Intellian TV antenna coverage on the inside passage

Considering getting the Intellian i3 antenna but just heard that it will only work to about the north end of Vancouver Island. Anyone have experience with this model? Should I be getting a bigger model? I am replacing a obsolete KVH Tracvision 6. Thanks.

Russell Clifton said:

Considering getting the Intellian i3 antenna but just heard that it will only work to about the north end of Vancouver Island. Anyone have experience with this model? Should I be getting a bigger model? I am replacing a obsolete KVH Tracvision 6. Thanks.

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An Intellian i4 uses a larger dish. Larger dish, extended range. Intellian has range maps that are model-based.

Russell Clifton said:

Considering getting the Intellian i3 antenna but just heard that it will only work to about the north end of Vancouver Island. Anyone have experience with this model? Should I be getting a bigger model? I am replacing a obsolete KVH Tracvision 6. Thanks.

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Doesn't it depend as much or more on the service provider (DishNetwork vs DirectTV, etc) as opposed to the Intellian dish?

The I3 looses HD channels after Blind Channel which is south of the Broughtons. Standard channel reception continues on til north of Ketchikan.

tiltrider1 said:

The I3 looses HD channels after Blind Channel which is south of the Broughtons. Standard channel reception continues on til north of Ketchikan.

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Who is the Sat TV service provider?

Dish. You can not get HDTV from DirectTV on a I3. You can get standard tv from both.

By the way. This is not a guess, first hand knowledge but two years old.

tiltrider1 said:

Dish. You can not get HDTV from DirectTV on a I3. You can get standard tv from both.

By the way. This is not a guess, first hand knowledge but two years old.

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Thanks. I gave up on TV years ago so don't have any first hand experience. But I do know that the different providers have different ranges where they can be received, and that's independent who makes the antenna. So if it's a coverage question, it's 99% certain it's a question for the service provider, not a question for the antenna provider.

I have a KVH tv6. The biggest dish they make. I get SD all the way up the inside passage. The local Portland channels disappear north of Port McNeill. But on a nice, sunny day, I can get Portland channels in K-Town.

We have an Intellian I6. The farthest north we have been with the boat is Juneau, and it works that far, sort of. We have Dish network for the US, but Dish is US only and quits shortly after we cross the southern border of Canada on the way north. Canadian Bell works in Canada but requires a different (Bell) receiver and activating that account.

Then it quits when we cross the border into Alaska and we have to go back to the Dish receiver and account. On either system and at any given time, we can never be sure what channels will work and which won’t. The whole setup might be more trouble than its worth for us. Seems like it always need some time and effort to get it to work and its usually not enough of a priority for us to bother.

guy with a boat said:

We have an Intellian I6. The farthest north we have been with the boat is Juneau, and it works that far, sort of. We have Dish network for the US, but Dish is US only and quits shortly after we cross the southern border of Canada on the way north. Canadian Bell works in Canada but requires a different (Bell) receiver and activating that account.

Then it quits when we cross the border into Alaska and we have to go back to the Dish receiver and account. On either system and at any given time, we can never be sure what channels will work and which won’t. The whole setup might be more trouble than its worth for us. Seems like it always need some time and effort to get it to work and its usually not enough of a priority for us to bother.

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WOW!!! We have DirecTV and use it up and down the Inside Passage.

guy with a boat said:

We have an Intellian I6. The farthest north we have been with the boat is Juneau, and it works that far, sort of. We have Dish network for the US, but Dish is US only and quits shortly after we cross the southern border of Canada on the way north. Canadian Bell works in Canada but requires a different (Bell) receiver and activating that account.

Then it quits when we cross the border into Alaska and we have to go back to the Dish receiver and account. On either system and at any given time, we can never be sure what channels will work and which won’t. The whole setup might be more trouble than its worth for us. Seems like it always need some time and effort to get it to work and its usually not enough of a priority for us to bother.

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I find this surprising. My Dish/I3 set up worked all the way, just like ASD with DirectTV. Note this was 2 years ago. I did loose HDTV at Blind Channel but standard TV continued to work. I'm sure if I had a larger dish I could have continued to get HDTV.

I seem to be in the same Camp as Twistedtree. I have not used the Sat dish the last two years as I can stream tv on to the boat. I need to get north of Desolation Sound before I loose my ability to stream tv.

The world of streaming is so vast that I almost never watch live tv anymore. Even programs that you normally think of as watching on live tv can be streamed. Like football, if you watch it on live tv you can only watch games in your zone. If you stream it, you can watch any game you want. I have now reached the point were I have no Live TV provider and I just sign up for things lid F1 streaming service or NFL all game pass. This makes firing up the Dish/I3 system like going on a diet. I can make it work but I'm so limited that I'm not sure I'll find anything I want to watch. Once starlink gets perfected I'm sure I will never use the Dish/I3 again.

Of all my boat toys, the Dish/I3 has given me the worst fun return for the money. It's not really the Dish/I3's fault, more that streaming came of age shortly after I installed it. I used the Dish/I3 all the way from LA to Seattle. Then I didn't use it except for two summer trips up north and then only north of Desolation Sound.

Question. You have to have an internet connection to stream, correct?

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Question. You have to have an internet connection to stream, correct?

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Yes, that is correct. I can use a cellular data connection to stream but Cell service North of Desolation has been non existent for me. Since Starlink is satellite internet this would open up streaming all the way.

When you get to Alaska on DISH you need to call them tell them where you are. With a .76m antenna you should be able to receive all channels on Conus transponders and the HD channels on the Alaska spot-beam transponders.

Tom

All I do is turn the antenna and then I have TV. May not be HD, but that isn't important to me.

Recomnend you consider using cell phone with 4g data and screen sharing for Netflix ect tv. I have been doing that all sumner with good results in Ketchikan. Maybe consider a cell phone antenna as well. Screen sharing casting device Actionted is $20 on Amazon. Get a phone plan with unlimited data.

MVDarlin said:

Recomnend you consider using cell phone with 4g data and screen sharing for Netflix ect tv. I have been doing that all sumner with good results in Ketchikan. Maybe consider a cell phone antenna as well. Screen sharing casting device Actionted is $20 on Amazon. Get a phone plan with unlimited data.

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Will that work when away from the cell towers in Ketchikan?

catalinajack said:

Will that work when away from the cell towers in Ketchikan?

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My question too.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

My question too.

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The answer is, of course, it will not.

So if you are outside of K-Town, Juneau or Sitka you will need Sat tv.....