Anyone have experience aiming an Exede dish?

While it certainly sounds like the OP knew all the answers to his questions before he asked them, I would like to ask a question: If the OP is moving only 2-3 times a year, has he considered landline DSL to his RV?

Regarding the overnight unmetered Sat periods, it may shock the OP to learn that other people have thought of this also. When I was researching Sat internet (about a decade ago when it was still a viable option), I read a considerable number of comments to the effect that the free periods were even slower than the pay periods.

MrWizard wrote:
if that is a real possibility ?

then i think 'MULTIPLE' cellular accounts to have more data
would cost less than renting a stick house..

can't any of your work be done over VPN, where you can move and edit files without downloading & uploading the complete file

Yeah, renting a house is a possibility, but one that I'm REALLY hoping to avoid. I've considered multiple cellular accounts, but the only viable option in this area is US Cellular, and I definitely got some sticker shock when I looked at their new pricing model. Millenicom's pricing is good, but they're on the Verizon network, which is currently barely functional in this area and Verizon doesn't acknowledge that there's a problem, much less show signs of fixing it.

I suspect that a solution that completely fits my requirements simply doesn't exist. Exede would be the closest if I can find a workable way to move it a few times a year.

In the past with the DirecTV installers, I've found that being the last install of the day and having plenty of cold beer on hand goes a long way towards being able to ask unusual favors and get a rule or two bent here and there. Maybe I'll take my chances with that approach.

Going to call around and talk to a few Exede installers tomorrow and see what info I can glean. Really hoping to avoid having to rent a sticks & bricks for a year just to get cable Internet.....

if that is a real possibility ?

then i think 'MULTIPLE' cellular accounts to have more data
would cost less than renting a stick house..

can't any of your work be done over VPN, where you can move and edit files without downloading & uploading the complete file

Bill.Satellite wrote:
This will be my final response to you as I have no interest in contentious responses to those who asked a question and received a valid reply.

It's hard to feel terribly bad about that. Since you clearly hadn't bothered to even read the question, it's hard to place much value in your reply....

You may be surprised to find that I do not care if you believe me or not, but you asked and I gave you the correct answer. Did I say it would not work if you move a few feet? You said you move 2-3 times per year. I assumed you meant you MOVED! If you mean you never really move from your current location but rather move from one site to another in the same campground then the rules are quite different. The problem is that you still can't point it yourself without becoming a certified installer with the ability to have the necessary contact with the NOC. You are correct that this system is specifically setup to be user hostile as they never want to have a user touching there hardware since that user cannot know what they are doing without those special permissions.
This will be my final response to you as I have no interest in contentious responses to those who asked a question and received a valid reply.
I wish you the very best.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
The service is spot beamed so a move from one location to another requires a complete change to your account settings and only an installer can get that done as well.

I was almost believing you until you threw this in.

Or are you really telling me that the country is covered by many millions of tiny spot beams each covering only a few square feet of ground area? If I pick up and move my RV 100 yards down to the other end of the park, you want me to believe that I'm under a different beam? Nope, not buying it.

I've looked at Exede's spot beam map. Any moving around I'll be doing in the next several years will all be well within the same beam. I'm not talking about Oregon to Florida location change, I'm talking about a 20 mile radius, max. I'm looking forward to the day when I'm travelling longer distances more often, but for now my job has me pretty well anchored to this area.

I'm perfectly willing to believe that they've built in artificial roadblocks to prevent end-users from aiming the dish, but the spot beam is a non-issue.

Special tools? Non-issue. No satellite installer I've ever met is wealthy. If they can afford the tools, so can I.

Needing to be in contact with the NOC? If that is indeed the case, then it's simply because the system was designed specifically to be user-hostile.

ITguy wrote:
So I've just spent several hours searching for the "perfect" Internet solution for my RV, and have come to the conclusion that it doesn't exist. So now begins my search for a "crappy, but I can get by with it" solution.

We are working age full-timers, and I just discovered that the place we are wintering doesn't have wifi service available, so it's time to invest in something a little more self-contained. Cellular is out due to the crazy-low data caps (yes, 20GB is too low).

Exede would be perfect, with their unmetered overnight access, however I can't find any good information on whether it's feasible to aim the dish myself. We do change sites 2 or 3 times a year, but will be staying well within the confines of the spot beam (at least for the next few years).

Obviously aiming the dish myself is by far the preferable solution. Anyone have any experience with this? Or is there some other reason that Exede won't work for me, assuming I don't plan to move it outside of the spot beam?

No, you cannot point the antenna yourself and you cannot move from one location to another without having an installer come out and do it professionally. There are special tools required but the real kicker is that you must be in contact with the NOC to make the final adjustments to the antenna and verify the proper connection.
The service is spot beamed so a move from one location to another requires a complete change to your account settings and only an installer can get that done as well.

2oldman wrote:
I thought dish internet was way too slow. And if you think 20G is too low, you're probably in for sticker shock.

After saying that I went to their site. 'Up to' 12mps down.. not bad IF you can get it. $130/mo, not TOO bad depending on your budget.

More Exede posts in this forum

The 12 Mb/s is better than I'm going to get through any other solution.

20 gig is definitely far lower than what I'm going to be needing once a project I'm on moves into the next phase. With Exede's overnight unmetered access, I can automate a lot of the data load and have it happen during those hours. With that done, and supplementing with the 20 gig from Millenicom, I think I can squeak in just under the caps and avoid massive overage charges.

I've looked into the other satellite offerings, and so far Exede is the only one I've found that will work. Dish's data cap is as bad as cellular, and the old-school Hughes that is the "recommended" solution for RV use suffers from both low data caps and slow speeds.

Going to call around and talk to a few Exede installers tomorrow and see what info I can glean. Really hoping to avoid having to rent a sticks & bricks for a year just to get cable Internet.....

I know from my DirecTV experiences that what customer service will tell you can be done, and what the actual installer is willing to do are generally VERY different things, with the installer being the guy you want to talk to. I had one DTV rep go so far as to tell me it was *impossible* for a home user to aim the 5-lnb slimline. This was difficult to believe given the dozens of times I've aimed the thing.

My big concern is that Exede might have it locked down in some way. I've seen mention of only the installers having access to "keys" to set it up, but I'm unclear on if these are necessary for a short distance move, or just when moving between beams. Thought I could get clarification online easy enough, but most info is of the "I heard through the grapevine that it can't be done, therefore it can't be done" variety.....

I thought dish internet was way too slow. And if you think 20G is too low, you're probably in for sticker shock.

After saying that I went to their site. 'Up to' 12mps down.. not bad IF you can get it. $130/mo, not TOO bad depending on your budget.

More Exede posts in this forum

Having had a Hugh's net dish on a surveyor's tripod, YES you can aim it yourself. Once you set the tilt (if any) and the angle up you point it in the right direction and once you have a signal you fine tune it. On trick is to have one leg of the tripod 180 from the sat so instead of changing the angle up, you change the length of the rear leg of the tripod.