The must-have accessory for tailgating

Football season’s practically here so now’s the time to get ready! If you don’t have a satellite dish kit for your RV, why not? Solid Signal has the ultimate starter kit for tailgaters available NOW. This is the only kit at its price that will let you watch NFL Sunday Ticket in high definition. Our RV Satellite Kit includes everything but the receiver and that means the dish, tripod, cable, even the power inserter for the SWM module!

Tailgating is going to be safer than going into the stadium, and of course some stadiums aren’t even open to the public at this time. So, why not have a safe, socially-distant party celebrating your favorite sport?

Who should use this kit

This kit is designed for people who have DIRECTV service and an HD-capable receiver. Because it’s not auto-aiming, it’s also designed for people who are ok spending a little more time getting set up.

Why not just choose an auto-aiming dish?

Auto-aiming dishes for DIRECTV won’t give you high-definiton content and that means you’ll potentially miss out on a lot of NFL Sunday Ticket content. You’re certainly not going to get 4K content and there’s expected to be a lot more this year. Spending a little more time getting a dish set up is going to really pay off and after a few games you’ll be an expert at it.

How hard is it to set up a dish?

Setting up a dish takes practice. Most experienced tailgaters can get an HD dish up and running in under 45 minutes, but the first time it’s going to take you a lot longer than that. You don’t want that first experienced to be ruined, so make sure you get the kit nice and early and give yourself plenty of time to get it right.

The basics of aiming

Aiming this dish isn’t that hard. First, set the dish on a level surface. Power up the receiver. Press MENU, then go to Settings&Help, Settings, Satellite, then Repeat Satellite Setup. You’ll be prompted for your ZIP code. Put in the ZIP code where you are, not your home ZIP code. You’ll get instructions for a compass heading, tilt, and azimuth setting. All you need to do is use a compass to point the dish and then set the tilt and azimuth using the numbers on the back of the dish.

This is usually all it takes to get a “good enough” aim which may be all you need for a sunny day at the stadium.

You can check your signal strength using the built-in meters if you need to. Just make sure that you’re getting good strength on the 99, 101, and 103 satellites. Anything over 80% will probably do for a quick and temporary aim.

Should you use a signal meter?

The RV Satellite Kit is a great value, and if you’re going to get a lot of use out of it, you might consider also getting an AIM meter.  It’s not cheap, that’s for sure. In fact you may want to split the cost with other tailgaters you know. You can use the built-in meters in the receiver but they’re a lot slower than a purpose-built meter like the AIM. The AIM will give you step-by-step instructions for aiming and even let you see signal strengths right on screen so you can stay at the dish rather than going from dish to TV.

Just a quick word about $20 signal finders

In most cases you won’t be able to get away with one of those inexpensive satellite finders, so make the investment to the right tool now. The problem with those devices is they aren’t compatible with today’s technology. Unless you’re using an older dish, they’re a waste of money.

Get ready for the kickoff and more importantly, get ready to make your friends jealous! Shop for this kit now. If you have any questions, call us at 888-233-7563.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.