Bringing my new HD receiver to a tailgate

[thebes11]

Please excuse my ignorance on all things DirecTV as I try to make sure what I want to do will work...

I got the idea from reading the following thread:

satelliteguys.us/directv-forum/150493-new-ka-ku-dish.html

(sorry I can't make it clickable, but I don't have 15 posts yet)

Friends of mine and I tailgate often, and since I"m the only DTV subscriber, it's my job to bring the TV and programming.

About two years ago, I upgraded to HD, and they put a new dish on my house. It was still round, and had two LNB's. I also bought an extra one and built a mount for it.

Well, two months ago, DTV upgraded my home unit again and put another new dish on the house. The HUGE elliptical one.

I don't want to mount that huge thing on my little stand, plus, it'll barely fit in the car. So I read the above linked thread, understood the "how", but not most of the terminology, and before I make the purchase, I just wanted to be sure:

1. That the old HD dish I have is the one referenced in that thread

All the others concerns assume #1 is true:

2. Using this dish, will I be able to get HD regional sports networks, HD Sunday Ticket and local HD channels (I do get local HD in my house now).

3. There are now two cables running from the dish to the receiver at my house (the receiver now has a DVR - Yay!) Do I need to add another cable to my mobile setup?

Thanks in advance for the help, and hope I'm not being too much of a PITA.

 

[Jimbo]

Guy's,
Is ST still in mpeg 2 this year on the 101 ?

thebes11,
If the answer is YES, then you will get your ST with the dish your talking about. I'm guessing that you also have the Super Fan package.
You should also get you RSN for your area.

As for your locals, that depends on how far away your traveling for the game.
If you in you immediate area, then yes you will get them, if you travel to far away you will move out of your spot beam and no longer be able to get them.
If your using a H20 series rec. you can set up a OTA antenna, rabbit ears will probably do fine for the locals in the area your in.
I'm guessing your using the older 3 lnb set up

jimbo

 

[thebes11]

Guy's,
Is ST still in mpeg 2 this year on the 101 ?

thebes11,
If the answer is YES, then you will get your ST with the dish your talking about. I'm guessing that you also have the Super Fan package.
You should also get you RSN for your area.

As for your locals, that depends on how far away your traveling for the game.
If you in you immediate area, then yes you will get them, if you travel to far away you will move out of your spot beam and no longer be able to get them.
If your using a H20 series rec. you can set up a OTA antenna, rabbit ears will probably do fine for the locals in the area your in.
I'm guessing your using the older 3 lnb set up

jimbo

You are right, it was a 3 lnb setup, here is a picture I took after T.S. Faye (notice the storm ripped off the pretty plastic cover on the front of the lnb).

I can't post photos until 15 posts either (seems nonsensical that I can't link to a picture I uploaded to this site, but whaddya gonna do?) I've attached the photo.

So I should be able to pop in the new LNB (with the modifications from the other thread) and be good to go this Sunday? We tailgate less than 15miles from my house.

One last (I hope) set of questions:

Re-reading the other post, it talked about using meters to aim for the Ka band, is it going to be impossible to aim this without one, and watch my ST HD while in a parking lot? Should I buy a meter? If so which one? (remembering I only do this 8 times a year!)

BTW Jimbo, I'm a displaced Ohioian, H.S. at Midpark (Cleveland) graduated from Miami (the real one) and worked for years in Dayton (ugh...but at least I met my wife there!) Sister and b-in-l graduated from OSU, root for the Buckeyes in everything but Hockey. Thanks for the help!

 

[Matt9876]

The main problem I see with that dish shown in the picture is that all the adjustment hardware appears to be very rusty and this might be an issue.

WD40 or liquid wrench time / Nut and blot replacement if necessary


Using the receivers graphic meters work well, you just need to figure out how to relay the information given , a small portable TV and cable in a bag work best for me / cellphone or walkie talkies can be useful for audio/voice relay.

 

[HDinCincy]

The main problem I see with that dish shown in the picture is that all the adjustment hardware appears to be very rusty and this might be an issue.

WD40 or liquid wrench time / Nut and blot replacement if necessary


Using the receivers graphic meters work well, you just need to figure out how to relay the information given , a small portable TV and cable in a bag work best for me / cellphone or walkie talkies can be useful for audio/voice relay.

Matt: seeing all this talk is making me think maybe I should try taking HD to my tailgate. how much more would a rig (like the one in this thread) weigh than my round dish? Would it fit the same mast I have for my SD dish? (I use a Bullseye mount) Thanks

 

[thebes11]

Matt: seeing all this talk is making me think maybe I should try taking HD to my tailgate. how much more would a rig (like the one in this thread) weigh than my round dish? Would it fit the same mast I have for my SD dish? (I use a Bullseye mount) Thanks

HEY! I get to answer one.

It's VERY easy, not much difference in weight. I simply pulled my old round dish off the mast and put this one on. Everything else was easy. Now I'm going to try and replace the LNB so I can re-acquire all the HD that went away. So glad I don't need to try and find a way to mount that monster of a dish with the huge mast!

Thanks everyone, I'll let you know how I made out...


Matt: The rust is just one of the "hassles" of living close to the ocean. One I happily endure! WD-40 is my third best friend (behind duct tape and zip ties). But the setup in the picture doesn't exist anymore, now it's a slimline3. The other dish, although exactly the same, isn't rusty since it spends most of the time in my attic. As far as the meter, believe me, with 10 people on the ground wathcing the TV, hearing the cheers for an increase and the boos for a decrease is not a problem. Sometimes they even drown out the pitched beep from the t.v...

 

[jtwex]

The picture is now so great it's just like being at the game.