KVH TracVision C3

[Auspicious]

I'm interested in experience anyone may have with the KVH TracVision C3, particularly with DirectTV. What receiver do you use, and how good is the tracking at anchor? The price is attractive ...

[High Cotton]

What price & where?

[Latitude9.5]

I have a kvh c3 with a directv DVR reciever, it rocks! Sat here last night swinging like you can't imagine, had no loss of signal. We've been very happy with it. Ya turn it on, turn on the reciever and wait maybe a minute and its locked in and rollin.

I had a 1d system aztrax previously and wasn't near as happy.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by High Cotton

What price & where?

$1560 at Defender, $1800 at WM. Way lower than the prices on Raymarine and other marine sat tv antenna.

[thunder]

I just bought and installed a KVH C3 system on the boat. Here's the deal, It has a large footprint, 31 inches, bur very low 12 inches, for me this was no problem. I did not want to go with the m1 as it only works one Tv and the coverage was only 30 miles offshore (will not cover the Bahamas). The C3 will do HD as well, I have a direct Tv account at the house and I simply took one receiver out of the bedroom and it works fine. So no extra charges. The dish is set up for Direct TV so it acquired it automatically. I shut it down when I am not using it to save power and it takes about 15 minutes to lock on and start working. it needs 110 power as the system is 15 volts so I ran it through the inverter. You will need to have the plug accessible for the receiver box as from time to time you will have to unplug to reset it. We were in 2 to 3 foot seas and never lost the signal. I have a 54 foot ocean going trawler, so we do not move around as much as some sailboats. I was looking at the trac it system and for $900 dollars and this was $1495 this was the logical choice as it is covered and protected and works underway.

[Hollen]

A very small aside here in that you will not get HDTV on the KVH C3.
See this: KVH Satellite Channel Guide
We have a KVH M5 (18") on our sailboat (very happy by the way) and even it will not receeve the new Ka band DirecTV signal. A small point possibly but something you should know ahead of time. Also make sure you look at the C3 coverage area to make sure you will be happy.
KVH Satellite Footprint Maps - TracVision
Steve

[Hollen]

E should have looked at the original post date, a little too late I am sure.
Steve
SV Andalucia

[drew.ward]

The problem with DirecTV is that they use a split LNB system. Dish Network uses a dual LNB that can pick up signals from up to 4 satellites at a time. The DirecTV setup on the other hand uses a separate LNB (the plastic thingy on the end) for each satellite. This gets tricky for HDTV signals as everything must be aimed just right.

So to get HDTV on Dish you'd need to simultaneously hit 110 degrees and 119 degrees azimuth at 47 degrees elevation and 129 degrees azimuth at 37 degrees elevation. On an eliptical dish setup this is accomplished with the geometry of the dish itself. On an omnidirectional system like the KVH there has to be a the system has to be able to track and sync (both azimuth and elevation) for all of those satellites at once (and if you're with DirecTV an additional one).

One thing to remember is that if you are hooking all this up yourself you MUST use the proper wire and connectors. You can't use regular cable wire. Both systems require RG-6 (or RG-6Q) cable. You cannot use the thinner RG-59 wire. The system will either give you only partial signal or will eventually fry itself out and potentially cause a fire. If you look on most wires, there will be some numbers on the insulation. If not, look at the inside wire: RG-6 is about the thickness of an inkpen tip and will be fairly rigid wheras RG-59 is more like thicker fishing line and moves around easily.

You'll also need to make sure all the barrels (the female-female couplers) are 2gz or above. You can tell this by looking at the plastic centre. They must be blue or red. If they are white, grey, or clear you have the wrong ones (900mhz).

Believe it or not, the way these systems are configured, the LNB on the end of the dish captures signals with really big waves and then shrinks them into a waveform that is only as high as the thickness of that RG-6 wire. The signal then travels through the wire and connectors to the receiver where it is split back into the larger form and processed to give you a picture.

So if you use too small a wire or connector anywhere along the way youcan create a fault or problem.

[Catalysis]

Does anyone have experience using Satellite tv this far down the west coast of mexico?
I'm considering a KHV M-5 but would like to receive a feed with some English - I hear rumors that SKY receivers if bought in Puerto Rico offer more English options than SKY Mexico .
Any guidance greatly appreciated.
Paul

[thunder]

I have just ordered the HD controler from KVh they claim it will get Hd with the C3 unit, I sure hope they are right. Their is not alot of feed back on any Kvh system, I have been contemplating one for months. So far I am happy.

[thunder]

P.S. to duh, If I had a 37 foot Irwin with an m5 on deck you might as well shoot me now, Also the the way Internet works is if you do a world wide search for reviews on kvh c3 you get this article.

[Hollen]

I just love CF. Somewhere there is someone that knows something very well and some, not everything, well. I do know firsthand KVH, HDTV, DirecTV and south of USA signals.
As for HD, please read the link from DirecTV. http://www.kvh.com/pdf/SOS1_HDTVFactvsFiction_8.08.pdf My experience has proven this to still be correct. No DirecTV HDTV from a KVH antenna.
I know nothing about Dish Network.
As for cabling; KVH gives you plenty of the proper cabling and connectors when you buy one of their systems.
If you want DirecTV south of the USA, in English, you must buy the proper LNB (every dealer will know what you need, (about $175) and very easy to install by yourself. Then contact DirecTV Latin America http://www2.directvpr.com/english/Default.aspx (We used Puerto Rico as you get network programming from New York) and get a DVR (about $350 delivered to USA). Once you direct the dish to look at the Galaxy 5 antenna, you have DirecTV LA. Cost is about $50/Mo for their “Marine Mobil” plan. Coverage is total for Central America and the Caribbean. Don't forget to use their 800 phone #.
Yes we just can't get enough of AI and Oprah while sipping a Pacifico while anchored or sailing in Mexico.

[Hollen]

I should have added "No DirecTV HDTV from a KVH antenna" south of the USA.

[wickedwench]

I'm so confused. We have just purchased a 47 foot Beneteau and will be moving it to the BVI in April. Trying to find the best Sat TV antenna that receives a reliable signal from the BVI (DirecTV Caribbean, I think). Someone at KVH told me the M5 baseline would do the trick, but looking at the coverage map it doesn't seem to go quite as far as the BVI. The M7 seems too big for our boat (and expensive). Anyone know for sure the smallest most reliable antenna we should get? Not interested in TV while under way, just while at anchor. Thanks in advance for your advice!

[Hollen]

I only spoke to the issue of not being able to receive DirecTV Latin America (Puerto Rico) on the west coast of Mexico. I believe you will have great coverage in all of the Caribbean due to the location of the Galaxy 5 satellite that DirecTV LA uses. But to get an answer to your specific questions, from the man who will know for sure, send an e-mail directly to the “Marine Service” Supervisor, Pedro Alvarez marinepuertorico@directvpr.com. He speaks very good English and is beyond question THE expert when it comes to Service questions from DirecTV LA.
I am sure you would need a USA mailing address and credit card for the delivery of your DVR Receiver and service contract. The cost of service went up from $56 per month to $78 for some unexplained reason but I would have paid it if I could have gotten service from where our boat is at. Mention my name if you like as even though our hours of phone conversation were, I am sure for him, very frustrating, in the end I respect his knowledge base beyond question. If he says you can get service, you can. He could also answer your question of dish size required. We were very happy with the KVH M5 when we had service.