We have Dish TV, no real complaints other than the six months we wrestled with them over the idea that we were in an RV and
moved. For some reason, they had a lot of trouble with that concept and kept turning off my service because our address was listed as a business address... well of course it is, it is our mail-forwarding service!!! Finally resolved.
Signal strength doesn't seem to be an issue except for Dish TV HD in the Pacific northwest where it drops off quickly. There are maps that show Sat coverage somewhere on the internet -- someone could probably help you out there. Generally, signal strength is not an issue the further south you go. So far as the National Parks, it is not an issue unless you're in the trees, or in Alaska!
We run our TV/Sat/DVD system off the batteries with a 2000w inverter - no issues. I went sort of overboard on solar panels (just ask my wife!) so we're good to go as late as we really want to on the batts. The trick is to make sure you're fully charged before the sun goes down. For good info on solar issue, check out
www.amsolar.com
- those are really good folks and will bury you with good information. (They did our solar installation on our current rig.) If you're going to be down south this winter, go see Discount Solar at 540 E. Main St. in Quartzsite. (Don't go to the discountsolar dot com web site -- so far as I can tell, that's a competitor ripping off their name.)
Check out the "Satellite TV and Radio on the Road" forum on Escapees.com for more info. Look for anything written by Stanley Miller - one of the most knowlegeable and helpful guys on the internet. There are lots of other good folks on there - don't want to slight anyone else - but Stan is really a good source.
