Used boat DirecTV activation?
- Thread starter jlanka
- Start date
twarble
Member
i went through this a few years ago. i activated via DTV, don't think KVH can help you...used my home address, and just told them I was installing on a boat. it was a pain though...make it clear it's a marine account, and that might help. it was such a mess that they refused to activate without dispatching a tech to my house with a receiver..which i then rejected. funny thing is he wouldn't leave until he called a manager because he's not supposed to leave without the service being verified. 
you might have to be on the phone with the corporate folks while the tech is there to get it done.
fun facts on this...
KVH knows some stuff about DTV, but DTV knows pretty much nothing about KVH. once you get your service activated, if you have any issues, i would go to KVH.
if they try to give you a new remote, make sure you get one with an "R" in the model which denotes Rf capable.
be very careful about switching up your receiver...try real hard to just give them the identification numbers from your card. for one, the receiver is installed in a very tight space...and the new ones are tiny, and you have to figure out how to hold it in place. secondly, there are some wiring items that might not work with the new receivers. can't remember what it was, but i ran into this.
also, you don't have HD, can't get HD, and DTV will likely send you an HD capable receiver and try to charge you the monthly fee. i got mine permanently credited so it was a wash when i convinced them i couldn't possibly use it.
i have an '08, so my KVH may be much older than yours, but make sure you calibrate your system, and enter your lat/lon as it helps it speed up acquisition. also, you'll only get one satellite, not 2 since you're on SD only.
if you put your boat up for an extended period of time of at least 30 days, you can call and suspend your account for the winter. might save you some cash if you don't like to watch football in the freezing cold on a winterized boat like me.
finally, if you ever switch your home service to DTV, the boat receiver can be registered as an additional room! so, your boat ends up costing you like 5 or 10 bucks.
good luck with the process,
twarble
you might have to be on the phone with the corporate folks while the tech is there to get it done.fun facts on this...
KVH knows some stuff about DTV, but DTV knows pretty much nothing about KVH. once you get your service activated, if you have any issues, i would go to KVH.
if they try to give you a new remote, make sure you get one with an "R" in the model which denotes Rf capable.
be very careful about switching up your receiver...try real hard to just give them the identification numbers from your card. for one, the receiver is installed in a very tight space...and the new ones are tiny, and you have to figure out how to hold it in place. secondly, there are some wiring items that might not work with the new receivers. can't remember what it was, but i ran into this.
also, you don't have HD, can't get HD, and DTV will likely send you an HD capable receiver and try to charge you the monthly fee. i got mine permanently credited so it was a wash when i convinced them i couldn't possibly use it.
i have an '08, so my KVH may be much older than yours, but make sure you calibrate your system, and enter your lat/lon as it helps it speed up acquisition. also, you'll only get one satellite, not 2 since you're on SD only.
if you put your boat up for an extended period of time of at least 30 days, you can call and suspend your account for the winter. might save you some cash if you don't like to watch football in the freezing cold on a winterized boat like me.
finally, if you ever switch your home service to DTV, the boat receiver can be registered as an additional room! so, your boat ends up costing you like 5 or 10 bucks.
good luck with the process,
twarble
jlanka
New member
Google got me to this page: http://landing.kvh.com/howtoactivate which looks promising. I will contact KVH tomorrow to see if they can assist me. Thanks for all your experience.
Jeff
Jeff
My subscription with Direct TV just ran out September 1, it was with previous owner since i just purchased my 41PC August 15 and enjoyed using it. I called Direct TV/AT&T and they had me on hold for 30 minutes trying to figure out what i wanted and getting me the best deal. I hun g up before they came back on the line, figuring I would call in March or April to re-actvate since it will be up on the hard fromNovember till then.
Thanks will call him.