Dish or Direct?

[geotex1]

Or, suffer the wait and go Starlink when roaming is open for all. Unfortunately, receiver components are all made overseas and supply chain problems and chip shortages have not allowed the user expansion schedule follow as planned and a lot more birds have to go up before roaming open to all versus within beam. I can say as a beta, I'm very impressed by everything about it from simple setup no matter where through the excellent connectivity!

That said, or maybe better as the other Rob said, Dish is your only option where you don't have connectivity. Also, it's not as difficult to get setup as one poster mentioned anymore with Dish haven't reoriented what is carried by which satellites. Most everything you want is on 2 bird now instead of 3, which matters because the carryout dishes are small making that hard for them. Now you just need a clear line of sight and let the Pathway work. There are several excellent Dish pointing apps that can help you find the sight line you need.

[Corky2]

I look at it from a performance, usage and cost perspective. My RV needs might be only 15-30 days a year and spread over 6-8 months. Some of the areas I plan on camping at might have very limited cellular coverage. Heck, at my house in rural Tennessee I'm lucking to get 2 bars signal strength. I want a service that I can depend on and as cheap as possible. Since my current service (Hulu) at home is about the same as Dish I can switch and add-on Dish Outdoors service (RV) for $5 per month.

[Bamaman]

You can cut off the Dish service month by month if you happen to not do any RVing in Winter. You only pay for the months you're using the system.

[Layjzay]

King with Directv. 7 a month. Just added a receiver to my home. You can get a winegaurd for 2000 that is automatic and will catch had with directv.

[Corky2]

Do most people buy the portable antenna instead of mounting on the roof?

If you place the antenna other than the roof do you secure it for the night and then set it up again in the morning?

[Second Chance]

Do most people buy the portable antenna instead of mounting on the roof?

If you place the antenna other than the roof do you secure it for the night and then set it up again in the morning?

It depends on the types of places you camp and what part of the country you're in. If you're in the east and around a lot of trees, there will be places that a roof-mounted antenna will not get a clear shot at the satellites due to the trees. In the southwest, that's not nearly as much of a problem. No - I do not put the antenna up every night. I use one or two steel security cables and a padlock to secure the antenna. I also use an antenna tripod designed for the Pathway X2 to keep it up off the ground.

Rob

[geotex1]

It depends on the types of places you camp and what part of the country you're in. If you're in the east and around a lot of trees, there will be places that a roof-mounted antenna will not get a clear shot at the satellites due to the trees. In the southwest, that's not nearly as much of a problem. No - I do not put the antenna up every night. I use one or two steel security cables and a padlock to secure the antenna. I also use an antenna tripod designed for the Pathway X2 to keep it up off the ground.

Rob

I share the same view as @Second Chance. A roof-mount would be utterly useless in 90 percent of our campsites and style of camping. Up until the YouTube-camper popularity rise and influx into the subculture, we NEVER did anything to secure our carryout. Neither did anyone else! However, theft is increasing in leaps and bounds. I recently had a conversation with a Park Ranger, and due to the impacts of COVID-19 they have not had enough resources to man gate houses at the parks and now they have outsiders drive in and "go shopping" while people are out day-tripping. He shared that they has 15 shore power cables stole in a single day! I guess with copper north of $3/#...

[onespeed]

I share the same view as @Second Chance. A roof-mount would be utterly useless in 90 percent of our campsites and style of camping. Up until the YouTube-camper popularity rise and influx into the subculture, we NEVER did anything to secure our carryout. Neither did anyone else! However, theft is increasing in leaps and bounds. I recently had a conversation with a Park Ranger, and due to the impacts of COVID-19 they have not had enough resources to man gate houses at the parks and now they have outsiders drive in and "go shopping" while people are out day-tripping. He shared that they has 15 shore power cables stole in a single day! I guess with copper north of $3/#...

Wow, that certainly opens my eyes about theft. This past June we traveled to Oregon from the Midwest, staying each night in RV parks. Usually set up our dish tripod. Never once locked anything except the camper door if we were gone or at night while sleeping. I can see this happening, though. We're going to have be more careful. I guess we do lock our "Power Watch Dog" surge protector at the box. Use a gun cable lock for that.

[Corky2]

It depends on the types of places you camp and what part of the country you're in. If you're in the east and around a lot of trees, there will be places that a roof-mounted antenna will not get a clear shot at the satellites due to the trees. In the southwest, that's not nearly as much of a problem. No - I do not put the antenna up every night. I use one or two steel security cables and a padlock to secure the antenna. I also use an antenna tripod designed for the Pathway X2 to keep it up off the ground.

Rob

Thanks for the feedback!

With the direction our nation is going I'm sure theft will increase and campgrounds are probably easy pickins. That's why my first inclination is to mount the antenna on the roof. But the more I learn about these antennas the more I realize a portable means better performance overall. I would imagine a good thief would carry tools like bolt/cable cutters though. I probably wouldn't sleep well if I didn't lock-up the high value items that are sitting outside the camper.

[geotex1]

Thanks for the feedback!

With the direction our nation is going I'm sure theft will increase and campgrounds are probably easy pickins. That's why my first inclination is to mount the antenna on the roof. But the more I learn about these antennas the more I realize a portable means better performance overall. I would imagine a good thief would carry tools like bolt/cable cutters though. I probably wouldn't sleep well if I didn't lock-up the high value items that are sitting outside the camper.

Sleep well at night after having a discussion with your insurance agent. Know what your policy includes, and if you aren't covered a personal articles policy is inexpensive.