Directv equipment, questions and where to purchase.

[mrxlh]

Long story short, set up account on Wednesday, installer shows up yesterday and says, sorry we don't do installs on RV's anymore. Call Winegard, get the runaround from a woman who cannot spell or is hearing impaired or both, after 30 mints on the phone, she says I need to cancel my account that I had signed up for on Wednesday. If it wasn't for Sunday Ticket, I would probably have went Dish by now, ok rant off. 2 questions now.


1.) Who can I order the equipment from and just install it myself?

2.) What all do I need to run an HR44 for 2 TVs in my RV and be able to watch 2 different programs on 2 different TV's. I.E. Wife watching a DVR program, or live TV on 1 TV and me watching a football game on the other?

I am stationary for the next several months until we purchase a house, but would like to use this in the future for when we go camping, I.E. portable and fairly quick to set up.

[lynndiwagon]

My video bridge sits right on top of my HR44. Never had any problems with this distance. There is a lot of info on the net for wiring up your equipment. It's not really complicated and I know you can do it. You will get good at aiming the dish with practice. If you use the setup menu on the HR44, using the zip code for dish alignment, you will get the dish setup info for your location. If you're really careful with the compass you can get real close to the correct satellite which is 101. Have fun.

[Bill_Satellite]

You will want to hard-wire the HR-44 via HDMI to one of the TV's so I am not sure that the storage compartment is your best choice. Are you really going to have 3 different TV's setup with a Genie plus 2 additional mini's? Sounds like overkill, but what do I know!

[mrxlh]

I do not have the equipment in my hands yet, (I have to go pick it up next week) but what was ordered was a HR44, and 2 wireless mini's, the power supply for the dish, the video bridge and the satellite with a tripod. They are giving me all the coax to hook everything up. I am going to install the HR44 in the storage compartment, the bridge on the opposite side of same compartment, and the genie mini's would be about 7-8 feet from the wireless bridge. I realize to aim the dish I will have to hard wire from the HR44 to a TV with a HDMI cable which is no biggie.

[Chuck_thehammer]

First.. when I Call a company. and I can not properly understand the person.. I ASK to be transferred to someone with English speaking skills.

I called Directv for RV stuff. they sent me to Winegard... the person sold me a receiver.. as I already had a portable dish from craigslist.

bolted receiver under a cabinet... connected cable..

I had trouble re-contacting Winegard.. so I called directv to turn ON new box .. Done.


I did this 2 months ago.. Yes I am a directv customer.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

If you need an installer, we have used Sats2Go in Houston TX 3x for repairs to our satellite system. He is the RV satellite "guru". You would have to take your RV to him. We stayed at Rayford Crossing RV Resort and he came to our site. Quality work, reasonable price. www.sats2go.com Lots of useful info on his website.
281-564-2828

[Bill_Satellite]

Assuming you are going with a tripod based antenna and a Genie (HR44) you just need a dedicated run from outside to where the HR44 will be located. Your existing cable input will not work but there is a chance it could be modified.
If you want 2 TV's running the best option is to have a dedicated cable to each which needs to happen AFTER the SWM splitter. If you don't have a way of doing that then you will need the Genie, a wireless video bridge connected to the Genie and a wireless client for the 2nd TV. The wireless bridge needs to be located at least 4' from the Genie (unless that has changed recently) and the Genie and the Bridge must be at least 4 feet from the client.
You will need the antenna (be sure it's a SWM3 LNB) and a direct run to the Genie. If you want to make 2 direct runs to the Genie and a WIRED client then you will also need a 2 port splitter (or 4 of which you use 2) and a dedicated coax run from the splitter to the client but you would NOT need the Video Bridge.

[Bobbo]

Which equipment did you decide to go with?

[mrxlh]

Well, you cannot get the equipment from Directv. You must get it through an authorized retailer. I will be picking up the equipment on Thursday next week and probably installing it Friday.

[Bobbo]

If you can live without HD, my King Flex antenna and 2 receivers will do what you want. You have to run 2 coax cables to use 2 receivers since it is not SWM. It is SD only though.

ON EDIT: I just went to King Control's website and see that they no longer make the King Flex. That is a shame. The King Quest is their current production that does what I have.

Neither of these is compatible with your HR44 without a SWM8 and Power Inserter. The SWM8 will require 2 coax cables run to the antenna whether or not you are using 2 tv's.

If you can get a D10, D11, D12, H24 (or below), or HR24 (or below) instead of your HR44, you won't need the SWM equipment.

[enblethen]

I would not go with a rig mounted automatic dish. A portable, like the Carryout, has benefits as to get away from obstacles.

[rhochnadel]

Just get a Winegard SWM Automatic system and have it installed!

[2oldman]

mrxlh wrote:
Is the new SWM system that much harder to aim than the old systems?

If you mean a Slimline dish on a manual tripod, yes, it will be a challenge at first. But many of us do it regularly.

I understand the Genie has the beeps back whereas the older HD DVRs do not. That should make it much easier. DTV amazes me sometimes with the things they do and refuse to do.

[LynnandCarol]

We ordered the DiretTV RV Package and had it shipped to our house. Tripod/Dish, remote, and receiver. Not sure if this still and option, but I know DishTV has a similiar plan.

[donn0128]

No. Genies come in two flavors. Wired and wireless. Wired means you will need to string a coax from the splitter to the mini. Wireless as it implies you simply plug the mini into 120VAC and connect a HDMI between the mini and TV. The video bridge is what is used to send the signals wirelessly from the Genie to the mini..
If you want more details on how I have mine setup, send me a PM and I will be glad to email you the details.