Satellite TV?

[Ross Bowling]

Has anyone installed Satellite TV on a 34? I get OK reception in and around the SF Bay, TV goes digital when we get any rocking. The thought of a small SAT dish is appealing, but not sure of the installation and the quality of the signal.

Any Thoughts?

[Gadzooks!]

Hi Ross,

Welcome to the small, exclusive group consisting of west-coast PDQ 34s!!

I know of no satellite TV installations on PDQs, but a friend recently installed one on a North Pacific 42. He has been as far north as the northern tip of Vancouver Island, and says reception has been rock-solid. I have XM satellite radio, and reception also been faultless as far north as Juneau. I think you can be confident of good reception.

The installation is a harder puzzle. If you figure out a good way to do it, let me know.

[Leadfree]

We have had DirecTV for 6 years, 5 on our MV. Larry installed the dish on the back port corner of the flybridge using PVC pipe per Follow Me TV guidelines and hose clamped it to the stantion. We have an LCD TV that Larry rigged on a stainless steal pipe at the piano bar so it can turn to the salon or nav area or upper seating. This has worked up and down the ICW and the Bahamas. If you like, I can take pictures and email them to you. Let me know at: leadfree01@aol.com
Good luck,
Sharon of Lead Free Too

[duetto]

there is a 34 in charleston, sc with kvh installed. i have not seen but was told by the owner that it's mounted on flybridge stern rail.

i can get you his name & email if you're interested.

[Ross Bowling]

Thanks for the West Coast Welcome and Sharon thanks for the info, it has been almost a year since we were at Nettles.

I intend to speak with the local dealer and see what we can do. Several friends have the KVH system and are pleased. while we have many TV stations here in the Bay Area, the Digital signals are not always the best, especially at Low Tide!

I will keep the Forum posted as to the progress.

Ross

[Lady of the Lake]

Have you guys tried Over the Air HDTV? I bought a 19 inch HDTV LCD set and connected it to an amplified antenna ($19 on ebay for the 12V car version) and I get incredible full HD channels plus old fashioned UHF TV. 60 miles from Orlando, FL, last night we got about 50 channels, most OTA HD. Granted, most of them were nothing I would want to watch, but we did get NBC, ABC, weather, and FOX. Not to shabby. Try it, you will be impressed.

[Ross Bowling]

I have the HDTV that was standard equipment on the boat, with the powered antenna, however even in the TV prolific Bay Area, we are unable to receive several of the network stations. Once into the Sacramento Delta the choices are even fewer. We have even had trouble in San Rafael which is just North of the Golden Gate. The terrain seems to be very limiting with the HD transmissions.

It sure would have been nice while in Ensenada for the 45 days, before bring the boat home.

rb

[NavyA4]

Ross,
i have had a KVH M3 satellite dish for about two years now. Very happy with it. Joel Feldman (M/V Explorer) bought one at the same time and he also gets excellent reception (DirecTV). I had a stainless steel mounting bracket made thru a contact of Dick Tushick's. It sits on the railing on the port aft side of the fly bridge. I don't know if that would be available any longer, but I can send you a picture of mine if you need it. Basically a semi circular base clamped to the top railing, and a single strut angled down to the bottom railing. I placed the receiver in the cabinet to port as you enter the saloon, to which I ran the antenna wire (easy). I ran the power supply to the electrical panel on the stbd side (hard). I have never lost signal due to normal boat motion. Of course, bad weather will affect it like any other dish. You can usually hear a minimal gear motion on the flybridge when it's searching alot. (If your home billing address allows for Directv to provide the major networks, the you will also be allowed to have them on the boat, otherwise you will become familiar with some obscure federal regulations that won't allow you to receive the big 3 on your boat. So you may not want to throw away your 75 ohm cable.) It took me one weekend of work after I gathered all the parts, and I would recommend it. You'll get a great picture.

[duetto]

to directv subscribers,

how is your boat's directv plan linked to house's directv plan, if at all? we spend the winter on the boat and summers ashore. we would like to turn one off when the other is on. any help is appreciated.

[NavyA4]

John,
With Directv, my boat's receiver is added on to my home account, just as if it were another receiver in a room in the house. I don't know of any way to inactivate the receiver during parts of the year. It is a $4.99 charge per month. If your home address allows you to receive national "network" programing (ABC, CBS, NBC) you will be able to receive the same on the boat. If you are only permitted to receive local network programs at home, you will not receive the big three on the boat. It's a law that applies to boats, but not RV's. Go figure. It's based upon your billing address. If that applies to you, you may want to keep a 75 ohm cable available for marina hookups when you want to watch something on network tv.
Steve