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WHICH IS BEST IN-MOTION SATELITE RECEIVER ?

Yahoo Message Number: 1012
Greetings,

I wish to have in-motion satelite installed and seek your experiences on which is best.
Thanks,

Ross Rosano #3526

Re: WHICH IS BEST IN-MOTION SATELITE RECEIVER ?

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1013
Ross,

I would contact Cal Thorn at Advance Satellite (888)-357-0926. He does a lot of installs for CC and is located near the factory. My experience has been that Trac Star based in Florida (407) 650-9054 or tracstars@... are the premier in motion satellite system. They only require a coax connection so installation is easy, you can be tooling down the highway at 65mph and turn it on, and it never has to stop and rewind. I have experience with Datron, King Dome, KVH, and Trac Star and my opinion is Trac Star is the best.

Damon

Damon K. Rapozo

Diesel Sales Division

DRapozo@...
800-784-2505 ext 365 office
763-506-0415 direct fax
612-363-0320 cellular

Re: WHICH IS BEST IN-MOTION SATELITE RECEIVER ?

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1014
Ross,

Quote
>From what my customers say:
KVH TracVision (can get at any Camping World) Datron (1st and been around the longest) And my favorite

TracStar Systems (because of the single cable hook-up and a number of other reasons.)

Hope this helps

Robin

BuddyGregg Motorhomes

Re: WHICH IS BEST IN-MOTION SATELITE RECEIVER ?

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1015
I have had a Trac Star for about 15 months.
Absolutely no problems, acquires the sat. quickly and quietly. Tracks the sat. well on the road. Not the cheapest, but it has worked perfectly for me.

Good luck, with whatever you decide to buy. Den

In-motion satelite

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1030
I am also considering the various satelite options and am looking at the in-motion vs. the automatic. For those of you with in-motion, how often do you take advantage of that feature? Do you find that the dome on the in-motion hinders your signal strength in rain, clouds, or shade.
Also, it would seem that a system that can get Direct TV or Dish Network has an advantage based on some of the grumblings I have read on the different rv chat sites about the recent treatment by Direct Tv to RV owners without a telephone plug-in.

I would appreciate any feedback.

Bruce

2002 Allure 307??

Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com

Re: In-motion satelite

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1032
No, the dome does NOT hinder the signal in any weather. Only over passes and covered bridges -- they kill the signal (actually freeze it) then the picture starts moving again a few seconds after the overpass.
We use it alot, especially on longer driving days, it sure makes the time go by more quickly. den

Re: In-motion satelite

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1033
I recently traded my '98 Intrigue for a 2002 Intrigue. And although it's

spent too much time in the shop I still think that I made the right choice.

I had a Datron non-tracking in my old coach. We though about an in- motion

for our new coach. We had decided on a Datron because of it's low profile

and we had excellent experience with our other system. However, when we

thought more about it, we could not think of a reason to have the in- motion

feature. When would we use it? The waves in most of the campgrounds that we

visit do not require the constant tracking. So we got the same Datron system. If we had lot's of guests or kids/grandkids traveling with us it

might be different.

As to my time in the shop..... we had a couple of HWH hydraulic fittings on

the slide that were defective and leaked fluid..... saturated the ceiling

carpet and the sofa. What a mess! Keep a close eye on the fittings.....

Comment on DirecTV: In my experience they are not very RV friendly..... no,

not very friendly... period. It will be interesting if and when DirecTV and
Dish merge.
Dick May
2002 Intrigue, #11438, towing a
2014 Jeep Gr Cherokee ecoDiesel

Direct TV

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1034
I've read alot of bad comments about Direct TV and they can be a bit of a pain. But, I took the time to explain to them that we go between our home and the RV. The put the RV in the system and the house in the system. Now I just call and tell them to switch between the RV and the house. Depending on who you talk to, it is a little confusing, but they really do seem to be getting better. I am not hooked up to a phone line in the home. The only thing we can't do is the pay per view with the remote.

So, I would say take the time to explain the situation, tell them to put both in and you will switch back and forth.

Linda & Don

Re: In-motion satelite

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1037
You should probably be glad you decided to stay with the Datron 3000, and not gone with Datrons new low profile in-motion system.
We have good friends that had the in-motion unit installed on a new Monaco Exec. They had nothing but problems with it and made 5 trips back and forth to the shop that installed it. The shop tried all sorts of differant things to fix it, including installing 2 other units. All had the same problem, they would loose their ability to locate the satellite after the coach moved appox. 50 miles from it's last track. They got so frustrated that they had the unit removed and went back to the Datron 3000 system. It wasn't what they wanted, but they settled for it.

We also met a couple 3 months ago with a Foretravel, that had the exact same problem with the new Datron low profile in-motion system.
Thay also had theirs removed and had a differant system installed.
From my point of veiw, 2 people with the exact same problem, would make me wonder about the new in-motion units.

We have a Datron 3000 on our coach now, had a Datron 4500 in-motion ( no problems with at all )on our last coach, and a Datron 3000 on the coach before that. We like Datron systems alot, but wonder if they tested the new system enough before releasing it!!

Paul & Elizebeth
91 Affinity

Re: In-motion satelite

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 1038
Paul,

I just spoke to Cal Thorn (Advance Satellite) about this yesterday and he said the "only" reason you would want the new low profile Datron is for hieght clearance issues and thats it. If you do not have a hieght issue then he still recommends the Trac Star in motion system. I guess the low profile Datron has more of a flat spot on top that collects rain water and morning dew which causes the dish to malfunction.

Damon

Direct TV

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6716
I currently have my motorhome hooked up to Direct TV using the satelite receiver that came with the coach. I have been told by Direct TV that I cannot have pay per view, sunday ticket or get local Phoenix stations since I this is in a motorhome with no phone line.
They also said they would not provide the east and west coast stations they use to provide without me filling out a lengthy form.
Is any body out there getting pay per view, sunday ticket or local stattions? If so, how did you do it? Pay per view is not so important but we would like to be able to get some stations in whatever time zone we are in via satelite. If you take the reciver out of the coach and hook it up to a phone line in your home do you have to have a dish set-up as well. That amy sound like a stupid question but we have excellent cable service with HDTV. Thanks for your input. Rich, 2003, Intrique 11641.

Re: Direct TV

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6717
Rich,

I have some of the same problems with Direct. I filled out all their freekin paperwork for the RV and then they told me I can't have the east or west national feeds because I have the local Atlanta channels.
The only way I can have the east/west is to cancel the local Atlanta when we leave and they would activate the east/west. I don't want to cancel the local Atlanta because my Dad lives at our house and he wouldn't have the locals when we are on the road. By the way, the local Atlanta we have is spot beamed and will only work within about 75 miles from home. So when we are on the road, the only way to get any of the majors is with the crank up antenna. They are a pain in the ass to deal with... We are considering going to Dish.
Tom

02 Allure 30780

Re: Direct TV

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6720
Rich, How much do the charge for your service??? Lee '01 Intrigue in Portland with a "Dish", but not paying ofr servcie now.
"sbadgirltwo" sbadgirltwo@...> wrote:

Direct TV

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6725
To: Casebeer, I pay 37.99 per month right now. I believe they are giving me the local channels free for three months and this is up in November. I believe though if you are more than 75 miles from home you can's get the signals. At that time you need to get the east/west coast stations. There have been a couple of postings already about that. I guess the form is not lengthy. I still have questions about getting pay per view and sunday ticket while on the road. Rich 03 Intrique 11641

Re: Direct TV

Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6731
I have a Phillips rcvr and Direct TV with East and west network feeds. Also have pay for view. Also local TV from Seattle as far as Junction City. They say that they ask via phone line to the rcv once a month what Pay for View you have bought. If not hooked up to a line they just turn off Pay for View until you do get hooked up. Then with a phone call it is reactivated

John Drebick Affinity6194

Re: Direct TV

Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6732
John,

I cannot have the local and east/west at the same time. Could you shed a little more light on how you were able to get both, as they tell me it can't be done.
Thanks,
Tom

02 Allure 30780

Re: Direct TV

Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6748
Tom,

When we first started with satellite we had Direct TV. I don't want to offend anyone here, but we had nothing but trouble with them, including: no help with problems, black and white solutions to everything, extremely long wait times for customer service, I could go on and on. We switched to Dish. We have not had any problems with their service at all. They don't ask and we don't tell. They help problem solve every time, wait times are 10-20 minutes, long but acceptable, compared to the hours we used to wait for Direct TV. We have been very very pleased with Dish TV, and they don't really care if you have an RV, or what as long as you pay the bills and don't reneg on your annual deals. Good luck in your search for good satellite service.

Joe and Patti Frazier
03 32' Allure

Re: Direct TV

Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 6751
DirecTV also told me that I could not have Local and Distant (east/west) networks at the same time. I have three receivers, two in my home and one in the RV in a "mirrored" configuration -- e.g., all three must be programmed the same. (2nd and 3rd receivers are only about $5 each each).

10 months ago, when I went to Palm Desert for 40 days, I stopped my home service, kept the RV service, and turned on Distant networks -- I had an application previously filed and approved.

When I returned, I reactivated my home, remirroring all receivers, and to my surprise, they (accidently?)left distant and local networking on for all three receivers. I pay for Distant AND Local, but I am not complaining. I don't have to call DirecTV for long trips in my RV, AND I can catch network shows 3 hours early (live in CA) in my home if there is something special I want to watch early.
Call me lucky. They have never questioned it in subsequent calls.
My chief compaint is that DirecTV long ago had West coast feeds from Seattle, SF and LA (different network from each location). Now West coast is from LA only -- all three networks. Likewise for New York.
Would like the option to get a different twist on the news from up and down the coast, when I am out of the Sacramento CA beam.

I don't understand why the laws or station contracts prohibit receiving, let's say, Denver local stations while in Denver. It would be a benefit to the Denver stations, doesn't hurt Sacramento stations (out of range anyway), but maybe its the Distant Network affiliates that are complaining. We have got to team up and get that changed.
Herb

Quote from: truk4u2003

Direct TV

Reply #18 –
Yahoo Message Number: 25738
3e. Re: DirectTV vs Dish

Posted by: "Robert Handren" rthandren@... rthandren Date: Mon Oct 9, 2006 10:30 am (PDT)

Bob,

How do you do that? I do have an online account and they show my status as mirrored but only show the one reciever. On one call where I waited 1/2 hour for them, I asked if I could do it online and they said no. Tell me how you do it, that would be wonderful!!

Linda

Intrigue 10678

Quote
>>>>>>>>>>>You can add, delete and relocate DirecTV receivers as well as make just
about any changes you want to your programming without talking to customer-no-service by going to the DirecTV website and doing it on line.

Set up an on line account and it's simple and fast.
You can also order pay per view movies and programs on line and avoid the extra phone charge for placing the order that way.

Bob Handren

Re: Direct TV

Reply #19 –
Yahoo Message Number: 25803

Linda,

Go to www.directv.com, enter your user name and pasword (established earlier). The next screen has a link on the left titled "my system". Click on that and on the next screen your current equipment is listed on the right. In the center are buttons/links to upgrade equipment if you bought a new system, there is a programming link, etc. You should be able to do almost anything that customer-no-service takes forever to accomplish.
The only time I need to call DirecTV is to have them send a signal to awaken a sleepy receiver in the coach that has been sitting for more than a couple of weeks. Even that is automated as the phone system asks for the message number on the screen. When I enter that number the signal comes back in about 30 seconds.
Except to rant about cutting off my TiVo service because I am not at the moment connected to a land line I haven't talked to a DTV live person in over 2 years. Which is fine by me!

Bob Handren

'05 Country Coach Inspire 51178
'00 JGCL

Direct TV

Reply #20 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87619
I'm a Comcast customer. I've been curious about Direct TV and decided to consider switching. They send me flyers all the time, but there are no specifics, so I called them. I asked for a proposal to include the channels I would get, the equipment, extra equipment, and what the total cost would be during the promotion and what the cost would be after the promotion ends. However, they were not willing to provide a proposal in writing. My only option was to sign up over the phone based on no specific channel list. So, I can no longer consider Direct TV.

George Harper
04 Allure 31093

Re: Direct TV

Reply #21 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87623
There are dozens of providers of both Directv and dish Network.
If you called off a flyer you probably reached a retailer, who does not sound like one I would want to do business with.
If you go to the Directv and or Dish network sites you can see the available programing packages and hardware choices spelled out clearly, along with the official pricing.
Retailers often offer specials that may vary from the company offers. Make a not of the name and number of the retailer you called, so you don't call them back. Then call someone else until you find better cooperation.
You can also go to satelliteguys.com and look at the Directv and Dish forums. You will learn the good, the bad, and the ugly about both companys. Then you can make an educated choice.

Bob Wexler
SOB

Re: Direct TV

Reply #22 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87641
I've tried to get them to put in writing what they've just told me on the phone! Nada...they won't be pinned down. That is also presumably why your "pin" with the CRG (Customer Retention Group) is only good for 24 hours. And, I even talked to the President's office a number of years ago...they told me to call any time...Ha!

Dave Glen

'06 Magna 6591

Re: Direct TV

Reply #23 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87649
Thanks for the tip, Bob. The guy I got was quite skilled at producing voluminous verbage without saying anytyhing. Maybe he was a retired politician. He was also skilled at avoiding the word "no" while not fulfilling my request either. I was also quite skilled with bringing him down to earth with pointed questions which he was pretty good at avoiding. Maybe he was actually a lawyer. Anyway, with no written agreement, no deal with me.

I'll go online as you suggest and see where I get.

George Harper
04 Allure
31093

Re: Direct TV

Reply #24 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87732
I'm not entering into any contract unless I know what I'm paying and what I'm getting. These companies can't change the long history of American contract law and custom unless customers acctpt it. I'm not.

George Harper
04 Allure 31093