DirecTV reception along the Alaska Highway

I agree with those that recommend leaving your TV stuff at home, isn't worth the trouble. AK is such an experience that you will be so richly rewarded by the natural beauty that watching TV would be a waste of time. You don't need artificial entertainment when you're in Canada and Alaska!

With the automatic satellite dish mounted on the roof, we got Direct TV in Quesnel, BC and only in Valdez in Alaska. Seldom did I miss the television. Satellite radio is a different story. That, I would miss!

I found this site that may help answer the question:

DirecTV Coverage

Dish TV Coverage

donn0128 wrote:
Leave it at home

giving this answer another vote. FEW places that far north that will not block signal by a mountain (may be 30 miles away) because the bird is SO close to the horizon. WAY to much NATURAL beauty to be sitting around watching TV anyway in my opinion.
Good luck / Skip

My experience going to Alaska in 2009 and Atlantic Canada in 2010 using an 18" dish on a tripod trying to get the 101 satellite was that, though the low angle can be a problem, the biggest problem was the distance to the satellite. That's why they use 4 foot dishes in Alaska! Once you get about 37,000 km (or 24,000 miles) from the satellite the signal becomes to weak too use. I use the Sadoun site to locate the heading and elevation for the dish alignment and it also gives you the distance to the satellite. While in the Insde Passage on the Alaska trip I was able to get a weak but usable signal all the way up to Petersburg and on the way back we came down the Cassiar and I was able to get a usable signal once we got to Hazelton, BC. On the Atlantic trip, we got a usable (as long as it wasn't slightly cloudy) all the way up to Baddeck, NS.

From experience.

If you have the 18" round dish it will work about 400 miles into Canada. 2005 trip.

If you have the dome it will stop working about 200 miles into Canada. 2009 trip.

If you have the larger oval dish it will work to Whitehorse, YT. 2013 trip.

Take it but don't expect much. You will be aiming at the horizon, so if there any trees or clouds, you won't get a signal. If you get a signal you usually lose it around sunset.

I guess with a really tall mast it would work! :)

I brought my along. I don't think it will work in Canada, but I don't really recall having much time to watch TV on the way up. Once in AK you will see they have to use a much larger dish than you have and you are correct, it will be pointing close to the horizon. That being said, just south of TOK, and on the highways to Valdez I was able to get a 60-65% signal, with my roof top dish, whenever I had a good view of the southern horizon. It worked fine for the 6 weeks we hosted at Dead Mans lake but we were in the only site that had the view.
The further north you go the less reliable the standard dish will be.
Good Luck.