Forum Discussion

baxter932's avatar
baxter932
Explorer
Jul 15, 2016

Satellite dish in Canada and the USA

Hi there;
We are as new as new can be. We purchased a Class C motorhome and noticed on our maiden voyage that most campgrounds did not offer cable anymore. 2 weeks without Blacklist was enough to cause a stroke so we bought a Wineguard portable satellite dish from Camping World. I also ordered the receiver. Now. We live in Canada and want to use the dish on a trip to Saskatchewan before we go to Yuma. I know I have to register with Dish for the states but how do I use it in Canada. Do I have to buy a Bell receiver and set up a plan with them? So, 1 receiver for US and 1 receiver for Canada? Thanks so much. Deb

4 Replies

  • I recently installed a satellite setup in our TT. All I did is borrow an unused receiver from home and put in the trailer. We have 6 receivers set up at home with our service provider and one wasn't being used. As mentioned above, the satellite does not know or care where you are. What you don't want to do is phone the provider from the US if having problems. You'll need to figure out what particular satellite you need to aim to. If you only want HD channels, you may need just one satellite and a dish with only one LNB. I would suggest using only one satellite then you won't need to set the dish up with the correct skew angle. We bought a used 18" dish off CL and it works fine. Not sure what you bought for a dish. I'm not sure if an LNB can be used with different companies (Dish, Bell, etc.).

    You can use www.dishpointer.com to get the elevation and azimuth you need for aiming the dish depending on where you are. I would go through the setup procedure at home to make sure you know how to set it all up and how to use the setup menu on the screen. Figuring out how to aim the dish can take a while at first. When using a signal finder meter, you can end up catching a wrong satellite and you'll need to go see what the display on your TV is showing.

    Trees can be your biggest problem and if a lot of trees in a CG, it can be frustrating to find a site with an opening through tree branches. If you're using a Canadian service provider, you can't look at other satellites in a CG to see where they are aiming. Our particular satellite is almost 90 degrees different. Another thing to note is that the centerline of a dish is not where it's aimed at the satellite - they have an offset of 20 degrees (IIRC). To get an approx. idea, look from the bottom of the dish from the rear to the top of the LNB. Our dish is pretty much vertical and didn't make sense to me at first.

    You'll also need to figure out where to have the receiver in your Class C and will need a co-ax connection on the outside and an HDMI or component cable from the receiver to TV. Our TT came pre-wired for satellite but I abandoned it and installed new co-ax from the exterior connection to the receiver.
  • FWIW, old subscribers to Starchoice could easily get their TV programming in the USA and down into Mexico for many years and we didn't pay any extra for the additional mobile satellite dish & receiver (they have now agreed to grandfather us in). Shaw took over and we had the same deal, then since the new satellite was brought into service, more and more folks are finding they are struggling to get the service they had before in the USA, however many respond saying they can get all but the channels that are restricted to the new satellite.

    I have no idea as to the technical specs or what is what or who is who in the zoo so to speak when it comes to the technology but someone else will be along I'm sure to provide more specifics. However, YES in a nutshell with the right set up of Dish, LNB's, receivers compatibility etc you can still get all but some of the HD programmes on the new dish down in the USA as well as up here. Just don't tell them you are down there has been the biggest thing suggested to most!

    Since our old dish cracked and we got a new one we haven't been able to make ours work, think it might be because we have a different LNB or something compared to the set up on the house = I don't understand it all. All I know is it all worked fine until our dish got damaged by an installer and now doesn't work with the new set up down in the USA. Ho hum
  • Not necessary true the satellite companies don't know exactly where you are they only know where you are registered. That said, it depends on the area the space satellite covers, you have to find out what the max longitude or latitude I don't remember which the satellite can send it's signals.
    Take note that in the extended range these satellite signals will be low in the sky meaning that trees, mountains etc. can effect your reception.
  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    Your sat dish/receiver will not know if it's in Canada or in the US BUT the further north you go you may need a bigger dish to get a strong enough signal. As long as you stay within a couple hundred miles of the US border you should be fine as the sat singles do not stop at the border, they just get weaker as you go north.