JZ
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Direcway
Anyone use it in Baja.
I have many questions:
- best place to get a dish/receiver in LA
- can you use the same dish/receiver for DirecTV (I realize the standard DirecTV dish won't work)
- do you need a .98M dish
- can you use Vonage or Skype with it
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MrBillM
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The standard DirecWay Dish has no facility for DirecTV reception and if you had one that did have that capability, it would possibly not work, anyway,
because there are (6) different Satellites that DirecWay assigns service on to distribute service load. The 74cm dish is useable in Northern Baja,
however, services assigned to the latest satellite at 127 deg west is marginal. The most satisfactory satellite seems to be SatMex 5.
You CANNOT use a Vonage type of service due to the mediocre UPLOAD speeds which typically are anywhere from 19K to 50K and vary constantly. Skype or
Crystal Voice work, although the delay (latency) results in a significant pause in conversations.
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Bajabus
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Direcway will work on the standard .74 Mt antenna all the way to the tip BUT and this is the BIG BUT, it is very hard to get assigned to sat mex 5
right now because it is notoriously overloaded. The more expensive mobile platforms like datastorm with the commercial package at about $100 per
month can request 1 free sat change per year and more for $50 each additional. The fixed users are at the mercy of the dealer they purchase from and
even they will have to beg for an assignment change. Very very difficult.
Starband fixed units however can be had very cheap right now with a factory refurb 360 for $299 with a 6 month warranty, and you can extend the
warranty for an additional $4.99 per month. Below Mulege you will need a .98 mt RX/TX Ku band dish which will run you about $299 for the dish and
about another $150 shipping to CA.
Also vonage with the quality setting set to 30Kbps works fine except for the 1-2 sec delay. Kinda like talking on a nextel with both sides taking
turns talking. On sale right now at circut city $0.00 after rebate.
If you do go DW just make sure the dealer can gaurantee you will be put on Satmex5 if you intend on installing it much further south than BOLA or GN.
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked of such a thing."
Dwight David Eisenhower
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JZ
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Thanks for the info. I'm actually considering it for San Carlos on the Mainland. I need to find someone in Hermosillo who sells this. Any ideas.
How bad are the delays with Skype. Could I use it for work.
Anyone know about the limitations of using it with VPNs.
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Mexray
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A friend has DirectWay on the beach below Mulege with regular antenna (winter months). I don't which 'voice' program he uses, but he finds that the
'delay' is almost unusable with people that don't know what's going on!
IE, He called a commercial business while I was visiting, and the lady that rec'd the call just couldn't get with the delay, and hung up on him every
time he tried to call - very frustrating! He finally had to wait for a buddy back home that knows the 'delay' system to call for him...just one of
those things you'll have to put up with if you're trying to call a 'delay rookie'...
According to my clock...anytime is \'BAJA TIME\' & as Jimmy Buffett says,
\"It doesn\'t use numbers or moving hands It always just says now...\"
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Bruce R Leech
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| Quote: | Originally posted by JZ
Thanks for the info. I'm actually considering it for San Carlos on the Mainland. I need to find someone in Hermosillo who sells this. Any ideas.
How bad are the delays with Skype. Could I use it for work.
Anyone know about the limitations of using it with VPNs. |
check with Baja bus I think he sells and ships them in to there.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Bajabus
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Gimmie a long lat on the mainland and I'll give you the scoop on both DW and *band at that location. I can get you both but if it's a location that
needs to be on satmex 5 for the regular antenna then I may or may not be able to do it. I will let you know either way.
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked of such a thing."
Dwight David Eisenhower
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MrBillM
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Vonage ?
I would still be leery that you could get satisfactory use out of Vonage via Direcway. The system that I originally tried was from iconnecthere.com,
but the equipment and technology is the same as Vonage. After extensive testing and troubleshooting, the problem (one-way transmission) turned out to
be the poor upload speeds on Direcway which often drop below 30Kbps. I could receive calls fine, but the distant end heard only broken up garble
because the data packets were received so slowly.
I have to say that I've gotten to the point that I don't even use Crystal Voice except to check my home and cellular voicemails. Trying to talk with
someone who doesn't understand the delay is next to impossible. I just check the voicemails and then use my Telcel Cellular if a call has to be made.
If you want to do some reading on the Internet regarding this problem, here are two websites that are FILLED with experiences and most of the
complaints deal with Vonage-type Broadband service.
1. dslreports.com
2. direcwayreallysucks.net (the name says it all).
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CasaManzana
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Great Direcway set-up guy in TJ for Baja
There's a Direcway installer in TJ that has a electronics store in San Isydro (3 minutes north of the border) that sells all the Direcway stuff. He
plays the game of knowing that if you tell Direcway that it's to be used in Mexico they will kill the deal. Fabian orders the equipment and you pick
it up at his store. You give him a US address for location (tee-hee) and a US billing address for credit card he will assign SatMax 5 (Fabian calls
it satellite #117 and it shows that way on my system here on Bahia Concepcion). He usually tacks on an "installation fee" for his services but all
the other costs are by the book. Fabian's contact info-
falr@starband.net
falr@direcway.com
and from the US- 011.52.664.660.5999
Tell him Manzana Jim sent you
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Bajabus
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pompano Sat Mex 5 sounds right. It would be near impossible at coyote to get DW to work on any other sat.
CV does work better than Vonage but you can't get calls from other telephones on it. I hear that will be changing soon.
Vonage works OK if you set the quality via the web based settings to 30Kbps.
The delay is more tolerable after a few shots of herradura or the mood altering libation of your choice.
definitely don't drink a lot of coffee before trying it.
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked of such a thing."
Dwight David Eisenhower
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JZ
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Posts: 10580
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Bajabus: here are the GPS coordinates: N27 56.341 W111 05.843.
U2U me with your contact info and I will call you.
How does Skype sound with dial-up. I heard it is not bad. Maybe I'll use DW for internet and dial-up for Skype VoIP. I need it to be good quality,
as I want to work remotely and make business calls. Skype with broadband is okay quality for this.
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Bajabus
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DW will work there with the standard antenna on satmex5. *B would need a .98 meter and as a result be a more expensive option for that location.
I'll U2U
[Edited on 14-4-2005 by Bajabus]
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked of such a thing."
Dwight David Eisenhower
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mulege marv
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i have both, the direcway is fine no problema. but directv is another story, all you get are the channels you wouldnt watch in the states. if all you
want to watch is headline news your ok, the movie channels ?  forget it ! but
who watches tv here anyway !
[Edited on 4-18-2005 by BajaNomad]
Want what you have
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Pompano
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Mulege Marv....you rascal, bite your tongue! I love TV..I love Baja...fishing?..I figured up the other day I have spent over 19,000 hours fishing the
Sea of Cortez in the last 33 years. Ror us we wouldn't be without this great evening entertainment. I probably own the first 'large' C-band dish
ever installed in this area..circa 1973. I supplied sat-tv to a few other households. We have Super Bowl parties, basketball playoff parties, gold
calcuttas, horror shows for the kiddies, ..what do you like?..it's there. Now it's Direcway 1 meter dish, Sky, Starband, Dish, the list goes on...
For me nothing is better than to have my favorite TV programs available in a remote setting like we have in Coyote Bay. Perfefctly relaxing and
enjoyable. Anyone who denigrates TV in Baja is missing the boat. For us, it is the perfect blend of technology and woodsmoke.
How else would we know who just got married in Jolly Ol' England...whew, that
Carmela reminds me of a quarterhorse I knew in ND!
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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JZ
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Ok, after asking you guys a million and one questions about DW I have figured out that I can get DSL after all!
So, I'm very happy! Sorry for the false alarm. Hopefully, we educated some in need.
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Desertbull
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I have (and have had and used extensively) a MotoSat Direcway mobile satellite mounted on a solid race ready rack built on top of my 3/4 ton Dodge
Ram...
I use Sat Mex 117W and it works everywhere all the time with little problems.
Full wireless modems...park the truck and sit on the beach with wireless hookup.
Park the truck in front of the house, campground whatever...sit inside and do your Internet thing...and DirecTV is also available on the same
system...
Units available for cheap...monthly service is reasonable.
visit www.datastormusers.com for the info
I don't sell these things...I've just used it for some three years with a few technical problems that were more user related than anything else...and
I've used the two units that I have from Cabo to Alaska to Jellico, Tennessee all on the same 117W satellite.
Granted the angle of the satellite while in Tennessee was a bit strange but it worked for 3 days straight while working...
DREAM IT! PLAN IT! LIVE IT!
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Anonymous
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I've used myDataStorm for Internet in Baja on SatMex5 from Cabo North no problem. We're South of that now, South of Mexico City here:
(http://map.datastormusers.com/user2.cfm?user=332)
Competition is happening in Satellite Internet. Things are getting faster and better. Check www.DataStormUsers.com for the latest.
best, paul
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Bajabus
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Right..... that's the key if you are on DW (Datastorm uses the DW platform with the more expensice commercial plan) and you want it to work in Mexico
below Mulege and on most of the mainland. ya gotta be on satmex 5.
As for competition...yes for the USA fine....... but it will be a long long time before the new Ka spot beam technology bleeds much further than a few
hundreds mile past the border into Mexico. The good thing is it will push pricing down on the higher speed plans from DW and *B.
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked of such a thing."
Dwight David Eisenhower
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Anonymous
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I will selling via ebay a direcway .98 dish with a DW6000 modem soon. I want to go with a FAPless ground based wireless internet system instead.
Look for it in the coming weeks at ebay under "satelite dishes" Just thought id post this to ppl needing a dish.
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