DirecTV and Genie

OK, last change. Reporting this just in case someone else has the same question later. Bill's questioning the $25/mo for the HR21 kept nagging at me so I got into a chat on the Direct website. As Bill said it is $7/mo. The Chatter said it would be $20 one-time for the new access card but when they sent me to the Access Card Team they said they waive that if you are re-activating a receiver that you previously had. If it was an Ebay/Craigs list receiver, they would charge $20.

The HR21 is all we need so we have a cheap solution. Thanks all for the help.

Thanks Bill! As always, appreciate your counsel.

The range on the wireless bridge is not great but should be able to get through the RV wall and at least 1 wall in the house if you plan to park the RV close by. You could then keep the Genie in the RV and use the wireless mini-Genie in the cabin. With the whole house setup on all receivers you would still be able to watch and record up to 8 channels at the same time and view them on any TV in the RV or in the house. It seems like the Genie plus 2 DVR's is a bit of an overkill but you could eliminate one DVR and add the mini-Genie. You would still be able to watch/record 7 channels. That's just an opinion, not a recommendation.

Maybe a plan: thanks to all the inputs I'm considering getting a wireless mini genie and a wireless bridge for the RV off Ebay. Thinking of going wireless because I currently run RG6 from the front to the bedroom on the ground because too lazy to try and fish it through the rig. I would use the existing for other things...like take to the stick house now and then. This work?

Your SL3 antenna can only handle 8 tuners at a time, not 9. I think you were very clear in your original post.
I have been using, selling, installing and supporting DirecTV and the Winegard SWM3 antenna since it was released.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
$25/month for what? Each receiver cost $6 or $7/month, not $25. The technical problem is that DTV does not think you can have a 5 tuner Genie plus 2-2 tuner DVR's as that is 9 tuners and a standard antenna can only handle 8.

I am sure that you understand that a mini-Genie will not get any programming at all unless connect to a Genie (wired or wireless).
Not 100 percent sure what you are hoping to do.

In our stick house we have a Genie (records 5 channels) and two older recorders that each record 2 channels for a total of 9 that can record at the same time.

The antenna (SL3 for us) sees all the available channels from the satellites. Just like an over the air TV antenna, each channel is separate because they are on a different frequency. The cable from the antenna has a wide enough bandwidth to carry all the channels at the same time. This is how it has to work, because when you change channels, your DTV box tunes to a different frequency for each channel.

Your DTV configuration probably has one antenna cable coming (through a SWM power inserter) into an eight way splitter. Any signal coming out of that splitter can also be split again with a two-way or four-way splitter or whatever. Anyway, all of the channels the antenna can see are available on any cable split off from the cable coming down from the antenna. Of course you cannot split the signal too many times because each split lowers the signal strength available to the box on the end. This can be overcome by inserting high bandwidth high fidelity amplifiers although there are eventual limitations with this approach (to say nothing of cost implications).

Think about a cable TV network servicing an entire community. They manage to capture the television signals and split them out to hundreds or thousands of homes spreading over miles of distance.

I didn't make it clear. Appreciate the responses.

Current MH config is a Genie HR 44-200 as the main receiver and a HR 23-700 in the bedroom. Works great.

We are full timers. We will be on the road somewhere while we can. We have a base camp. On the other side of town we have a house that we are remodeling. It will be our residence when I get old, senile and drooling. I put up a dish there. When we stay in the house for an overnight or something, I currently take the MH Bedroom HR-23-700 and use it there. Works great.

I have a surplus HR21 from when we had a stick house. When we closed the account, they said keep it but send the card back. I got to thinking that I could re-activate it and use it when we are at the house instead of taking the HR23.

I asked DTV what that would cost to reactivate that HR21 on the RV account. Nice lady said about $25/month.

Nice lady said the better option would be to get a mini Genie for $6/mo and forget the HR21.

My question is if I get the mini Genie, will it work with the HR44 in the MH? (I would take the HR 23 to the house to use when we are there.)

Hope I made this clearer. Thanks!

$25/month for what? Each receiver cost $6 or $7/month, not $25. The technical problem is that DTV does not think you can have a 5 tuner Genie plus 2-2 tuner DVR's as that is 9 tuners and a standard antenna can only handle 8.
I am sure that you understand that a mini-Genie will not get any programming at all unless connect to a Genie (wired or wireless).
Not 100 percent sure what you are hoping to do.

The HR44 can remain in the home or RV and be the only box you need. Convert to using wireless mini-Genies on the TV's and you can put TV's anywhere you want them and run it all from the HR44.

Depends on how faw apart they are? If your living in the RV during the remodel why not move everything outside?