posted
At the beginning of this year I began researching how to get internet access from wilderness sites. I want to be able to keep tabs on my business while on vacation, and possibly even go out RVing full time in the future.
It didn't take me long to find this forum, and it became quite clear that Bill Adams of Internet Anywhere is highly regarded, does more than his share to help folks, and ensures their satisfaction. After about a month of research I concluded I wanted a Datastorm F1 system and I wanted Bill Adams to provide it.
Earlier this month I struck a deal with Bill for a new F1 setup with D3 controller, Hughes HN7000S modem, and Linksys/Cisco wireless router on/in my Class A Damon Outlaw. Bill answered all the questions I had, addressed issues I raised over my coach having a slanted roof, and he presented me with an access plan to fit my needs. He even arranged a local south Florida install for me through Paul Arcuri of Datastorm of Florida.
The install was this past Saturday, and I must say, it went extremely well.
I have not met anyone before Paul - including anyone at the RV dealer - who treated my coach as though it were his own. The care Paul took and attention to detail were first class every step of the way - and I was right beside him every moment, taking photos.
To give you an idea of how thorough this man is, Paul met with me at my location a few weeks before the install to begin planning, provisioned and debugged my dish the day prior, welcomed my participation during the install, made absolutely sure I was happy about each and every step, and took the time to explain it all in detail.
Here's a short photo essay of the install, start to finish. I thought some of you fine folks on this forum considering a similar setup might like to see how it all goes together...
Before getting started, Paul cleaned my coach's roof per the manufacturer's recommendation, with Blue Dawn dishwashing liquid, so the Dicor sealant would not be hindered by dust or dirt and would positively seal out leaks.
The "good stuff", in the back of Paul's van.
Paul and a helper hauling the 110 lb dish assembly to the roof. Note that he put cardboard to ensure the RV's top was protected.
Front to back positioning for clearance of air conditioner unit without intruding on the front roof seam.
Centering the dish side to side. Paul measured everything, rather than eyeballing it.
Positioned and ready to be marked for drilling. Note the very welcome "measure twice, cut once" theme here.
After drilling screw holes and before setting the dish for mounting, Paul filled every hole and left a mound of Dicor to ensure a waterproof seal.
In the stainless steel screws go, through the aluminum plate. Paul drove every screw by hand to ensure there was no possibility of stripping the threads or screw heads. Paul raised the dish to access the center screws by connecting the altitude motor control wires to a battery.
To be continued...
Posts: 133 | From: South Florida | Registered: Jan 2007
| IP: Logged |
Next Paul cut a small passage through which the control and signal wiring would drop down into my driver's side overhead cabinet. Again, he measured very carefully several times before cutting holes.
The completed external setup. The cables are run through UV protective conduit and enter the coach under a sealed protective cover, and all screw heads have been sealed with Dicor. A first class hardware installation to say the least. By the way, all the footprints on the roof were from my own shoes, not Paul's topsiders.
How it looks from the ground open. That's Paul, by the way, asking me if I'd prefer him to get out of the photo.
And how it looks closed...
And of course the high tech stuff inside. I took this photo while Paul was having the system do a calibration I think, which is why all the lights aren't on. You can't see it, but he left me enough cable length to bring all the hardware out and sit it on the dash or seat in case I should have to debug it in the future.
The system found the satellite two different times in between 6 and 7 minutes, and two separate speed tests showed I was getting right at 1000 kbps downstream both times and 400+ and 600+ kbps upstream (Edit: Note Bill's response below indicating this must have been a false upstream reading).
I couldn't be happier. Thanks again, Paul and Bill!
-Noel
[ May 21, 2007, 10:19 AM: Message edited by: NoelC ]
Posts: 133 | From: South Florida | Registered: Jan 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Great job of documenting the install Noel. Gives folks who have not witnessed the dedication and attention to detail of the best installers a good idea of how a good install goes and why they earn their money. Dish placement, wire routings, weather tight seals of penetrations and setup and debug of the system take time and skill.
Noel, which service plan are you on and what speed test were you running to get 400-600 upload speeds?
-------------------- Michael Day F1|D2 3.7.6|7000 5.8.0.72|117|990 MHz|.57 gateway|2 Laptop: XP Home|1 Desktop:Vista, 1 Win7|LinkSys WRT54G|Verizon Broadband USB720 + KR-1 Router| Newell Coach, PT Cruiser Turbo Find Me Here (Map) Donations Help Support This Site Posts: 2808 | From: Everywhere | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Noel, Nice pictures and dialog. The only thing I would mention is that you did not (and never will) get 400-600K up. The transponders that we are on are 256K transponderss so anything above that number is impossible. Likely you used a site that does not properly handle the Hughes speeds. These are usually Java based sites. You can expect to see 100-150K up on a regular basis. If you would like to keep a more accurate accounting of your upload speeds go to www.testmy.net and use the 579K file to test your upload speeds. If you run a download test use the 2992K file. Congratulation on your installation and be sure to give me a call or drop me a line if you have any questions at all.
posted
Noel, thanks for the great detail on your install. We have many capable dealers but none better than Bill Adams and Paul Acuri. We feel very fortunate to have them both as MotoSAT dealers. Jim P
-------------------- Jim Pendleton jim@motosat.com 800-247-7486
Newell XF2,D3,7000, EtherSat (iDirect),WM1431 In-motion, HDSL5 Popup, Verizon air card, the works Posts: 135 | From: Salt Lake City, Utah | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
You're absolutely right, Bill, it was a Java based test at SpeakEasy.com. I didn't remember what to expect for upload speed, and it did sound kind of high... Frankly the download speed is much more important to me for what I will be doing.
Yet another example where Bill is right on top of things!
-Noel
Posts: 133 | From: South Florida | Registered: Jan 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
I am sorry I misspelled Paul Arcuri's name. We were pleased to have Toni Arcuri of Datastorm of Florida, here in the shop for a couple of days earlier this month. Jim P
-------------------- Jim Pendleton jim@motosat.com 800-247-7486
Newell XF2,D3,7000, EtherSat (iDirect),WM1431 In-motion, HDSL5 Popup, Verizon air card, the works Posts: 135 | From: Salt Lake City, Utah | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thank you for all the terrific comments, they are greatly appreciated. We are proud to be an exclusive MotoSAT dealer & working with someone like Bill Adams.
-------------------- Paul Arcuri 954-558-2628 Tony Arcuri 954-558-6900 DataStorm of Florida, Inc. Serving DataStorm Users - Nationwide www.DataStormUSA.com www.MotoSatUSA.com Posts: 1 | From: Hollywood, Florida | Registered: May 2007
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
