Tag Archives: Moto-Sat

2013_07_02 (Tue) Escapade Day

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I attended two seminars in the morning on RV satellite TV systems, each presented by one of the two satellite TV vendors at the Escapade.  Linda stayed at the coach and made phone calls related to the pending sale of our old house and insurance changes we made yesterday on our motorhome and towed car.  She then attended a seminar on healthy living.

Although I have invested a fair amount of time in researching communications and entertainment technology options for our converted coach, I have not yet come to any conclusions regarding many of the systems, especially satellite TV. Thus, I continue to attend seminars and glean new insights from each one, and today was no exception.

Each of the seminars talked about both Other-The-Air (OTA) and satellite (SAT) antenna systems, as well as TV sets (monitors).  The monitors and OTA antennas are a settled issue in our coach, as already discussed in previous blog posts.  Still, the seminars confirmed our choice of 1080p monitors with digital tuners and rotatable antennas to capture the highly directional UHF digital TV (DTV) signals.

The big insights today had to do with SAT antennas and programming.  As mentioned previously, Moto-Sat is no longer in business, which I had not heard prior to the FMCA rally.  Former Moto-Sat employees created RF Mogul, which I had also not heard of prior to the FMCA rally, but whose SAT dishes were very much in evidence both at FMCA and at Escapade.

If /when we add SAT capability, we want to be able to watch different programs simultaneously on our two monitors, including a mix of standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) channels.  There are only two ways to do that, and only one that involves a single SAT antenna (dish).  An “obvious” solution is to use two SATs as each one can then fix on its own satellite, even if it is a single satellite dish.  Any dome-type antenna could be used in this configuration as all domed antennas are one-satellite-at-a-time.  That might be a solution, even with the added costs of duplicated hardware and programming, but we cannot mount any SAT dish on the roof, much less two of them, so this is not a solution for us.  I learned that the only single SAT solution that meets our requirements is a 3-axis multi-satellite dish (multiple LNBs).  These dishes come in manual models, like the ones used on fixed houses, and automatic ones, as seen on many RVs.  In our case, we would have to mount the dish on a tripod or set it on the ground, and figure out where/how to store it when not in use.  The manual dishes are not too heavy and not very expensive, but have to be aimed manually (duh).  I have talked to folks who have manual dishes and it can be a time-consuming and far from certain process to get them lined up with properly.  The automatic dishes find and lock on to all of the required satellites at the push of a button but are heavy at about 50 pounds.  They are also large, which is why they capture signals well, but that poses a storage problem when not in use.

The two major sources of these open, fold-down, 3-axis dishes are Winegard and RF Mogul, each represented by one of the presenters.  Although both dishes appear to work well, it appears there are differences, especially with respect to maintenance.  The Winegard dish apparently has two controllers, one of which is in the motorized dish base, while the RF Mogul has only one that goes inside the RV.  Also, it appears that the RF Mogul dish has field replaceable positioning motors, whereas the Winegard does not.  What this comes down to is that it appears the RF Mogul dish can be repaired in-situ, while the Winegard dish must be returned to the factory.  That’s a potential problem even if the dish is not mounted on a vehicle, and a bigger problem if it is.

With respect to programming services, both presenters seemed to favor Direct TV for various reasons from programming choices, to signal acquisition, to technical support.  We were leaning towards Dish Network, but we are now reconsidering that choice.  The issue of major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS) remained unclear to me.

Basically, residential satellite TV customers typically get the local OTA channels (major networks) for their geographic market.  The satellite companies do this by using “spot beam” technology where the satellite signals for a major market like Detroit are beamed (like a flashlight) to an area on the surface of the earth a couple of hundred miles in diameter.  If you take your home receiver outside of that area, perhaps in an RV, you lose those local channels, and you do not get the local channels for whatever area you happen to be in.  Both Direct TV and Dish Network appear to “solve” this problem by offering RV programming packages that include either the New York or Los Angeles local OTA stations, as these are transmitted to all of the continental US just like the rest of their channels.

The choice for us is bigger than just RVing.  We do not have cable or U-verse at home, and are too far from the local OTA transmitters to receive them very well, so we have not had any form of TV since mid-April when we moved to our new house until we started RVing in June and got our OTA antennas working (sort of).  If we get satellite TV at all, we are looking for something that will work at home and in the RV.  We are also considering simply not having satellite TV.

After lunch we went to seminars on Full-Timing, presented by George Maylaben of the RV Driving School, and Windows 8, presented by Chris & Jim Guld of Geeks On Tour.  George gave a thoughtful overview of the issues facing full-timers and those considering moving into this lifestyle.  The Geeks did their usual excellent job of presenting an understandable and actionable overview of the topic, and Linda was able to go back and use some of what we learned on her laptop.

We spent some time in the Paul Everts outdoor RV display area and then went to the Tri-Chapter (6, 36, and 51) social at 4:30 PM.  There was a small but friendly group present, and we got to chat with a full-timer couple from Michigan who are now residents of South Dakota.  There weren’t any evening activities that interested us, so we had a quiet evening “at home” and watched a program on Wyoming PBS about Mt. Rushmore.

 

2013_06_30 (Sun) Happy Birthday

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Sunrise over Boxelder RV Park, CAM-PLEX, Gillette, WY

Sunrise over Boxelder RV Park, Gillette WY CAM-PLEX

Linda was up early this morning and went for a sunrise walk.  Perhaps she was too excited to sleep because it was her birthday, but this is the 53rd Escapade and the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Escapees RV Club, so it could have been that.  When she got back I brewed up some Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee (from Irene’s Beans in Milford, MI) and she opened her birthday present.  Linda now has her first “cowgirl” shirt!  She liked it so much that she made blueberry pancakes for breakfast with real, fresh blueberries and real Michigan maple syrup.  (If you are thinking that I should have prepared breakfast for her, let me state that in the past I would have, and could have, done this but she is the resident WFPB culinary expert, and I have basically stayed out of the kitchen, and out of her way, since we started down this path two years ago.)

We got a call from our son who was checking on our house.  Linda had asked him the day before to check our answering machine because it wouldn’t pick up when we called.  It turned out that we didn’t have a dial tone, but our Internet connection appeared to be OK.  He said there had been a lot of rain this past week, so that may be the reason.  Our phone and data service come over the same wire, so I’m not sure that is the problem.  We decided to wait a few days and see if it clears up.  If not we will have to contact AT&T.

We had more coffee at 9 AM at the WiFi Cafe and more conversation with Charles Martin.  We returned the defective Camco hose and got a replacement.  Their analysis was that the metal sleeve had not been swaged properly which is why the barbed fitting did not stay in.  While we were there we looked at the Camco Genturi genset exhaust stack.  This is an auxiliary exhaust stack that fits on the end of the generator tailpipe and carries the generator exhaust up past the roof line of the RV.  It’s made of 3” PVC in 4 foot sections, so it can be taken apart and stored.  A tailpipe extension curves up into the base of the 3” pipe with room to draw in cooler air around it and creating a Venturi effect, thus the name of the product.  This is a fairly easily duplicated design; the main reason to buy it is that you don’t have to source all the materials and make it yourself.  The vertical pipe has to be supported somehow, and suction cups are one of the options.  The vendor suggested getting large ones from Harbor Freight that are normally used for handling windshields and other large pieces of glass.  If/when I build one of these, I would like to be able to hook it onto the gutter rail where the roof starts, but the large suction cups are an interesting idea, although I am not too keen on that idea with the new paint on the coach.  Our Aqua-Hot exhaust exits out under the driver side of the coach right next to the generator exhaust, and I have considered building a double stack that hooks to both of these.  In both cases, however, I have to be careful not to restrict the exhaust flow and create back pressure.

We walked through the vendor area again and talked to Sean at WiFi Ranger about the factory default reset we got when we turned the power off and back on.  I also bought a roof mounting bracket for our WiFi Ranger Mobile.  Linda bought a silicone cooking sheet for use in the microwave from RV SpaceSavers.  We stopped and talked briefly to Nick & Terry Russell of The Gypsy Journal and gave Nick a copy of the February 2013 issue of Bus Conversion Magazine.  Until a few years ago, Nick and Terry lived in an MCI bus that Terry had converted.  (Nick is famous for not knowing how to use tools.)  We talked to a vendor who provides mobile black/grey tank cleaning service, but deferred signing up.  We also chatted with a satellite TV vendor who felt strongly that Direct TV was a far superior choice to Dish Network, especially if we were also going to use it at home.  She confirmed that Moto-Sat had gone out of business and that RF Mogul was started by former Moto-Sat employees.  We discussed the possibility of using a fully-automatic open style multiple-satellite dish on a tripod or other mount rather than having it attached to the roof.  She seemed skeptical, but did not see any fundamental reason that it wouldn’t work.  (In fact we have seen a lot of open style satellite TV dishes mounted on tripods or sitting on the ground, although most of them are manual dishes, not automatic.)

After our jaunt through the vendor area, we visited “The Row” to get our “bingo” sheet filled in but ended up talking to many of the chapter and C-BOF representatives.  We finally met Steven Gullette from the HFH BOF, with whom we had exchanged many e-mails in the last few months.  He will be one of the co-leaders on the build in Sheridan in a couple of weeks.  We chatted with Lou Petkus, K9LU, and signed up for the newly formed SKP Photographers BOF (no charge).  We also talked to the Elks BOF and found out that we can join the Gillette lodge while attending Escapade, so we took some information and an application form.  The initiation is Friday evening.

We got back to the coach around 12:45 PM and grabbed a quick lunch before running some errands.  We went back to the Boot Barn to exchange Linda’s new shirt for a different size, and had to join their “loyalty program” in order to do the exchange.  The manager had to approve the exchange and was a bit surly.  We will not be shopping there ever again.  We also mailed an anniversary card to our son & daughter-in-law.  Linda received a birthday call from her sister and a video birthday greeting from our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter.  In many respects, RV life is just like regular life.

We attended the opening / welcome ceremony at 3 PM and were delighted to see and hear from Kay Peterson, SKP #1.  Dinner was leftover risotto with the rest of the Lawrence Elk black currant wine from Prairie Berry Winery, and both were excellent.  I was sorry that they were both gone, but there’s more where they came from.

We went over to the Wyoming Center at 7 PM for the Door prize drawings followed by the Rivoli Review for the evening entertainment.  They do a good show, with lots of energy and humor, although the patriotism was laid on fairly thick, and there were moments that were just plain jingoistic and inappropriate.  Although many of the attendees were enthusiastic about their show, there were plenty of folks sitting on their hands who were clearly not so pleased.