I am confused about what is offered at various campgrounds. what does it really mean when they say they have cable or satellite. Many times when we camp we find that the campground only offers a few channels, even though they say they have satellite or cable. Why don't they offer 57 channels like we get at home? thanks for any assistance you give me on this. alimarie
Although some parks do have very good cable service, we have found that the vast majority offer a minimal number of channels, ranging in 8-15. I am used to having 200 + channels. That is why we purchased an additional receiver, dish and LNB and also have DishNetwork in the rv. It only costs us an additional 5.99 per month. Some poeple just take a receiver from home with them when they travel and we could have done that as we have satellite hooked up to 4 tv's here at home so have 2 receivers but hubby decided it was certainly worth the small cost of not having to mess with that. Actually our dish for the motorhome was given to us by the guy that installed it here at our house. I asked him about hooking it up in the rv and he gave me the dish but said that we would have to get the LNB and receiver elsewhere as they inventory him on those. he suggested eBay and we got them fairly cheaply. We have been in some parks, such as Seligman, AZ where they offered no service and you could not even pick up any local channels.
The whole television subject is not important to us as we have a number of movies that we have on board for our entertainment. But we do like to keep up with the current news and when tv is not available we use the blind tv--radio--. The old standby.
"Satellite" can mean that the campground collects a few channels with a reciever then puts them into the site via cable. Most parks like the one we manage have a contract with the cable company for "a package" of channels (79 here) and we distribute them throughout the park. My wife and I are fulltimers and have a dome with Direct TV but only use it when we are traveling. HTH Allen, Virginia and Pepper the Chihuahua '02 CC Allure and Saturn Vue toad
The TV system in campgrounds runs all over the map. You have cable systems that give you 80 channels or 3 channels. You have Sat TV that have the same thing, a little or a lot of channels. You ask about this item and get more answers that China has rice. I would think this is a cost item to campground. We carry Dir TV and use it if we can see the S-W, if not we look at local channels and if this is not possible we use XM radio or read a good book. Lots of places we go have no local channels but this has never been a problem.
QUOTE(John Blue @ May 26 2006, 03:47 PM) [snapback]4280[/snapback] The TV system in campgrounds runs all over the map. You have cable systems that give you 80 channels or 3 channels. You have Sat TV that have the same thing, a little or a lot of channels. You ask about this item and get more answers that China has rice. I would think this is a cost item to campground. We carry Dir TV and use it if we can see the S-W, if not we look at local channels and if this is not possible we use XM radio or read a good book. Lots of places we go have no local channels but this has never been a problem. Okay John, call me ignorant, but what does S-W mean? Just curious. Typical Woman - I have to know everything that is going on!!!
QUOTE(John Blue @ May 26 2006, 03:47 PM) [snapback]4280[/snapback] The TV system in campgrounds runs all over the map. You have cable systems that give you 80 channels or 3 channels. You have Sat TV that have the same thing, a little or a lot of channels. You ask about this item and get more answers that China has rice. I would think this is a cost item to campground. We carry Dir TV and use it if we can see the S-W, if not we look at local channels and if this is not possible we use XM radio or read a good book. Lots of places we go have no local channels but this has never been a problem. Thank you for answering my question. In other words, if there is a listing in TL directory with SATV or CATV there is no way to know ahead of time if there are going to be very many channels and this is probably the function of the contract the campground must have with the provider. Indeed, we will probably acquire another system to carry with us. Thanks. saturn7
Cheryl Fuller asked: snippet quote"if we can see the S-W".... Satellites are located in the "south/western sky" depending upon the particular service provider so the abbreviation S-W.
Okay, thanks, so here is another stupid question. John said they use the satellite if they can see the S-W - should we be able to see the satellite in the sky - I know that sounds totally blonde, but believe me, I am not - I am a brunette. I just don't understand how all this works and last time out we could not get a satellite signal and I assumed it was because of all the trees. Trust me, I really am not dumb - I have a college education but am somewhat ignorant in technology matters.
OK, here goes. Television Satellites are "geosynchronous", which means that they orbit in the same place at the equator all the time. So all signals come form the "south" plus or minus some easting or westing. Satellite signals are VERY SMALL and very high frequencies that are subject to absorbsion by almost anything. Trees, heavy rain or snow can severly limit signal access. You will need as clear a view of the southern sky as possible to get a good signal. As a rule the larger the antenna you have the better your chances of getting an adequate signal under marginal conditions. Ground based antennas with a large reflector usually do better than smaller domed, roof top antennas but are not as convienient. The key, I guess, is if you have a clear, unobstructed view of the southern sky with some east-west lattitude you should do ok with either antenna type. "If you can see the satellite's location you should be able to get a good signal. Buildings, mountains, and other high ground can kill your signal. As for geography, the farther north you are (IE Maine or Montana) the lower is your look angle to the satellite and the more influence the horizon will have on signal access. Conversely, the farther south you are (Arizona, Florida, Texas) the higher the look angle and subsequently the horizon will have less influence. I hope this helps a little. Regards, OldSoldiers Becki and Tate
Cheryl Fuller Please remember that the only dumb or stupid question is the one that you don't ask. Every one of us has learned from some one else, either by asking questions or watching how something is done. Now for your question "should we be able to see the satellite in the sky". Actually yes you can see different satellites at the appropriate times using high power telescopes, you can visually see light reflection from them just the same as you do from different planets.
