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How to Go Online From Your RV

HughesNet cannot supporr their service for Rver’s, but many have installed it in their homes and then decided to take the equipment on the road. We are the only authorized dealer offering full service and support for mobile systems.

The systems, which permanently mount to the roof of your rig have been out of reach of most Rver’s because of their $5,000. + price and $89.00/month access charge. They provide internet access only when the rig is parked and not in the shade unless you can find that rare shady site with a clear view of the southern sky. Their owners will admit that the automated antenna aiming system frequently takes more than 30 minutes to lock on to a satellite, and other times, it just cannot. Professional installers, trained by HughesNet are able to mount and aim a dish and wire a house in less than 3 hours. They use specialized instruments and techniques for getting the job done. If you have aimed a satellite TV dish, you can learn to do this job.

Other companies offer systems which appear similar to HughesNet. They are slower, complicated or impossible to relocate and offer much slower speeds on only one satellite.

Many Rver’s have gone to great trouble to locate and purchase instruments and some have paid as much as $500.00 to attend training classes in antenna aiming. The companies who offer these classes have suggested, and sometimes insisted that FCC certification is required if you wish to aim a HughesNet [formerly Direcway] dish, but the FCC and HughesNet will tell you that is not the case. FCC certification/ licensing is a fantasy. Call the FCC if you are in doubt.

How It Works

All of the satellites [birds] are parked 23,000 miles above the equator. They are in orbits that are synchronized with the rotation of the earth, and appear to be stationery above us. They are identified by the parallel of longitude they are above. There are 9satellites providing coverage to North America [Q4 2007], and each has a unique area of coverage [footprint]. All of them cover the 48 states.

As the HughesNet system becomes more popular [328,000 USA subscribers] more satellites are required for the more than 1,000 new subscribers per day. You can roam from Alaska to Panama and stay in touch. Once your system is commissioned, you can move as often as you like. No prior or post permission is required. If your wanderings will be inside the 48 states any of 9 satellites will probably meet your needs, but if you plan to extend your range, do a little research and become informed about each satellites footprint. Use a search engine to find the satellites on the web. The table below has the name of each Direcway enabled satellite and its orbital slot [degree of latitude]. The indicated area in each map reveals the footprint on North America of each satellite.

The connection provided by satellite is described as ‘asymetrical'. That means the upload [150 kbps] and download [750kbps] speeds are dissimilar; unlike a telephone or cable modem connection where the send and receive speeds are equal.

When you visit a web page your computer receives a lot of bytes of information. When you click your mouse or type on your keyboard, very few bytes of information are sent. If you are sending a photo attached to an email, you are sending a lot of bytes and it will take longer than it does to receive a photo. Do you care how long it takes your outbound email to go? This connection is fast enough for Video conferencing. Your satellite connection is always on even if your computer is not.

You can order a system for your home and purchase a conversion kit, but be sure the kit includes instruction in how to setup and aim, and support to help you get started. You will need to know how to access the firm for the dish final aiming. It is not like anything you have done before, just different, not difficult.

You will probably mount your dish on a tripod somewhere near your rig unless you love climbing the ladder to your roof. Select a spot where you have a clear view of the southern sky. Power lines and trees are not OK, if they are between your dish and the satellite. Your mobile internet system will be modified to easily disassemble the transmitter arm from the 38" x 24" dish. No part weighs more than 20 pounds. The standard internet system is designed for one time installation on a roof. Rver’s will not be happy with its inconvenient assembly procedure. It requires three hands and a wrench to assemble the dish and transmitter arm. We modify the factory design.

How to Setup

When aiming the dish, precision adjustments are required and almost impossible if a precision adjusting tool is not available and bushings are not installed in the dish mounting bracket.

When you are parked and ready to go online, no software is required. Just connect your satellite modem to your computer with an Ethernet cable, start your web browser and communicate directly with the modem. Tell it you want to aim your dish and it will ask for your location.

Supply your zip code or Longitude/Latitude and it will tell you where to aim your dish [ Compass direction, degrees above the horizon and skew angle].

Connect the coax cable from the modem – out a window,slide-out wiring loom, cargo hatch or door – and lead it to the outdoor unit. The Dish is located where it has a clear and unobstructed view of the right spot in the sky. Now that you know exactly where the Satellite is located, it is easy to select a location with a hole through the trees, near your site.

You are now ready to set up your tripod and get it dead level before mounting the dish.

• Preset the elevation and skew angles of the dish on the dish mounting bracket.
• Mount the dish on the tripod, attach the transmitter arm and point it at the Satellite.
• Connect the cables from your dish to your modem [inside your rig].
• Connect your Birdog meter to the other end. It makes aiming your dish simple and quick.
• Aim the dish to maximize the satellite signal strength.
• Adjust the antenna to achieve maximum signal strength.

You're online. How long did it take? First time, allow 4 hours. Second time, 30 minutes. After that you’ll do it in under 10 minutes. Stowing the dish is not a problem. It is designed to live outdoors in all climates. My dish travels, face in, strapped above my bicycle rack on the rear ladder. The rest of the gear is small and easily stowed below.

Questions?