T&T: Direct TV

[Milt Baker]

My experience bears out what Doc says.  I called DirectTV this summer and changed my "service address" (my "summer home", I told 'em) to a New York marina address I pulled from Waterway Guide.  Within 
minutes, I was receiving about a dozen New York City channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS stations.  I was in Maine at the time, and over the past couple of months the service has worked as far north as Roque Harbor, ME, and as far south as Georgetown, MD.   Two friends report that it works all the way to Florida.

Local channels on DirectTV are typically broadcast on "spot beams" which are good within 50-75 miles of the city where the local channels are broadcast.  Apparently (and I'm guessing here, folks) the NYC channels are NOT on a spot beam so, like non-local Direct TV channels such as CNN, the NYC channels can be received all over no matter where you're located.  The only downside I can see is the need to change my service back to my local Fort Lauderdale channels when we get the boat back there--if we want local service at home there.

Once upon a time, we had to pay a separate full service fee for Direct TV account for service on the boat.  Now service on the boat is linked to our service at home on the same account and costs only $5.00 extra per month.  

--Milt Baker, Nordhavn 4732 Bluewater, Georgetown, MD

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Seasalt007@aol.com wrote:

For years I called Direct TV when I moved the boat and told them to change  
my "service area" (not my billing address) and they switched on the locals for  
where ever I was.  If you do that in NY you will get the national feeds  
which will stay with you everywhere.
 
Unless you get a local stations release (very hard to do) then you  will 
have to call each time you want locals w/major networks.
 
Doc on the Tenn Tom