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vlopddap's avatar
vlopddap
Explorer
Jul 08, 2014

Does the Winegard GM-0700 (ShawDirect) dish work in USA?


Winegard GM-0700 Carryout

Hi everyone,

Winegard indicate this carryout dish is intended for use in Canadian territory only, but my local Winegard reseller (in Canada) told me this is just a legal restriction because a US citizen can't legally purchase a Canadian dish then watch Canadian broadcast and because Winegard is a US based company they need to put this legal notice. But since I'm in Canada I can purchase it and use it while traveling in the USA territory. This is exactly what the Canadian reseller told me, this is not my own words but I think it make sense. But before purchasing a 800$ antenna I wanted to be sure it's not some salesman bull****!!

BTW according to the detailled service agreement with ShawDirect Canada (formerly StarChoice) you can use your actual subscription (and receiver) anywhere when travelling with an RV. Moreover ShawDirect even sold portable (manual) antenna you can use on campground anywhere!

Thank you very much!!

2 Replies

  • Okay, so it's better to stick with a manual 75 cm dish on a tripod... it's a p.i.t.a to setup, but motorized 75 cm dish are way too much expensive (2000$+). In the other hand the far away I'll ever go is Florida... so how strong is the signal at this location?

    To be honest at this point I am not very scared to be taken off line in the future like Bell done when they upgrade their satellites. Because initially Bell service agreement doesn't allow to use a second dish outside our main house. You can't even use a second Bell dish if you have a secondary house! In the other hand the Shaw Direct are clearly welcome to snow birds and travellers who want to carry a second dish on the RV or at the secondary house (in Florida for example)... so I don't think they will ever shut the travellers off.
  • As long as the Shaw direct Satellites are aimed at and broadcasting they will be accessible in the same places that they have been since they were launched and commissioned .

    Eventually the Birds will be taken off line and at that time We will lose service. This could be Next Year ,in Ten Years or next Week!

    The thing with using the Small Carryout type Dishes is that they require a strong broadcast signal to function properly.

    We have found that the strongest Signal is along the 49 th parallel and tapers off the further North or South that We travel.
    We have tried and been successful using a 60 Cm Dish in Arizona and as far South as Mazatlan.

    The Large 75 Cm Dish works better South of Mazatlan . We have tested it as far down as Zihuatenajo and have been told by other Travellers that it works in Belize and even Guatemala!

    I somehow doubt that the small size of the Carry Out would be as good!

    My understanding is that the earlier satellites signal is beamed to the Earths Surface much like an inverted Funnel which fans out . The Newest Birds have a much more directed signal to accommodate the High Definition TV. Thus they can not be picked up over as great an area!

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