TracStar SV-360

[ajducote]

Andre, Looks like you have gotten some good direction as to the source to get the TracStar 360. The only way to get DTV-HD is with a tilt up dish ie: motosat etc. much like are discussed in post #4 and #6.

I decided to keep the old KVH for in motion and put on the Motosat SL5 for when we are parked. I have had DirecTV for 10 years and really did not want to change to DISH. A couple of weeks ago I installed the Motosat and it seems to work just fine. I put in an A/B switch to go between the KVH and Motosat.
I want to thank everyone who contributed information on this subject, hopefully it will help others when they are ready to upgrade.

Attachment 6515

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Andre, wondering how did you mount the heavy base bars, seen in your MotoSat photo, to the bus frame members that support the roof panels. I assume you used some sort of fastener to go all the way through.
Did you achieve access to the frame members on the inside of the coach or was all the fastening done from the outside.

I am contemplating adding a power tilt antenna base for an amateur radio antenna. I need a sturdy mount and am trying to get around removing the inside mirrored ceiling decorations.

JIM

[ajducote]

Jim,

I am afraid I will not be much help. I used the original mount that came with the bus. There was an old Motosat Executive single lnb dish on the bus when I bought the bus. I removed the old dish and the new dish bolted to the old mount. It does look like the front 2 bolts are anchored in the bus frame. The rest just screw into the roof. UNLESS, Royale put something in the ceiling as additional support when it was built. I would think that if you span two cross members and bolt your base to them, it would be plenty strong.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Jim,

I am afraid I will not be much help. I used the original mount that came with the bus. There was an old Motosat Executive single lnb dish on the bus when I bought the bus. I removed the old dish and the new dish bolted to the old mount. It does look like the front 2 bolts are anchored in the bus frame. The rest just screw into the roof. UNLESS, Royale put something in the ceiling as additional support when it was built. I would think that if you span two cross members and bolt your base to them, it would be plenty strong.

Thanks Andre, JIM

[Mark3101]

I found out today from Tracstar, that in addition to NO HD from DirecTV, if you have the newer receivers from DirecTV you will also have to setup the dish selection on the receivers to ROUND 18" in order for it to work properly. You can not have the dish auto move from 101 to 119 or from 101 to 110 any longer. I replaced both of my receivers yesterday and had problems with them not getting a signal that would hold. I called Tracstar and got some excellent help. Turns out that DirecTV changed their firmware and removed the older oval, a,b,c dish type settings in the receiver that Tracstar used. As a result you need that Round 18" receiver dish type setting for it to work properly.

The tech indicated that there is not much lost by not going to 110 or 119 since HD is not available in any event and your locals would be gone after you move about 200 miles from your home anyway. He said that they are looking into a way to get the HD's back but it would probably be a fix that would only work while stationary. Too hard to get the KA band while moving...would need a much bigger reflector than practical.

So if anyone is still fighting issues with Tracstar and DirecTV, this may help. Mine works great now and I also got the off air AM21 adapter, so I can at least get locals that way.

[aggies09]

Mark,

Can you elaborate a little on the AM21 adapter. Where does it hook up? Where did you get it? Does it just act as a digital on air antennae?

[Orren Zook]

Tony,

Here's a link to a source for the AM-21: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=AM21

[Mark3101]

Mark,

Can you elaborate a little on the AM21 adapter. Where does it hook up? Where did you get it? Does it just act as a digital on air antennae?

It hooks up by USB and a port for your off air antenna. You basically hook up the USB cable, power cord to the AM-21, then a shorty power cord to the receiver, then hook up the off air antenna and you are done except for setting it up in the receiver. Go into the menu, then antenna and scan for the off air channels. They will also show in the guide after it is installed. They are available from many places including DirecTV itself. About $55 to $60. Works very well so far.

[aggies09]

Thanks Mark.

[BenC]

A few notes about satellite television from DirecTV:

1) the "110 adaptor" is a Tracstar systems item, allowing the dish to know when you are selecting a channel on the satellite at 110 degrees. It is, however, at this time virtually obsolete. DirecTV has very little programming on satellite 110 right now. I am sure this will change in the near future.

2) There is NOT currently, and will not be in the forseeable future, ANY in-motion dish that receives HD programming from DirecTV. The reason:
DirecTV, in the last 1-1/2 years, launched two new satellites to convey their HD service channels. Due to bandwith considerations, they chose Ka band rather than Ku, which is what all the other satellites in the western hemisphere receive and beam back to earth. To receive the signals from these new satellites, Directv put out the Slimline 5 dish, with separate LNBF's for the Ka frequency spectrum built into the feed horn. As well, they look at all five directv satellites. 99, 101, 103, 110, and 119 degrees Longitude.
In-motion dishes have only a small parabolic reflector and a single LNBF. They were able, up to that point, of switching between different satellites. Now, however, since the LNBF's are different for the 99 and 103 degree satellites (the new Ka band sats), they cannot receive the signal. They can still switch to 110 and 119 degree satellites and receive whatever DirecTV choses to put on these satellites, but can NOT receive signal from 99 and 103, the HD satellites.

Note: Dish Network chose to keep the extra satellites they put into space on the same frequency band as all the rest, hence, you CAN receive HD and all SD channels via in-motion on Dish Network.

Hope some of my rambling helps clarify the current satellite television issues of today.