Where we are currently located, remember the secret undisclosed location, there simply is not much in the way of clear sky reception of anything. Trees...trees...trees

 

No satellite TV, no Internet to speak of.

 

So what do we do?

Ok, what do I do?

After putting tinfoil on the rabbit ears and going on the roof and turning the antenna, nothing was working.

​

This meant another trip of course. Back to Camping World, we go. Good thing they talked me into a Good Sam credit card on my first trip there, I was going to need it apparently.

 

A very knowledgeable young lady assisted me. She looked to be about twelve. I really felt like patting her on the head and saying to her, I know about this stuff. Truth is technology has gone way beyond anything I knew when I was working on these things. She knew her stuff. I wound up getting a Satellite TV antenna for the roof. Not just any antenna would do, This is a fully functioning satellite dish in a dome.

​

The dish on your house, it's a good two feet tall from its base, so I was skeptical. This is only thirteen inches tall! It has an inconspicuous dome over it as it whirls and twirls talking to the satellites. It automatically finds its satellites. Back in the day, the first home dish receivers were twelve feet across. That was in the early eighties. I feel old now.

​

I managed to get it mounted per the instructions, without falling off the roof of the BEAST. Then the wiring got done. A hole was drilled through the roof into the cabinet where all the cables are, behind the TV. The whirling and spasming satellite dish started to do its thing.  Hopeful, we watched the screen light up.

 

The DISH guide, the channels with their banners you see as channels change all came in. Only no actual picture comes through. We had already talked to Peggy a few times, she is in the north somewhere. Waiting for all the diagnostics to run, she told me it's snowing outside. At one point, I was put on hold while she fed the sled dogs.

 

So with sawdust everywhere, I moved onto the other purchase. Good thing we got a few dollars from the sale of the house to cover this credit card usage. I am going to need counseling for the withdrawal I think..

 

Another domed thingy mounted on the roof. It is supposed to be a cellular booster and network provider. This only had one wire to hook up. I did not think this was a wise purchase at the time, I just liked using the new credit card for points. The manual was more significant than the unit itself. It is either in Greek, or it has nuclear launch codes. Still pondering.

​

As the work effort went, me going up and down the ladder some thirty times, all is installed. The only thing working currently is the cellular doodad, Go figure.

​

With the government looking round domes on the roof, I could pass the BEAST off as a network news remote van or an FBI crime lab. Maybe I will get a few business cards made up.

 

We will speak with Peggy in Siberia again today; hopefully, her sled dogs got her to work.

Peggy, was in and we resolved the issues, we have TV through DISH network for far less money a month than we had at home through DirecTV: go figure. Now whether you believe this or not, the satellite is designed for travel. It will track the satellite and stay locked on, so I can watch reruns of McGyver and the A-Team as I drive the highways and byways.

 

Now we concentrate on reducing what we now know is not necessary while on the road. So far this week, we installed the DISH antenna, the super-duper WiFi thingy, checked out the portable grill. No lie, it comes out and sits on a foldup table designed to use for outdoor cooking. The Propane gas grill sits on the table, and you hook a hose to a gas connection provided on the side of the BEAST. A little door opens, and you quick-connect both ends. In less than five minutes, the grill is heating up. Somehow I sense I will be grilling and chilling a lot. As long as the Corona has its lime, I'm good.

​

The cactus you see is from the house we just sold, it started as a mere seed the year we moved in.