KVH TV-3 Dish TV

S

Steven C

New Member
Nov 19, 2021
6
Astor Fl
Boat Info
2002 380 Sundancer
Engines
8.1S Mercury horizon
7kw Westerbeke
First time post, my wife and I just purchased a 2002 380 DA with 8.1 and a 7kw Westerbeke.
The boat had been set up for Direct TV but we have a home account for Dish TV.
I ordered 2 new Dish Wally receivers and installed them in place of the Direct TV boxes.
I called KVH and was lucky enough to get a tech named Jose, he walked me through the entire process which took about an hour and a half.
The switch over was fairly simple but I’m certain it was because of Jose.
The service costs me $5.00 per receiver per month and we get the same channels as we have at home.
 
Nice! We have Direct TV streaming and we are going to try that on the boat. WE are looking into getting a mobile hot spot.
 
@Steven C nice work! I have the TV 5 - same as yours except slightly larger dome. I use DirecTV on mine with four receivers. The picture is standard definition. Can you confirm that with Dish TV you are getting high definition service?
 
tc410 said:
@Steven C nice work! I have the TV 5 - same as yours except slightly larger dome. I use DirecTV on mine with four receivers. The picture is standard definition. Can you confirm that with Dish TV you are getting high definition service?
Click to expand...
With a 3 you are only going to get SD.... From what everyone has told me.
 
Steven C said:
First time post, my wife and I just purchased a 2002 380 DA with 8.1 and a 7kw Westerbeke.
The boat had been set up for Direct TV but we have a home account for Dish TV.
I ordered 2 new Dish Wally receivers and installed them in place of the Direct TV boxes.
I called KVH and was lucky enough to get a tech named Jose, he walked me through the entire process which took about an hour and a half.
The switch over was fairly simple but I’m certain it was because of Jose.
The service costs me $5.00 per receiver per month and we get the same channels as we have at home.
Click to expand...

KVH's tech support is phenomenal. Not sure it matters who you talk to there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RBB
The Bill Collector said:
With a 3 you are only going to get SD.... From what everyone has told me.
Click to expand...
Dish is all HD for the satellites that KVH connects. Range is the variable that the antenna size affects.
Direct TV on the other hand is SD for the smaller antennas.

I understand that Direct TV has their standard definition programming on the Ku frequency band and HD on their Ka frequency band which are different satellites. Most of the KVH antennas do not receive the Ka band.
Dish on the other hand is HD on the Ku band.
 
Last edited:
I did the Wally thing too but found out my KVH M3 antenna was the obstacle to current satellite reception. My choice became replace the antenna for BIG bucks....not.
 
brewster16 said:
I did the Wally thing too but found out my KVH M3 antenna was the obstacle to current satellite reception. My choice became replace the antenna for BIG bucks....not.
Click to expand...
I thought an M3 would work with Dish Wally's and HD...
 
brewster16 said:
I did the Wally thing too but found out my KVH M3 antenna was the obstacle to current satellite reception. My choice became replace the antenna for BIG bucks....not.
Click to expand...

My M3 works great with Direct TV I just had to buy an additional component and I only get SD.
 
carterchapman said:
I thought an M3 would work with Dish Wally's and HD...
Click to expand...
So I spent the better part of last summer dealing with this stuff.....after countless hours on the phone with all sorts of numbskulls from DirectTV (most of whom didn't realize boats can even have a TV), then more hours with Dish and their Wally receiver (much better to deal with), the good people at KVH (who I should have dealt with from the start) told me most (but not all) M3 antennas are completely obsolete and incapable of receiving today's satellite signals. Certain M3 configurations (depending on serial number of the unit) can be "mickey moused" to pick up SD only. This M3 antenna guidance came right out of the mouth of a KVH engineer who clearly knew exactly what he was talking about. So.......
fullsizeoutput_4916.jpeg
 
Last edited:
brewster16 said:
So I spent the better part of last summer dealing with this stuff.....after countless hours on the phone with all sorts of numbskulls from DirectTV (most of whom didn't realize boats can even have a TV), then more hours with Dish and their Wally receiver (much better to deal with), the good people at KVH (who I should have dealt with from the start) told me most (but not all) M3 antennas are completely obsolete and incapable of receiving today's satellite signals. Certain M3 configurations (depending on serial number of the unit) can be "mickey moused" to pick up SD only. This came right out of the mouth of a KVH engineer who clearly knew exactly what he was talking about.
Click to expand...
I believe that everything you were told is correct - for the “M” series (M3 as you referenced). However, the newer “TV” series that replaced the M series works fine. The OP referenced his TV3 and my TV5 works perfectly. I need to switch from directv to dish if I want to upgrade to HD picture, or buy the $12,000 HD7 KVH dome to get directv in HD. I won’t be doing either - the tv is more an end of day relaxation tool before bed than it is a daily entertainment necessity.
 
The signal comes in at HD and is a great picture, I have not tried the system while under way to see if the TV3 tracks the satellites yet but will try tomorrow.
 
brewster16 said:
So I spent the better part of last summer dealing with this stuff.....after countless hours on the phone with all sorts of numbskulls from DirectTV (most of whom didn't realize boats can even have a TV), then more hours with Dish and their Wally receiver (much better to deal with), the good people at KVH (who I should have dealt with from the start) told me most (but not all) M3 antennas are completely obsolete and incapable of receiving today's satellite signals. Certain M3 configurations (depending on serial number of the unit) can be "mickey moused" to pick up SD only. This M3 antenna guidance came right out of the mouth of a KVH engineer who clearly knew exactly what he was talking about. So.......View attachment 118527
Click to expand...
That is good to know! Thanks Brewster.
 
brewster16 said:
So I spent the better part of last summer dealing with this stuff.....after countless hours on the phone with all sorts of numbskulls from DirectTV (most of whom didn't realize boats can even have a TV), then more hours with Dish and their Wally receiver (much better to deal with), the good people at KVH (who I should have dealt with from the start) told me most (but not all) M3 antennas are completely obsolete and incapable of receiving today's satellite signals. Certain M3 configurations (depending on serial number of the unit) can be "mickey moused" to pick up SD only. This M3 antenna guidance came right out of the mouth of a KVH engineer who clearly knew exactly what he was talking about. So.......View attachment 118527
Click to expand...

Mickey moused... No, I added $150 in components and mine is working fine with SD on DirecTV.
 
brewster16 said:
Hey man, sorry if you don't like the phrase but it's a direct quote from the engineer at KVH Industries marine division.
Click to expand...
The back story on my M5 was that KVH said they might be able to get it to work, but I had to box it up and ship to them and had to pay a fairly expensive bench fee whether it could be upgraded or not. If it could be upgraded, I had to pay for new parts and labor, and then pay shipping back to me. Shipping both ways alone was several hundred dollars, plus the bench fee was $250 - I think. In the end, I might’ve ended up with $1,000 into a unit that may work for another year or two. I chose to put that money towards a new TV5 which has worked great for about 4-5 years now.

KVH never mentioned Mickey Mousing it together, but basically, that’s what it was going to be - and expensive too with no short or long-term assurances.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: RBB
Well folks, there you go....hopefully any M3 satellite dish owners now or in the future will have reference to this thread (Disney references and all) and decide for themselves if the investment in time, money and patience is worth it.
 
Kind of a Hi-Jack here but is there a reason that you would stick with SD DirecTV when they have DirecTV stream that you don't need the Sat Receiver or Antenna? I ditched DirecTV a couple years ago after about 25 years of having an account. I'm about to sign up for the DirecTV stream service and use at the house and boat with smart tv's/firesticks and maybe one or two of their receivers... Just wondering why you would opt for SD with this available?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,118
Messages
1,426,483
Members
61,034
Latest member
Lukerney
Back
Top