You have to make your own choice. I have recently dropped Expressvu in favour of Star Choice.

Here is a package containing a program to calculate your own antenna setup angles , knowing your location coordinates.. (from GPS or even Wallmart maps) I also included Elevations, and Azimuth for selected cities in a file that can be emailed to your pocketmail device.
Also included is a graphic of

And here is a link to a similar helpful site with more ideas, specifically for USA users.
Satellite advice for USA users

More Bearings and dish sizes for Star Choice and Expressvu

For a lightweight Tripod use a cheap plastic camera tripod. Remove the Camera head, and replace with a 1 1/4 inch ABS PIPE hose clamped to the center column. I glued a bubble level to the top of the ABS pipe and this gives me one less item to find, and setup is easier.. Adjust level bubble by adjusting leg length on tripod.

I have two cables, 30 ft and 50 ft. Only once in North Maine woods did I need more to clear the trees and had to move to a different camp.

Use RG59 Coax if you are going to be moving often, RG6 if more permanent. RG59 will eventually pick up water and develop more losses than RG6. You can tell this is happening when the higher numbered transponders start losing signal strength. New coax should fix it or buy one of those inline satellite preamps from Radio Shack. Remember, it must be inserted out at the antenna to do any good.

Other Hints
* Change the dish elevation nuts to wing-nuts, or those black threaded knobs at Tractor Supply to make elevation adjustment easier.

* Keep the Pipe clamp slightly slack to allow slip fitting the head onto the Base. They do not really need to be tightened for camping setups when travelling with only short stops. The standard Expressvu dish uses a line forward of the adjust bolt as a setting point, while the Star Choice dish uses the bolt center line. Check your manual.

* I also do not install the LNBF head bolt so I can store the LNBF separately. Just have a short 3' coax attached to the LNBF which I slip into the arm.

* The 3'junction provides a place to connect a Satfinder meter (available from Radio Shack). This Satfinder is a must have, to save setup time.

* Remove the Satfinder after setup to give you 5-8 more Strength units.

* I use slip on connectors at the meter joint to make connections even faster.

* It is also possible to drill out one of the spot welds on opposite sides of the LNB arm and insert a bolt, to make a folding arm. I used the lower one so that the dish and arm lay flat, face down, stretched out, when stored. Use the upper one if you want to fold the arm against the dish. The remaining pair of spot welds are then used as detents, or insert a cotter pin to hold the folding arm in the correct position when set up to receive. It works well.

* I use three plastic topped "nail like" tent pegs from Canadian Tire to stake the tripod to the ground and keep the dish from toppling over in the wind. Hook them over or drill holes in the the leg braces and hammer into the ground. Use Rocks in places with no soil like North Maine or Newfoundland. Screw anchors only work in some soil, and the bungee cords usually supplied are too stretchy in high winds.

* If you are having problems with tree branch or other interference, try sighting the beam. Look out along either side of the dish arm, sighting a line from the bottom of the dish to the top of label on the LNBF arm (up 1-2"). This gives a very good approximation of the view which is slightly offset upwards from what appears to be the dish centre. Sighting will make it easier to know where to move to miss a tree branch. We often use this trick to find that narrow hole in forest cover with the only view of the satellite. (Easier in South USA than Canada because of the higher angle.).

* If you want to try a temporary roof mount, use a piece of 1 1/4" ABS pipe and hose clamp it to your ladder so that it stands vertical when you are level. Pop the dish onto this pipe when parked ( preset at the correct elevation angle) and rotate to peak the signal. Lock in place securely because your wind exposure is much higher at rooftop.

* There is also a substantially better signal here with transponder 01 than 31 or others. And ODD transponders are much stronger than EVEN. If you cannot find the correct satellite, try manually setting on transponder 01 and trying again. And with tuning so fine, you may find it more necessary to clamp the dish when completed to avoid movement in the wind.

If you have accidentally locked and peaked onto Echostar US satellite, then set elevation about 8 degrees higher (in the east). Then look slightly to the left for another peak ( weaker than Echostar).

Echostar has a much stronger signal, uses the same frequencies and is also circularly polarized. It is extreemly easy to lock on it in error. Expressvu users can actually watch Echostar channel 200 (the prevue channel), but nothing else, as you do not have a contract with them.

Best way to not lock on Echostar to PRESET ELEVATION (tilt) just above the calculated Elevation. Then you will not have a problem hitting Echostar by mistake. If elevation is correct, you will only see Nimiq as you swing antenna.

We use a small 200watt inverter to feed only the Satellite Box from 12 volt. The Expressvu converter takes 1.85 amps from the 12 volt system. Unplug the inverter to turn satellite off, because the dish still draws 1.85 amp when it is turned off with the remote.

*NEW EXPRESSVU INFORMATION

Expressvu has been given a used American satellite so that it can reorient antennas and now many transponders and their channels are no longer available south of a line from Oregon to Atlanta. If you were counting on taking your expressvu south this year (2005) forget it. They have made the data stream on transponder unavailable to users in South USA and you will probably be shutdown in 2006 if your receiver cannot update. That is why you received the new cards.

Most of the ODD transponders have been shifted to the US satellite parked beside the Canadian at 91W. Your receiver cannot get any software updates which are crucial with the smartcard change (you must have software E509 or better). All is not lost however! The NIMIQ bird at 82W has a parallel data stream with great signal strength down south so all you have to do is re-aim your dish to the Expressvu satellite at 82W, swith off your receiver using the remote control, and your software will be updated.

Please note that you may have to do a "check switch" procedure using the menu function to get your receiver to actually pay attention to the Nimiq 82 signals. Older receiver just tell you are pointed at the wrong satellite.

Better choice would be to put Expressvu on vacation and try Star Choice for a winter.

The following instructions are for receiving the remaining Expressvu transponders which can be seen in south USA

The main Expressvu satellite is located over the equator, at 91 deg W. This is roughly south of a line between the west end of Lake Superior and Louisiana (Mississippi River).

The second Expressvu satellite at 82W has mostly HDTV and not of much interest, except to update your receiver. It is occasionally locked onto when setting up in a new location. Just swing slightly west and try again.

If you have accidentally locked and peaked onto Echostar US satellite, then set elevation about 8 degrees higher (in the east). Then look slightly to the left for another peak ( weaker than Echostar). In east Texas, the elevations of the two are almost equal. If you lock on Echostar here and really want Expressvu, turn up the sensitivity on the sat finder and shift left. And in the west where Echostar 110 is the higher, decrease your elevation angle, say 8 degreees, turn up the sensitivity, then shift left.

Echostar has a much stronger signal, uses the same frequencies and is also circularly polarized. It is extreemly easy to lock on it in error. Expressvu users can actually watch Echostar channel 200 (the welcome channel), but nothing else, as you do not have a contract with them.

Best way to not lock on Echostar is to PRESET ELEVATION (tilt) just above the calculated Elevation. Then you will not have a problem hitting Echostar by mistake. If elevation is correct, you will only hit Nimiq as you swing the antenna.

If all this is too much, try this site which sells a Star Choice - automatic mobile antenna

OR

Use a tripod and learn how to point manually.

I again suggest purchasing a tuning meter to give you an idea of when you are close. The problem with sighting the satellite with Star Choice is the location of the two satellites straddling the much stronger Echostar satellite at 110 deg W. The primary Star Choice satellite is at 107.3W and the secondary is at 111.1W. The primary carries all the channels in the basic package and is the one you are interested in. The second is mostly french programming and HDTV. When aligning use "options 6-3-1" for the tuning meter and "options 6-0-5-Screen C" will show the signal to noise ratio.
I have found that setting the channel to 508 when aiming the Star Choice dish gives you an easier setup. If the programming comes in as French, you are on the 111 satellite. Just aim slightly left and up a hair and you lock onto the correct satellite at 107. . Star Choice Basic Package
STAR CHOICE USA LIST with skew

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