Satellite TV??

Does anyone use a sattelliet tv system in their TM? I just recently had Direct tv installed at home, and was wondering how I could go about using one of the receivers for camping? What type of dish would I need to buy and what other equipment would I need to get? Thanks in advance Jim Reilly..

[Bill]

Jim -

Use the Search tool. There was quite a discussion on this topic (far too much to repeat) two or three years back. As I recall, the answers were pretty good, although dealing with the satellite provider was a bit complex.

Bill

You can get a second dish antenna from ebay and then figure out how to install it, either in a portable (ground stake/tripod) mount or onto your TM more or less permanently. You will need to either remove the dish for travel or figure out a way to fold it down.

You will have to learn how to orient the antenna at each site- basically it takes a wrench, a compass, and a bubble level; a signal strength meter is a big help for fine tuning. You will need to disconnect the receiver from your home for each trip or pay the monthly fee for a second receiver.

I don't know about TV, although I suppose it works the same way as my internet satellite.

I couldn't find a place on the TM that I felt comfortable bolting a mast to, which also didn't get in the way of the folding mechanism. So I'm using a tripod mount. I set up the tripod, level it, point it in the right direction, and use what is basically a signal strength meter to find the satellite. It takes me about 20 minutes to set it up, although I enjoy setting up antennas and such (I'm a ham radio operator). I imagine sat TV is basically the same process.

I would highly recommend having a signal strength meter for the dish - probably cost you $100 or less, but will save a lot of yelling, running around, or whatever else.

I route the cables for the satellite into the TM from where the two shells join on the driver's side of the TM - it's leak free because water won't travel up the cables against gravity, and it can be done in a way that doesn't look too bad at a campsite.

Your other option is some of the (expensive) automatic antenna systems out there - you would probably want it professionally installed by someone who understands Trail Manors. They are nice, but expect to spend thousands.

Of course why would you want satellite TV while camping (asks the man with satellite internet!)?

my 2007, 3326ks i ordered the sat on the roof, my 2005, 3023 ii went to my nearest dish dealer, purchased the extra box for $100.00, the dish around $50.00,with the sat. being used for camping the cost is only $5.00/ month.purchase the sat. finder for around $25.oo worth the money.

[Joe]

An arguement for mounting the dish on a tripod as opposed to mounting it on the trailer is that you can park your trailer in the shade and move the tripod out to where you can get a clear shot at the satellite. I carry a couple of 25ft lengths of cable to do that.

[Denny_A]

Originally Posted by Joe

An argument for mounting the dish on a tripod as opposed to mounting it on the trailer is that you can park your trailer in the shade and move the tripod out to where you can get a clear shot at the satellite. I carry a couple of 25ft lengths of cable to do that.

In fact I've had to use up to 75' of RG6 cable to position the dish for reception. No problem 50% of the time. In a heavily canopied campground a roof mounted dish would be useless!

Denny_A

we full timed for 2 yrs with our 5th and hauled our direct tv dish everywhere it worked out very will - the only place we couldn't get reception was yellowstone.
was a pain to set up sometimes locking onto the signal is tricky.
we had a tripod and moved it around to the best view of the sky no trees.
don't even think about trying to attach it to the trailer as you do have to move it around to find the signal.
much easier to move a tripod.
jack

After reading thru everyone's advice here, I bought a new tripod, dish, signal meter, and 50' of RG6 cable packaged together off ebay for around $65.

I'll take one of my directv receiver boxes out of the house, to carry with me when camping, so as to not need to purchase anything else. I have played with it so far in my yard and everything works great......and so easy. I have had to move the tripod/dish 40 feet from the camper to get out from underneath the tree canopy, and can imagine what it will be like in a camping area. I can see where a permanently mounted dish could hinder your coverage ability. A portable dish is definitely the answer as far as my situation goes.

I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and advice. It made it easy on me.......and probably the next TrailManor owner with the same question.