Hello all...

This is not what I usally do, but a very good customer of mine just bought a house out in the boonies and it's either dial-up or satellite internet. I've done every inch of his low-voltage wiring and all the high voltage in his new workshop, so he's looking to me to set him up with Direcway. I'm eager to help the guy out, I wish all my customers were as cool, but I have absolutely zero experience with insalling satellite internet.

What's the system architecture? I'm guessing dish on roof, RG-6 from dish to little black box, cat-5e from little black box to computer?

Anyone with compliments or gripes about Direcway, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks!

I believe you have to be certified with Direct TV to install.

I had a client who complained it was not much faster than his dial up, but a whole lot more expensive. It looked like RG6 ran to a modem in a central location, from there it was CAT5 the the switch and on out to the local computers.

I personally never got into it at all, just glanced at the system and heard the clients feed back.

Not to familiar with alternatives, others will probably chime in.

I have done a few over the years.

There are two RG-6. One is for receive, and the other carries the transmitter's output to a transmitting antenna at the dish. You DO NOT stand in front of the dish when the system is powered up. It has been shown that microwaving things is not good for their health, so keep your things out of the beam.

The aiming is done via the computer, which usually has the correct information. The computer is essentially the receiver, and you aim via a meter on the screen. On the first one I did, the aiming information for the zip code I was in was way off. Since we got no signal and the elevation was just way different from DSS stuff, I assumed the computer was in error, looked at the settings for the adjacent zip code, and got good information.

Other than that, it is a slightly bigger dish with a larger diameter pole and a bigger base, so if you do it, you'll want to think again about how you attach it.

The last one I did was very passive on my part -- I connected it when the DirecTV guys couldn't figure out how I ran the cable and what to connect. They aimed the dish with their equipment, and then I made it work. It is still in use now about 18 months later.

Since DirecTV has gotten so possessive about everything, maybe you do have to be certified. Check with them.

Thanks, Ernie, I appreciate your help.

I used to put these in, I tell people they are pretty good if they have plenty of money and it is the only option.

There is an lag due to the distance that the signal covers, so it is useless for things like gaming because its about 2 seconds before the signal you shot off gets to the servers and back. It is useful for surfing web pages with lots of info, it does not stream well, and the upload is nowhere near the download.

I had it for a bit and hated it, but i hear it has gotten better in the last few years.

good luck

I had Direcway until about 6 months ago, when DSL became available. I had a 1-way system, which had avantages over the 2-way system. You can't purchace a 1-way system, but last I checked, they will still subscribe 1-way users that have the modem and dish (I still have mine). Here is a list of things to consider:

1. 1-way system requires you to have a dial-up connection (your ISP or theirs) and ties up your phone line when you are connected
2. 1-way is $39.99/month for unlimited usage (last I checked)
3. the latency is better than a 2-way system because there is one less trip to the bird to send data and get a response
4. It's easy to install and does not require a certified installer, because you are not transmitting to the satellite
5. download speed is typically 800kbps to 2000kbps, upload speed is dial-up
6. can't VPN, but you can ICS (Internet Connection Sharing)

It's an option if you intend to download large files, and other high speed options are not available. I used it mostly to download updates from Microsoft when building and repairing computers, and was satified with it, but when DSL became available, I dumped it in a heartbeat
Hope this is helpful
Paul