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Old 01-20-2020, 02:01 AM   #1
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THOR #11939
CANADIANS...satellite dish installation

Hello All,
We are Canadians from Victoria BC and would like to install a satellite dish that we can use in Canada and the USA. Any suggestions on brands, installation companies etc would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
gera

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Old 01-21-2020, 05:51 PM   #2
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Pretty dependent on your budget. Check out the Winegard site for your options. It depends on whether you want a portable or fixed. I just use the Dish Playmaker while in the US with Dish Pay as you go. There is no installation as you hook it to your external cable hook up(one time modification to booster switch plate) and place it in an unobstructed Southern view. You can fix them to the roof also. They also make a carryout that works with Dish, Direct and Bell.
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Old 01-21-2020, 06:01 PM   #3
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Great info, thanks Peterrr,
If you connect to the cable Jack can you still use campground cable if it is available?
gera
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Old 01-21-2020, 06:06 PM   #4
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Nope. Why would you want to if you have satellite? On the booster switches they have the TV ant, cable as input with either one /or two outputs. What you would modify is the cable input at the switch, joined to a new RG6 cable to the new satellite receiver.
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Old 01-21-2020, 06:07 PM   #5
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most of what you want to 'know' about satellite tv while traveling is handled by the type of equipment that is available - King, Winegard, etc are the few who do this, and their antenna types will determine whether you will need an antenna for each separate service(U.S. and Canada), or whether they have an antenna that can provide a signal for both - but either way, you'll probably need a separate RECEIVER for each service since the two don't cross over.

but, others with experience with both will be able to give you more exacting comments.

as a note, either U.s. or Canada based satellite service will not suddenly 'stop' working just because you have 'crossed the border'... the signal knows not where you are, and the RECEIVER continues picking it up as long as it can 'see' it. Both work just fine near the border, and sometimes well inland of the opposing country. We've used our King Tailgater 2 and our land-based manual 3LNB antenna successfully in both countries, with our Dish account. You may find that using a U.S.-based provider might work best if you have a budget for a single account since it may work for a lot of Canadian cities as well.
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Old 01-21-2020, 06:16 PM   #6
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Just to expand further, it also depends on what TV you want to watch. If you are interested in keeping in touch with your home news during the winter, then a US based service is not going to supply that need. Bell signal is not available in the South but Shaw is. The US providers do not supply the Canadian Networks. If it is just TV you want in locations then the US providers are fine.
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Old 01-22-2020, 02:24 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Peterrrr View Post
Nope. Why would you want to if you have satellite? On the booster switches they have the TV ant, cable as input with either one /or two outputs. What you would modify is the cable input at the switch, joined to a new RG6 cable to the new satellite receiver.
Why? ...because we have friends who have camped in remote areas with no satellite signal. If a campground in a no satellite zone has cable and the satellite doesn't work I would like an option.
No worried...I can bring an extra coaxial cable and crack the window to feel a connection to a TV... not rocket science!

The website was great and our RV dealer is a supplier so we are all set...

Thanks!
gera
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Old 01-22-2020, 02:28 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gerachandler View Post
Hello All,
We are Canadians from Victoria BC and would like to install a satellite dish that we can use in Canada and the USA. Any suggestions on brands, installation companies etc would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
gera
Update on Cigarette Lighter Failure...Amazon.ca came to the rescue!...I ordered a USB power cable to plug into the dash and we are all set!
Amazon Prime delivering to a campground site is a great solution!

gera
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Old 01-26-2020, 04:10 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gerachandler View Post
Why? ...because we have friends who have camped in remote areas with no satellite signal. If a campground in a no satellite zone has cable and the satellite doesn't work I would like an option.
Unless I am mistaken, I find that statement a little confusing, generally in the US if you have a clear line of sight with the southern horizon, you can get satellite signals. There are East and West satellites. BUT trees and hills blocking the southern horizon are a problem. I lived in a condominium that backed up to a farm property with woods with really tall trees. Could not get Dish or DirectTV signals because of the trees.
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Old 01-26-2020, 06:03 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Mr.Goodbar View Post
Unless I am mistaken, I find that statement a little confusing, generally in the US if you have a clear line of sight with the southern horizon, you can get satellite signals. There are East and West satellites. BUT trees and hills blocking the southern horizon are a problem. I lived in a condominium that backed up to a farm property with woods with really tall trees. Could not get Dish or DirectTV signals because of the trees.
I am a Canadian...we have areas with no satellite signals. We have friends who have been in Alaska and had no satellite signals.
Sorry to confuse you.
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Old 02-01-2020, 08:02 PM   #11
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shaw is the only supplier that works reliably in Canada the US and Mexico
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Old 02-01-2020, 08:39 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gerachandler View Post
I am a Canadian...we have areas with no satellite signals. We have friends who have been in Alaska and had no satellite signals.
Sorry to confuse you.
ATT/DirecTV works fine in all of Alaska. [Quote] Whatever you love, DIRECTV in Alaska has it all. Plus, you'll also get DIRECTV On Demand and an HD DVR! To get more information about which packages are available in your area and best suit your needs based on your channel preferences, click here to check out the DIRECTV Channels page.] [End Quote]
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Old 02-01-2020, 09:33 PM   #13
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Thumbs up Satellite TV

Quote:
Originally Posted by gerachandler View Post
Hello All,
We are Canadians from Victoria BC and would like to install a satellite dish that we can use in Canada and the USA. Any suggestions on brands, installation companies etc would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
gera

We have the Wineguard X2 with walley and utilize Dish TV. Did lots of research and questioning others who had it before we purchased it. It will cover both the western and eastern arcs.
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Old 02-01-2020, 10:45 PM   #14
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some mention no 'signal' in Alaska, but that can be a confusing point to some who are new to satellite tv...

the satellites are in a fixed orbit, in a set place that never changes, as they orbit at exactly the same 'speed' that the earth is rotating - in essence, in the sky above most any of us, all the time.

Here's the rub: when you are in the southern U.S., or Mexico, you have little issues picking up the satellites in the sky, since they are sometimes almost directly overhead, or close to it.

BUT, the farther 'north' you go, ESPECIALLY into Canada, and certainly Alaska, you are in a different boat, as the satellites are now 'low' toward the horizon, and MUCH more subject to be easily blocked from view by trees, hills, mountains, building, homes, even the RV parked next to you.

ALASKA is by far the 'hardest' to receive Satellite TV signals since your Antenna is almost having to POINT almost directly at the horizon, ESPECIALLY the farther north in Alaska you are, Fairbanks for sure. In Alaska, you may see some very odd looking SATELLITE ANTENNAS on homes - they look like they are almost pointing DOWN, instead of up!
The reason is because the standard satellite antenna you see in yards and mounted on the sides or roofs of homes is an 'open faced' antenna - the 'dish' of the Antenna is what is 'capturing' the signal from the satellites, and REFLECTING that signal to the 'eye', or sometimes THREE eyes, or LNBs, that actually send the signal to your receiver, which processes the signal and sends it to your TV for viewing.
Since the 'eyes' of the Antenna are not what are pointed at the signal, but the 'dish' is what does that job, the 'eyes' can look as though they are pointing 'down' - though that really doesn't matter - the 'dish' is where the signal is captured.

Canadian satellite tv companies may use different satellites, maybe that are 'higher' in the sky, and more easily captured by satellite 'dishes' in the Canadian provinces, which is also probably why U.S> and Canadian satellite tv companies don't 'cross over' the border - it's not that the satellite suddenly can't be seen, but that your satellites for YOUR channels are getting harder and harder to acquire, closer and closer to the horizon.
If you have DISH or DIRECT and travel in Canada, likely you'll need to get your Antenna, no matter whether a portable or a fixed, as HIGH as you possible can.
If you travel in Alaska, you may not be able to get it HIGH ENOUGH to ever get a signal, or your portable antenna may not even be ABLE to look low enough, even if you do.
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Old 02-02-2020, 01:19 AM   #15
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Some US Sat providers will work for Canadian cities near the border, but you will need a US mailing address to subscribe. All of them work in Southern Ontario. of course, you get the US networks and programs.
Of the Canadian providers, none are licensed south of the border. they will work in most northern states. Shaw Satellite has two older satellites that are accessable down south, but Florida is a little iffy. Shaw will tell you they will not support US users, but the signals ignore international boundaries, so just use Dishpointer.com to tune your dish and carry on. Here in the southwest you see Shaw users as far south as Yuma and San Diego. Again, you will need a Canadian mailing address.
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Old 02-02-2020, 03:55 AM   #16
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I am currently in an RV Park in Melaque, Mexico, 6 hours south of Puerto Vallarta. There are several rigs in here using shaw. A lot of the restaurants around here have it and are doing superbowl parties. I think they may be attached to canadainsthat have subscriptions and have extar dishes & decoders. Gray market.
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Old 02-02-2020, 04:34 PM   #17
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For Dish Pay as you go, you do not need a US mailing address to subscribe. You need an address for locals, but you change this address as you move. For instance after moving from Quartszite to Southern California, I called them and gave them them the address I was near in Huntington Beach and within a half hour the locals were changed from Phoenix to LA. You can change the locals when you move through their MY Dish application, but being a Canadian with a Canadian Cell phone package, the App is not available through the Google Play store in Canada. Thus you need to call or do it through a Web Chat. When back in Canada with Pay as you go, I just suspend the service, until I hit the road next fall.
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