BAC Forum
General Boards => Technical Support => Topic started by: barbhalsell on November 08, 2012, 02:33:02 PM
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Has anyone had any luck using their 2000 era Datron Sat. system for Dish? We have a spare receiver from home and would like to use it for the motorhome. Is the system just too outdated? Is there a simple way to use this?
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The Datron Dish is only compatible with a satelitte receiver with a low speed data port. Later model receivers do not have the port.
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Is the dish itself usable if the LNB were replaced? It would be nice to be able to use a dish that is already mounted.
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Hope this helps.
See image below.
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Sorry that last reply came out so large. I just attached an 11X8 file. Marty
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The Datron only supports Direct TV. You may use the old Sony receiver that came with your coach in the front of the coach
to operate the antenna then use a modern receiver in the back for DVR. There is no repair for the antenna so it lasts as
long as it lasts. It worked well for us until we decided to switch to Red Box.
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Thanks guys, I guess we will go spend MORE money.
So what about this little guy?
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You need to have a dish that looks like or emulates what your receiver uses for a satellite compliment at home. If your current dish has 3 LNBs then your on the road dish will need the same.
Something like a carry out will emulate a 3LNB dish by toggling between the three satellites that are now covered by the fixed LNBs on your current dish. If your receiver has a dual tuner
feature you will have limitations with a toggle type dish. One other complication is that there are different fixed dishes for different satellite compliments like eastern arc vs western arc. Depending on
where you will spend most of your travel time one dish configuration will have an advantage over another. Most Dish network installers should be able to help sort this out for you.
Later Ed
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Ah, I see as I surf the net looking for this stuff! This is mind- boggleing!
I have a round DISH dish with a dual LNB at home. Is my best bet going to be actually calling DISH and having them make a service call to the Beav? Which is now in a park in Sacramento until around next July.
Or should we go to an RV service center and have some kind of install done?
I knew I would be opening a can of worms trying to get TV.
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Once you have experienced the performance of a modern rooftop dish like the Windegard Trav'ler, you will never want go back to the Datron. Even without considering the issue of HD vs SD, the ability of the Trav'ler to quickly and reliably find the satellites makes having satellite TV much more satisfying.
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Because you had a standard dish for ground use pictured I thought that you were leaning in that direction and wanted to set something up yourself at a campsite. Going
along with Joel, if you want to have a relatively trouble free versatile install on the roof of the coach the Winegard Travler is a great choice for an RV on Dish Network,
The Travler supports HD programming. The proper ground antenna units also support HD but are not as user friendly to work with.
Later Ed
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re-sized photo
You can click on it to enlarge it.
Glenda 8)
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I was hoping not to invest in a Traveler until we decide if this coach is the keeper. So that is why I was trying to find simple and usable.
There is a rooftop Winegard RM DM46 crank up that looks like it would function pretty much like the Datron. Anyone have something like this?
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The answer to your question depends on what channel package you want to get while on the road, if you want HD or not, and what reciever you will use. Also if you use an outside ground dish of some kind how will you cable it and get the signal to the satellite receiver and from there to the TV. If you want HD you will need to get an HDMI cable between the satellite receiver and the TV, The broad spectrum of channels reside on 3 satellites. If you say no HD that is a bit simpler, if you say a receiver with a single tuner where all TVs watch the same channel all the time, and I'll use whatver channel set one satellite is providing then that is simpler but limiting. Here is some Winegard info.
http://www.winegard.com/portable-satellite-antennas/index.php?q=rv
I would consider a receiver with a single HD tuner and a carry out as a baseline system that works well today and is easy to set up. That gives you HD, a DVR if you like, all of the channels in your package but you will need to watch one channel at a time. You could sell it or take it with you to another coach. The cables need to be planned as to how you get this to work in your specific coach. This means that you have to set the dish cables up at your campsite when you pull in. There are two cables but if installed right you can make that easy to do with exterior connectors. If you find this coach is a keeper then you could go the route of the Winegard Travler and sell the Carry Out. You would have the expense of two installs as far as cabling.
You may want to call Winegard for some help in choosing what will work for you.
Later Ed
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Thanks Ed. Now that I have a better understanding of what is available maybe we can make a decision.
Barb
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For what's it's worth, we started off with a Carry Out on Dish and a VIP722K reciever. While it did work very well there wre some limitation but nothing we couldn't work around. Most HD channels were fine and the few we coudn't recieve the SD counterparts were OK so we didn't lose the program, only the HD.
This year we had BCS install a Traveler and, without a doubt, was a good investment. Much better reception and the ease of pushing a button, over setting up an external, made it worthwhile. Plus it opened up a ton of Bay storage once I got home and sold the Carry Out.
If you get something other than the Traveler, it's possible you will be spending the $$$ twice as you will probably get it later.
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I had a RM DM46 Winegard dish on my first Beaver coach, a 1993 Patriot, and it worked OK for the standard definition DirecTV satellite TV of that period (do not know about Dish). If you have not upgraded the original TVs that came in your coach, and you are happy with a standard definition signal the RM DM46 dish is a useable system, at least for DirecTV.
A few things to consider. First you will have to drill about a one inch hole through the roof of the coach for the crank-up handle, so it will be a permanent installation. It is not upgradeable to HD reception. If you move often, it can be a little bit of a nuisance to have to locate the satellite, however I found that the Digital Magic elevation sensor add-on was a great help in this task.
Gerald
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If you live with campground cable, your terestrial antenna, and pick up dvds for however long it takes to decide if this coach is a keeper you will probably save money and a lot of decison making and installation turmoil. The one good thing about today is that your entertainment can come from multiple sources. You could also have downloaded programming while at home on your computer and stream that to your TV in the coach as another option if that is something that you have done before.
In the end something like the Winegard Traveler might be your best choice because of the roof install and cabling advantages getting connections to the satellite receiver and TV. It is more expensive, but you will be assured that it will work well, and the install should be more straight forward. I think you only want to go through one install of a permanent antenna system for whatever coach you stay with so take your time. You will not find any cabling installed in your current coach that will work between whatever dish system you choose and the satellite receiver. That issue may dictate a shorter list of antenna systems and locations that make sense for your coach.
Later Ed
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We have an in motion dish but also have "The Cube" that is portable and aimed from inside the coach with a remote control. These systems are single LNB so only pick up the standard signal and not HD. We like Direct TV as our RV is in with our two HD home receivers and only costs $4.95 per month more. We can also reauthorize the receiver if necessary with an I Phone ap.
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Looks like we will live with the channels we pull in on the regular batwing for awhile :) Thanks for all the input.