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MotoSat HD to RF Mogul


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That saves punching more holes in the roof. Still It doesn't make sense to me that the rest of the mechanism which worked fine needs to be replaced. It still does the same thing. I will wait for RF Mogul to get back. There are 2 coax cables, a black and white power lead. Then there is the 9 wire plug with black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, white, purple.

Still have the box and packaging.

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I will e-mail them this am but in the meantime are you suggesting the whole roof array can remain? Just replace a plug on the south end and the controller?

 

Thanks

If your dish assembly on the roof is not damaged physically, you only have to change the plug and add the new controller and everything works fine. You don't have to go on the roof. I know because I have done this.

 

The MotoSat dish had a 9 conductor cable, the RF Mogul controller has a 12 pin connector. Just unscrew the wires from the old connector and plug them in the new connector, following the provided color guide. Then you have the power supply which has two wires and you also screw them in to the connector. Lastly, if you want to maintain your blue light, just also add the included jumper resistor and you're good to go.

 

The instructions are clear and support a quick phone call away. Took me less than an hour and the dish aimed perfectly the first time I tried.

 

== John

2015 Entegra Aspire 44B diesel pusher with 2017 GMC Acadia Denali toad
Web site, albums, blog and more here

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I've been thru the RF Mogul site but don't pretend to understand everything. Is their site up to date? Is the 800$ controller a new thing since the info posted last year?

-I get it will pick up the signal but will it lock on and stop automatically?

-I remember Shaw used to change something in their signal and signal needed to be updated once a month or something like that?? Is that still happening? If so will it cause me problems?

-Does Shaw Have more or different satellites or not using one that they were before?

-Can I pick up HD tv? Something in the back of my mind tells me of a discussion or reading something that HD cannot be picked up with the old Motosat.

 

 

 

What will throwing another $2k at a new system give that a new 800 US$ controller won't? Then I have to pay exchange and shipping on top so round up to 1k Canadian $.

The blue Motosat lite was neat but is not foremost on my mind.

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Your old MotoSAT will not be able to receive the Shaw HD as it's nearly all on the new satellite. The Winegard Trav'ler and the RF Mogul antennas will receive this as long as they have the current 3 LNB setup. In the US, the HD signal from the new satellite is not available so no antenna will receive that.

The RF Mogul is usually a bit out of date and it very difficult to navigate. Here's the info on the controller for the old MotoSAT antennas http://rfmogul.com/motosat-compatible-controller.html and it's listing the price at $895. I don't know if that's changed or they have raised the price.

Bill Adams
Full timer since 1997

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Bill and Jon, I appreciate your speedy and informative replies. Some topics posted get few replies.

 

I have cable at the RV Park currently so no need to rush. My house will sell in the new year, so with that money the RF Mogul replacement seems to be the way to go if the deck plate can be left.

 

Still, it's a shame to pitch out a good piece of hardware.

 

Bill were you on Datastormers?

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Hi gents,

 

Interesting thread. I should mention first that I am a Canadian with Shaw direct as my provider. I currently have the 75cm HD dish with the SD2 controller and the 505 HD receiver. I should point out to Roger that the HD channels that are on the original 107 and 111 sats are still there and unless you need/want the latest and greatest 600 series receiver and the HD channels on the newest satellite, the older system works fine. The footprint of the new satellite does not go very far south of the 49th parallel, and that is why the newest 600 receivers will not get the channels from that satellite when in the deep south. The newer lnb can be adapted to the existing arm on the HD dish for reception of the newest satellite with the 600 receivers when north of the border.

 

I have setup my system so that I can move the dish to fine tune the signal with 3 momentary switches that control horizontal, vertical and skew. I initially let the SD2 controller raise the dish and rotate to the approximate direction I want, at which time I turn off the controller. I then fine tune the dish until I have the best signal available. This worked fine last winter in Az. and I expect it will continue to do so indefinetly.

 

Bill, do you know if this method would be basically the same with the new RF Mogul receiver other than the controls for the vertical, horizontal and skew being adjustable from the new controller? That is what I get from reading the information on the web site. I don't expect that anyone will be writing the code needed for the Shaw Direct receivers anytime soon, so the manual adjustments will be with us for the foreseeable future, even with the new controller.

Roy

 

2011 GMC 3500 SRW CC, SB, Duramax/Allison
2008 HitchHiker LS 29.5 FKTG, 7000lb axles, Glide Ride, HD brakes, dual pane windows, 40" Panasonic, Magnadyne HTS, PD surge protector, etc.
Mods: 5 gal pressure tank, Motosat dish, plumbing reworked, inside steps storage, SeeLevel tank gauges, Rear view camera, major changes to basement.

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I would expect that the RF Mogul controller would handle Shaw the same way it handles all other satellite TV services and no manual movements should be required. If it did not, why would anyone buy it?

I have never seen or used on those controllers so I am assuming it should do Shaw. It's all new code and should handle Shaw just fine.

Bill Adams
Full timer since 1997

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This is causing me to graduate from Advil to Percocet.

 

So where does that leave me with my current setup? Keep it and modify it? Scrap it and modify the new version from RF Mogul? Add another lnb, controller of some description, momentary switches to one or the other?

 

I want something that works in Canada and an the USA, not Mexico.

 

Not to seem totally stupid, I will hunt for the page that has the 3 maps of North America showing the footprint of 3 different satellites. Maybe what Roy says will make more sense. But right now I have to buzz off and drop the Smart car off for the oil change.

 

Roy, can you have both lnb's on the same arm??

 

RF Mogul should respond today so this gives me more questions to ask them.

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Good early morning,

 

I got onto the Escapees discussion forum and asked a few questions as it’s the weekend and don’t expect to hear from you until Monday or so.

 

The questions posted are below.

 

Thanks

Roger

 

Posted Yesterday, 09:38 PM

 

I've been thru the RF Mogul site but don't pretend to understand everything. Is their site up to date? Is the 800$ controller a new thing since the info posted last year?

 

The site is uptodate and the Motosat/Eagle upgrade controller is $895.00

 

-I get it will pick up the signal but will it lock on and stop automatically?

 

The new controller is stop automatically. It is the old Motosat controller that will not stop anymore

 

-I remember Shaw used to change something in their signal and signal needed to be updated once a month or something like that?? Is that still happening? If so will it cause me problems?

 

Don’t know what changed but does not work with Motosat controller.

 

-Does Shaw Have more or different satellites or not using one that they were before?

 

Shaw does have a new three satellite LNB and you may need a new receiver from them for it.

 

-Can I pick up HD tv? Something in the back of my mind tells me of a discussion or reading something that HD cannot be picked up with the old Motosat.

 

Yes our new controller will pick up HD. The old Motosat should also

 

- What will throwing another $2k at a new system give that a new 800 US$ controller won't? Then I have to pay exchange and shipping on top so round up to 1k Canadian $.

 

The new controller and LNB from Shaw will be all you need as long as your Motosat mount is the HD style.

 

Best

 

Jim

 

Not sure if I am any further ahead.

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It sounds to me like the RF Mogul controller for 895 will be all you (or I) need if you are using the 500 or older series receivers.

 

If you want to use the 600 series receiver, then you will also need the new triple lnb to get all the HD channels on the new 3rd satellite. If you have a 600 series receiver and continue to use the existing double lnb, you will not receive the channels on the 3rd satellite but should continue to receive the original 2 satellite channels, which includes some HD channels. The channels on the 3rd satellite are not receivable very far south of the border on any setup.

 

I may go for the RF Mogul controller just to make life a little easier for me and it is only a simple rewiring of the plugin at the rear of the controller inside with no need to go up on the roof. I can usually find the satellite and have TV within about 5 minutes with my setup and that is much quicker than the tripod although, that is occasionally required in some sites.

Roy

 

2011 GMC 3500 SRW CC, SB, Duramax/Allison
2008 HitchHiker LS 29.5 FKTG, 7000lb axles, Glide Ride, HD brakes, dual pane windows, 40" Panasonic, Magnadyne HTS, PD surge protector, etc.
Mods: 5 gal pressure tank, Motosat dish, plumbing reworked, inside steps storage, SeeLevel tank gauges, Rear view camera, major changes to basement.

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Roy, Some discussions I've had prior are starting to come back to me. Something tells me that the older system did have HD. The newer system had more HD but were not channels I watched anyway, news etc.

 

Some of Jims responses seemed to have typos which threw me off. They muddied the answers. It looks like I don't have a sat receiver anymore and am wondering if one can be purchased or rented from Shaw?

Can a triple lnb be put on the arm...rather doubt it, a guess it needs a different or more wiring.

 

So with RF Moguls controller, the unit will

- aim,

-lock on

- and stop

-as well as bring in HD channels

-but not the new HD channels on the new sat which doesn't have much of a footprint in the USA.

 

So if this is the case, Mr Moto has been given a second chance of life??? If so, I'm rather glad I asked a lot of questions before having a tantrum and ripping it off the roof.

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Roger, do a search on Kijiji and you will likely find several shaw receivers for sale cheap - like under $30. If you are happy with the 500 or older receivers, leave your system as is on the roof and buy only the new controller. I have bought my last 2 505 receivers for $20 and $25 each. I also have 4 of the older 12 volt 207/209 receivers that I have paid less than $20 each for. I have one in the bedroom of the trailer and a 505 in the living room. The 207/209 receivers are SD, which is fine with us and they take up very little space - 2"x6"x8" - ideal in a rv situation, IMHO. I am still using 2 505 receivers in the house and there are several HD stations on it - networks and sports plus a few of the specialty stations, all the TV a person could wish for!

Roy

 

2011 GMC 3500 SRW CC, SB, Duramax/Allison
2008 HitchHiker LS 29.5 FKTG, 7000lb axles, Glide Ride, HD brakes, dual pane windows, 40" Panasonic, Magnadyne HTS, PD surge protector, etc.
Mods: 5 gal pressure tank, Motosat dish, plumbing reworked, inside steps storage, SeeLevel tank gauges, Rear view camera, major changes to basement.

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http://www.motosatparts.com/motosatTV_parts.htm

 

Did some hunting around B4 seeing your post, found this. If the roof array packs it in does this guy have needed parts to do repairs? Mine was used for less than a year. Anything can break, new or old.

 

Also had an e-mail from Sat 2 Go, he figures scrap the old one. His response is below.

 

At one time you had the best antenna available... My personal opinion is to run your current system until it dies and put the money toward a new antenna and here is why.. A new controller is available from RF mogul for around $700 to $800 to operate your antenna plus the labor to install.

If anything should happen to the mount you've just thrown that money away because there at no parts available to repair the antenna.

You got 6 years out of the current system which I'm assuming you paid around $3k for which is $500 per year.

 

 

A new Travler for Shaw is around $2500 if I remember right. I would have to get cost when Winegard opens. The technology has changed and would be supported by Winegard.

 

 

Bottom line is I know the week points on your antenna and its approaching the end. I had a skew plate fail on one about a month ago and we made a plate for it which when done was about $500 and now he is calling and the controller died.

 

 

Hope this helps! I don't stock the shaw system and we would when you get closer I can give you a solid price.

 

 

Thanks

David

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I would expect that your mount should last for a few more years with normal use. It looks as if the guy in Oregon has some used parts if needed. I think I would buy the new controller and use it until the mount packs it in. At that point, you could fix it or buy the new mount part of (the RF Mogul system less the controller) for about $1500 and end up with a new system.

Roy

 

2011 GMC 3500 SRW CC, SB, Duramax/Allison
2008 HitchHiker LS 29.5 FKTG, 7000lb axles, Glide Ride, HD brakes, dual pane windows, 40" Panasonic, Magnadyne HTS, PD surge protector, etc.
Mods: 5 gal pressure tank, Motosat dish, plumbing reworked, inside steps storage, SeeLevel tank gauges, Rear view camera, major changes to basement.

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Looks like the way to go. At least there are options. Have to hand it to RF Mogul plus knowledge on this site.

 

Sidenote, seems like you and Bill are in the clagg, In Vic BC temps up to 46F today, higher tomorrow. Groundskeeper here cutting lawns, blowing leaves etc. FYI

Will be out on bike again.

 

So to summarize, if someone has an old Motosat setup,

  • Replacement parts are available for the roof dish from that firm in Oregon and possibly others.
  • Black boxes are available off Kijiji, new or used.
  • The new 895 USD Eagle controller will lock on and stop automatically.
  • A new Eagle controller will pick up the original 2 Shaw satellites.
  • We can get HD with the old dish from those same 2 sats.
  • We won't get the new 3rd sat which doesn't reach much below the US border, some of those channels are redundant news anyway.

So for about 1K$ Canadian we are up and running and we are happy, happy, happy?

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I think that's it in a nutshell!

 

I will talk to the RF Mogul guys at Quartzsite in January if they are there again. May have some deals on for the show that will get me hooked up with a new controller.

Roy

 

2011 GMC 3500 SRW CC, SB, Duramax/Allison
2008 HitchHiker LS 29.5 FKTG, 7000lb axles, Glide Ride, HD brakes, dual pane windows, 40" Panasonic, Magnadyne HTS, PD surge protector, etc.
Mods: 5 gal pressure tank, Motosat dish, plumbing reworked, inside steps storage, SeeLevel tank gauges, Rear view camera, major changes to basement.

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Roy,

I think a computer program has to be loaded into this system somewhere, probably the Eagle??

Which or what Shaw receiver am I after?

It should come with the power adapter and anything else??

Email me when you have it sorted out down there. If everything is clean and green, I will put in an order.

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Roger, I have 3 DSR505 receivers and they are HD for the old satellites. They are a little bulky but will give you what you are after. They run on 115 volts so no adapter.

Roy

 

2011 GMC 3500 SRW CC, SB, Duramax/Allison
2008 HitchHiker LS 29.5 FKTG, 7000lb axles, Glide Ride, HD brakes, dual pane windows, 40" Panasonic, Magnadyne HTS, PD surge protector, etc.
Mods: 5 gal pressure tank, Motosat dish, plumbing reworked, inside steps storage, SeeLevel tank gauges, Rear view camera, major changes to basement.

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