Hi guys:

 

Let me try and address your questions:  First, the small 18” dish will not receive HD because “HD” is on other satellites the 18” dish can’t receive.  (Short version answer)  However, from the single satellite that the small dish does receive you get 100% of the channels you have purchased, just not HD.  (This is actually an advantage in areas where things are blocking the dish sight line as you only need to find one “hole” to shoot through. That why I say the Direct TV system is, IMO, more RV friendly under more circumstances.)

 

Having said that, you can purchase a full HD antenna and put it on a tripod.  They are rather large; the same size as the one on the RV roof if you have the Winegard HD roof antenna and the tripod needs to be much larger.  They are a bit more difficult to point because they receive more satellites and the alignment is just harder and you need a bigger hole to shoot through.  Hence the little 18” dish, IMO, is better suited when you have a lot of obstructions and you aren’t going to be at the same location for an extended period of time and can live without HD for a short period of time.

 

The tripod I recommend is taller than Howard’s, I think, but can have it legs spread to allow a lower mount.  I recommend this one because sometimes you need the dish to be higher to clear a sight line obstruction.  Also, IMO, the sort mounts are sometimes actually harder to stabilize and point.  (‘Been there many times trying to help those with some of the short mounts.)  So my recommendations are based on, again, a lot of experience and the best compromise for getting a good signal under many different conditions when the roof antenna is simply blocked.

 

Final point: the 18” dish and the tripod I suggested seem to be the easiest space wise to store vs. the performance and other criteria mentioned above and you don't need more than an $15 compass to point it.  Other more expensive systems might work just fine, but I know this one does work fine and doens't cost a lot of money.

 

Hope this helps a bit with your decision.

 

Bill

-- Edited by Bill and Linda on Saturday 2nd of June 2012 08:43:19 AM

We carry an 18" oval dish that mounts to a cement pad with a normal dish mount. DW is gone right now with the camera but when she returns I will take a picture of the mount setup. We have the roof mounted HD dish but once in awhile we park in trees and it sure is nice to have the portable. True it's not HD, but non-HD is better than nothing, especially when the DW's shows are on.

The 18" oval has 4 outputs so you can run up to 4 televisions. Each TV will require it's own cable from the dish, so if you plan on using more than 1 TV keep this in mind. I've found that some installers have these older dishes and will sell them fairly cheap. Look in the yellow pages for installers in your area and give them a call.

If I had it to do over I would get a tripod. The cement block can be a pain to get level. I managed to mount my setup on a the side of a hill but it took me a long time to get it plumb in all 3 directions. I find it very easy to point using just a compass.