KVH3 pricing

JPGator

Active Member
Apr 25, 2019
495
Treasure Coast
Boat Info
2008 Sundancer 40
Engines
Cummins QSB 5.9 425HO
Does anyone know what the subscription fee is monthly for this device? The ‘08 40 we are buying has the unit installed. I can’t seem to find any internet pricing anywhere.
 
It’s Direct TV. If you already have it your golden, if not somewhere in the neighborhood of $90 / month give or take options.
 
What model antenna is on the boat.If it is from 2008 there is a good chance Direct tv is no longer compatible and you will need to upgrade to a new antenna.
 
What model antenna is on the boat.If it is from 2008 there is a good chance Direct tv is no longer compatible and you will need to upgrade to a new antenna.
The unit says KVH3. What other information would I need?
 
I would call KVH; 401.847.3327. They will be able to tell you what your system can and can't do. DirecTV is definitely in flux and figuring out what's possible or going to happen with that service is difficult. KVH doesn't charge any monthly fees, you will just need to pay for whatever service you end up with. KVH used to facilitate getting customers to the right place in a provider's system. Satellite TV for boats is pretty rare and obscure in the overall scene of users so it's not uncommon to encounter dead ends in a company like DirecTV; I've heard it may be worse since AT&T bought them.
One other thing: If you already happen to have DirecTV at home, you can have your boat appear to be just another new room in the house and incur minimal cost.
 
During the survey the KVH was tested and the tv screen gave a number to call for service. We have access to getting a box from direct TV so if that’s all it takes this little endeavor ends up being very cheap.
I thought you had to pay both a subscription fee to KVH and to which ever satellite TV company you use. If it’s only one that’s fantastic. Thanks for the information.
 
No fees to KVH. It's just a satellite receiver. We took one of or Direct boxes to the boat and pay nothing additional. As others have said however, the KVH3 may not work with DTV anymore. Although the KVH website says it does support DTV.
 
I’m watching Direct TV with my KVH3 right now. Put the boat in the water last week, went on the DTV app and requested a refresh and bingo.
 
Your system is compatible and will work just fine albeit you will not receive the HD signals; still many Direct TV channels.
You will need to upgrade the receiver. Most of us got the HR24 receiver for the upgrade. The trick is to select an antenna in the HR24 setup that works; trial and error.....
Direct TV charges an additional receiver charge which is $7 per month if you have another account with them.
Solidsignal.com has the HR24 receivers and they have an agreement with DTV (AT&T) to activate; Just follow their directions exactly.
 
In all honesty all we care about is getting college football on the boat. We’re huge fans so being able to watch on the boat is huge. We’ve toyed with the idea of Hulu or similar service but I think the direct TV signal will be the strongest and most consistent. Should that not work then on to plan B
 
This might be a dumb question but if you dont have direct tv Can you h e them set it u just for an rv/marine application or do they have to set something up at your house first?
 
I don’t have DTV at home but they bill my home address. Call KVH for the initial setup not DTV. DTV will be confused and you will get a runaround. Then never let your service lapse and you will be fine. I even put my service on hold during winter months with no problem.
I’m using the KVH receiver.
 
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I don’t have DTV at home but they bill my home address. Call KVH for the initial setup not DTV. DTV will be confused and you will get a runaround. Then never let your service lapse and you will be fine. I even put my service on hold during winter months with no problem.
I’m using the KVH receiver.

Good advice.
I spent countless wasted hours on the phone with DirectTV/AT&T and almost gave up having service, then I called KVH and they got it done for me.
 
I don’t have DTV at home but they bill my home address. Call KVH for the initial setup not DTV. DTV will be confused and you will get a runaround. Then never let your service lapse and you will be fine. I even put my service on hold during winter months with no problem.
I’m using the KVH receiver.


This is exactly what I do as well. It's still a PITA. every Spring I spend almost a 1 1/2 on the phone trying to reactivate the receivers. My first year's experience was a nightmare, I told them it was for a boat. Wholly crap! It went south after that, they told me they don't do boats and it would not work so I had to hang up call back and start over. So I learned the hard way, never tell them it's for a boat.

When the system works it's great, however, DT/ATT has the worst customer service you could ever experience. Their communication across departments is non-existent.

JB
 
Very true. AT&T Customer Service has gotten terrible overall.
I’ve never changed cell companies in the 28 years I’ve had a cell phone and have been with AT&T since they bought out whatever the last cell company that had my account.
Never mention boat when you call them to send a restart signal.
They bill my DirectTV with my family cell plan. Four phones, iPad and DirectTV. That gives me a little bit of a discount on the service.
I keep my DirectTV account active year round. The boat is on the hard 4 months a year, but I use DirectTV on my iPad at the gym year round so its not a waste.
I’ll probably switch to another cell carrier as soon as AT&T sells DirectTV.
 
We use a KVH 1 dish with direct tv box. Works fine. Like others have said, call KVH to activate service. Power up the KVH antenna, open wifi on your device and you can connect to and update your dish. It should show up as "TV Hub …………………#"
 
I have the KVH M3 onboard it's approx. 15 years old and this year I couldn't get it activated after spending hours on the phone with DTV. I called KVH, I received an email with the diagram and parts I need to make it work. I ordered an H24 box from DTV, bought a destacker, and a splitter... I now have DTV up and running again !!!
 
I have the KVH M3 onboard it's approx. 15 years old and this year I couldn't get it activated after spending hours on the phone with DTV. I called KVH, I received an email with the diagram and parts I need to make it work. I ordered an H24 box from DTV, bought a destacker, and a splitter... I now have DTV up and running again !!!

Any chance you'd be willing to walk a new guy through the same process? What was involved work/cost wise? Easy DIY?

I'm taking delivery of a 2004 420 this week that also has a KVH M3 installed. We are already DTV subscribers at home, would love to get the 4 TV's on the boat up and running!
 

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