Satellite antenna Change

[montedtrotter1]

I may have missed something looking on this forum for a change in antenna type or satellite service. The current satellite installed on LL trailers has a 35 mile range which works well 1/2 the time or we are camped near a sizable city. I want to upgrade the satellite but not sure which one to buy. When travelling, we most often see the dome type receiver where one has to pay a monthly service for Dish, is the service of choice for full timers. I just want something better than we have now but now but not have to subscribe to Dish. Has anyone purchased the Winegard Rayzar air antenna? any other suggestions; we are football fans and do not want miss much action on the weekends.

[daplumbr]

Here are a couple of quick ideas for you from some things I know about.

First, the factory antenna on the Camplites is not satellite, it is over the air digital. You receive only local stations on that antenna, wherever you might be. And, those stations may or may not carry any games.

Second, If you want to have satellite service (which have game packages available), you will have to buy a separate antenna for one of the services like Dish or Direct TV and pay a monthly service fee. I know that some services have provisions for RVrs that allow you to turn the service on and off by the month.

Lastly, if you want the real scoop on RV TV, you may want to check with the technical threads in the forums that have full-timers, like these:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f53/


http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/38.cfm

[charliem]

[font size="3"]First, the antenna on the top of the CL is not a satellite antenna; it is an Over The Air (OTA) antenna. It receives signals broadcast over the air from local TV stations. As such it is a poor performer, similar to rabbit ears. In addition, with the advent of cable and true satellite services, most OTA stations are going off the air leaving only religious, PBS, and shopping channels. [/font][font size="3"]Winegaurd Rayzar antennas come in many models. Some are omnidirectional, which are not much different from the Winegaurd Roadstar antenna you have. Some models are directional and require manually aiming at the station. There is one that claims to be automatically electronically aimed, but it still suffers from [/font][font size="3"]low height and limited range. The cheapest improvement is an inexpensive residential type full sized UHF antenna mounted on a pole to gain height and manually aimed. Height is the single best improvement you can provide for OTA signals.

If you really want sports on the road your best bet is a satellite service like Dish Network or DirecTV. These come in various configurations from the portable domes to tripod mounted dishes. They all require subscriptions and are a hassle to set up. They require a clear shot at the southern sky.

So it depends on how much you need your sports fix. Cut the cord and read about it or pay the bucks and set it up. Go Noles!

EDIT: Again, Merlin types faster than I do.................
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[montedtrotter1]

So it appears we may be better off trying to get a better wifi signal good enough to use Apple TV. I use my iPhone as a hotspot and can get some Apple TV but not very consistent. Thanks for the information and will now change directions as I do not really want the Dish/Direct TV system.

[charliem]

[font size="3"]iPhone hotspot works, but it sucks up data. Netflix uses 1/3 GB per hour. I don't know what the sports networks use. I've found cellular networks, even though they are 4G, vary widely form place to place. Wifi networks, especially CG Wifis , can really be bad. Sometimes your cable provider lets you access a channel remotely (CNN GO, FNC GO,etc) if you subscribe to it at home, but it also uses a lot of data. Maybe Hulu or something like that.
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[daplumbr]

I've not done this myself, so my advice is worth what it cost you, but it is possible to receive a weak wifi signal, boost it, and re-broadcast it so that it is useable inside a RV. It is a very common need, given the potential high cost of cell data and the limits as noted by Charlie. Places like the 3gstore and others have Wifi as WAN (WAW) routers with appropriate antennas that can pickup weak campground wifi (or McDonalds, or a library, or etc.) and create a stronger signal inside your RV for your phone/tablet/computer, with no cell data usage. The prices range widely for the equipment, but from the info in the book "The Mobile Internet Handbook", it seems you don't have to spend a lot to get a big gain (literally and figuratively). If that's of interest, look things over on this site or give this place a call. They'll help out. 

http://3gstore.com/products/50_wifi_devices.html