In Motion Satellite

What kind of antenna do you have? Some of them you have to raise and aim in the proper direction. Even if you have a fixed height, omnidirectional antenna you still need to scan for new channels on your TV whenever you change locations. The antenna booster also has to be turned on.

When I'm within 40 miles of a major city I usually get between 30 and 50 channels with either a batwing or Jack antenna.

This may or may not be a blessing...a lot depends on how old the system is that you have, and if DirecTV or DISH will work with the system you have.

You will probably do best working with an RV Service Tech, who specializes in these systems, or as I did, which was to try a Marine Tech, since the systems on boats are virtually the same, and I live near the water, so it was more practical. It was the DirecTV guy who told me to try them, because he couldn't do anything with the system that I had. It was about 6 years old, and may have been fine for the previous owner, but I ended up having to buy a new box that would work with my old in-motion dish....so I was very limited in what I could actually watch....NO HD for ME!!
Eventually, I just waited until the contract with DirecTV expired (almost 2 years), having paid a small fortune for vertually no TV. We decided that we will bring DVD with us, since we really don't plan on watching much TV when we're out anyway.....maybe on rainy days, if we get tired of board games:)

And, we can stream movies or TV on the computer with our aircard, which I also use at work, so it's worth the investment.

You really may have had the same walk around that I had.....flip the switch for the dish, to hear it spinning around, but not seeing anything on TV, since the box wasn't "activated"....trouble is, the box couldn't be activated.....so now it just sits there, and I've got a dome on the roof....probably knocking my fuel mileage down some more!

Good luck!

Oh, if you already have DirecTV or DISH, it may be fairly simple to just get a portable dish to use when you get to campsites....IF, you have problems with the in-motion dish. If you in-motion dish does work, it is really great!! We have one on the boat I work on, and I love it!! I just wouldn't invest in it for the RV, when I can watch DVDs or use the computer.

The answer to the Winegard question; that is your TV antenna. Usually a crank-up batwing style. These antennas will give you 60 stations or 2, or none, depending on where the signal is coming from, or if there is a TV signal at all.

I don't have satellite so can't answer the other question.

In motion satellite dome 101 by me.

Domes can see one, and only one, satellite at a time and only in one band (At this time) however SOME domes (Need make and model to know) Can switch between 2 or 3 different "Brids" (Short for Satellite) at a time.

DirecTV: (Different from DirecHDTV) uses one bird for most all customers 101W, south of, roughly Kansas, it can be seen from most anywhere in the 48.

DirecHDTV will not work with a dome,, only SD,, though some receivers will work, but not for HD programming or channels. This is because the HD channels are in a different frequency band and the antenna can not tune them.

Dish, uses 2 (SD) And 3 (HD) and since they are closer to Hawaii than kansas they have a 2nd arc over the Atlantic for folks in Myrtle beach (on the east coast) All can be seen by the dome

SOME domes, the controller will respond to the receiver's request to change birds, some do not,, again we need the make and model Some require programming or updates as well.

Finally: Single or dual? What does it mean, and can domes do that?
Single means ONE output, ONE sat and either ODD or EVEN transponders but not both at once. Has nothign to do with the number of birds it can see at one time.

DUAL likewise has nothing to do with number of birds but means it has TWO outputs and can see both odd and even transponders at the same time, More on this later.

With DirecTV, a DUAL can provide signal to 2 or more (with proper switch) receivers or a multi-channel DVR..

With DISH, You really should have multiple domes to do that since the odds are sooner or later the two receivers or DVR channels will want different birds and someone will be... unhappy.


Odd/Even transponders.... In order to double the badwidth Satellite TV uses each frequency twice.. By means of something called circular polarization they sent TWO signals in the frequency bandwidth normally taken by one. One is right hand and one is left hand.

The ground antenna can separate them very easily. I will explain how.

Imagine a turn buckle, This is a device that consists of two bolts, One righ hand one left hand thread,, Usually eye bolts, and a "Bridge" style nut that joins them together, one end is right hand one is left hand.

This way when you tighten both bolts pull in.

Now, if you tried to put the bolts in the wrong end.. Would not work, won't thread in. Radio waves act like the threads on the bolt, if they are "Twisted" the wrong way they do not go in. That easy.

Wonder why your dealer talked you out of setting up your In a Motion Sat.?

From your post, it seems you already have a 'dome' antenna on the roof? If you do then here is my response:

Is the in motion satellite something we need to get through our cable/internet provider at home?
YOu would call a Satellite provider to get service. Either Dish Network or Direct TV.

What is Winegard?
Winegard is a manufacturer company name. They make things like Television and Satellite Antennas.

Do you buy a dish/dome from them and then still have to use a provider like Dish or Direct TV?
Your post sounds like you already have a 'dome' on the roof since you say something like "talked us out of activating the in motion satellite". Do you?

And last, will Apple TV work in place of an in motion satellite?
this is probably more complicated than activating and operating satellite. This probably needs it's own thread.

Thanks for all the responses....we apparently (according to my husband) have the dome/antenna up there already...I know on the antenna we can move it around and sometimes get more channels.
The salesman talked us out of it saying it was a waste of money, the antenna would pick up plenty of channels. Yeah....not so much.
Sounds as if since we have the dome already, I need to contact Dish or Direct TV and go from there...
Thank you all so much!!
Happy Camping and safe travels to you all!

If you have Satellite at home already. You can take the home receiver and use it.

rvten wrote:
Wonder why your dealer talked you out of setting up your In a Motion Sat.?

That one is easy to figure out.

The dealer does not know how to set up that antenna and thus recommends against setting it up as he'd have to got to school to figure it out.. Unlike people like me (and likely you) who know how to find and download the owner's manual and do it quickly and easily.

If your motor home is used the satellite dome may be bad and the dealer did not want to tell you OR he may not know how it works BUT it is doubtful the last would be the case if you got it from a Fleetwood Dealer as they would be very knowledgeable of the various systems.

Winegard domes work with all the sat systems and they are very good antennas. With Dish you can use the receiver from your home in the MH while traveling w/O additional costs...OR for about $7.00 additional you can enjoy a different receiver just for the MH and not worry about moving your home receiver.