Throw my Sat system away!!!? Help!

[RichandHelen]

So.. my satellite TV system (Sea-King 9815RJ) stops working. Make a long story short, Sea-King says that there has been a "satellite reformatting" and that MY EQUIPMENT IS NOW USELESS. P.S. they are " No longer in the marine business". I have a Directv account and two receivers (currently apparently USELESS). Do I really need to throw out my dome and start from scratch? I know I can do a dockside dish and have HD in the marina. But what about when we are cruising?

[smac999]

sounds like you need a new dome system


stick with KVH or intellian. I've had much better luck with intellian in Canada.

[sailormed]

The only solution would be to upgrade the software, but since the manufacturer is no longer supporting this equipment I see no solution. I do not think a hacker will upgrade this satellite software.

[RichandHelen]

Originally Posted by sailormed

The only solution would be to upgrade the software, but since the manufacturer is no longer supporting this equipment I see no solution. I do not think a hacker will upgrade this satellite software.

[Parrothedd]

If you don't want to pay the big bucks for a KVH, you can try a Follow Me TV. They do work at anchor, but not underway.

[RichandHelen]

Originally Posted by Parrothedd

If you don't want to pay the big bucks for a KVH, you can try a Follow Me TV. They do work at anchor, but not underway.

But then I'd have to either have a standard dish permanently mounted on the Follow Me (not practical) Or a quick-disconnect on a dish that I would have to schlep from below every time I wanted to use it, correct?

[Edw]

guess that leaves manual control, but no switching satellites - maybe free-tv ?

[a64pilot]

The prices on a KVH vary drastically, shop around, mine was thousands less than list price.

[hellosailor]

rich-
You might want to contact DirectTV and find out just what, if anything, has actually changed. To me "satellite reformatting" means they pulled off the solar array and installed a new one in a different size and color. [sic]
Since all the terrestrial DTV users haven't bought new equipment this week, it may be something that a little more explaining from DTV can help you with.


Orphaned technology, for whatever reason, is always a concern.

[River Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Parrothedd

If you don't want to pay the big bucks for a KVH, you can try a Follow Me TV. They do work at anchor, but not underway.

Mine works while cruising but my boat is power not sail, it may lose the signal for a couple of seconds if I get waked. One of the things I like is the ability to change service provider by changing the dish and receiver.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[RichandHelen]

Originally Posted by Edw

guess that leaves manual control, but no switching satellites - maybe free-tv ?

I have free TV - and the picture is nothing short of fantastic. I love it. But the programming is very limited. Two weeks ago I had satellite from Directv. Now I don't. Same equipment on my boat. Same Directv account. Receivers are in place. BUT MY SATELLITE SYSTEM HAS BEEN RENDERED USELESS. It's just frustrating. I think I may have no option but to trash the system and start over if I want satellite. We all have to fix stuff that breaks - that's boating. But when you pay thousands for electronics and the equipment is fine but you can't use it because a company has changed direction. - it sucks.

[leftbrainstuff]

Originally Posted by RichandHelen

So.. my satellite TV system (Sea-King 9815RJ) stops working. Make a long story short, Sea-King says that there has been a "satellite reformatting" and that MY EQUIPMENT IS NOW USELESS. P.S. they are " No longer in the marine business". I have a Directv account and two receivers (currently apparently USELESS). Do I really need to throw out my dome and start from scratch? I know I can do a dockside dish and have HD in the marina. But what about when we are cruising?

Go offline.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Edw]

if it's just the software update, wondered if there was anyway to reload the old software ? pg 27 of the manual says you can re-initialize the software. - gota be somebody with the prior update, but ya i hate when the new firmware isn't compatible.

[navy davy]

AT&T now owns DIRECTV ..... Make a phone call?

[TurboWarp]

RichandHelen I have the same problem with my Seaking 9815-rj. I was told by Seaking the same thing. I was hoping someone would hack the sat software and sell a fix. Real bad news. By the way, if you re-initialize enough times and it locks onto the correct satellite, directv will work. I was able to do this but after a few hours, just sitting at the pier it lost its track and needed to be re-initialized. I have found no pattern that works. You just have to keep trying. About 10 times will work but gets old. Have you found any solution other than buying new dish?