Cutting the cord advice, tips and how-to's!

sirhrmechanic · Jul 16, 2024

Been thinking about dumping Satellite TV.... Land Line... Sirius car radio, etc. for a while.

This weekend, as I was thinking about how the outrageous fees for DirectTV are going to fund piece of garbage networks like CNN and Disney... I think it is time to dump the whole lot and cut the cord. Not to mention probably saving about $3k a year!

First was Sirius... Which I didn't drop. But when I called to drop, they reduced my rate from $30 a month to $11.50. Which I am willing to pay for the convenience of having my truck connected. So while that's not cut... it's gone to 135 a year instead of almost 400.

Second is getting rid of the POS Satellite TV DirectTV which is stupid expensive AND my money goes to support Disney pedophiles and CNN propagandists... not to mention dozens of other useless DEI channels that are ONLY economic because I have to pay for them to get the two or three dozen channels I watch. So it has to go. I have a streaming/internet ready TV so don't even need a ROKU box. That's easy as long as I have Internet in the house.

Last, I'm going to get a Magic Jack (which allows me to port the home phone number onto it.... that has been at this house since the 1970s! That device hooks into Internet and lets me nuke land phone line and I know several folks who have them and say they work fine.

The issue is that nuking my land phone line kills my ISDN... which I want to get rid of. It's slow and expensive. And I have Starlink at the Shop which totally rocks. But I need to keep high speed Internet at the house. So I have a couple of options....

Door number one is to order another Starlink. It's about $500 and $100 a month (120 after introductory.) I'm ok with that. I install it on the house... and I have two Starlink accounts and I know they will work.

But where I am looking for some advice... my shop/barn StarLink is only really 'used' during the day. No bandwidth being consumed in the evening. When my house consumes bandwidth. So 'one' Starlink should easily do both buildings. BUT they are about 80 yards apart. I can 'just barely' pick up barn StarLink Signal from the house. But not enough for a reliable connection.

So what I am wondering is.... what do you guys use/have/etc. for Extenders. I actually have a Wi Fi extender at the house that reaches out to a security camera quite a ways from the house. So am thinking that a good directional extender of some kind or ???? would let me use one WiFi connection to do both buildings. There is a perfect clear line of sight of about 80 yards between the outer wall of the barn and the outer wall of the house.

I've seen some 'directional WiFi' panels for sale but not sure if they are pencil beams... or if I can find units that will do about 120 yards - 200 yards on an arc of about 30 degrees... to connect house and barn. Maybe there are some 'standard' hi-power extenders that people recommend? The one I have in the house is probably 10 years old and has worked great. If the tech has improved a lot in the last few years, maybe a regular WiFi extender is fine.

Thoughts? Any hardware recommendations?

Last, I have no security concerns. The nearest house is hundreds of yards away. Noone's going to be 'tapping in.'

Any other tips from you guys who have cut the cord? What to expect... concerns... DO's and Don'ts? Hardware recommendations, etc?

Thanks in advance... This place always has good advice!

Sirhr

6.5SH · Jul 16, 2024

sirhrmechanic said:
Been thinking about dumping Satellite TV.... Land Line... Sirius car radio, etc. for a while.

This weekend, as I was thinking about how the outrageous fees for DirectTV are going to fund piece of garbage networks like CNN and Disney... I think it is time to dump the whole lot and cut the cord. Not to mention probably saving about $3k a year!

First was Sirius... Which I didn't drop. But when I called to drop, they reduced my rate from $30 a month to $11.50. Which I am willing to pay for the convenience of having my truck connected. So while that's not cut... it's gone to 135 a year instead of almost 400.

Second is getting rid of the POS Satellite TV DirectTV which is stupid expensive AND my money goes to support Disney pedophiles and CNN propagandists... not to mention dozens of other useless DEI channels that are ONLY economic because I have to pay for them to get the two or three dozen channels I watch. So it has to go. I have a streaming/internet ready TV so don't even need a ROKU box. That's easy as long as I have Internet in the house.

Last, I'm going to get a Magic Jack (which allows me to port the home phone number onto it.... that has been at this house since the 1970s! That device hooks into Internet and lets me nuke land phone line and I know several folks who have them and say they work fine.

The issue is that nuking my land phone line kills my ISDN... which I want to get rid of. It's slow and expensive. And I have Starlink at the Shop which totally rocks. But I need to keep high speed Internet at the house. So I have a couple of options....

Door number one is to order another Starlink. It's about $500 and $100 a month (120 after introductory.) I'm ok with that. I install it on the house... and I have two Starlink accounts and I know they will work.

But where I am looking for some advice... my shop/barn StarLink is only really 'used' during the day. No bandwidth being consumed in the evening. When my house consumes bandwidth. So 'one' Starlink should easily do both buildings. BUT they are about 80 yards apart. I can 'just barely' pick up barn StarLink Signal from the house. But not enough for a reliable connection.

So what I am wondering is.... what do you guys use/have/etc. for Extenders. I actually have a Wi Fi extender at the house that reaches out to a security camera quite a ways from the house. So am thinking that a good directional extender of some kind or ???? would let me use one WiFi connection to do both buildings. There is a perfect clear line of sight of about 80 yards between the outer wall of the barn and the outer wall of the house.

I've seen some 'directional WiFi' panels for sale but not sure if they are pencil beams... or if I can find units that will do about 120 yards - 200 yards on an arc of about 30 degrees... to connect house and barn. Maybe there are some 'standard' hi-power extenders that people recommend? The one I have in the house is probably 10 years old and has worked great. If the tech has improved a lot in the last few years, maybe a regular WiFi extender is fine.

Thoughts? Any hardware recommendations?

Last, I have no security concerns. The nearest house is hundreds of yards away. Noone's going to be 'tapping in.'

Any other tips from you guys who have cut the cord? What to expect... concerns... DO's and Don'ts? Hardware recommendations, etc?

Thanks in advance... This place always has good advice!

Sirhr

There are point to point wireless setups that can reach miles under the right conditions. Think @padom is the man to talk to about what is currently the best.

Death From A Distance · Jul 16, 2024

In that application I would use a network repeater. It is line of site and will provide good service.

I have installed these types on different jobs in the past. I service many truck centers that utilize hardware like this for remote pump areas.

Point to point hardware like this Wireless Bridge

Amazon.com

Blue Sky Country · Jul 16, 2024

Starlink Internet for mobile reliability even in remote places. LG/Samsung basic smartphone (if you prefer the simpler and much more user friendly Android/Microsoft operating system) And a HP or Dell laptop. With that, you are pretty much completely covered.

Platforms: YouTube, Rumble, Locals, and X. All your favorite shows and news sites stream live on these sites and streams are still available for later viewing. All podcasts and live shows by the biggest Patriot media sites and content creators in one place. Breaking news on the go? The Internet is always light years faster to cover things than TV/MSM. I've never had the use for TV since broadband Internet.

sirhrmechanic · Jul 16, 2024

Death From A Distance said:
In that application I would use a network repeater. It is line of site and will provide good service.

I have installed these types on different jobs in the past. I service many truck centers that utilize hardware like this for remote pump areas.

Point to point hardware like this Wireless Bridge

Amazon.com

This is perfect... .this would cover basically my whole farm! And then some!

And it's "Prime Day!"

Thanks!

Sirhr

ZiaHunter · Jul 16, 2024

Had a landline for many years and was only using it for my alarm system. Live in a rural area and Century Link's infrastructure in our area was falling apart and every time it rained it went down. Plus 30+% of the bill was taxes and surcharges. Cut the cord and installed a cellular dialer which works great. Had DirecTV for many years and finally dumped it since it became too expensive and was only watching a few channels. We had very limited options for internet access due to where we lived and was always problematic. About 18 months ago a main fiber optic line was installed down our road and was able to get connected which is awesome and runs about $70/mo all in. Wife has a few streaming services but I rarely watch them since I find it much more satisfying to be piddling in the shop. I have a Crane signal booster in my shop that picks up wifi from the house router and works well. The connection is pwd protected and simple to setup. Can get you a model number if you like.

missed · Jul 16, 2024

We have a Unifi network system at both locations. One we have fiber with a Starlink backup. Second location is Starlink only for the time being until the fiber makes it out there. We have connection at buildings that do not have physical connections also. We run a separate camera system on the same network and it works excellent through all the wireless nodes. As long as there is line of sight to buildings it's pretty easy. We have wireless and wired Ethernet at all the buildings even the ones that don't have a physical connection between them. The Starlink has been excellent. Very few times have we not had connection and bandwidth to keep doing what we were doing. We just use a couple of the streaming services, Prime, Netflix, Hulu. ( Not my decisions...) Fuck Disney btw.

@padom is the resident IT Wizard.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot · Jul 16, 2024

Cut the cord 2 years ago. I use Ayrmesh to extend wifi and works great for a few hundred yards.
Just got starlink and so far it is great. It is on my shop also about 100yrds from house and hardly reaches the house. Will see soon how to hook it up to the Ayrmesh. I now have 3 separate internet connections so need to get dialed in so I can drop the other 2.
with repeaters you can project Ayrmesh for miles

NotByWorks · Jul 16, 2024

I have Starlink with point to point repeaters which works great. Starlink is at the barn due to better view of ski. Use the point to point to get to the house which connects with WiFi mesh system. YouTube TV works great. Interface isn’t as good as DirectTV but it has more flexibility for recording shows etc. It is also cheaper. Use google controller that I bought at Walmart. Very happy the the whole setup. Only issue is setting up point-to-point system. Mine did not come configured and set up is difficult. I believe there are systems now that come configured.
Hope this helps.

JerkyFreak · Jul 16, 2024

I would just run an ethernet cable to a second wifi router in the house.

As for the landline, when all other powersources are down, usually the old copper landline will still work as it is usually powered seperately.

Death From A Distance · Jul 16, 2024

sirhrmechanic said:
This is perfect... .this would cover basically my whole farm! And then some!

And it's "Prime Day!"

Thanks!

Sirhr

No problem

Now if you had conduit running from the house to the shop, I would run hardwired CAT6 instead. Then install an AP Access Point in the shop

sirhrmechanic · Jul 16, 2024

Death From A Distance said:
No problem

Now if you had conduit running from the house to the shop, I would run hardwired CAT6 instead. Then install an AP Access Point in the shop

Yeah, no conduit.... And it would be a giant PITA to run it!

But that unit should more than cover house... maybe even out to my furthest existing cameras... and maybe even let me run some additional cameras further out.

Sirhr

Milf Dots · Jul 16, 2024

Man up and pay for Gb Fiber to the home and shop, or GBPSWE.

jrhtx · Jul 16, 2024

You aren't negotiating had enough with XM radio. Mine is $7.50/mo on 1 year contract. I have to call every year and threaten to cancel.

oneshot86 · Jul 16, 2024

sirhrmechanic said:
Been thinking about dumping Satellite TV.... Land Line... Sirius car radio, etc. for a while.

This weekend, as I was thinking about how the outrageous fees for DirectTV are going to fund piece of garbage networks like CNN and Disney... I think it is time to dump the whole lot and cut the cord. Not to mention probably saving about $3k a year!

First was Sirius... Which I didn't drop. But when I called to drop, they reduced my rate from $30 a month to $11.50. Which I am willing to pay for the convenience of having my truck connected. So while that's not cut... it's gone to 135 a year instead of almost 400.

Second is getting rid of the POS Satellite TV DirectTV which is stupid expensive AND my money goes to support Disney pedophiles and CNN propagandists... not to mention dozens of other useless DEI channels that are ONLY economic because I have to pay for them to get the two or three dozen channels I watch. So it has to go. I have a streaming/internet ready TV so don't even need a ROKU box. That's easy as long as I have Internet in the house.

Last, I'm going to get a Magic Jack (which allows me to port the home phone number onto it.... that has been at this house since the 1970s! That device hooks into Internet and lets me nuke land phone line and I know several folks who have them and say they work fine.

The issue is that nuking my land phone line kills my ISDN... which I want to get rid of. It's slow and expensive. And I have Starlink at the Shop which totally rocks. But I need to keep high speed Internet at the house. So I have a couple of options....

Door number one is to order another Starlink. It's about $500 and $100 a month (120 after introductory.) I'm ok with that. I install it on the house... and I have two Starlink accounts and I know they will work.

But where I am looking for some advice... my shop/barn StarLink is only really 'used' during the day. No bandwidth being consumed in the evening. When my house consumes bandwidth. So 'one' Starlink should easily do both buildings. BUT they are about 80 yards apart. I can 'just barely' pick up barn StarLink Signal from the house. But not enough for a reliable connection.

So what I am wondering is.... what do you guys use/have/etc. for Extenders. I actually have a Wi Fi extender at the house that reaches out to a security camera quite a ways from the house. So am thinking that a good directional extender of some kind or ???? would let me use one WiFi connection to do both buildings. There is a perfect clear line of sight of about 80 yards between the outer wall of the barn and the outer wall of the house.

I've seen some 'directional WiFi' panels for sale but not sure if they are pencil beams... or if I can find units that will do about 120 yards - 200 yards on an arc of about 30 degrees... to connect house and barn. Maybe there are some 'standard' hi-power extenders that people recommend? The one I have in the house is probably 10 years old and has worked great. If the tech has improved a lot in the last few years, maybe a regular WiFi extender is fine.

Thoughts? Any hardware recommendations?

Last, I have no security concerns. The nearest house is hundreds of yards away. Noone's going to be 'tapping in.'

Any other tips from you guys who have cut the cord? What to expect... concerns... DO's and Don'ts? Hardware recommendations, etc?

Thanks in advance... This place always has good advice!

Sirhr

I have this unit tying 2 buildings together. The first at the front building where the Internet service is. The second is on my shop.
Works flawlessly, really does. I've had it for a couple years and haven't had any problems. I get great TV from it also.
Building to building is 200yards.

alpine44 · Jul 16, 2024

Ubiquity and TP-Link make devices similar to what the previous post shows.
I am currently in my motorhome on the large parking lot of the company I work for as a consultant and use a TP-Link CPE510 to connect to the closest building about 100 yards away. In that building is a regular office access point without a directional antenna. Another CPE510 there would obviously be better but the current link quality (~25Mbps) supports video streaming and transfer of large files via VPN.

Sixfivesavage · Jul 16, 2024

So with these bridges....you would just need them and a router and you'd have a wifi and hardwired access point at a second location from your base internet at the first location...? That's all you need to make it work?

hlee · Jul 16, 2024

Idk anything about starlink, but when I was in highschool, my physics teacher said he had his DISH antenna mounted to a 5 gal bucket of concrete. Unplug it from the house and put it in the camper; Drive to middle of nowhere; Point dish at appropriate star; surf internet all night long. Maybe you can do something similar with the starlink antenna? Lay a track between the house and the barn, mount the antenna on a trolley, move it as necessary. Sounds like a Schloss Nitro worthy project…

alpine44 · Jul 16, 2024

Sixfivesavage said:
So with these bridges....you would just need them and a router and you'd have a wifi and hardwired access point at a second location from your base internet at the first location...? That's all you need to make it work?

That is correct.

P-Squared · Jul 16, 2024

Sixfivesavage said:
So with these bridges....you would just need them and a router and you'd have a wifi and hardwired access point at a second location from your base internet at the first location...? That's all you need to make it work?

Think of your router as something that assigns the IP addresses to your devices. The router normally has 1 to 4 ports, some more. If you need more ports, you install a switch. A network cable runs from one of the router ports to one of the switch ports. The repeater would just plug into one of those ports.

Now at the barn, the repeater plugs into another switch and all your 'Barn' network plugs into the 'Barn' switch. From the network perspective, everything is on one network.

Before I get flamed by the network guys, I made every attempt to simplify this and didn't get into the esoteric considerations. It sounds like @sirhrmechanic is just setting up a home network.

My wife has told me I'm not allowed to die for lots of reasons, but the network is one of them. We have multiple WAPs, a Mesh for her, and a DMZ for guests. Is it overkill for home... yes, but because I can

Sixfivesavage · Jul 16, 2024

P-Squared said:
Think of your router as something that assigns the IP addresses to your devices. The router normally has 1 to 4 ports, some more. If you need more ports, you install a switch. A network cable runs from one of the router ports to one of the switch ports. The repeater would just plug into one of those ports.

Now at the barn, the repeater plugs into another switch and all your 'Barn' network plugs into the 'Barn' switch. From the network perspective, everything is on one network.

Before I get flamed by the network guys, I made every attempt to simplify this and didn't get into the esoteric considerations. It sounds like @sirhrmechanic is just setting up a home network.

My wife has told me I'm not allowed to die for lots of reasons, but the network is one of them. We have multiple WAPs, a Mesh for her, and a DMZ for guests. Is it overkill for home... yes, but because I can

Pm sent to keep from hogging it up in the thread

Gunfighter14e2 · Jul 16, 2024

sirhrmechanic said:
Been thinking about dumping Satellite TV.... Land Line... Sirius car radio, etc. for a while.

This weekend, as I was thinking about how the outrageous fees for DirectTV are going to fund piece of garbage networks like CNN and Disney... I think it is time to dump the whole lot and cut the cord. Not to mention probably saving about $3k a year!

First was Sirius... Which I didn't drop. But when I called to drop, they reduced my rate from $30 a month to $11.50. Which I am willing to pay for the convenience of having my truck connected. So while that's not cut... it's gone to 135 a year instead of almost 400.

Second is getting rid of the POS Satellite TV DirectTV which is stupid expensive AND my money goes to support Disney pedophiles and CNN propagandists... not to mention dozens of other useless DEI channels that are ONLY economic because I have to pay for them to get the two or three dozen channels I watch. So it has to go. I have a streaming/internet ready TV so don't even need a ROKU box. That's easy as long as I have Internet in the house.

Last, I'm going to get a Magic Jack (which allows me to port the home phone number onto it.... that has been at this house since the 1970s! That device hooks into Internet and lets me nuke land phone line and I know several folks who have them and say they work fine.

The issue is that nuking my land phone line kills my ISDN... which I want to get rid of. It's slow and expensive. And I have Starlink at the Shop which totally rocks. But I need to keep high speed Internet at the house. So I have a couple of options....

Door number one is to order another Starlink. It's about $500 and $100 a month (120 after introductory.) I'm ok with that. I install it on the house... and I have two Starlink accounts and I know they will work.

But where I am looking for some advice... my shop/barn StarLink is only really 'used' during the day. No bandwidth being consumed in the evening. When my house consumes bandwidth. So 'one' Starlink should easily do both buildings. BUT they are about 80 yards apart. I can 'just barely' pick up barn StarLink Signal from the house. But not enough for a reliable connection.

So what I am wondering is.... what do you guys use/have/etc. for Extenders. I actually have a Wi Fi extender at the house that reaches out to a security camera quite a ways from the house. So am thinking that a good directional extender of some kind or ???? would let me use one WiFi connection to do both buildings. There is a perfect clear line of sight of about 80 yards between the outer wall of the barn and the outer wall of the house.

I've seen some 'directional WiFi' panels for sale but not sure if they are pencil beams... or if I can find units that will do about 120 yards - 200 yards on an arc of about 30 degrees... to connect house and barn. Maybe there are some 'standard' hi-power extenders that people recommend? The one I have in the house is probably 10 years old and has worked great. If the tech has improved a lot in the last few years, maybe a regular WiFi extender is fine.

Thoughts? Any hardware recommendations?

Last, I have no security concerns. The nearest house is hundreds of yards away. Noone's going to be 'tapping in.'

Any other tips from you guys who have cut the cord? What to expect... concerns... DO's and Don'ts? Hardware recommendations, etc?

Thanks in advance... This place always has good advice!

Sirhr

Save yourself cut the cord, & stop 95% of all the mind fucking, across the board,...

Bullfrog08 · Jul 16, 2024

All gone. Just the cell phone with Internet today. 4 years gone. I dont miss it at all. Im not paying to watch interacial, gay, and woman in leading roles. I dont miss major sports either. Once its gone for a few weeks you dont even think about it.

Sixfivesavage · Jul 16, 2024

When I renovated my house I didn't install phone jacks, don't have a phone line. About 7 years ago we dropped cable. A year or so ago I dropped XM. Haven't missed any of it. My kids have grown up without any of it. I think that's a good thing.

jbuck88 · Jul 16, 2024

We cut the cord 4 years ago and don't miss it at all. I have a old unlimited plan on Verizon that I can tether unlimited data for $30/mo. Haven't been throttled yet.

We do a revolving streaming service. Keep amazon prime since we use them for shopping still. And add and delete different channels or other streaming services when they go on sale.

I will lose my unlimited as soon as I switch to a 5g phone. Supposedly different plans and not compatible.

We can stream 3 tv's and a tablet or two without problems.

I will be getting starlink when i have to get something.

Franko · Jul 16, 2024

This isn't standard consumer gear so you are looking at the prosumer stuff (stay away from high-end gear as it's extremely expensive, complicated, and requires skills you don't have to set up and manage). Unify and Tplink are two brands I am familiar with and have used before. Unify is a bit more mature on the controller software and product development side but is more expensive and can be hard to find. Tp-link is a newer brand but the company that owns the brand is huge and well resourced. You can find the tp-link gear easier and cheaper but the software and product lines are still not as polished as Unify.

In your shoes I'd lean towards the Unify option as it's more likely to be easier for you to install. For hardware you are going to be looking at something like:

A wireless bridge to connect the shop network to the house network.
A switch to connect one half of the bridge to the wireless access points within the house. There are PoE capable switches that are more expensive but can power things (like wireless access points, bridges, and controllers) that are plugged into them. In your shoes I would go with a PoE switch for less hassle.
Two or three wireless access points to ensure good coverage within the house (there is also a significant advantage if you can connect the wireless access points to the switch with Ethernet cables but if you don't want to pull cable you can create a mesh network).
A controller to do the initial configuration of the hardware. There are software versions of the controller that are free but I lean towards hardware versions as they are usually easier to work with.

I'd bet you can get all of this for less than 1K so it should pay for itself pretty fast compared to a second Starlink.

Eggman · Jul 16, 2024

has anyone tried the new mesh network that starlink offers?

Im new to starlink, but in the (very) little bit of research I have done, I believe you just buy a second router and set it up in range of original router and double your coverage.

I have mine setup in my shop, my house is about 30 yards from shop and I have enough signal with just the one starlink router to run everything in the house. although the coverage tool in the app shows orange to red inside the house at the farthest point, it still runs facetime on a laptop there.

however I would like to try to use their mesh network as it is in the app to find new nodes and set itself up, and I would prefer to have solid green coverage all through the house.

91Eunozs · Jul 17, 2024

My other post went blank after adding a link for some reason…weird.

Re: service, we cut the cable years ago and just have an internet connection, with Hulu for all our TV/streaming needs. We just add and delete other services like Netflix, Max, ESPN, etc. as needed. Always have Prime and Apple tv though.

Re: Hardware for the wifi, we tried every flavor of repeater, etc under the sun and they all sucked. We finally got an Access Point and it friggin’ rocks! Powered over CAT6 cable…nothing else required. We had to buy an ethernet splitter thingy ($50 or less) to plug into the modem, but between the internal antenna on the modem and just one Acess Point, we have our entire house covered.

Just ran some more cable through the attic today to put one more outdoor/weatherproof version out over a patio on the other side of the house, and it’ll cover the entire back patio/pool area plus the detached garage and casita.

Can’t recommend the Access Point setup highly enough; wish we’d found out about it sooner.

—

Edit: One potential issue with newer wifi networks that we had to deal with is that some older devices (10years old or so) can’t differentiate between the two signals (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) that have the same SSID. One of our older tvs for sure, and I think the lawn irrigation system controller had to be replaced.

Easy work around by buying a Roku or similar device, and then hard-wiring that box into the device you need to have connected to the wifi/interwebs.

Laser1 · Jul 17, 2024

My XM is only $3.11/mo for a 5 year contract, but it was prepaid.

notacos4u · Jul 17, 2024

My XM is like $4/ month and once the subscription is out, I’ll call them back and tell them to cancel it or else give me the latest greatest deal, which is generally around $4/ month and I pay monthly. I’d definitely call them and tell them you want a lower deal or you’re going to cancel. this one shows $5/ month

https://care.siriusxm.com/subscribe/checkout/flepz?programcode=MCP5FOR12&utm_campaign=Prosp_NA_BAU&utm_source=2023-12_MCP5FOR12_GOOG-125WinbackBrandSeach-125WinbackBrandSeach&utm_medium=Search-Paid&utm_content=xm%20radio&utm_term=brand&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADA1Lq7BQJcDAnSLK9LpTPguJ23wB&gclid=CjwKCAjw1920BhA3EiwAJT3lSeHWUzuaNGBHNj7jX1XGeyxzRioK1alacwxVRIG8JZCFc-rjB-Za9hoCbl4QAvD_BwE

This is the deal I keep getting sent, matter of fact, this was 19 hours ago, my wife doesn’t drive her car enough to re-up her subscription

hino895 · Jul 17, 2024

Been with XM since it started.
They offered me lifetime XM years ago for a one time fee of 400.00 which I bought.
Haven't seen a bill in over 20 years.

748rpilot · Jul 17, 2024

I've had the cord mostly cut for awhile now but will be stitching it back up some. Currently I have cell phone, Amazon Prime and YouTube premium. Amazon is nice for the occasional shopping and when I want to find something to watch. Problem is the kind of limited selection of things I'd be interested in. YouTube is really only useful for less (no?) ads but mainly so I can listen to music on my phone without the screen being on, extending battery time.

For TV I generally only watch UFC and some NFL. UFC I stream 3rd party and use my phone as a hotspot to my laptop. Same for most NFL though Amazon does air some TNF.

Going to add cable internet at the house as I need a stable, reliable connection for WFH out of hours, and also I keep blowing through my 35GB/mo mobile data plan. Definitely not going to pay extra for any TV channels though. I'm thinking about putting a central patch panel in the basement utility room, cable modem, firewall & router and a switch in a half-rack, and running cat6 drops to each room, and a WiFi AP on each floor. Mainly because I can and not because I really need it but it would give me a project to do.

BCP · Jul 17, 2024

Look into cell phone companies for internet. I use Tmobile home and have a TV antenna on the roof for local channels. With all the streaming services that are cheap/free it doesn't make sense to pay for satellite anymore.

jrhtx said:
You aren't negotiating had enough with XM radio. Mine is $7.50/mo on 1 year contract. I have to call every year and threaten to cancel.

I tell them I'm a student and love their service but cannot afford it so they renew it for 6$ or whatever.

Threadcutter308 · Jul 17, 2024

Bullfrog08 said:
All gone. Just the cell phone with Internet today. 4 years gone. I dont miss it at all. Im not paying to watch interacial, gay, and woman in leading roles. I dont miss major sports either. Once its gone for a few weeks you dont even think about it.

This.

I dumped everything except internet service. I don't do msm, tv, harveyweird, sports. Nothing. All those preverts can go screw.

The longer you're away from it, the more you realize how just much garbage it was/is. Not to mention the blatant depravity of a lot of it.

Lightning8 · Jul 17, 2024

748rpilot said:
I've had the cord mostly cut for awhile now but will be stitching it back up some. Currently I have cell phone, Amazon Prime and YouTube premium. Amazon is nice for the occasional shopping and when I want to find something to watch. Problem is the kind of limited selection of things I'd be interested in. YouTube is really only useful for less (no?) ads but mainly so I can listen to music on my phone without the screen being on, extending battery time.

For TV I generally only watch UFC and some NFL. UFC I stream 3rd party and use my phone as a hotspot to my laptop. Same for most NFL though Amazon does air some TNF.

Going to add cable internet at the house as I need a stable, reliable connection for WFH out of hours, and also I keep blowing through my 35GB/mo mobile data plan. Definitely not going to pay extra for any TV channels though. I'm thinking about putting a central patch panel in the basement utility room, cable modem, firewall & router and a switch in a half-rack, and running cat6 drops to each room, and a WiFi AP on each floor. Mainly because I can and not because I really need it but it would give me a project to do.

I bought a new house in rural America with no cable, phone, or internet cabling in walls. Weird. So, I use wireless for everything. I run a MESH network. Do not miss the cabling. I am blessed with rural fiber optics run by electric collective.

Big Phish · Jul 17, 2024

jrhtx said:
You aren't negotiating had enough with XM radio. Mine is $7.50/mo on 1 year contract. I have to call every year and threaten to cancel.

Got you beat. I pay $4.55

Big Phish · Jul 17, 2024

I simply told XM that I don’t listen to the Woke crap and hated sports. Listened to a few channels like bluegrass and old country. They said no problem. 3.99 +tax so I said ok.

Matagorda308 · Oct 15, 2024

@sirhrmechanic
Update?

I’m thinking of doing the same. Very rural area and not many options. Landline sucked due to lack of upkeep.
Bought Starlink on sale. So far, great! Looking at the extra router option from them that works as a mesh network.
Then it’s on to what all are my options for watching shows and entertainment. DISH will be told to suck off.

sirhrmechanic · Oct 15, 2024

Matagorda308 said:
@sirhrmechanic
Update?

I’m thinking of doing the same. Very rural area and not many options. Landline sucked due to lack of upkeep.
Bought Starlink on sale. So far, great! Looking at the extra router option from them that works as a mesh network.
Then it’s on to what all are my options for watching shows and entertainment. DISH will be told to suck off.

So far been a bit of a PITA but mainly due to hardware compatability and trying to find the right 'bridge.' But as of last Thursday.... I have everything working on Starlink EXCEPT my Magic Jack and just have not connected that due to time. Will try and do it this weekend. And need to re-program my RING cameras.

If all goes well for a few more days, I will be cancelling DirectTV and going 100 percent to streaming. And cancelling both ISDN lines. And one phone. I'll leave barn/shop land line so I have 'one' landline!

So far so good!

The D · Oct 15, 2024

We got rid of our cable box probably 15yrs ago. We had Comcast that was a little more than $200/mo plus whatever extra episodes or movies we bought. We do still have Xfinity cell and WiFi to run a Roku. We have little kids so we do have to have at least Disney but we’re able to keep a close eye on what they’re watching. It’ll go away once they get old enough though. Neither of us have satellite radio either. My wife tunes any car radio into K-Love as soon as she gets in so that’s no big deal. I plug my phone in and listen to podcasts or Audible books if I’m by myself.

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