TV in an Ice Castle?

We have a 2015 Lake of the Woods Ice Castle. Last year we did not have a tv in the fish house, but will this year. There is a satellite dish on the roof. All we want is to get local channels. How do we go about connecting this up? Do we need a cord connected to the satellite? and can that be used as an antennae? Do we need a digital antennae or does/should the tv have an internal antennae that will work for our needs?

Thank you for your help.

Vickie

Hook it to Marcum and watch Fish TV😇🎣

Your sat will do you no good for “local air” tv channels, you would need a sat receiver box from you provider.

You will need an external antenna if the tv does not have one attached, depending on the vintage of your tv you plan to use you may also need a converter box. Newer tv’s from the last 5 years or so have them built in I believe.

Since you would likely be running the generator for the TV, a satellite dish and one of your receiver boxes is an option but would only get cable channels. The digital antenna will get local channels provided that you aren’t too far from broadcast antennas and there aren’t too many obstructions. 50 – 75 miles is about as far as I’d see you getting reception with the digital antenna. Both of these options will require them plugged into the generator.

Does the Satellite have a cable running from it to somewhere in the house where the TV would likely go? If so, then take the satellite off the house and put a digital antenna in the same spot. Reuse the cable and mounting bracket, so there’s really not a whole lot of work to be done!

You can get local TV channels thru the Dish and a receiver, you won’t get any “cable” channels, you will get satellite channels, I do it everyday at home and at the cabin and the fishhouse……

big_g wrote:

You can get local TV channels thru the Dish and a receiver, you won’t get any “cable” channels, you will get satellite channels, I do it everyday at home and at the cabin and the fishhouse……

If you get the interweb thru your dish you could let me know where the fish were bitin.

Mn rabbit -Yes the satellite dish is connected to a wall jack, where the tv will go. The dish has a crank on the inside of the house to position it, I think. Do you think that cause an issue if we take it off and change to a digital antennae?

Big_g When you say a “receiver” what exactly is that. Does that mean a cable box (don’t want to use that) or is a receiver some other device that we need to get. Where did you get one?

We will be using a new tv in the fish house.

Thanks again.

I run a 22′ flat screen that runs off 12 volt. I hook it up to a rv antenna and scan for any available channels, no cable or generator, just two large deep cycle batteries.

If you have either Direct TV or DISH Network, you have a receiver in your home. It is where you change the channels.(exactly like a cable box, but is satellite) These will work anywhere with the correct dish in the correct position. There is no way you will get Cable TV in a fishhouse, without running a CABLE to the house… Direct TV and DISH Network both have local channels broadcasting over their satellite signals.

I went the satellite dish rout in our RV and it is a PITA. You need a box from the satellite provider, use one out of your house or get an extra for extra cost. Coax cable connects dish to box and box to TV. Biggest problem is pointing the dish. Because the satellite is low in the sky many situations have trees that obstruct. That is one advantage of being on the ice, you should always have a clear shot of the SW sky. You can get an inexpensive meter that will show you signal strength as you move the dish around. If the dish is on a tripod it needs to be anchored or the wind blows it down. I advise getting a “Tailgater” dish antenna for $300, just point it approximately SW and it hones in on the strongest signal automatically. Any long period without using it and the system forgets who you are, then you have to call the provider to get reset up. Uses 110 V ac household current. Not sure what is available in 12v DC. Once its running it is identical to the satellite service at your home, same great picture and all your local, satellite and premium channels.

We don’t have DISH or Direct TV. I can’t believe this is that difficult to get some/a little bit of tv service in a fish house. I realize you can’t get cable – I guess I worded that wrong. All we want is some local channels (if possible). Seems that a digital antennae may be what we need. We can easily do without tv, if a $300 piece of equipment is needed. We are just looking for basic tv.

Vickie

Vickie, it would help to know where you’re going to be fishing. If on Mille Lacs, the guys up there should be able to tell you what stations (how many) you’ll receive.

At Everts for example, using a digital antenna the guys are getting about 20 channels I hear.

@trumar would be more informed then I.

But either way, by naming the location it would be easier to let you know what to expect.

As Brian K mention I have a Motorhome(1979) sitting at Everts Resort I took the standard crank up and turn antenna off and installed a powered Wineguard HDTV antenna for our new digital tv and really like the results we got.

It will crank up/down and swivel to locate best reception.

I can get 20 channels at certain times of the day night(15-16 all the time), any where from cartoons for the kids,old westerns ,news channels and a few religious channels old comedy shows.

Here is a link to my antenna..as I said mine is a powered(12volt) antenna,I use a small 9amp battery to power it up and charge it up overnight when needed !

http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-RVW-395-Sensar-White-Antenna/dp/B003VAZ6OG.

If you research RV digital antennas you find they alot of options to fit your needs ,also as mention wherever you are parked talk to the local people and see what the use !

I have replaced the crank up satalite antenna’s in 2 Ice Castles with the Winguard amplified bat wing style antenna. It fits in the same opening on the roof as the other. We get all the channels we want with this set up and don’t need a receiver. Simple system to get basic shows. We have never been anywhere were we couldn’t get at least ABC, normally many more.

Simply, you cannot get local channels thru A DISH on your fishhouse, without dish service. As you eluded too, you need a antennae. Ditch the dish and get the antennae, pretty simple. MNRabbit answered it perfectly. Those saying you can get “cable channels” thru a dish and not local channels, are WAY off. Best Buy and $80 you should be set.

Thank you all for the help. Not sure where we will be with the fish house, there are lots of options, here in the metro, Mille Lacs, Red, Lake of the Woods or Winnie. All depends on the ice this year

Vickie

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