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Old 12-18-2013, 08:34 AM   #1
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2013 Itasca Meridian with Kingdome...not happy

Our Itasca Meridian 42e came with a Kingdome satellite antenna preinstalled. When we put in our DirectTV HD receivers, we got the unpleasant surprise that the KingDome doesn't support DirectTV HD.

So, it looks like we will have to replace this antenna and go back to the Wineguard system we had in the previous coach. Just curious if anyone else had run into this, what you did, and how happy you were with the final results.

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Old 12-18-2013, 08:50 AM   #2
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I think you will find that the Kingdome ant only needs to be re-programmed for Direct since WBGO is apparently setting them up to default to Dish. When my sig coach was new, WBGO was programming them for Direct, and I had to have it reprogrammed by a Kingdome dealer to allow the use of my Dish receivers. Cost about 100 bucks a few years ago.
I suggest you check with WBGO before replacing the antenna.
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Old 12-18-2013, 08:55 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by edgray View Post
I think you will find that the Kingdome ant only needs to be re-programmed for Direct since WBGO is apparently setting them up to default to Dish. When my sig coach was new, WBGO was programming them for Direct, and I had to have it reprogrammed by a Kingdome dealer to allow the use of my Dish receivers. Cost about 100 bucks a few years ago.
I suggest you check with WBGO before replacing the antenna.
Ed, I think his problem is that no dome will support DirecTv HD. They can be reprogrammed to receive DirecTv SD but not HD.

This is a common issue. Another option would be to open an RV account with Dish Network. The dome does support Dish HD. The route you mentioned will probably run close to $2K installed.

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Old 12-18-2013, 08:56 AM   #4
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There are no domes that support DirecTV HD. DirecTV uses a different band for HD. You'll need something like the Winegard Trav'ler or an open face dish on a tripod.
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Old 12-18-2013, 08:57 AM   #5
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Our coach had in the instruction books a listing showing the different Dish/Direct TV programing possibilities. What was required was for us to determine what programing we wanted, then by using the Kingdome on-off switches click them the # of times and sequences according to the instruction book for the set-up we wanted.
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Old 12-18-2013, 10:26 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by RickO View Post
Ed, I think his problem is that no dome will support DirecTv HD. They can be reprogrammed to receive DirecTv SD but not HD.

This is a common issue. Another option would be to open an RV account with Dish Network. The dome does support Dish HD. The route you mentioned will probably run close to $2K installed.

Rick
RICK:
Obviously I did not understand that Direct HD wasn't "possible" on any dome. Seems like a good reason to not use Direct service, IMO.

All I know is that I bought a Dish compatible receiver for a little over $200.00 and then paid a Kingdome dealer around $100.00 to re-program the Kingdome WBGO had installed (set to Direct) and I'm "pretty sure" I can now receive Dish HD signals. What would cost "$2K installed" ?
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Old 12-18-2013, 10:28 AM   #7
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I was not happy with the king dome and switched to the travler ant. If you have swm recievers they will not work with the dome. The swap out is easy camping world quoted over 1k but it took me only a few hours
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Old 12-18-2013, 10:57 AM   #8
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My 42E also came with the Kingdome In Motion thing. It's now sitting on the ground along side my RV. As far as I'm concerned, that's a great place for it. I replaced it with the WineGard Tvler and life is much better. The cost, I feel was no big deal compared to the benefits.
So for those that love the Kingdome, mine is available.
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Old 12-18-2013, 03:37 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edgray View Post
RICK:
Obviously I did not understand that Direct HD wasn't "possible" on any dome. Seems like a good reason to not use Direct service, IMO.

All I know is that I bought a Dish compatible receiver for a little over $200.00 and then paid a Kingdome dealer around $100.00 to re-program the Kingdome WBGO had installed (set to Direct) and I'm "pretty sure" I can now receive Dish HD signals. What would cost "$2K installed" ?
You'll get no argument from me on the wisdom of using DirecTv in a coach.

I'm no expert on this stuff, but as I understand it, DirecTv spreads their HD broadcasts over several satellites which the domes can't handle. Dish Network uses only a single bird for HD making the domes workable for their service.

The Winegard Travelr is a very popular open faced, automatic dish. They make models for Dish and another for DirecTv. The DirecTV model (SK3005) now lists for $2K... but the Dish model is considerably cheaper.

Here's a link to the DirecTv model.

TRAV

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Old 12-18-2013, 05:14 PM   #10
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DirecTV SD uses Ku band on 101. DirecTV HD uses Ka band. Dish uses Ku band for SD and HD. Domes are capable of receiving Ku band only. That's why domes can get HD with Dish and not DirecTV.

The Winegard Trav'ler is a more expensive automatic antenna. It has multiple LNBs to receive HD with either service. There are separate versions for DirecTV, Dish and Shaw. We have the Dish version on our RV.



The advantage of using a Trav'ler is that it's capable of feeding multiple receivers. A dome requires a secondary receiver to watch channels on the same satellite as the primary receiver with Dish Network. Domes have only one LNB so they can't "look" at different satellites at the same time. The Trav'ler receives all of the satellites at once, like the antenna you'd have at home. The Trav'ler can also feed multiple tuners allowing the receiver(s) to view and record at the same time.
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Old 12-18-2013, 11:05 PM   #11
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As others have stated, if you want In-motion then you will have to do the Dome, if you want HD then get a Traveler for the network you want. I personally switched from Direct TV to Dish because of the Pay as you go program for RV'rs. Direct TV will let you turn it off 2 times a year but you have to tell them exactly for how long as Dish will let you just not pay the bill for the upcoming month and its OFF until you do.
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Old 12-19-2013, 06:01 AM   #12
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I've never installed a new dome antenna for a customer.....

This article explains how you can use the SK-SWM3 with the DirecTV Genie systems in an RV.

The SWM3 is also discounted for the Christmas season....
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Old 12-19-2013, 07:08 AM   #13
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My king dome works fine with my directv. The manual details how to program it. It may not be HD as some of the other post indicates, but I'm one of the older generation that can't tell much difference anyhow, even at home. We have a 42" LCD in the living area and the picture looks pretty good to me. I have had some terrible experiances with DISH in our area and I would rather just have a digital crank up rather than go back to them...JMHO....
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Old 12-19-2013, 07:33 AM   #14
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Thanks

I appreciate the many responses. I should have been more clear.

1. The Kingdome does work for SD. All the TV's in the new coach are HD capable.

2. As someone pointed out, Direct TV uses multiple satellites. I noticed when we attempted to use it with Direct TV that the Kingdome antenna must occassionally (depending on the channel selected) re orient itself to a different satellite.

3. Not only does the DirectTV system use multiple satellites, they are different frequencies. The LNB's required are different and the dish for Direct TV HD is physically larger.

We had Dish when we lived in Utah, but when we moved back to Georgia we got DirectTV due to differences in programming that were available. We installed the Genie in the house, but have a second HD DVR that I had INTENDED to move back and forth between the house and the coach. That doesn't work. Call to KingDome support indicated that only some very specific models of DirectTV receivers (SD receivers) were known to work with their system, and none of them were DVR's.

I am unfamiliar with the Dish RV program Can anyone provide details around what that is and how it works?
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Old 12-19-2013, 08:13 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by cliffm View Post
2. As someone pointed out, Direct TV uses multiple satellites. I noticed when we attempted to use it with Direct TV that the Kingdome antenna must occassionally (depending on the channel selected) re orient itself to a different satellite.
It shouldn't be moving once it finds the DirecTV SD satellite 101°W. That is their Ku band satellite. The others are Ka band.
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Old 12-19-2013, 08:19 AM   #16
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I am sure I might be flamed by some but the HD to me is not a big deal, I had a dome on the MH when purchased and it works just fine with Direct TV. Not worth the money to change out to me.
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Old 12-19-2013, 12:33 PM   #17
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I agree. Another minority vote here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rream View Post
I am sure I might be flamed by some but the HD to me is not a big deal, I had a dome on the MH when purchased and it works just fine with Direct TV. Not worth the money to change out to me.
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Old 12-19-2013, 01:48 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cliffm View Post
I appreciate the many responses. I should have been more clear.

1. The Kingdome does work for SD. All the TV's in the new coach are HD capable.

2. As someone pointed out, Direct TV uses multiple satellites. I noticed when we attempted to use it with Direct TV that the Kingdome antenna must occassionally (depending on the channel selected) re orient itself to a different satellite.

3. Not only does the DirectTV system use multiple satellites, they are different frequencies. The LNB's required are different and the dish for Direct TV HD is physically larger.

We had Dish when we lived in Utah, but when we moved back to Georgia we got DirectTV due to differences in programming that were available. We installed the Genie in the house, but have a second HD DVR that I had INTENDED to move back and forth between the house and the coach. That doesn't work. Call to KingDome support indicated that only some very specific models of DirectTV receivers (SD receivers) were known to work with their system, and none of them were DVR's.

I am unfamiliar with the Dish RV program Can anyone provide details around what that is and how it works?
You can call the programming dept. at Winegard 1-866-609-9374 for specific details. but the big picture with the Dish Network Pay as you Go for RVs is:
1. You buy your own receiver or receivers.
2. You select and pay for whatever Dish Network channel package you want for 30 days at a time. No contract, no cancellation penalty. no discounts.
The only Dish receivers recommended are the "Solo" family units - 211k, 211z and 411 They are HD and DVR capable, but you have to add your own hard drive, and pay an activation fee for the DVR option.

Now for some Dish limitations when using a dome. Dish actively uses multiple satellites to provide their channel lineup. Which satellites you want/need to use depends somewhat on what part of the country you happen to be in. The farther north you go the more likely to have a problem seeing all the satellites, especially in the North East, unless you can switch to the "Eastern Arc" satellites.
If you add a second receiver, it will be a "slave" or "secondary" receiver and can only see the channels which are on the same satellite that the "Master" or "Primary" receiver is tuned to. (Call it a 50 - 50 shot.)

If you're only going to use your rig a couple months a year, the Pay As You Go Dish might make sense, but if you're going to use it for 6 or 7 months a year, you'll soon eat up the cost of a Travler and still not have the benefit of your Genie system from home.
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Old 12-20-2013, 08:32 AM   #19
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Dish receivers

On the Dish side, are any of the receivers ones that can function similar to the DirectTV genie where they can record multiple programs at the same time?
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Old 12-20-2013, 08:34 AM   #20
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I am sure I might be flamed by some but the HD to me is not a big deal, I had a dome on the MH when purchased and it works just fine with Direct TV. Not worth the money to change out to me.
X2...
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