Facts about satellite systems and the service that comes with it
George,
Congrat on the new bus! If you haven't figured out your HD DirecTV problems let me set the record straight. Over two years ago DirecTV changed the technology with their HD satellites that prevented any brand of dome to receive the signal. That forced the satellite manufacturers to design and build an automatic open faced satelltie system. Two companies have met the challenge, Winegard and MotoSat. They both have strengths and weaknesses some of which is that Winegard has less warranty but is less money initially to purchase. additionally, Winegard won't be convert easily From DirecTV to Dish Network if you switch your subscrition from DirecTV to DishNetwork in the future. MotoSat has a higher initial cost but seems to have a better reputation for service after the initial purchase. The biggest down side to the Winegard for a bus is that a special bracket must be made to install it on a round roof whereas MotoSat comes with a flexible mounting plate that bolts stright onto the prevost buses. I carry both system so I'm just stating the facts here not my preference.
Bottom line, the HD reception you get from the TracStar, a great inmotion system, is not going to be dependable due to the need of mutiple satellites to receive HD. Dish Network on a dome system is so finicky that it isn't worth the effort.
The most common setup is to have the tracstar be your inmotion SD option and the open faced HD satellite be the stationary HD system with a switch to go between the two satelltie systems. If you don't have a need to record or use the satellite going down the road then a cleaner installation is to remove the TracStar and trade it in against the automatic open faced HD system. Give me a call if you have questions. (619) 300-3114