I live in the Phoenix area and move the receiver to the RV for the summer. I'm planning to apply for DNS for the West coast channels when we're in the RV for the summer and want the Phoenix locals when we return to Phoenix. I would appreciate any input on this subject.Currently I call to get the locals where I'm located which is in Brisbane, CA right now. The process is quick and easy if I give them a previously established address which they have on file. It's longer if they have to look up a new address.With my SF locals I didn't receive them in Oregon. HD is somewhat new in the RV and the next day I enabled the SD channels and now get SF SD. So my question is: Is there any information on SD vs HD local coverage? In the past just trying to figure out local SD coverage was limited but thought I'd ask about HD coverage.

SD and HD coverage is the same as long as you have an antenna capable of receiving them in the various locations. That means you will need a Slimline 3/5 antenna. You still won't be able to receive SF while you are in OR due to the Network signals being spot beamed but you will either be able to call and get OR locals or use the DNS option to get Los Angeles everywhere you travel.

Bill.Satellite wrote:SD and HD coverage is the same as long as you have an antenna capable of receiving them in the various locations. That means you will need a Slimline 3/5 antenna. You still won't be able to receive SF while you are in OR due to the Network signals being spot beamed but you will either be able to call and get OR locals or use the DNS option to get Los Angeles everywhere you travel.This is partially incorrect. Yes the locals are spot beamed. I got SF HD locals in southern OR and SF SD locals in central OR. SD and HD are on different birds and from what I saw the spot beam coverage is different.That being said DTV would not provide you with SF locals if you were in OR.In the past I've gotten SF SD locals on my 18" dish in Portland at night but not during the day. Plus my RV dish is not a slimline but a RF Mogul full array SWM dish.

I'm with Bill. Maybe he should have said the spot beams are intended to have the same coverage and probably required an FCC sign off. Many variables would explain differences in fringe area coverage. I grew up Indiana but could at times get WABC in NYC.I imagine under the paint job your RF Mogul is a Slimline as is the LNB an SL3s. I guess they could have manufactured their own but that would be expensive and might violate DirecTV patents.

Good points. An older non DTV pre HD spot beam map shows locals for SF are beamed in central OR. That's one reason I was asking if there are updated coverage maps. My understanding is that RF Mogul manufactures it's dish. But I don't know what license or parts purchase plans are in place. I bought it because I believed that it was a solid reliable dish with significant design improvements from the Monosat dish. Some of the employees are former Monosat employees as I understand the company.

CA Traveler wrote:Bill.Satellite wrote:SD and HD coverage is the same as long as you have an antenna capable of receiving them in the various locations. That means you will need a Slimline 3/5 antenna. You still won't be able to receive SF while you are in OR due to the Network signals being spot beamed but you will either be able to call and get OR locals or use the DNS option to get Los Angeles everywhere you travel.This is partially incorrect. Yes the locals are spot beamed. I got SF HD locals in southern OR and SF SD locals in central OR. SD and HD are on different birds and from what I saw the spot beam coverage is different.That being said DTV would not provide you with SF locals if you were in OR.In the past I've gotten SF SD locals on my 18" dish in Portland at night but not during the day. Plus my RV dish is not a slimline but a RF Mogul full array SWM dish.The RF mogul antenna is much like the Slimline and will have the 3 LNB's for 99, 101 and 103 but if any of the locals are broadcast on 119 (usually the SD locals) then you will not be able to receive them.

DTV DNS and SD/HD Locals | Good Sam Community

16 Replies

Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Sep 15, 2013
The vGPS is just that, a virtual way of gathering GPS (location) information. In theory that would help them improve the signal by being able to determine the required skew as well as helping speed up search times by being able to determine an approx. elevation starting point. The vGPS by itself does nothing to improve the signal but the information provided to the controller by the vGPS helps get the antenna pointed.
schneid
Explorer
Sep 15, 2013
CA Traveler wrote:
Clarification: Well the website says the vGPS is for faster acquisition. RF Mogul told me that it improves the signal.

I doubt it affects signal anymore than 110 and 119 wing does on the SL5. Don't forget the signal is not dead-on but comes from above the dish plane and reflected to the LNB's below the dish plane.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Sep 15, 2013
Clarification: Well the website says the vGPS is for faster acquisition. RF Mogul told me that it improves the signal.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Sep 15, 2013
schneid wrote:
Exactly or at least close enough for most of us. Wonder what the little sidecar mounted to the DirecTV SL3s does on RF Mogul?
I believe you are referring to the vGPS module and I have the same question. On the website is says patent pending.

RF Mogul told me that moving it for version 1.59 would improve the signal. I never had a signal problem so can't confirm that. I've wondered if it's related to positioning the dish?
schneid
Explorer
Sep 15, 2013
Bill.Satellite wrote:
wilanddij wrote:
I imagine under the paint job your RF Mogul is a Slimline as is the LNB an SL3s. I guess they could have manufactured their own but that would be expensive and might violate DirecTV patents.
RF Mogul is the new name for the Motosat outfit. Slimline is the name of the the dish from Winegard. I doubt RF Mogul is repainting anything from Winegard, and not violating any DirecTV patents.

Just a bit of clarification. There is no relationship between RF Mogul and MotoSAT. The current owners of RF Mogul started MotoSAT and sold the business a few years back. The new owners did not handle it well and had to close their doors.
Also, the Slimline is the name of a DirecTV antenna used by many company's including Winegard.

Exactly or at least close enough for most of us. Wonder what the little sidecar mounted to the DirecTV SL3s does on RF Mogul?
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Sep 15, 2013
wilanddij wrote:
I imagine under the paint job your RF Mogul is a Slimline as is the LNB an SL3s. I guess they could have manufactured their own but that would be expensive and might violate DirecTV patents.
RF Mogul is the new name for the Motosat outfit. Slimline is the name of the the dish from Winegard. I doubt RF Mogul is repainting anything from Winegard, and not violating any DirecTV patents.

Just a bit of clarification. There is no relationship between RF Mogul and MotoSAT. The current owners of RF Mogul started MotoSAT and sold the business a few years back. The new owners did not handle it well and had to close their doors.
Also, the Slimline is the name of a DirecTV antenna used by many company's including Winegard.
schneid
Explorer
Sep 15, 2013
wilanddij wrote:
I imagine under the paint job your RF Mogul is a Slimline as is the LNB an SL3s. I guess they could have manufactured their own but that would be expensive and might violate DirecTV patents.
RF Mogul is the new name for the Motosat outfit. Slimline is the name of the the dish from Winegard. I doubt RF Mogul is repainting anything from Winegard, and not violating any DirecTV patents.

Slimline is a DirecTV product. Wingard uses both genuine DirecTV Slimlines and SL3s LNB's on their SK-SWM:

SolidSignal

SpecSheet for RF Mogul SWM shows a DirecTV branded SL3s:

http://rfmogul.com/files/52089733.pdf

Maybe they stamp their own dishes but sounds more cost effective to buy already engineered ones.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Sep 15, 2013
wilanddij wrote:
I imagine under the paint job your RF Mogul is a Slimline as is the LNB an SL3s. I guess they could have manufactured their own but that would be expensive and might violate DirecTV patents.
RF Mogul is the new name for the Motosat outfit. Slimline is the name of the the dish from Winegard. I doubt RF Mogul is repainting anything from Winegard, and not violating any DirecTV patents.
The input that I got was some of the better employees formed a new company when Monosat got a new CEO and both companies existed for a time. Eventually RF Mogul took over the Monosat repairs.

The RF Mogul design is completely different. My usage has been rock solid. They only support SWM for DTV and I believe that is also true for the other providers.

Field replaceable parts and firmware is another advantgate. I recently upgraded to version 1.59. I downloaded the file onto my camera card, inserted the card into the controller and rebooted. Later the vGPS module was moved, a few switches on the controller were changed at that time and this improved the signal level.

Not that we had any signal level issues. This summer we used the dish on the Alaskan Highway and Alaska with the vGPS in it's original position.
wilanddij
Explorer
Sep 15, 2013
I imagine under the paint job your RF Mogul is a Slimline as is the LNB an SL3s. I guess they could have manufactured their own but that would be expensive and might violate DirecTV patents.
RF Mogul is the new name for the Motosat outfit. Slimline is the name of the the dish from Winegard. I doubt RF Mogul is repainting anything from Winegard, and not violating any DirecTV patents.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Sep 14, 2013
OK Good to know.