I’m curious if, in addition to a mounted satellite on top of your rig, you also have a portable unit for use when your mounted antenna can’t get a signal when obstructed by trees, etc. ? As somewhat of a newbie, not sure going to the expense is a common solution, and wanted to inquire...

We had in motion sat on our first MH. Never again. It was spotty at best and as you figured out, requires line of sight. Friends of ours have a portable one that seems to work ok. My issue is that it's cumbersome. We cut the cord a while ago and find that with a firestick and mobile hotspot we get what we want and have less issues than we ever did with the Sat. Nothing to set up, drag around, position, no wires and cheaper than DTV or dish. The only caveat is that you will probably want an unlimited data plan. Something that a few carriers are finally coming around to offer with reasonable prices. That said, if you really like and want DTV or Dish then carryout portable units seem to work pretty good from the experience of our friends - better than the fixed units anyway.

we have an automatic rooftop dish (Winegard Trav’ler) which is very convenient as long as there is a clear shot of the southern sky. we selected DISH network primarily for their pay-as-you-go pricing and their ViP722k dual TV receiver/DVR. we’re very happy with our choices. i had always planned to purchase a portable automatic dish for use when we were parked with no clear view of the sky. my research turned out to be incomplete as i discovered that not all receivers are compatible with all antennas. the ViP722k is a residential model and incompatible with all portable automatic antennas. it will work with a manual antenna but i’m not interested in those...too much hassle. if/when our receiver gives up the ghost i’ll be smarter choosing a new one.

I bought a used Winegard Carryout and few years ago and couldn't get it to work. I'd been troubleshooting it with Winegard at an RV park and had just about come to the conclusion it needed repair before it would be able to receive a signal. My neighbor came over and mentioned he had one just like it and never could get it to work either and said he'd just about give it away. I jumped at the offer and paid him what he wanted for it. As soon as I flipped the switches setting it to find the Dish satellites, it worked great! I sent the other one back to Winegard and they replaced a couple of chips on the board to fix it. The cost was reasonable as I was expecting to pay for a whole new board. After I got it I figured on selling one of them but decided two would come in handy. I mounted one on the roof and kept the other one portable to use when trees blocked the permanently mounted one on the roof. I'm happy I did. Most of the time the rooftop dish works great but if I can't get a signal, I pull the other one out and using an app on my phone, locate an opening in the trees where it will work. I wouldn't have been able to do that if I hadn't bought them used. I still don't have as much in the two used ones I'd have had in one new one.

I have used a roof mounted satellite TV antenna for 19 years. I don't carry a portable as I have only been blocked by trees a hand full of times during that time span. I live in my RV full time and travel A LOT! You simply need to make a choice about what's important, TV or shade. Just tell the campground operator you want a site with a clear view of the Southern Sky. They have been asked this so many times they know which site will work and which will not. On those few days without satellite there is almost always something available with a Batwing antenna used for OTA TV. Some of the smaller or omni-directional OTA TV antennas will not perform nearly as well. Luckily, I also have a DTV DVR receiver so I can always watch some of the dozens and dozens of programs and movies I have previously recorded.

We have a RF Mogul RV roof top dish and the DTV HR44 DVR receiver which stores recorded shows that are always available. We also watch minimum live shows instead watch recorded shows skipping the ads. This also means we can watch 2x 1 hr shows is 1 hr.But we're considering purchasing a portable dish and tripod. If so, it will be the heavy-duty tripod and dish that folds up which helps with storage. The TV4RV is the best equipment I've found which included suggestions from this board and the most expensive. The heavy-duty combo tripod is $170. The dish and LNB is $195. Plus, S&H. Yes, you can buy other equipment and spend less.I tested how long the coax could be using my home setup and coax from my 18" round dish days. DTV says 150' limit for SWM. With 300' I had 2 signal dropouts in a month. The 300' was made up of 7 sections of coax without the high frequency connectors and barrel connectors needed for the much higher frequency bandwidth required by SWM. Also, this test was in the Phoenix area which has higher satellite signal strength than say Seattle. But I'm confident that 200' if not more would work at my daughters in Seattle.Also add the cost of coax to the above, say $30 for 100’ of 3 GHz coax which would be adequate length for most CG sites. I’d probably want 2x 100’ plus 50’.

Alternative satellite option? | Good Sam Community

Farbin
Explorer
Nov 01, 2019
Roku is one of the best device to stream channels. But, I use firestick with kodi instead. This allows to stream all my favorite shows and channels within a few minutes.

If you wish to install kodi on your FireStick, refer: http://firestick.tips/install-kodi-on-firestick/
chuckftboy
Explorer
Sep 23, 2019
I use a roof mounted dish and carry a Tailgater but useally don't need the portable. I also habe a Verizon MiFi for streaming when in the southeast but it isn't much good in the North Central part of the U.S. Couldn't get a signal for streaming in Nebraska and the d Dakotas
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Sep 22, 2019
H & E wrote:
I bought a Dish Wally and a Wingard carry out. We left on a four month trip and it only worked a few times early in the trip. I have to send the wingard receiver in for repair when we get home. Prior years I took the direct TV box from the house and set up a dish that had to be tuned to a satellite and it worked great, once I found the satellite.

The receiver is made by Dish so don't send it to Winegard. If you mean the antenna, that's a Winegard product.
ljr
Nomad
Sep 22, 2019
I had a Trav’lr and a portable. Between obstacles, low satellite position and lack of Eastern Arc support, I used the portable most of the time. If I had it to do over, I would have passed on the Trav’lr entirely. Considering my personal travel and viewing preferences, it wasn’t worth the money. YMMV.
H___E
Explorer
Sep 22, 2019
I bought a Dish Wally and a Wingard carry out. We left on a four month trip and it only worked a few times early in the trip. I have to send the wingard receiver in for repair when we get home. Prior years I took the direct TV box from the house and set up a dish that had to be tuned to a satellite and it worked great, once I found the satellite.
obiwancanoli
Explorer
Sep 18, 2019
I picked up a MiFi hotspot from Verizon, so, assuming I CAN get a signal, I think my problem is solved... thanks, everyone, for your input... I never come away without learning something...
rasmus121
Explorer
Sep 17, 2019
DilanYah wrote:
I have a firestick. I don't know if it is better than roku stick but I wouldn't trade it. It has a lot of different options for streaming apps both free and paid. There are plenty of choices. I found an app a couple weeks ago that has absolutely everything I was looking for - it calls Cinema Apk, for more info ***Link Removed***

That app is not working on my fire tv cube. I got this from here - ***Link Removed***
Dutch_12078
Explorer II
Jun 13, 2019
bigred1cav wrote:
How do you connect to internet to get signal to ROKU etal?

We have unlimited data hotspot plans with AT&T and Verizon, plus a Max Amp RV cell amplifier repeater for fringe signal areas. With that combination, we have yet to land on a location where we didn't have a good enough signal for streaming from one carrier or the other. Our FireTVstick is loaded with a number of streaming apps that give us all the legal movies and TV channels we could possibly watch. We also have the Dish Anywhere app installed that lets us watch live and recorded programming from the Dish Hopper w/Sling receiver installed at our upstate NY family cottage when we don't set up our portable dish locally.
way2roll
Navigator II
Jun 12, 2019
bigred1cav wrote:
How do you connect to internet to get signal to ROKU etal?

Since CG wifi is not realistically an option, you will need a hotspot with a data plan - preferably unlimited. Hotspots are small - usually smaller than a phone and are technically routers that pick up cellular data broadcast wifi to any device within range. A roku and firestick are receivers that plug into the hdmi plug in your TV and make any TV internet ready.

The hotspot is on your data plan an as mentioned above a few carriers are now offering truly unlimited data at reasonable prices - more reasonable than most Sat subscription plans. And there is a LOT of content that you can stream for free. I can basically get any show/movie etc, ever produced if I know where to find it. There is some figuring out where to get content but lots of tutorials on youtube. I prefer a firestick over Roku because apps can be loaded to a firestick where they can't be on a Roku. This makes a firestick more dynamic and thus able to get more content easier.

The caveat is of course - you must be able to receive a decent cell signal. Some have noted that more remote camping offers less than optimal cellular coverage to support streaming. While streaming has a lot of advantages over Sat and cable, that is the one piece that make Sat still relevant, the fact that you can get a signal just about anywhere there is line of site. There is talk of expanding cellular networks from Satellites - I believe this is where technology is going.
bigred1cav
Explorer
Jun 12, 2019
How do you connect to internet to get signal to ROKU etal?