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Lvdeuce
Newbie
Joined: 06 Oct 2013
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Posts: 8
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Topic: Satellite on Pod Posted: 09 Jan 2014 at 9:44pm |
I have been lurking around here for about a year as we have been saving for an RV. We have decided on the 182G. We plan on camping at nascar races. Watching race weekend shows while at the track makes for a better experience. I wonder, has anyone installed, or use portable, satellite systems with their pods?
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Sleepless
Senior Member
Joined: 07 Jun 2013
Location: Titusville, FL
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 556
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Posted: 09 Jan 2014 at 11:13pm |
We had Satellite TV in two of our larger TTs and a motorhome in the past but once we moved to Florida, we switched to cable. Our motorhome had a rather sophisticated dish, but the pods exteriors (and interiors) would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to use a permanently mounted dish. And, these are unforgiving if your campsite is in or near trees that could block the signal.
Even with our motorhome, we often had to use a portable dish and had to locate it outside our site, providing the campers in an adjacent site did not mind another dish in their area. Portable dishs are pretty straight-forward in terms of equipment requirements. We always carried our portable mount, a DIRECTV dish, a heading compass, a level, a signal meter, and 25 and 100 foot lengths of coax cable.
In this day and age, I would never go through the hassle of carrying and setting up a satellite system since most campgrounds now provide cable service. If not, you can usually pull in several stations using the pod's antenna.
If you are dry camping, forget the satellite unless you are prepared to use a power-hungry inverter or a portable generator. I would prefer to just use the pod's TV antenna and a 12 volt TV.
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2014 R-Pod 178 (OUR POD)
2009 Chevrolet Avalanche
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furpod
Moderator Group - pHp
Joined: 25 Jul 2011
Location: Central KY
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 6128
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Posted: 10 Jan 2014 at 8:48am |
Several podders have portable dishes. The concerns are simple.. you need 120v power, and a clear line of site to the sattelite. If you get a manual pointing dish, well, you have to set it up and point it. Beyond that, they are pretty plug and play.
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coopercdrkey
podders Helping podders - pHp
Joined: 26 Aug 2012
Location: Cedar Key, FL
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 457
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Posted: 10 Jan 2014 at 4:35pm |
DishTV offers the "Tailgater" auto-aligning antenna module. We invested in one before realizing the fact that most of the campsites we enjoy have a tree canopy that the signal almost never can penetrate.
In the wide open spaces of a NASCAR infield, for example, that should not be a problem.
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Bob and Joyce
Jennifer and Baxter, the Campin' Cocker Spaniels
RP 177 "Key Pod"
Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT / Z71
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Lvdeuce
Newbie
Joined: 06 Oct 2013
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 8
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Posted: 10 Jan 2014 at 10:37pm |
Thanks, we will mostly camp in "dispersed" areas on BLM, national forest areas and at nascar tracks. No doubt we will have a generator. I like shady spots, ya'll have me concerned about reception in wooded areas. Is one type, manufacturer, better than others?
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furpod
Moderator Group - pHp
Joined: 25 Jul 2011
Location: Central KY
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Posts: 6128
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Posted: 10 Jan 2014 at 11:04pm |
No system is going to be better than any other when it comes to reception.. it's an all digital signal.. it either can get through to the dish.. or it can't. The only way to improve reception is with a larger dish... something you can't do with a portable.
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Lvdeuce
Newbie
Joined: 06 Oct 2013
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 8
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Posted: 12 Jan 2014 at 5:33pm |
Thanks, after some research, I think the tailgater will work best for us. Now, we just need the pod.
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