[bikestuff]

Gurus,

I upgraded to the Directv sat right after I got the coach 10 years ago.   The antenna is a Winegard SK-3005.  It has been mostly trouble free....until a couple of years ago.

First Directv changed their system and I had to upgrade by adding a SWM8 box to the roof.   That put me back in business...but it has about a dozen additional cable connections.   

Now...I am broken again.  Directv is absolutely no help.  (They want to know my address so they can send a gorilla out to “adjust my antenna”.   

I will call Winegard tomorrow...but expect that I will get a script reader.

I have not been on roof to check the cables...but will also do tomorrow.

So here is my question....

Is it time to dump the satellite?   Has anyone figured out a cool way to stream video using cellular service?  Of course the WiFi that you get in campgrounds is universally terrible...so cellular is only option...right?

Ps.  I suspect that I have a bad LNB but am on the road and have no way to receive one.

So...what are you guys using these days?

Cheers,
Bill

[RussWhite]

Bill,

Take a look at gotW3.

High speed internet and I stream all the TV I want.

Russ

[folivier]

Bill there are several ways to do this. I'm using a Pepwave Max BR1 cell router that will also pick up wifi with an additional $100 license. One big advantage is that I have an additional firewall when connected to an open wifi. My Pepwave has 2 sim slots for failover if needed + lan and wan ports. I'm using a MIMO antenna on the roof and get 2-3 bars where our phones won't see any signal. Not using a booster. I've never been throttled even when using over 300Gb/month from streaming. It even worked well in Alaska but not in Canada on our ATT plan.
At the lot we just bought in Colorado I can get a 3G ATT signal which is ok for email and light surfing. I also have DSL with a router in the shed and have the Pepwave connected to it and am getting 10Mb down so it's enough to stream.
The issue is finding a cell plan with unthrottled unlimited service. ATT has an iPad plan that I think is still available, Verizon has their Visible plan which I've heard is unlimited. Both of these can possibly be used in a cell router like above. There are also resellers on ebay and others with grandfathered plans.

[Trainer]

I have a Winegard Traveler on the roof and a portable dome that I can set on the ground and it locks up to DirecTV just fine. I think the dome costs a little over $500.

I run a coax direct from dome to the DirecTV H24 box. The Traveler uses the coaches coax.

[bikestuff]

Rudy,

Yeah....my traveler locked up just fine when it worked. It still seems to lock on but something is amiss as I only receive about a tenth of the normal channels and none of the HD channels.

I have been thinking about a streaming solution for a while now.

Thanks Russ, and Forest...I will look into those.

Cheers,
Bill

[bestgenman]

Bill,
I’m not as tech savvy as you guys but, I’ve had very good luck with Winegard.  They seem to work better if you ask them to return your call.  The coax from the lnb to the base failed and they knew exactly what was wrong.  They told me how long to make a new cable or they would send one.  

For streaming, we use AT&T and very seldom have low speed issues but perhaps we don’t visit remote locations often as we stay in the Midwest mostly.  

My complaint with DirectTV is the fees.  As an AT&T customer, there was to be discounts for HBO etc.  Tom posted that he bargained for lower fees and was successful.  My bargain was less successful even though the rate was lowered.  Streaming has replaced about everything we used DTV for and they will be discontinued very soon.   It seems about everything is streaming now.

[encantotom]

i have the rf mogul hd dish. it has been flawless.

that said, last summer when we lived in it at cove fort the wind blew a zillion mph all the time so we stowed it most of the time.

i have a cellular modem i run through a google wifi router using an old att plan that gives me fast speeds and unlimited data.

i got my directv rates to less than half of what i was paying this past year and the year before about a third.

btw, i do the same for xmradio. i pay 6 bucks a month for each of my cars.

even at home we stream alot.

so, lots of different and confusing answers to your question

tom