Motorhome setup: motorized dish, positioner, reciever questions by newbe

[lostuzer]

Hello all,
My father-in-law takes cross country trips in his motorhome from June until October of each year. Last year he signed up for DirecTV and got a receiver (model D11) and uses it with a Winegard 18" X 20" with one connector on the LNBF.

As of late I have been doing some research and have questions about FTA receivers, motorized dish systems, hand held satellite finders, and the possible need for a different LNBF. He has two TVs in the motorhome and would like the ability for him and his wife to watch different channels at the same time. I don't believe the DirecTV receiver has DiSEqC capabilities and wondered if a positioner would allow the dish to automatically find the DirecTV Satellite.
I know only what I've had time to research in the last few weeks and barely feel comfortable asking questions, on the other hand my father-in-law's VCR is still blinking 12:00. Hence, it has fallen on my shoulders the duty of acquiring the hardware and assemble in such a fashion as to make it "idiot proof".
I understand that I've asked alot here and don't expect anyone to try to tackle this as a whole. Being pointed in the right direction for past posts and tid bits of wisdom and help from others who would know what would be best for a particular segment of my requests is what I'm hoping for. What hardware to by, do I need a satellite finder, can I just set a dish on the ground and the receiver or positioner will automatically find a satellite, after getting FTA will my father-in-law still see the need to subscribe to DirecTV, etc.
Thanks for any and all help.
Bob
Lostuzer@tampabay.rr.com

 

[Tron]

On the FTA side of things, that dish will not get you much free programming (nothing at all from DirecTV, since their signal is not DVB but proprietary, and all of their programming is encrypted.) You will be able to receive some free audio from Dish Network's satellite at 119w, as well as NASA TV and a few "barker" channels, using a FTA receiver on that dish. You will not be able to use the DirecTV receiver for FTA (again, since it is proprietary).

Since that dish is only 18", it will only work on DBS satellites (DirecTV and Dish Network). It will not work on the Ku satellites which contain most FTA. For these satellites, you would need at least a 30 inch dish and a Ku LNB.

As far as its use for a DirecTV subscription, I am not familiar with how their business works, but I imagine it would function as a single LNB DirecTV dish (not Phase III or AT-9).

 

[SatelliteAV]

We have assisted several clients with motorized FTA systems for motorhomes and would suggest MotoSat, KingDome and Explorer. These companies provide tracking systems with LNBF skew control and can be controlled by DiSEqC commands or preprogrammed for selected satellites.