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We are getting ready to go full-time in several months - and we are very excited. We are in the process of researching satellite TV and we are interested in learning about the pros and cons of a roof-top mounted dish vs. a dish on a tri-pod.
I would imagine that there are limitations with a roof top dish if the rig is parked in an area with a lot of trees - and a tri-pod set up could provide more flexibility. We are really not interested in having both - but don't know which is best.
What other pros/cons do you see? We will be using Direct TV, our current provider.
We now use a portable sat antenna that automatically locks on to the satellites. I usually place it on the roof of our RV. If there are obstructions I have 150 feet of cable to allow it to be placed in a spot with a clear shot. I have fabricated a mount on the pole for the tripod I used with the older type manual dish antenna.
This portable antenna is easy to deploy and provides flexibility to locate it where there is a clear view of the southern sky.
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"Small House, Big Yard "
"May the FOREST be with you" Alfa See-Ya 5'er and 2007 Kodiak C4500 Monroe
When we first started full timing we had a roof top dish and carried a portable dish with a tripod. At that time we stayed in quite a few RV parks in the eastern half of the country and occasionally had to use the portable dish because of trees blocking the signal. Almost all of the time we could get a suitable site by asking for one with clear skies to the south but a couple of times per year we had to set up the portable. Later on we spent almost all of our time in the west and after not using the portable dish for a couple of years put it in storage.
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Clay (WA5NMR), Lee (wife), Katie, Kelli (cats) Full timed for eleven years in a 2004 Sightseer 35N. Snowbirds for one winter and now settled down in CO.
Having used the roof mounted Trav'ler for now right at 10 years I'd go that way without question. Specifically the SK-SWM-3. We've had almost no issues with "trees" etc. over the years. But we choose our sites with TV in mind when that's important. I've carried a portable all those years and used it like 3 times. Naturally if you choose to park under trees a lot then that is problem.
You will need the Single Wire Multiswitch - SWM-3 for all future DirecTV products / receivers including the Genie. The Genie will only work with SWM and the antenna model I recommended is so equipped with the SWM-3 LNB. The SK-SWM-3 can support up to 8 tuners. Naturally this is an HD system. I don't know of any portable automatic antennas that support HD for DirecTV. Only manual portable ones.
The Trav'ler "just works." Also, one can select the SWM-3 to just locate just the 101 satellite thus making it much easier for the antenna to peak in difficult situations - think trees or even mountains. If the antenna can peak on 101 then almost all the time in the US and much of southern Canada it will receive the other two HD satellites just fine. If this seems a bit too "techie" don't worry about it. Its just the antenna and DirecTV have this flexibility and I've used it form time-to-time. Finding one satellite is easier than finding two or three.
The Trav'ler is expensive. But its one-button simple and just works.
We use a portable tripod mounted dish that has never failed to give us satellite TV on any site . We have never chosen a site for the "satellite view", preferring when there's a choice to select a better view, larger site, more privacy, etc. Since we're using Dish for our satellite programming we do have an aiming advantage over DTV in my opinion. We can chose either of the two Dish three satellite groups, one that favors the eastern US, and the other the western US. Both sets are actually available nearly anywhere in the continental US though. It rarely takes me more than 10-15 minutes to setup and aim the dish. Add another 5 minutes for an online chat session with Dish customer service and we're soon getting the local stations for the area we're located in.
Having used the roof mounted Trav'ler for now right at 10 years I'd go that way without question. Specifically the SK-SWM-3. We've had almost no issues with "trees" etc. over the years. But we choose our sites with TV in mind when that's important. I've carried a portable all those years and used it like 3 times. Naturally if you choose to park under trees a lot then that is problem.
You will need the Single Wire Multiswitch - SWM-3 for all future DirecTV products / receivers including the Genie. The Genie will only work with SWM and the antenna model I recommended is so equipped with the SWM-3 LNB. The SK-SWM-3 can support up to 8 tuners. Naturally this is an HD system. I don't know of any portable automatic antennas that support HD for DirecTV. Only manual portable ones.
The Trav'ler "just works." Also, one can select the SWM-3 to just locate just the 101 satellite thus making it much easier for the antenna to peak in difficult situations - think trees or even mountains. If the antenna can peak on 101 then almost all the time in the US and much of southern Canada it will receive the other two HD satellites just fine. If this seems a bit too "techie" don't worry about it. Its just the antenna and DirecTV have this flexibility and I've used it form time-to-time. Finding one satellite is easier than finding two or three.
The Trav'ler is expensive. But its one-button simple and just works.
Bill
Bill,
I looked up this satellite dish and Amazon has it for $1,526. Does that sound about right? Also - how do we go about getting it installed? We purchased our rig in Tennessee, and we live in suburban Chicago, so going back to our dealer is not an option right now. Is this something most RV dealers can do?
What Bill said. We have the rooftop auto scan Winegard as well and thought way back in 2012 that we might want to eventually get a portable. Hasn't been the case…but then we normally make reservations for the whole travel season before it starts and one of our park and site picking factors is satellite visibility. We've been in…checking my Excel spreadsheet here…167 campgrounds in our 5 travel seasons so far. Take away the 5x we stayed at our winter home, 5 times or so at the same park in both Richmond area and northern VA area and it's probably 145 or 150 different campgrounds. We've had satellite visibility in probably 120 of those and for those that didn't it's usually a case of we're willing to sacrifice satellite visibility for lakeside view or whatever. We've always got backed up stuff recorded on the receiver, the batwing for OTA stuff, and cable connectivity in commercial campgrounds at least is about 25% of the time.
We have never even reconsidered getting a portable. One thing we have been able to do sometimes is switch the dish from multi sat to single sat to get just the 101 bird which for DirectTV at least gives you most of the standard definition channels. SD gets through leaves and such much better than HD signal does…so it's often possible. to get SD off of a single bird when HD off of multiple just won't lock on.
What Bill said. We have the rooftop auto scan Winegard as well and thought way back in 2012 that we might want to eventually get a portable. Hasn't been the case…but then we normally make reservations for the whole travel season before it starts and one of our park and site picking factors is satellite visibility. We've been in…checking my Excel spreadsheet here…167 campgrounds in our 5 travel seasons so far. Take away the 5x we stayed at our winter home, 5 times or so at the same park in both Richmond area and northern VA area and it's probably 145 or 150 different campgrounds. We've had satellite visibility in probably 120 of those and for those that didn't it's usually a case of we're willing to sacrifice satellite visibility for lakeside view or whatever. We've always got backed up stuff recorded on the receiver, the batwing for OTA stuff, and cable connectivity in commercial campgrounds at least is about 25% of the time.
We have never even reconsidered getting a portable. One thing we have been able to do sometimes is switch the dish from multi sat to single sat to get just the 101 bird which for DirectTV at least gives you most of the standard definition channels. SD gets through leaves and such much better than HD signal does…so it's often possible. to get SD off of a single bird when HD off of multiple just won't lock on.
Neil and Connie,
Thank you - this is what we were hoping to confirm. We prefer the ease of the roof-top mount - but have no idea about how well it works. Based on your experience, it seems like you have had success the majority of the time. We tend to stay in state parks and COE campgrounds and once we have a satellite dish, we will be selective about our sites in order to get a satellite connection.
Having used the roof mounted Trav'ler for now right at 10 years I'd go that way without question. Specifically the SK-SWM-3. We've had almost no issues with "trees" etc. over the years. But we choose our sites with TV in mind when that's important. I've carried a portable all those years and used it like 3 times. Naturally if you choose to park under trees a lot then that is problem.
You will need the Single Wire Multiswitch - SWM-3 for all future DirecTV products / receivers including the Genie. The Genie will only work with SWM and the antenna model I recommended is so equipped with the SWM-3 LNB. The SK-SWM-3 can support up to 8 tuners. Naturally this is an HD system. I don't know of any portable automatic antennas that support HD for DirecTV. Only manual portable ones.
The Trav'ler "just works." Also, one can select the SWM-3 to just locate just the 101 satellite thus making it much easier for the antenna to peak in difficult situations - think trees or even mountains. If the antenna can peak on 101 then almost all the time in the US and much of southern Canada it will receive the other two HD satellites just fine. If this seems a bit too "techie" don't worry about it. Its just the antenna and DirecTV have this flexibility and I've used it form time-to-time. Finding one satellite is easier than finding two or three.
The Trav'ler is expensive. But its one-button simple and just works.
Bill
Bill,
I looked up this satellite dish and Amazon has it for $1,526. Does that sound about right? Also - how do we go about getting it installed? We purchased our rig in Tennessee, and we live in suburban Chicago, so going back to our dealer is not an option right now. Is this something most RV dealers can do?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Barb
Barb:
Yea, that price is at the lower end I have seen. However, installation requires someone who knows your rig or rigs in general. The usual problem in a post-factory installation is routing the cable from the roof to a slide. KZ put one in our Escalade after purchase at the service area. But they know how the rig was built. There is nothing technically special about the install. Electrically its simple. Mechanically routing the cable is another thing. If your TV is not in a slide it gets a little easier. But every rig is different. This is true for ANY roof mounted antenna. There are only two small cables. But they have to get there from here so to speak.
I'd look around for installers and, honestly, don't be as concerned about the direct price of the antenna but more on the total cost of the project. I "think" Camping World does this as a package. I am not recommending them. Just saying I think they do it. I know there are installers so an internet search of anyone in your area is important. Try calling Winegard direct. They may have installers they can put you in touch with. A thought.
Once installed I don't think you will be disappointed with the performance of the antenna, especially if you travel and need to set up relatively often. If you are stationary it really doesn't matter all that much. But we've always been in a recreational "vehicle" way of RVing. That is traveling.
We bought a dish tailgater and got the app for our IPhones to locate satellites. Have the flex package and it's working for us. Don't watch a lot of TV but we do enjoy our Discovery, History, Lifetime, USA, Hallmark, and Natgeo.
Be aware that none of the dome style dishes, whether roof mounted or portable, will give you HD reception on DirecTV. The Tailgater and several other automatic domes are Dish only, so know what you're buying if you go that route.
The guy that installed my Traveler (Bill Adams) later went to work for Winegard as a dealer trainer. You might call Winegard and see if they have a trained dealer in your area.
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Clay (WA5NMR), Lee (wife), Katie, Kelli (cats) Full timed for eleven years in a 2004 Sightseer 35N. Snowbirds for one winter and now settled down in CO.
The guy that installed my Traveler (Bill Adams) later went to work for Winegard as a dealer trainer. You might call Winegard and see if they have a trained dealer in your area.
Bill Adams is very knowledgeable and used to often post on this forum but had to sign-off when he went to work full-time for Winegard. Excellent suggestion to try and contact him.
Here's a couple of numbers to try - not saying he is at these but they might lead to some help.
I use a couple of websites to help figure out what direction the dish needs to aim…but generally it's southwest or so from anywhere in the lower 48. A little east of south if you're out on the left coast…San Fran is longitude 122 and the birds you'll be aiming at (with Direct) are over equator at longitudes 101, 110, and 119. For planning purposes I look at the google map of the campground and site I'm considering and see if southwest is open. If there is any question…then www.dishpointer.com and once you put in your location and the bird number it gives you both the bearing and altitude (degrees above the horizon) that the bird will be. For most mid latitudes say between 20 and 55 which covers pretty much the whole lower 48…the elevation of the satellite in degrees above the horizon will be approximately 90 minus the latitude…so even up at the Canadian border it's about 35 degrees or so…which means that it will look over a lot of trees.
I also have an app on my iPhone…DP-ARPro…it's done (I think) by the same folks that rundish pointer.com. You tell it what birds you're interested in, stand in the campsite and aim the phone up at the southwest sky…it shows you the physical locations of the satellites as well as the camera view in their direction so you can do things like move 10 feet forward in the site or get all the way to the rear if there's a pesky branch. Add in the ability to shift to just 101 instead of multi and select the SD channels on the receiver instead of the HD ones…and the ability to chose your site wisely when making a reservation…and we get visibility most of the time.
I use a couple of websites to help figure out what direction the dish needs to aim…but generally it's southwest or so from anywhere in the lower 48. A little east of south if you're out on the left coast…San Fran is longitude 122 and the birds you'll be aiming at (with Direct) are over equator at longitudes 101, 110, and 119. For planning purposes I look at the google map of the campground and site I'm considering and see if southwest is open. If there is any question…then www.dishpointer.com and once you put in your location and the bird number it gives you both the bearing and altitude (degrees above the horizon) that the bird will be. For most mid latitudes say between 20 and 55 which covers pretty much the whole lower 48…the elevation of the satellite in degrees above the horizon will be approximately 90 minus the latitude…so even up at the Canadian border it's about 35 degrees or so…which means that it will look over a lot of trees.
I also have an app on my iPhone…DP-ARPro…it's done (I think) by the same folks that rundish pointer.com. You tell it what birds you're interested in, stand in the campsite and aim the phone up at the southwest sky…it shows you the physical locations of the satellites as well as the camera view in their direction so you can do things like move 10 feet forward in the site or get all the way to the rear if there's a pesky branch. Add in the ability to shift to just 101 instead of multi and select the SD channels on the receiver instead of the HD ones…and the ability to chose your site wisely when making a reservation…and we get visibility most of the time.
What he said x2. The iPhone, or Android app ($20) can be a good go / no go as to exactly where to park the rig in a particular site. But checking the satellite location, for a specific campsite, prior to arriving or reserving, can save a lot of frustration. Follow Neil's suggestions, spend $20 for the app and things get a lot easier.
