Portability & Set-up

[katmills13]

Hello. I have searched the Internet and haven't been able to find the answer I need, so I'm hoping someone here will be kind enough to offer me some advice. We have tried all day to set up our Dish system on our camper, but we have been unable to get any signal.

We have a Dish Network DuoDVR Vip722 receiver. On our house we have the Dish Turbo HD satellite. We have two old DirectTv satellites, each only have 1 LNB. I connected the dish to Satellite 1 on the back of the receiver and connected to the TV with the HDMI cable. I briefly got a weak signal on 119W (34 232), but was never able to pick it up again. I never hit anything on 110W (40 228). I realize with the satellite dish only having 1 LNB I can only point to either 119W or 110W and not both. I also realize that I will not be getting HD signal. I guess my question is, should I be able to pick up at least one of those with my receiver and an old DirectTV dish or am I going to need to invest in a new dish to take with us when we travel?

Thanks in advance for any advice or assistance!

Kat

 

[dfergie]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys! you would be better off with at least a Dish 500 or one of the many 1000's as it is easier to set up the dual tuners with 1 dish instead of 2 (doubles the problems) the 500 would miss out on many channels but would be easier to set up.

 

[pitstop66]

Kat,
I am a long time camper and a dish technician. The 1st thing you should do is get a Dish 500 (or a 1000.2 is even better). I found mine by a home builder on trash day.
The next thing you need is a stable, level mount. I use a concrete block with the mast secured to it.
Next- the mast must be level east/west- north/south or signal is a no-go. A level mount is essential to receive signal.
Place your dish on mast and set with settings from dishpointer.com. (33 azimuth/121 skew depending on location)
- find signal- about 225 degrees magnetic north. I place a tv outside the camper to see the signal strength.

 

[katmills13]

Thanks

Thanks so much for the advice! I wasn't expecting to receive a response so quickly. I guess I'll start searching ebay for a new dish

Kat

Kat,
I am a long time camper and a dish technician. The 1st thing you should do is get a Dish 500 (or a 1000.2 is even better). I found mine by a home builder on trash day.
The next thing you need is a stable, level mount. I use a concrete block with the mast secured to it.
Next- the mast must be level east/west- north/south or signal is a no-go. A level mount is essential to receive signal.
Place your dish on mast and set with settings from dishpointer.com. (33 azimuth/121 skew depending on location)
- find signal- about 225 degrees magnetic north. I place a tv outside the camper to see the signal strength.

 

[katmills13]

Thank you for the quick response. We will begin the search for a new satellite.

Kat

Welcome to SatelliteGuys! you would be better off with at least a Dish 500 or one of the many 1000's as it is easier to set up the dual tuners with 1 dish instead of 2 (doubles the problems) the 500 would miss out on many channels but would be easier to set up.

 

[mattv]

Agreed! I do a lot of tailgating and I use a 1000.2 with a welded up tripod, adjustable legs to get level and I use a bubble level to make sure things are "square" if you know what i mean. Gotten to where i can pretty much eyeball where to point the dish using the DishPointer app on my droid phone. The app is great!

 

[dfergie]

I have older cab-overs and mount 2x8 or 2x12's on against the camper (jack mounts) then use lag bolts for the mount and level (always have my trusty 18v drill ) just came back mid week from a 5 day hunt where I took both campers and used my Directv setup with a dvr in my camper & receiver in my smaller camper for a Brother... (had to have the World Series ) have camped with both services and as mentioned leveling is critical.

 

[katmills13]

Would that be Dishpointer pro? Is it worth the $20 at the ap store?

 

[dfergie]

I don't think I paid near that a couple weeks ago...