MotoSat | Live Work Dream | RVing Lifestyle Design Blog

What Internet Service Is Best for RVers?

September 4, 2023April 15, 2015 by Jim

Service redundancy is the best mobile internet for RVers. Review various connection options for full-timers, and and why redundant access is important when working from the road.

How to Rewire MotoSat D3 9-pin Control Cable Plug

September 4, 2023January 21, 2015 by Jim

DIY steps, photos and tips for how to rewire the MotoSat D3 controller cable connection at the Datastorm F2 satellite internet dish mount on the roof of our fifth wheel.

MotoSat F2 Satellite Internet Dish Wiring

Final Installation of Our Satellite Internet System

September 4, 2023December 14, 2014 by Jim

Jim explains how to install the MotoSat F2 satellite Internet dish mount on the RV roof, wire cabling inside a cabinet, and troubleshoot connection issues with Datastorm D3 controller.

Mission Accomplished, Once Again

February 11, 2010 by Jim

Jim replaces the elevation motor set on MotoSat F2 Satellite internet dish.

EagleSat Delivers Superior MotoSat Support

October 12, 2014January 30, 2010 by Jim

Here’s a long overdue shout out to the fine folks at EagleSat. This small family-owned business in Longmont, CO serviced our MotoSat satellite internet system the last time we had problems. Which was apparently not the last time. At the time we had trouble locking on to our Satellite, with frequent motor stall errors. My usual multiple calls to MotoSat for support, and their routine …

Wrong Turns, Mishaps and Motosat Problems With a Smile

May 26, 2012January 25, 2010 by Rene

How I handle mishaps and wrong turns while living on the road in our RV.

Finding the Best Position for MotoSAT Internet Access

July 5, 2012December 6, 2009 by Jim

How RV parking position can affect speed of connecting via MotoSAT mobile satellite internet system

How to monitor your F@#% Access Policy

November 18, 2020October 21, 2009 by Jim

During our stay at Landa Park in New Braunfels earlier this year, I thought we discovered the headquarters of HughesNet, our mobile satellite internet service provider. But it was just some company with the same name that I have decided to call the team at Hughes: FAPCo FAP (Fair Access Policy, aka: Data Cap) n: A download threshold assigned by Hughes to each HughesNet service …

MotoSat: Keeping it local in Salt Lake City

October 12, 2014July 6, 2008 by Jim

The day before we were set to arrive at Vickers Ranch to settle in for our summer workamping jobs, our Datastorm F2 satellite internet dish stopped working. It refused to lock onto our satellite (91W).

We’ve experienced intermittent trouble and lengthy searches before getting online in the past. But this time it wouldn’t lock on at all. The dish went up, stopped at every bird in the sky attempting to identify the signal, only to continue searching. After calling MotoSat for help – and sending them a few photos of what we assumed was the problem – they determined that an “in house” repair was required to fix the issue.

With our online lifestyle, there was no way we could make it a week – let alone through the summer – without a serious hack job, and a way to find our satellite. So, we took a 900 mile round-trip detour to Salt Lake City for a factory repair at their headquarters.

The only other option was to remove the entire dish mount ourselves, get it off our roof somehow, and find a freight company to get it from Creede, CO to Salt Lake City for the repair. Not to mention re-installation. It was quicker and cheaper to just drive it there. And the trip turned out to be fun. Or at least interesting.

Our Love/Hate Relationship with MotoSat

October 12, 2014May 29, 2008 by Jim

Just the other day, I was thinking of writing about how much I love our satellite internet system. It provides us with connectivity even when we have no cell phone coverage camped deep in a National Forest campground, alongside a roaring stream, in the snow.

Then our Datastorm F2 refused to deploy. Luckily, we had made it back to civilization at Mountain Views RV Resort in Creede, CO with full hookups and WiFi. But now we are taking an 900 mile round-trip detour to Salt Lake City for a factory repair at MotoSat.

How To Upgrade Datastorm D3 Firmware

May 26, 2012April 27, 2008 by Jim

I know what you’re saying. “Oh boy, here he goes again … off on another one of his geek rants.”

But surely someone will be grateful for finding this information. It sure isn’t on the MotoSat technical support website where it should be.

When we started having some trouble locking onto our satellite for internet access, MotoSat suggested we upgrade the firmware in our Datastorm D3 dish controller. The support rep then promptly proceeded to rattle off a number of important steps, too quick for me to write them down. I decided to wait, thinking I would find details on their website.

Not. I present them here in excruciating detail for your reading enjoyment, or complete boredom whichever you prefer.

How to Replace the Datastorm F2 UCB

May 26, 2012January 7, 2008 by Jim

Translation: Here’s a little video we made showing how I replaced the Upper Control Board on our Datastorm F2 mobile satellite internet dish after receiving a GPS failure from our D3 controller.

If a picture is worth a 1,000 words this video must be worth at least 1,024. But here’s a few more about the experience anyway. Just to make a short story long …

Field Report: MotoSat Trouble

October 12, 2014July 15, 2007 by Jim

Our first day boondocking at Seedhouse Campground in the Routt National Forest, we had excellent connectivity with Satellite 91 West using our DataStorm F2 dish. The next few days however, we spent too much time trying to troubleshoot connectivity issues. In a previous life, this would have been frustrating. But it’s hard to get upset when your home office is deep in the woods with so much to do…

Satellite Internet Geeks Make Great RV Neighbors

May 26, 2012June 25, 2007 by Jim

By the time we finished setting up the trailer at Crags Campground on Robinson Creek near Twin Lakes our site neighbor already knew us by name. I couldn’t help but notice the MotoSat dish atop his Sea Breeze RV Coach when we pulled in, and I noticed him watching ours as it locked onto 91 West. I did not, however, expect what happened next… When …

Camp WiFi vs. Satellite Internet

September 4, 2023June 16, 2007 by Jim

Here’s a question for the web-savvy full-timers:

Would you rather rely on spotty campground wireless service for your internet connection, or have your own more reliable yet much more expensive satellite dish service such as MotoSat? This may be irrelevant to the weekend warriors but for those of us on the road full-time, who need to remain connected for either business or pleasure it is a serious consideration. So consider this…

We have a top of the line .98 meter F2 satellite dish from Datastorm with MotoSat internet service and a Linksys 300N wireless router. Yet I have spent most of this morning trying to publish these posts and get pages to load with a very weak connection to this campground’s 802.11b network. Why you ask?