Directv Local Service

[boughtabouy]

Hi All,

Directv is telling us that we can't view the local networks (or any networks, for that matter) on our boat in CA, as our home is in AZ. It's been several months since I talked to them about this, so I don't remember the exact reasoning, but I went round and round with a few people there. We get all the rest of our programming except ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, Etc.

I've been told since that this is BS, and I just didn't talk to the right people or say the right thing. So, does anyone know what the right answer is?

Kevin

 

[unklbuck]

cliff notes:
YOU tell DTV that your boat is now in zipcode xxccv and they will annotate that and you should start receiving locals. Right now, you are programmed to receive AZ locals, but cant get them since you are out of the viewing area of the satellite shooting to that AZ zip.


long story
not an expert on this and easily swayed by the next conversation from DTV but here is my take.

1. there is a difference between NATIONAL locals and LOCAL locals. you need to be excalibur the XIV to get national locals feed from dtv. Those are the 37x channels i believe on the guide....where you get the NY CBS station for your east coast CBS and the LA cbs station for a west coast feed.
2. MY setup is such that i can get the LOCAL local channels, but i got to switch to a different satellite receiver. This was the case when boat was in FT Myers.
3. Went to Charleston. MY understanding there, was the local channels in that area were not broadcasted on some satellite number (like 105) and instead for this area, it was 076 and KVH then told me, that i would have to reprogram the sat #2 in the dome to receive such. of course, my POS kvh was already discontinued by the time i bought the used boat.

4. Went to the Abacos, and then told DTV that i was not in Charleston, that the boat was in a West Palm Beach marina , gave them the zip code of x marina and told them to change my location to such. They did, and for some reason, i got all the programming plus local channels on one receiver. NOTE. still did not get the National locals.
5. BAck in Charleston and told dtv that i wanted national channels. NOw, not sure exactly on this, but RVs have national channels, yada yada, but they do not give them to boaters. That is what you want to receive, the national local channels
6. DTV sends you some waiver form, that takes 3-4 weeks to get, fill it out in 45 seconds, and then wait the 45d to hear that you are not allowed national locals, since there is some place in your viewing area that can get local locals.
7. sort of lost on this now. Anyway, crew got all the locals figured out with this antenna system we put on and still a pain to use compared to one stop shopping on the dtv dial.
8. So, as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, this blurp comes to and end........tell em your boat is now in zipcode xxccv and they will annotate that and you should start receiving locals. Right now, you are programmed to receive AZ locals, but can't get them since you are out of the viewing area of the satellite shooting to that AZ zip.
9. If anybody knows how to get national locals on their DTV sub, let me know. wine and cigars will be on their way.

 

[tobnpr]

John,
I'm sure this sounds stupid, but what defines "national locals"?
I get the local affiliates of the major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX)...
Is that what you're referring to??

I, too thought you couldn't get "locals" outside of home port. Wasn't aware you could make a call and have that changed. Good info to have, especially if I can ever take a real vacation and cruise somewhere!

 

[boughtabouy]

It's as easy as that? I just tell them I moved the boat from CA to AZ, and they switch my local networks on? There is no difference in how my KVH receives the signal?

 

[docofthebay]

One more idea. If you already have Direct TV at home (with
local channels there), get another receiver for your house (5 dollars a month) and then take that receiver to the boat. It thinks that it is at your home address and will show those home channels.
Dont ask me how I know this works.

 

[boughtabouy]

Too late. Already have one built into the boat, and they know it is kept in CA. I think my only option is to "move" the boat back to AZ.

 

[unklbuck]

the national locals are the local affiliates on the east and west coast. so, if you get those channels in the 370 series range, then these are what i am referring to as the national locals.

Again, my understanding is that boats can't get them, but RVs owners can.

AZ-tell DTV that you have service on your boat (is this a separate service from your home subscription?). If it is, then tell them the zip where the boat is and, they can make the adjustments and you should see the locals for San Diego.

I dont know your KVH setup so talk to KVH too about local reception and what you have to do with your model KVH.

Again, as soon as the word technical gets involved, i start heading 180. My understanding is that they think your boat is in AZ and that is the problem. Your system cannot pickup the AZ local satellite feed since boat is in San Diego and your system cannot see the AZ beam. KVH can explain that. Think of it as those in SD want the SD local feed and not want to see AZ feeds and same for AZ.

 

[320Bob]

Kevin,
"Local" channels have always been a hassle with Satellite because there was a piece of legislation that may still be in effect that precludes satellite operators from offering them unless the customer can prove they are outside the broadcast reception area. I cannot speak to DTV receivers of recent vintage but I had Dish TV several years ago where the box had an antenna input for my roof antenna which got local HDTV stations off the air. If you can get a normal digital TV signal at your marina this is an option if the DTV box is set up to do this.

If you cannot receive local stations via an antenna because the reception is too weak then you may have a case to make to DTV that they should be included. Go to www.antennaweb.org and put in the address of your marina. It will show what local stations can be received at that location and what type of antenna is required. If none can be received like at my marina, then you can inlcude this as proof that DTV needs to include them in your package.

All the BS that one has to go through to get local stations with satellite is one reason I changed to cable at home even though it costs more. My marina has a free satellite feed with over 30 channels but it is too remote to have cable service so I have no choice.

 

[boughtabouy]

the national locals are the local affiliates on the east and west coast. so, if you get those channels in the 370 series range, then these are what i am referring to as the national locals.

Again, my understanding is that boats can't get them, but RVs owners can.

AZ-tell DTV that you have service on your boat (is this a separate service from your home subscription?). If it is, then tell them the zip where the boat is and, they can make the adjustments and you should see the locals for San Diego.

I dont know your KVH setup so talk to KVH too about local reception and what you have to do with your model KVH.

Again, as soon as the word technical gets involved, i start heading 180. My understanding is that they think your boat is in AZ and that is the problem. Your system cannot pickup the AZ local satellite feed since boat is in San Diego and your system cannot see the AZ beam. KVH can explain that. Think of it as those in SD want the SD local feed and not want to see AZ feeds and same for AZ.

Thanks for the input. Okay, here's the lowdown...I talked with KVH today, and it seems that I can't just tell DTV that my boat is in AZ (while it's in CA) because there is a certain beam that broadcasts the AZ local networks to only that area around Phoenix. That data won't be beamed into CA, only the CA networks are. There are laws on the books that won't allow DTV to broadcast AZ networks into CA. And, because my main service is my home in AZ, they won't allow me to have the CA networks. There are plenty of over the air signals in San Diego that allow the networks to be viewed that way, which is why they won't give me the national network channels either.

Seems as though I'm screwed. Anyone have any other experiences?

Kevin

 

[unklbuck]

is your boat subscription tied on to our home sub?
if you have separate subs, then tell DTV that your boat sub is at SD
i think that the are beaming you the AZ locals, which you cannot pickup in SD, but you are technically getting them now.

if you have a separate dtv sub for boat, then tell dtv for that subscription, you want to change the location to your marina zip in SD and they will do that.
have you talked to them yet about this?

my boat is making its way to ft pierce today. when they get there, i will have them check on the locals since i never did change my boat's last given location to dtv which was some palm beach marina zip. if something is not happening with that, we will get to go thru round 12 with dtv on this and will let you know.

i think the key is the type of subscription you have with DTV. If that boat is tied to you home and you are just paying for extra receivers for the boat, then your boat is tied to the home and that home isnt moving.

 

[boughtabouy]

i think the key is the type of subscription you have with DTV. If that boat is tied to you home and you are just paying for extra receivers for the boat, then your boat is tied to the home and that home isnt moving.[/quote]

You are correct. The boat is tied to our home, and we just pay $5 for an extra receiver. In all, not a bad deal.

Kevin

 

[unklbuck]

No SD locals for you

 

[320Bob]

...You are correct. The boat is tied to our home, and we just pay $5 for an extra receiver. In all, not a bad deal.

Kevin

Do you have a regular antenna still on your boat that could be used to receive local SD stations? If not, perhaps you could purchase an HD antenna that could receive local stations and put a switch on the boat to toggle between satellite and the antenna. I'm fairly sure that this option would be cheaper than a whole new SD DTV subscription.

 

[boughtabouy]

Yes, it looks like that is the answer. Unfortunately, I just tore one of the coax jacks out of my Glomex when I opened up the system. It probably always worked, but I didn't know it. Nice delivery from MM. Now to get the glomex fixed and see what it picks up. Does anyone know if the glomex needs to have power to it to run? Can I just hook up the cable from the antenae to the TV? The problem right now is the mounted box with the gain knob.

 

[mmcguire2002]

Yes, it looks like that is the answer. Unfortunately, I just tore one of the coax jacks out of my Glomex when I opened up the system. It probably always worked, but I didn't know it. Nice delivery from MM. Now to get the glomex fixed and see what it picks up. Does anyone know if the glomex needs to have power to it to run? Can I just hook up the cable from the antenae to the TV? The problem right now is the mounted box with the gain knob.

The Glomex does need power to run. It will be hooked to one of your battery banks and as long as that is turned on, you just need to connect it to your tv and you are good to go.

 

[mawyatt]

Kevin,

The Glomex has an amplifier in-line before the splitter which feeds the 3 DTVs and 1 HDTV on our boat. A control allows you to set the gain depending on signal strength. I just have it set at about 90% available gain which seems to work well. If you turn the gain off the TV signal source is switched from the Glomex antenna to the transom connector for cable hook up.