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http://www.kvh.com/MarineSat/

http://www.kingcontrols.com/sea_king/

Disclaimer: I work for the company, but KVH (homepage and marine products) is pretty well-regarded in the industry.

Disclaimer: I work for the company, but KVH (homepage and marine products) is pretty well-regarded in the industry.

Obviously, what MLB would like is a GPS unit in the receiver to enforce their area restrictions.

Like this.

Yes, the DirecTV receivers for mobile use have an "Integrated GPS ... to automatically enable local channels while in your home designated market area". Cross the area boundary and your TV reception cuts off.

For a lot of folks - and not all of them seniors - the RV or the boat is where you live, it is where you work. Mobile Internet Satellite. Magellan Ground Control

Then there are the purists who would claim that line-of-sight to a tower is not really camping.

Seems to be sort of what you are looking for.

fiber optic gyro tracking stuff for warehouses

Just ran across the release and remembered this past ask slashdot. Hope it's useful info.

Ok, well it isn't $500, but you can do exactly what you're talking about today, with this or one of these.

I think what they're looking for is TracNet, by a company called KVH. This is the same company that is selling mobile DirecTV systems in high-end SUV's for a few thousand dollars. Their Internet access product is currently suited for a big rig installation; from their documents, it's about $6K & works through the DirecPC satellite feed.

They're supposed to be working on a similar version for SUV-sized vehicles. I doubt it'd be cheap, but for the application you're describing (accident assessors, etc), it'll probably be a no-brainer.

--Mid

I think what they're looking for is TracNet, by a company called KVH. This is the same company that is selling mobile DirecTV systems in high-end SUV's for a few thousand dollars. Their Internet access product is currently suited for a big rig installation; from their documents, it's about $6K & works through the DirecPC satellite feed.

They're supposed to be working on a similar version for SUV-sized vehicles. I doubt it'd be cheap, but for the application you're describing (accident assessors, etc), it'll probably be a no-brainer.

--Mid

A simple, active, multi-phase patch antenna w/o LNBs (you add your own/installer provides) (for DISH & DirecTV, similar to one dish directv/dish quad LNBs, but sorta ghetto plus dish's locals on 61.5*) would be suffient w/ a wider range could be sold for the same and other purposes, and even used where a normal antenna wouldn't fit/be desired in a fixed location and at odd angles.

TracNet's dbs antenna for yachts retrofitted for auto use is not new. It has been available for high-end customers at least a year down in South Florida. Once again slashdot gets the scoop on old news. The only new part of the story is that the new kvh antenna, the tracvision, is now low profile and actually designed for auto use.
KVH is at here

Directv has been available for years to people that spend on motorized antenna mounts that home in on the satellite signal and keep it tracked. And that mount is cheaper.

And it work's great when you're parked in the trailer park. It's hard to keep a servoed driectv dish locked on at 65 mph, unless it's in a huge dome. The point is this dish is kinda flat and fits in an under-5-inch enclosure.

The press release might be a more reliable source than CNN.

The KVH low-profile antenna DOES rotate in azimuth, "like a CD in a CD player", according to their press release. From my reading of their release it looks like it electronically points the beam only in elevation and, even then, they augment this with a little mechanical tilt. However, I do not agree that these in-motion tracking systems "suck". They track at rates up to 50 degrees/sec -- suitable for all but the most agressive driving. And even when they do lose signal (usually a tree or overpass), the screen freezes momentarily. They have gyros that keep them pointed at the satellite even with a signal disruption. That is you could be driving down a tree-lined street, loose signal because of blockage, stop at a stop sign and turn right while still blocked, and the signal would pop back to live TV the instant the line of sight is restored.

They make a DataScope which is a monocular witha digital range finder and compass built in. Its sort of like the device luke was using when he got hit over the head. I've wanted one to help line of the pringles cans

I just bought next month's issue of Popular Mechanics, and in one of the articles under Technology titled "RVs Get Wired" they had a little speil about a TracNet Sattlite Internet by KVH industries. The article states the downlink is by sat and the uplink is by cell modem at 14.4Kbps or satellite modem at 9600 bps. Cost is $5995 not including the sat which is another $2999. Base usage fee is $75/mo plus 99 cents/min while conneted. After 900 min charge drops to 79 cents. This sat can also tune into tv broadcasts, but you cant watch tv and surf at the same time.. sats are too far apart. The setup requires having a server which while the sat is locked in on the internet satt, it will download certain websites as a local cache which can be viewed while watching tv.

Not the prefect deal, but the system is good for on the move.

Another system mentioned was stationary only. It was MotoSat. 400kbps down 128kbps up. Designed with gps to find it's own sats by itself and lock in. Raises to 42in high for sat lock.. folds down to 10 inches for ride.. This sat can tune into the internet sat and the tv sat at the same time, allowing you to watch your favorite scifi's using direct tv or dish sattlite network's gear (bring your own reciver deal tho). Cost? $4995 for the hardware. $79/mo unlimited usage.

Sattlite as little lag, but who would notice if they havent ever surfed broadband? They wont be able to frag, but who said you couldnt schedule local lan frags?

I remember waaaaaaaay back when windows 95 was already out and 98 was in the works, Microsoft set up a little bus with about 8 desks, monitors and tower computers and networked them all together and seemed to have a main server in the back with a generator running. The system wasnt internet connected, just had advertizements and demos of games and other software they were proporting. The bus came to houston during one of the Hal-pc general meetings. I probably spent an hour or two playing around with those pcs. They altered the registry to disable access to everything but the programs folder under start menu.

I would say the mini school bus does have a certain appeal as they are a wider vehicle, but they are also a higher platform and are usually hard to get on for the elderly or very young. I would suggest building it out of a 5th wheel trailer or camper. They can be very well stablized and with a 5th wheel you can store the gear in the over bed area. Some campers have electric flyouts that might afford more room while in use, but require leveling of the trailer before use (drive on blocks, jacking up). Another thought about a 5th wheel is, you have engine failover, if the truck you are using is troubled, you could easily get another one rather than taking the whole damned rig to the shop, putting it into the hands of mechanics who might just play with those computers sitting the back if it was a motorhome.

DRACO-

This is, though, a 12" or 18" parabolic dish in a radome, so it's a bit much for small cars. It would be cool to replace the fibreglas radome with a clear one, so people could watch the dish track as you drove along.

Are a fasinating bit of technology. You can read all about them in this paper that my father presented at the Fall 1998 AIAA Symposium in Boston.