Please School Me on the Latest Satellite TV Systems

[Brandenardoin]

Jim,
First you have to decide if you want Dish or DirecTV. Dish seems friendlier as far a getting local channels each time you relocate to a different location. Dish has a pay as you go plan that allows month-to-month payments vs. a long term contract agreement. With Dish you get high definition resolution channels using a dome (not so with DirecTV).

The you can decide on the type of satellite dish you want to use. Most portable unit locate the correct satellites automatically although you can get a tripod and antenna that you can point manually; but fewer and fewer people are using these due to aiming challenges (azimuth, elevation, tilt, etc.).

I suggest you explore programming packages offered by DirecTV and Dish and decide which you want. Assuming you don't have satellite service at home I personally recommend Dish as I find them more "RV Friendly".

Next I recommend you contact Winegard, tell them what you want to do and ask them to guide you to the best portable antenna to use.

A few more notes
> you can get a Winegard Traveler antenna mounted on you roof permanently which (IMO) is the ultimate solution (assuming you don't park under trees);
> all portable antennas only allow you to 'see' one satellite at a time; this results in viewing and recording simultaneously only if both channels are on the same satellite;
> my personal preference if you want a DVR is to buy a dual tuner receiver (even tho you can only watch and record from the same satellite simultaneously)
> Dish has some good folks (in the technical department who can provide advice on receivers) (they have some not so good folks too);
> If you use 2 receivers (his and hers?) and use a dome you can still both only watch shows from the same satellite;
> a Traveler Antenna allows watching/recording multiple shows on different satellites simultaneously.

I install and maintain RV AV systems and like Dish (as if you couldn't tell) and use a dual tuner DVR (222K). I had a Traveler antenna on my previous RV but will purchase a Windgard G3 this winter for travel this coming summer as I want to be able to position it if under tress and (the last time I checked) is the only one compatible with my DVR.

I hope this helps.

If memory serves GD did not recommend a roof install dish. They said it would void the warranty. Also seemed pointless to me to get a dish that wouldn’t receive HD. to my knowledge for directv you need a slimline dish for hd. Maybe things have changed, worth calling GD first.


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[vonzoog]

Can you tell us more about the RF Mogul and WHY you choose to pay more then the Winegard Trav’ler cost?

Thanks, KEN

The thing that caught my attention the most was the ability to service and update the RF Mogul compared to the Winegard. If you do some research you will find that the biggest complains against the Winegard Trav'ler is that customer service is very lacking. The biggest negative is that if you need service of any sort, Winegard wants you to remove the whole unit from the roof of your RV (leaving an exposed roof) and send it back to them so that they can analyze it at your cost. The RF Mogul was design to be field service on location. All parts can be replaced easily with the unit still mounted to your RV. Most important is the circuit board that runs everything is in the control unit located inside the RV and can be serviced and/or replace without removing the whole unit from the RV roof. Not so with the Winegard. The circuit board is located in the unit on the roof. And because the RF Mogul circuit board is located in the control box (inside the RV) updates and switching providers (Dish or DirecTV) can be done using a USB connection for changing and upgrading software if needed.

Other things that I liked:

Much lighter unit. Almost 20 pounds lighter than the Winegard's 53 pounds. Remember, I did my own install.

RF Mogul is made of stainless steel, aluminum, and ABS plastics. Winegard is a stamped steel.

Smaller footprint. Was able to mount unit between my front air conditioners. Front A/C acts like a bumper for low lying tree branches.

Adjustable mounting "legs". Was able to mount at 16 inch spacing into the roof trust. Did not need the $100 mounting plate of the Winegard. (Remember that when you do your cost).

The ability to switch provider easily in the future is easy if so desire. To switch between Dish, DirecTV, and/or Shaw (Canada) you do a software update with a USB thumb drive (free) and also swap out the LNB (30 to 50 dollars).

During my install I had a minor issue. I call RF Mogul direct and actually got one of the founders and designers on the phone (they actually answered the phone) with in minutes he diagnosed the problem and I made the correction in less that 5 minutes. Now that is customer service and instills confidence in the future if I need service. Again, remember these are not cheap units.

Another nice thing to me is that my unit acquires the signal between 4 minutes to 4 minutes and 15 seconds. Once it did it in 3:45. A cool feature the control box actually tells how long it takes to acquire the the satellites each time you turn it on. Everything I have read about the Winegard is more like 8 to 10 minutes in acquiring the satellites.

As far as cost goes, the RF Mogul runs about $200 more that the Winegard Trav'ler. Around 10 percent. I negotiated the price down and when you include the mounting plate (if you need it) for the Winegard, I only paid roughly $50 more for the RF Mogul.

Now I have no stock in RF Mogul. I have just found a product that I am really impressed with. It has work perfectly for me all season. You asked and the above items are what I have found. If you are going to go with the expense of a roof top system, I feel it was more than worth the cost.

Hope this helps,

[vonzoog]

If memory serves GD did not recommend a roof install dish. They said it would void the warranty.


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This strikes me very odd. True, if you drill holes through the rubber roof material, I am sure they will not want to cover any warranty of the roof material. However, GD not recommending a roof install is what I think is odd. One of GD's bragging point is that they have a roof assessable hole (yes a hole under a plate that is screwed on) on the Momentums and Solitudes for the express purpose of being able to route your cables for solar panels and satellite dishes on your roof. If you are mounting a solar system and/or a satellite dish on your roof you surely are going to be drilling a lot of holes in the roof. I don't know how else you can do this.

[orbiker]

The thing that caught my attention the most was the ability to service and update the RF Mogul compared to the Winegard. If you do some research you will find that the biggest complains against the Winegard Trav'ler is that customer service is very lacking. The biggest negative is that if you need service of any sort, Winegard wants you to remove the whole unit from the roof of your RV (leaving an exposed roof) and send it back to them so that they can analyze it at your cost. The RF Mogul was design to be field service on location. All parts can be replaced easily with the unit still mounted to your RV. Most important is the circuit board that runs everything is in the control unit located inside the RV and can be serviced and/or replace without removing the whole unit from the RV roof. Not so with the Winegard. The circuit board is located in the unit on the roof. And because the RF Mogul circuit board is located in the control box (inside the RV) updates and switching providers (Dish or DirecTV) can be done using a USB connection for changing and upgrading software if needed.

Other things that I liked:

Much lighter unit. Almost 20 pounds lighter than the Winegard's 53 pounds. Remember, I did my own install.

RF Mogul is made of stainless steel, aluminum, and ABS plastics. Winegard is a stamped steel.

Smaller footprint. Was able to mount unit between my front air conditioners. Front A/C acts like a bumper for low lying tree branches.

Adjustable mounting "legs". Was able to mount at 16 inch spacing into the roof trust. Did not need the $100 mounting plate of the Winegard. (Remember that when you do your cost).

The ability to switch provider easily in the future is easy if so desire. To switch between Dish, DirecTV, and/or Shaw (Canada) you do a software update with a USB thumb drive (free) and also swap out he LNB (30 to 50 dollars).

During my install I had a minor issue. I call RF Mogul direct and actually got one of the founders and designers on the phone (they actually answered the phone) with in minutes he diagnosed the problem and I made the correction in less that 5 minutes. Now that is customer service and instills confidence in the future if I need service. Again, remember these are not cheap units.

Another nice thing to me is the my unit acquires the signal between 4 minutes to 4 minutes and 15 seconds. Once it did it in 3:45. A cool feature the control box actually tells how long it takes to acquire the the satellites each time you turn it on. Everything I have read about the Winegard is more like 8 to 10 minutes in acquiring the satellites.

As far as cost goes, the RF Mogul runs about $200 more that the Winegard Trav'ler. Around 10 percent. I negotiated the price down and when you include the mounting plate (if you need it) for the Winegard, I only paid roughly $50 more for the RF Mogul.

Now I have no stock in RF Mogul. I have just found a product that I am really impressed with. It has work perfectly for me all season. You asked and the above items are what I have found. If you are going to go with the expense of a roof top system, I feel it was more than worth the cost.

Hope this helps,

Thank you very much for the detailed analysis. I would rather by quality and the RF Mogal sounds like it is high quality. We will be trading up to a 376 in the future and then getting the Mogal.

[howson]

I've searched through and read a few threads, but they're all at least one year or more old.

I've worked in communications all of my adult life, know and understand how it all works, just don't know what the latest technology is as it pertains to satellite TV with RVs. I read about "Tailgater" and "Wally" and "Winegard" and some other things, but in terms of which is "better/faster/cooler", who are the players in the business (is it just DirectTV vs. Dish Network?), what are the "must have" features vs. "nice to have", etc.

Is the technology smart enough to auto-track the satellites, or do I still have to get out a compass and do az/el calculations and point? Thanks.

Jim--I moved your thread to the Electronics section so others with a similar question can find this information.

[HOWITTRO]

I am from Canada and have Shaw Direct Satellite. If there are any Canadians reading this can you tell me if you are using Shaw successfully as Shaw says it will not function properly in the USA, however there are some Shaw systems in our park in Florida that we go to each winter. Thank you

[Wandering5thwheelers]

Did you ever receive a reply? We have Shaw and can use all over the States, however, you do lose “some” channels once you get down around Nevada/California border (whatever that latitude is)...works great for us!

[Chuck.N]

A paraphrased cross post from the Momentum General Forum:

We currently have a Dish Tailgater on our Class C, along with 2 ViPZ11 receivers. Everything works fine.

We're replacing the Class C with a M399TH. The dish isn't coming with us, but the receivers are. We're upgrading to the Winegard Pathway X2 dish.

The M399th comes with 4 TVs. I absolutely do not want to be moving receivers around, so I'm thinking of adding 2 new Wallys. So, each TV has it's own receiver. No more than 2 TVs will be in use at any time.

Knowing that the dish gets its power from a receiver, I'm thinking I can use DC blocking pass through connectors on 2-3 of the 4 receivers, so only 1 is used to power the dish.

This whole plan begs a couple of questions:

Do the external Sat & Cable connections route everywhere in the M399th coach, thus allowing both Satellite signals to appear at every location?

I have heard the GD connects 2 of the TVs to a single circuit, and the other 2 to a separate circuit. Is this true?

Does anyone have an M399th TV wiring diagram they can share?

Thanks in advance!