Trucker needs help.

[BoyNextDoor]

Hey guys, i see a heck of a lot of trucks having the dish network, or directtv, and was wondering how FTA would work for me. I'm an Over The Road truck driver and would love to watch 3abn while not in an area where i get EVDO signal over my sprint aircard, and can't watch online.

how well would it work in this environment?
how well does the sat system cope with minor vibrations (read engine idling)?
what is the smallest dish that would get me a decent signal on 3abn?

any tips and advice is taken happily. Thx in advance for all your educated advices.

cheers

BND

 

[qwert1515]

You would need at least a 31" dish, larger is better, minor vibrations should not be a problem.

 

[BoyNextDoor]

thx for the quick reply. any particular brand? is one better than another?

 

[Anole]

I don't know of any portable/RV-able/truckable FTA dishes, and if they existed they would likely be expensive.
I'm talking about the little crank-up dishes for RVers, or the flat panels for trailers.
So, we'd be talking a real 30 to 36" dish, which you'd have to either deploy on a stand beside the cab, or bolt onto the cab each night.
You really couldn't easily fold it down for travel, I don't think - probably have to remove it.

Aligning the FTA dishes is a bit more trouble than the little dishes on a DBS satellite.
The birds are lower power, and closer together.
I'm sure you'll get really good with practice, but don't be discouraged the first few times.

Here is one inexpensive deal we found on a 36" dish.
It's just not small.

 

[BoyNextDoor]

cool...

i was thinking of mounting a paint roller extension (home depot) to the back of my truck, and extend it when i'm parked, and retract it to the back of my sleeper when i;m moving. if i get a stable one, it could be good enough. now if the sats are close together, and the truck has some vibration (minimal) could it be trouble to allign the dish to one sat and it always moving? i might rethink this whole think, and go with dish, b/c they have 3abn availible... although i'd love to get this for free (as in only equipment charge)

thx for ur help

 

[Anole]

other ideas

Couple of problems I see:

- whatever you mount the dish on, it must be pretty stable.
So, if it wiggles on its own, that won't do
As to the vibration, . . . without knowing how bad it is, it's hard to say.

- the dish is large. It's gonna catch the wind if it's outside while driving.
The mounting arms which hold the LNB might have to be removed to stow the dish.
The dish just can't be left assembled behind the cab, in any way I can think of, while moving.

- you might get by with a 30" dish, but I still think the problems will be the same as above.

- there are $20/mo or so deals on Dish Network programming, if that was your option.
They even have a deal where you buy a $40 refill card and pay-as-you-go.
I hate to see you spend monthly, and if you decide to go that way, check the programming and cost.

- here's an alternative idea:
Get an FTA receiver.
Get a little 18/20" dish. (with circular LNB)
Aim at Dish 119, and watch NASA, Angel One, and get some music channels.
If you run a dual LNB or move the one LNB over to 110, you can get Soccer on GOL TV.
Iceberg has more info in the FAQ section.
That programming is FTA, so once you own the receiver and little dish, you're ready to rumble.
Maybe not exactly what you asked for, but maybe still attractive? -

edit:
- okay, one last idea:
There are a few FTA satellite channels you really can get on an 18..20" dish.
You just need a linear LNB. Here's an example of such a marriage.
You might add to your televiewing choices by looking up a list of such channels.

I'm off to lunch.

 

[gabshere]

well if your going to be parked . a tripod might be a option you would just have to align it everytime but after a couple of times you would have it down.

 

[BoyNextDoor]

the only issue i see with a tripod mount is that sometimes i have to park in a security risk area, like chicago, for instance, and some other places where i know that the dish wouldn't last 10 minutes...

other than that, the tripod looks appealing.

thx for the input, and keep it coming.

more reserach on the way

 

[gabshere]

well if it was me and you can park with a south view for the dish you could mount it behind the sleeper or a pole mount like a pen mount and like you mention just unsection the dish while moving.

or if south view isn't possible all the time .... with a pole bracket mounted securely you could extend the dish up higher with a longer pole

 

[lumpkin666]

If its only 3ABN you're after, you might just consider a dishnetwork reciever/dish combo. The dish sats are much higher powered than most FTA sats, so a little vibrations shouldn't affect your reception. Check out the following thread, which confirms that a deactivated dishnetwork receiver will pick up 3ABN without a current subscription:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/skyange...deactivated-along-sky-angel-3abn-remains.html

With dish/dtv, you can even get one of those auto-positioning units and watch tv while you drive! (please don't!)

 

[turbosat]

Here's one I found, nice antenna, not much weight either. Couldnt really determine if its for fta or subscription service, but you could prob swap out lnbf if needed:
Winegard RD-9046 - Portable Satellite Dish

 

[BoyNextDoor]

thx for the input lumpkin, that may be the way to go for me...

should i try craigslist for old equipment? or buy new?

how would i go about this?

thx again, you guys are THE MAN!
lol

cheers

BND

 

[skottey]

the only issue i see with a tripod mount is that sometimes i have to park in a security risk area, like chicago, for instance, and some other places where i know that the dish wouldn't last

Find a way to put the tripod on the roof and lock her down with a padlock and chain.

 

[BoyNextDoor]

i could put it on top of the trailer i suppose, but it's 13'6" off the ground, i'd have to get a ladder too, just to put it up there and such...

although the idea is pretty good... that would take care of security...

 

[Wescopc]

thx for the input lumpkin, that may be the way to go for me...

should i try craigslist for old equipment? or buy new?

how would i go about this?

thx again, you guys are THE MAN!
lol

cheers

BND

If you go to "Craig's List" make sure you get a receiver that has the "yellow card" if it has a card (NOT blue), newer receivers have a built in card. And make sure that it doesn't have any pay per views stored on it that haven't been paid for. That with a dish 300 (single LNB) clamped to a mirror or the like should work for you!
Bob

 

[BoyNextDoor]

sweet
i'm thinking of getting the equipment new, and do a trial thing thru dish, and see if they would leave me the equipment...

is the dish 300 big enough to get 3abn?

 

[Wescopc]

sweet
is the dish 300 big enough to get 3abn?

Being as you can receive 3ABN on two satellites (129°W and 61.5°W satellites) it would be big enough wherever you might truck in the USA. You should be able to get dish 300 and receiver very reasonable used.
Bob

 

[Mr Tony]

as lumpkin noted, if all you want is 3ABN, get a previously activated receiver....3ABN is free as long as the box was activated. No subscription needed

 

[gabshere]

I didn't know if that was a long term solution. is 3abn a dn channel or a sa one??
but it does sound like it would be the smallest and easiest to move around.

 

[Mr Tony]

3ABN is now a Dish channel. Dish uplinks it on their transponders and all subs can see it. Use to be a SA channel but they had transponder issues.

As long as the box was subbed and has a new yellow card in it (or built in) you can get SA