Receiving 118.7 while RVing

[reylau]

I am trying to receive Dish Network satellite 118.7 (international channels) in my RV. Here are the options (in order of decrasing preference) I can think of, but does anyone know of manufacturers/dealers able to provide/install one of those options?

1) Have an system on the RV roof which can automatically lock onto this satellite. Preferably in a dome. I have already checked with Winegard, KingDome and TracVision, they don't support this satellite.
2) Use a crank-up on the roof.
3) Use a tripod.

Of course a 500+ or 1000+ will do the job, but are there any versions which could be installed in a dome or as a crank-up?

Thank for your help!

 

[garys]

118 is an FSS satellite. Without that type of lnb, you will not get it.

 

[nelson61]

I am trying to receive Dish Network satellite 118.7 (international channels) in my RV. Here are the options (in order of decrasing preference) I can think of, but does anyone know of manufacturers/dealers able to provide/install one of those options?

1) Have an system on the RV roof which can automatically lock onto this satellite. Preferably in a dome. I have already checked with Winegard, KingDome and TracVision, they don't support this satellite.
2) Use a crank-up on the roof.
3) Use a tripod.

Of course a 500+ or 1000+ will do the job, but are there any versions which could be installed in a dome or as a crank-up?

Thank for your help!

You might be able to retrofit the Winegard with a new lnb to do the job. Dish 118.7 uses a special circular 11.7-12.2 lnb and Dishpro lnbs have a special mount that will not fit the Winegard lnb mount. You need to look at changing the lnb out to something like this ( illustrative purposes only) 118°W (Anik F3 / 118.7° / 118.8°) and 119° satellite . Compare the base of the lnb to that on the Winegard - that's the part that has to match. You would also need to run two cables from the new lnb to a new two port legacy multiswitch so your receiver could switch from right to left polarity when changing channels.

I suggest you go back to Winegard and ask them if that fix would work.

 

[oljim]

The winegard dish is way too small for 118, and Winegard dish/system would not look for 118

 

[harshness]

If you need 118W, you need a conventional Dish500+ or Dish1000+. Mounts to support conventional dishes are actually becoming quite popular as DIRECTV HD customers are otherwise cut off from using satellite without them.

The other option would be to use an alternative to 118W if available.

 

[reylau]

Guys, thank you for your inputs.

As Nelson61, Garys and Oljim pointed out, I need a specific FSS lnb to pick-up that dish. Though, this is only one part of the issue as far as I understand it.

If I want to have an automatic tracking system (I would already be pleased with stationary), I guess that I need to achieve two things, first to get the satellite signal, so I need the right size dish and the right LNB. Second, I need to have the satellite tracking system locking onto that satellite. This is where I believe I will have a problem if I change the LNB of a Winegard dish (or any other manufacturer), as Nelson61 suggests, since 118.7 is not part of the supported satellites, so it will not be traked. Or can I reprogram the system to track that satellite?

Harshness, you suggest using mounts to support conventional dishes. This might be a good option for me, since it does not seem anyone designs a programmable traking system; I could mount a standard 500+/1000+ dish on that RV mount. Do you have references? Are those crank-up, or mounted on the ladder?

Harshness suggests to go away from 118W. Well, I would be pleased, but some of the channels I am interested in are unfortunately only available on that satellite :-(

 

[oljim]

None of the RV tracking systems work with DishPro LNBs and the 118/119 is DP Find a old Superdish, Put the 118/119 LNB on it and you are good to go. But you will need a good tripod.

 

[reylau]

None of the RV tracking systems work with DishPro LNBs and the 118/119 is DP Find a old Superdish, Put the 118/119 LNB on it and you are good to go. But you will need a good tripod.

This is the last option I was guessing I should use. I am still interested though, to find out if there are some specific mounts for RVs, which will make it a bit more friendly, such as a crank-up base with dials inside the RVs, so that the set-up is less difficult (you do not need to get out and in to check the TV set and then modify the antenna angles etc.). I believe the hassle pointing to this satellite being a bit more than average, since this it is FSS.

Of course I can try to mount a Dish500+ on a standard crank-up but firstly is that mechanically compatible, secondly is the folding down going to work, since the 500+ horn is not mobile... If there would be a kit, this would be better...

 

[nelson61]

Anik 3 has a fairly decent signal in most of Conus with a small band along the southwest border of the country being a bit weaker. Something like a 20 inch diameter antenna should bring in a decent signal in most of the country.

 

[harshness]

Harshness, you suggest using mounts to support conventional dishes. This might be a good option for me, since it does not seem anyone designs a programmable traking system; I could mount a standard 500+/1000+ dish on that RV mount. Do you have references?

This one claims to be fully automatic: SK-1000 TRAVELER RV Dish Network TRIPLE LNB SATELLITE TV ANTENNA

I think I saw similar units from KVH, but it is not on their website.

 

[oljim]

This one claims to be fully automatic: SK-1000 TRAVELER RV Dish Network TRIPLE LNB SATELLITE TV ANTENNA

I think I saw similar units from KVH, but it is not on their website.

This may be automatic but does not have a LNB for 118 and does not look for 118

 

[harshness]

This may be automatic but does not have a LNB for 118 and does not look for 118

The idea is that you could attach a Dish 500+ or Dish 1000+ to the unit it would work similarly. Unlike the older single feed horn dome units, these multi-satellite systems don't need to communicate with the receiver to choose the correct satellite slot and in the case of a dual-tuner receiver, you can tune to satellites in different slots simultaneously.

These devices open up the RV owner to getting back their service that has otherwise moved other frequencies like FSS, BSS and Ka.

 

[nelson61]

This one claims to be fully automatic: SK-1000 TRAVELER RV Dish Network TRIPLE LNB SATELLITE TV ANTENNA

I think I saw similar units from KVH, but it is not on their website.

Take this one and custom fit a Dishpro 118.7/119 lnb on it and you are in business. Does not need to "find" 118 since it only needs to lock on 119 and 118 will be there also.

 

[Agonizing Fury]

What you guys are all missing is that 118.7 is an FSS band satellite not a DBS Band satellite and that means it is LOW POWER. That is why the Superdish and 500+/1000+ dishes are so huge. They are about as small as you can get and still receive a reliable signal from an FSS satellite. Yes it requires a special LNB, and yes no domes will track it (nor will they ever since you would need to put a nearly 1 Meter dish in a dome to get it to work). So the smallest dish you will ever want to use for 118.7 is either an old superdish, or a 500+/1000+ dish. Here's some more info about the difference between FSS and DBS satellites

Fixed Satellite Service- FSS, 11.7 - 12.2 GHz

Part of the Ku-band spectrum used for Fixed Satellite Service. Virtually every dish in the 1 meter to 1.7 meter size is used for FSS band reception. FSS satellites can be spaced 2 degrees apart, which limits their maximum power output to avoid adjacent satellite interference. Today the FSS band is used by Hughesnet ,and Starband for satellite internet. Free-To-Air (FTA) satellite systems also use the FSS band. The FSS band is also used for transmitting television shows, back haul feeds for remote news broadcast and many more companies for various data/video transmissions.

Direct Broadcast Satellite - DBS 12.2 - 12.7 GHz

The Broadcast Satellite sub-band of the Ku-band is commonly called the DBS band. The D in DBS is sometimes called Digital, and others will say it means Direct. Some consider this band to be called the BSS band for Business Satellite Service. That is not correct. BSS is a term used to describe a type of service and not the actually band of frequencies used to deliver that service. We will call this the DBS Band because we like DBS, no other reason.
The DBS band is reserved for high powered satellites intended for the delivery of digital television. DIRECTV and DISH Network are DBS Satellite system providers. DBS Satellites are spaced 9 degrees apart. The wide spacing of DBS satellites allow for very high powered transmissions which results in the ability to use a small 18" dish.

As far as getting your internationals in a convenient fashion here's a thought. I'm guessing since you want to take your TV along that you don't really care about "getting away from it all" since the TV kinda ruins that idea. How about only going to parks with internet access and getting a sling box for the house (or a 922 as "soon" as they are available)? no more worrying about setup of a dish, Line-of-sight issues, etc. Just hook up to the internet and watch TV. Technically you can even do sling over a cell phone internet connection (Scott does this with his carputer) but I'm not sure how good the quality will be.


Whichever way you decide to go best of luck to you, and I wish you many happy trips in your RV.

 

[harshness]

What you guys are all missing is that 118.7 is an FSS band satellite not a DBS Band satellite and that means it is LOW POWER.

I think the problem is your missing that we're not missing the point. The recommendation that I made involves a factory DISH Network dish as opposed to some funky dome unit.

 

[freezy]

1) Have an system on the RV roof which can automatically lock onto this satellite. Preferably in a dome. I have already checked with Winegard, KingDome and TracVision, they don't support this satellite.
2) Use a crank-up on the roof.
3) Use a tripod.

Of course a 500+ or 1000+ will do the job, but are there any versions which could be installed in a dome or as a crank-up?

Thank for your help!

No. I think you are stuck with a tripod

I always like the standard definition single LNB that works with directv that comes in a dome and will track satellites. I don't believe their international programming is available on the 101W bird unfortunately. I'm just saying a single LNB is easier than trying to skew correctly 2 or more LNBs while rolling down the road.

What language are you looking for?

I'm wondering if a 30" dish and a linear LNB on a tripod and a good little FTA box like the Traxis wouldn't be a great choice...and no subscriptions.

Harder to setup but tons of international programming. If you were looking for Arabic, Spanish programming FTA is the way to go. Especially in Florida, being so close to the Atlantic satellites.

 

[Pepper]

My obligatory useless answer:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/63/Sattruck.jpg
Get one of these and convert it to an RV, not the other way 'round. If budget were no concern I know that is what I would do.