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Old 11-13-2008, 07:00 PM   #1
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MotoSat Directway internet

My '05 SMB has a fold-down satellite dish on top. I thought it was for TV . Turns out it's two-way internet broadband. The dish sits on top of the PH. Anyone ever use one of these things? Not sure if I'm keeping it. Looks like it costs about $6000 for this stuff.

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Old 11-13-2008, 07:11 PM   #2
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wow.... I am think we need pics of this thing..... (the van and the dish)

I have been getting educated on Satellite Internet over the past week or so. We have not yet used satellite internet yet, but we will be at some point in the future.

Once you have the dish, the modem cost is pretty cheap, and then the service can be turned on and off without a contract and almost as often as you might need to.

What model dish is it?

Is there any other hardware?

Or any idication who the service provider was?
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Old 11-13-2008, 09:05 PM   #3
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Cool a Sportsmobile with a ray gun on top! Yo pics.
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Old 11-13-2008, 09:12 PM   #4
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Satellite Dish

Greg ,
Check out the Camping World web site they were running a special on numerous Satellite Systems , by Winegard and some other brands
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Old 11-13-2008, 09:21 PM   #5
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Where's Buji with his sage, techno advice?


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Old 11-13-2008, 10:21 PM   #6
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I looked into this extensively before I took possession of my van last year. It was the required monthly fees that turned me off, and I didn't think the systems were that reliable then. May be better now.

Some links:

http://www.datastormusers.com/cgi-bin/u ... index.html

http://www.starband.com/index.html

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/RVIn ... Satellite/
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Old 11-13-2008, 10:30 PM   #7
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I want one!
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Old 11-14-2008, 07:31 AM   #8
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I'll post a pic once I get this thing to spring to life. It's just folded down now. You can see pics on SMB West website of recently sold vehicles (Santa Paula). It uses HughesNet service. DirectTV can be added as well. My Modem and controller is one generation old, still servicable but they charge extra for using old equipment. It would cost $1500 for newest electronics. Wireless router enables my SMB to create a WiFi hotspot where ever I am. Sounds cool but costs $100/mo just for internet and requires a year contract. If I buy new electronics, I can get $100/mo a-la-carte and turn it off when not needed. Most of my horse camp outs have cell service so I would rarely find this useful. Is it worth it just for the Çool Factor? Might be worth playing with it for a year if they can get it to work well.

Has anyone tried this kind of service and does it works easily or is it a major hassle?

I live in Santa Barbara and I saw a bunch of media vans with similar hardware reporting on our fire last night. Seems like those mobile vans are always losing the signal. "Geraldo, are you there?"
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Old 11-14-2008, 09:10 AM   #9
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I think you need to get this, put a server in your van and host the forum. It would be like "Pump Up The Volume" a la Internet.
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Old 11-14-2008, 09:47 AM   #10
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Hughesnet seems to have the higher number of users....

BUT be careful about getting the latest equipment. The latest equipemt is Spot Beam equipment, so you will lose your signal once you are 100 miles or so from home. The HughesNet 9000 series modems are NOT for us mobile users.

If you get used equipment, the modems are really cheap. You also need to make sure there is no residual contract attached tothe modem, but if it was decommissioned you are good. You can then reactivate the modem WITHOUT a contract. You can then turn the service on and off by the month, thus avoiding those nasty monthly charges unless you are using it. There is some annual limit to the number of OFFs and ONs, but I dont remember the numbers now. The monthly costs when it is turned on can be as low as $59.

If you already have the dish in place, it should be cheap to get things up and running. (I am not talking DirecTV, since that would require a seperate receiver).
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