Dish service south of the border

[dhauser]

I recently moved from Arizona to Mazatlan, Mexico and the cable company down here terrible. I believe I've seen a few dishnetwork or directv dishes on homes or RVs but I was wondering if any of you know if dish service will work here if I pick one up and bring it down next time I'm back in AZ? We are on the Tropic of Cancer which is less then 100 miles south of Key West Florida so I'm assuming the angle to the Satellites wouldn't be much different.

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated. I do have a house and "service address" in the States.

[harsh]

Looking at the coverage maps, it looks like you might pick up some CONUS fringe with a 1m or larger dish; something that you would have to shop the Alaskan market for. No guarantees.

Standard disclaimer: neither Dish Network nor DirecTV are allowed to deliver programming to Mexico or Canada.

[BillRadio]

When I fly from Denver to Mazatlan, the Direct TV signal on Frontier fades away within a half hour of crossing the border. I would assume Dish's signal is equally narrow. And what happens when the receiver tries to dial Dish? Unless you can re-program the number sequence, they'll start charging receiver fees.

If I were in your position, I would try it, but more likely I would contact the satellite suppliers in Mexico. Sky?

[dhauser]

What is CONUS fringe? The problem with the local cable or satelite companies is that the programming isn't very good and getting HD is insanely expensive. I'm confused on how someone in FLorida (which very close to our southern position) could have service but you are losing it when you cross the border way farther north in Texas, Arizona or where ever you cross. How does the receiver no it's not somewhere in Florida? This is my first Satellite hence the dumb questions.

[dhauser]

ALso, how expensive of a test would it be? In other words what does it cost to get a dish and how long do I have to sign up for? I'd hate to be bound to a year contract and shell out a bunch of money only to find out it doesn't work here.

[FTA Michael]

Lying about where you live just to get different TV channels is bad karma. If you live in Mexico, subscribe to a satellite service that has licensed its programming for a Mexican audience.

http://www.sky.com.mx/

Relevant footprint maps: http://www.kvh.com/footprint/footprint_tv.asp

[DoyleS]

There are a number of people with Dish Network reception in Puerto Vallarta. The one guy I talked to in PV brings his receiver with him when he comes down. Similar to those that take their receivers to a vacation home. I do not know if they had to use 32 inch dishes in Mexico or not. It is unlikely that you would be able to get any local stations as the Distant Networks are now shut down and the local stations are typically on Spot beams that would not go that far south. For instance, you cannot pickup the San Francisco spot beams in LA which is 400 miles south.

By the way, SKY service did have NFL playoff games on when we were in PV in early January although commentators were speaking Spanish. Some of the Sports Bars had US Networks and English speaking. Not sure what service they were on.

..Doyle

[roddiaz1]

My parents get DirecTv in Guatemala (way south of Mazatlan) and yes he has had to increase the size of his dish to get better reception. He started out with a 1meter (3ft dish) and recently went to a 2 meter (~6 ft) and has perfect reception.

Let's hope he doesn't have to go any bigger 'cause I don't think the roof will hold anything larger. :-)


His reciever is ancient and hasn't had to updated it or connect it to the phone (it never has never been connected). So far so good.

Cheers,

Rod

[Aransay]

yeasb yocuan pcik up dishenetwork signala with big dishes no al trnspeonder but yocuan cpik it

inamzartlan i think you end atelast a 1.2m dish for 110 and a 80cm or 19
(sky emxico antena is okay) ofr 190

seaprte dishes for each oen

alrger dishes arereomdne ro betr reception
fye jsut for tehcniah reaseonighn

[jarvantgroup]

I recently moved from Arizona to Mazatlan, Mexico and the cable company down here terrible. I believe I've seen a few dishnetwork or directv dishes on homes or RVs but I was wondering if any of you know if dish service will work here if I pick one up and bring it down next time I'm back in AZ? We are on the Tropic of Cancer which is less then 100 miles south of Key West Florida so I'm assuming the angle to the Satellites wouldn't be much different.

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated. I do have a house and "service address" in the States.

No les diga su nuevo direccion y debe funcionar correcto. Quizas necesita una antena mas grande. Trata la chiquita primero. Y si no tuvo una conneccion telefonica en Los Estados Unidos, no pienso que necesita una en Mexico. Pruebalo! Technically, you're not supposed to do it, though. :icon_cool

[dhauser]

Thanks everyone for the info. BTW-not really planning on lying about the service as I'll use it during the summer at my home in Arizona and then take it on a little vacation with me.

So how does it work with the dish sizes? Does DishNet provide various sizes that I can choose from or do I have to go elsewhere? I don't mind going bigger and I know my roof can support it (I'm in the process of building a pool on top of it so that's nothing). My issue is that I don't go back to the States that often so I want to make sure I get a setup that works. I'm buying a new 60" Sony XBR2 when I go back in March and want to get HD service via satellite, does that have anything to do with the size dish? Please let me the ins and outs as I'm a Sat rookie.

Yes, the Superbowl and playoffs were all broadcast down here but even though I'm 100% fluent in Spanish it's just not the same having Soccer commentators cover football. Also, the programming that Sky offers is full of Mexican soap operas and stuff that my wife (who is just starting to learn Spanish) can't understand. I could go on but it's no comparison to US dish service.

[dhauser]

BTW-I have sirius satellite and it works flawlessly down here. Is that sat service anything like the tv ones? Is that any indication as to the likelyhood of Dish or directv working down here?

[cj9788]

Check out this (http://www.dbsforums.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=20) forum at dbsforums. It has the most ino on getting DBS in latin america.

[harsh]

BTW-I have sirius satellite and it works flawlessly down here. Is that sat service anything like the tv ones? Is that any indication as to the likelyhood of Dish or directv working down here?Satellite radio is a much lower frequency and as such, it travels much better than DBS bands. DirecTV's new satellites are Ka band which doesn't travel well at all.

[Charles Oliva]

BTW-I have sirius satellite and it works flawlessly down here. Is that sat service anything like the tv ones? Is that any indication as to the likelyhood of Dish or directv working down here?

Sirius uses LEO satellites that rotates over the Americas in a figure 8 configuration(2 over North America, 1 over South America at any one time).
Much different than GSO sats like those of Dish Network.

[dhauser]

So how does it work with the dish sizes? Does DishNet provide various sizes that I can choose from or do I have to go elsewhere? I don't mind going bigger and I know my roof can support it (I'm in the process of building a pool on top of it so that's nothing). My issue is that I don't go back to the States that often so I want to make sure I get a setup that works. I'm buying a new 60" Sony XBR2 when I go back in March and want to get HD service via satellite, does that have anything to do with the size dish? Please let me the ins and outs as I'm a Sat rookie.

[harsh]

Does DishNet provide various sizes that I can choose from or do I have to go elsewhere?They install what is appropriate for the US address that will be the service location of record. You'll be needing the Alaskan setup at least (and that still might not be enough).

[FTA Michael]

As much as some of us here would like to help you, your best, most reliable source of information will be a satellite equipment dealer where you're going to liv^H^H have an extended vacation. You won't be the first person in that town who's ever thought about trying to get Dish Network programming. (Heck, Gol TV and lots of music are FTA.) Call around and ask who's done it, what they've used, or whether it's possible.

[joaquinld]

My company sent me to work to Mexico for a couple of years. I had Dish Network in the US and decided to bring the equipment to Mexico and install a larger dish without telling Dish Network, I have my US address as the service address. It works perfectly. My problems started when a power surge messed up my Dish DVR receiver. I contacted Dish and decided to upgrade to a new HDTV DVR receiver but after placing the order I ran into difficulties: Dish will insist on installing the new receiver in my US address (I thought they'd just deliver it and it could bring it down on my next trip). My brother, who resides in my US address wasn't able to convince the installer to just drop off the receiver. Any ideas on how I can convince Dish to just deliver the receiver?

I intend to return to the US in a couple of years but honestly cannot live without US programming south of the border.

[Michael P]

My company sent me to work to Mexico for a couple of years. I had Dish Network in the US and decided to bring the equipment to Mexico and install a larger dish without telling Dish Network, I have my US address as the service address. It works perfectly. My problems started when a power surge messed up my Dish DVR receiver. I contacted Dish and decided to upgrade to a new HDTV DVR receiver but after placing the order I ran into difficulties: Dish will insist on installing the new receiver in my US address (I thought they'd just deliver it and it could bring it down on my next trip). My brother, who resides in my US address wasn't able to convince the installer to just drop off the receiver. Any ideas on how I can convince Dish to just deliver the receiver?

I intend to return to the US in a couple of years but honestly cannot live without US programming south of the border.

You can purchase your own receiver, including the new MPEG4 HD receivers, form vendors on the web. While you'll miss out on any "deals" from E*, at least yuhave the latest, greatest model. BTW I'd also purchase some serious A/C line protection (A UPS with a power conditioner) before hooking anything up to your current power service.

[Hall]

If you're willing to spend a small amount of cash to test things, just buy a low-end receiver and a Dish 300 or 500. You can get the "settings" you need off of the web since Dish won't have data for your location. If you've seen people with Dish or DirecTV dishes, those would be "stock" dishes normally and not oversized ones if they have normal logos (I think) so it sounds like you can receive the signal. Why not ask the people you see with them ??

When you test this you don't need service (yet). You'll just do the "Point dish" steps. You'll receive either providers free channels off of the satellites you point at. If it doesn't work, sell the equipment or trash it...

As for the legality of doing this, bah !! People don't hesitate to "move" in order to receive locals from other cities. What's the difference ??

[joaquinld]

You can purchase your own receiver, including the new MPEG4 HD receivers, form vendors on the web. While you'll miss out on any "deals" from E*, at least yuhave the latest, greatest model. BTW I'd also purchase some serious A/C line protection (A UPS with a power conditioner) before hooking anything up to your current power service.

Michael, I really appreciate your post. Just a couple of questions. By buying from these vendors over the web I just need to bring the receiver to Mexico, hook it up and then activate it on the dish network page right? Do you have any suggestions on any particular vendors?

Also, do you think it's viable to cancel the receiver upgrade I requested from Dish? I'm afraid this might raise suspicions at Dish and that they'll end up canceling my account.

[boba]

dhauser wanting HDTV is going to complicate your setup quite a bit. You will need programming from at least 3 satellite locations. 110 and 119 are mandatory and 129 or 61.5 will be needed for additional HDTV broadcasts.

[dhauser]

Well, I got the ball rolling and should be able to try things out on Tuesday. First off, regarding how to get your new HD receiver.....when I ordered my dish service I told them that I just wanted everything dropped off at my home in AZ and they said that the guy needed to install it. I said fine I'll explain it to the guy when he got there. So he showed up 2 days later and I told him I didn't want to install it because I was going to be traveling via RV this summer before coming back to AZ at which time I'd call to have someone come out and install it on the home. He was cool, explained how to locate the satellites each stop and even gave me a free tripod.

I stopped by a RV park here in Mazatlan when I got back and some Americans who were using Dish gave me the number of a local guy who could get me setup. I met with him yesterday and went over stuff. He said I could use a 1.2M dish for 119 which has most of the programming I want (but not HD) and if I want 110 I'd also need a 1.8M dish. The other alternative is to get a second antenna and a switch and get both 119 and 110 on the same dish.

It looks like there is way more HD content on 129 so would it be possible to get 119 and 129 on the same dish instead of 119 and 110? I don't want any movie channels and really just want 119 plus stuff like TNT, Discovery, ESPN 1 and 2, NFL and that would make me pretty happy for now.

[dhauser]

A couple more questions......which satellite does it seem that they will add the most HD content (not including movie channels) on in the future?

Also, how likely is it and how soon that Dish will do what Directv did and change the satellites so that the footprint does not allow service to Mexico even on larger dishes? My neighbor had Dtv and it worked great for years until a few years ago when all of a sudden he lost about 25% of his channels and then another 25% and now he only gets 25% of all of what he used to. Everyones worry down here is that Dish will do the same and I'd like to know if the money I'm spending this Tuesday will be a waste come 6-12months from now.

I could pay a little more and get a 2.4M dish which won't make a difference now but I wonder if the extra money would pay off down the road or if like Dtv, even a 2.4M dish won't help me.

Thanks everyone!

[James Long]

E* HD content should be added to 61.5° and 129° ... both satellites designed for US coverage ... any use south of the footprint is not guaranteed. (There are some areas of Texas that need a larger dish for 129°.)

A replacement for 129° is on the way ... no footprint has been made public but I would not expect coverage to increase south of the US. If they build it right the problem areas within the US will get a decent signal.

[Mike D-CO5]

Oh yes and that replacement sat for 129 is COMING SOON!:D

[James Long]

Late 2008 is the current estimate ...

International Launch Services (ILS) has signed a contract for the launch of the Ciel-2 satellite on a Proton Breeze M vehicle in late 2008. ... The Ciel-2 satellite will be the inaugural launch undertaken by the Ciel Satellite Group, Canada's newest satellite operator. ...

Ciel 2 is a Spacebus 4000 C4 model satellite, the largest Spacebus class satellite built by Alcatel Alenia, with a mass of 5,575 kg. From its assigned orbital position of 129 degrees West longitude, the high-powered Ku-band spacecraft will deliver a variety of communications services throughout Canada and the larger North American market.

http://www.cielsatellite.ca/mediaRoom.html

[dhauser]

So with my location in Mazatlan, Mexico, would 61.5 or 129 be better or are they identical? If I could have 119 and 110 on the same dish with a second antenna, could I likely do the same with 119 and 129? I need to make the decision between a 6' (1.8M) and 8' (2.4M) dish by tomorrow so I'd appreciate any advice. The installer said that the 6' would be fine for the current situation with the 110 and 119 sats but we didn't discuss 129.

Also, if I have the America's 200 plan, does that come into play as to which satellites I can access and what all programming on those satellites I can access? How does all this work as this is my first time with Sat service?

Thanks!

[alebowgm]

People have a hard enough time trying to nail 61.5 on the west coast when they are in the footprint, I can see it being pretty impossible out in mexico, and would say probably better off at trying to hit 129 first...

[DoyleS]

129 does not have the greatest signals so you will need a large dish to pick it up. You are going to have to run some tests to see if you can get 119 and 129 with the same dish. I would think you would be best getting 110 and 119 with one dish and then getting 129 with a separate dish. When the guy goes to do the installation for you he can try pointing at 129 and see what kind of signal strength you have. That will be a lot more meaningful than asking any of us who can only guess. As to the risk of wasted investment, I don't think you have much choice. If you want US programming via Dish you have to put up the large dishes and then you take your chances. I tend to think you will be ok as they have to put up new birds with more focussed antennas to reduce the signal in Mexico. They get no added dollars that I can see for doing that.

..Doyle

[Hall]

Also, if I have the America's 200 plan, does that come into play as to which satellites I can access and what all programming on those satellites I can access? How does all this work as this is my first time with Sat service? The majority of "national" programming is available on 110' & 119'. Dish used to have a chart/table that listed all of the channels in each package and which satellite they were available from. There may be something available at http://ekb.dbstalk.com. It is possible that you "pay" for a few channels that you won't get off of 110' & 119' though. That probably applies to most of us.... Some programming, quite often public-interest stuff, is only on 61.5'. Do I miss it ?? Nope....

[dhauser]

Do you guys have any suggestions on how to get the networks? I really don't care too much about which city but it obviously can't be on a spot beam. Is there an option for me if I start with the 110 and 119 satellites you guys are recommending?

[Hall]

One option is to get an RV waiver from NPS. Dish is doing NO waivers at the present time, I believe.

If your US address is in Phoenix or the Phoenix market, you're fine as those locals are off of 119'.

By the way, here's what's available from 110', http://ekb.dbstalk.com/110list.htm, and 119', http://ekb.dbstalk.com/119list.htm .

[James Long]

One option is to get an RV waiver from NPS. Dish is doing NO waivers at the present time, I believe.Dish is currently forbidden from delivering ANY distant signals ... the no waivers comment is an understatement. You won't get channels other than from your own market with Dish (the locals for your service address).

NPS offers distants to qualified customers ... worth checking out if you can prove you own an RV registered in the US.

[tomcrown1]

Dish is currently forbidden from delivering ANY distant signals ... the no waivers comment is an understatement. You won't get channels other than from your own market with Dish (the locals for your service address).

NPS offers distants to qualified customers ... worth checking out if you can prove you own an RV registered in the US.

JAMES was not this the result of a recent court hearing??

[Hall]

A recent court decision ?? No, it was decided many years ago but Dish chose to ignore the law....

[James Long]

The final court ruling was last October 20th, and was effective December 1st, 2006.
(Huge old thread on the matter http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=67857 )

The final ruling was a long time in coming thanks to the appeals process.
There is still an appeal floating around that would affect NPS distants.
Nothing new on that front ... last I hear the appeals court was still considering if they COULD take an appeal.

[dhauser]

Dish is currently forbidden from delivering ANY distant signals ... the no waivers comment is an understatement. You won't get channels other than from your own market with Dish (the locals for your service address).

NPS offers distants to qualified customers ... worth checking out if you can prove you own an RV registered in the US.

Are you saying I will get Phoenix locals (Phoenix address) or not? My understanding looking at that 119 program page that 5S6 meant spot beam which meant I couldn't get it traveling outside of my local area. Therefore I thought I'd need to find a city that has there locals on a regular beam. I have friends in other cities that would let me use their address but I'm not sure what cities I could get with 119 and 110. It looks like maybe Denver and Chicago though I don't currently know anyone from there. Can you guys clarify this for me.

[Hall]

The "final" court ruling didn't change what the courts had ruled years ago....

dhauser: If Dish has your service address as Phoenix and you request your "local" channels, they aren't "distant" signals. Did you look at the links I posted for the 110' and 119' lists ?? There are MANY locals available on either of those satellites.

[Aransay]

for 110 incentral emxico itya1.80 dishisenoguh
for61.5 the minumrequeiredis 1.2m
for 119 a 75cmor 80is kyantenais enoguh
foreperimtnal 77 west a .609cm dish i engouh
for105 i thinkwitha.ky satelite dishsie enoug
121 a 1.2meter dishr euired
129 idotn now

148 you reley enda2.4meterdish

[James Long]

The "final" court ruling didn't change what the courts had ruled years ago....The injunction, issued October 20th, was what it was all about. No court ruling up to that point (or beyond) matters in the proceeding as much as the one made October 20th ... the permanent injunction. That was the ruling that told E* to completely cease providing distants. The penalty phase, if you will.