opposed to starting a new topic. I have one question about moving a receiver from your house to the rv. Does moving the receiver cause any of the receivers at home to quit working?
QUOTE(ks10596 @ May 14 2010, 12:08 PM) [snapback]22105[/snapback] Thought I would add here as opposed to starting a new topic. I have one question about moving a receiver from your house to the rv. Does moving the receiver cause any of the receivers at home to quit working? No, it does not affect the other receivers at all.
QUOTE(ks10596 @ May 14 2010, 12:08 PM) [snapback]22105[/snapback] Thought I would add here as opposed to starting a new topic. I have one question about moving a receiver from your house to the rv. Does moving the receiver cause any of the receivers at home to quit working? Does anyone have experience with the winegard carry out ?
I have the Vue Qube 1000, found it real easy to set up Takes about five minutes, and on a bad day about ten minutes
QUOTE(Browzin @ May 2 2009, 12:43 AM) [snapback]16188[/snapback] Jerry I understand your confusion. First no matter you get a Directv Receiver it will be leased. It will always belong to Directv. Now as far as taking a receiver from home, this is not a problem, other than having to disconnect it. If you get a dedicated receiver for the RV you will run into activation problems. You will either have to call Directv and have it turned off and on between trips (you will still have a monthly expense doing this.) Directv will set it up as a separate account from your home system. (Note: A receiver has to be connected to power and a sat. dish to receive periodic updates from Directv, if it doesn't receive the updates it will deactivate. You will then have to have the receiver reactivated by Directv.) You are better off getting another receiver and just hooking it up in the house where it is handy to disconnect and then take it to RV when you are ready to leave. (Only extra cost will be the $5 a month receiver fee.) Now as far as getting your local stations when traveling; all locals are spot beamed. Depending upon which "DMA" you happen to be in will determine how large the local spot beam is. Here is a couple of spot beam maps for Directv that are fairly accurate; Now as you can tell from the maps, spot beams vary in size (coverage area, determined by the "DMA" ) ("DMA" is Designated Market Area ) Now you also have the option of forgoing locals and getting "DNS" (distant network service) from Directv at ( http://www.directv.com/learn/pdf/DNS_Vehicles_Aff.pdf ) and then filling it out. You have the choice between "DNS" and Local, but not both. If you select DNS, you will get the network stations (ABC,NBC, CBS,Fox) from New York and Los Angeles any where you get Directv. I have the following files in PDF format for Directv if anyone is need of them. Channel Name Sequence. Channel Number Sequence. Network Number. Network DMA List Network Decoder Plus several other files. I know more information than the average person needs, but if anyone needs it I can forward them. They are current as of March 2009. Now if you have any other questions I will do my best to answer them.
