Satellite Service/Receiver

[mhenehan]

Not sure which forum this should be on, but we may purchase a satellite receiver. We already have Dish Network at home, so will use it on the road. Have heard some bad things about the Winegard receiver. But, can't find anything postitive or negative about the receiver that can be purchased directly from Dish Network.

Anyone have experience with that receiver, or any other good or bad. We don't watch a lot of TV but I like the news in the morning, and the Stanley Cup playoffs, so we are thinking about it.

Any help or advice would be welcome.

Thanks,

Matt

[mojo]

Camping world has a deal on now, buy a sat dish and get a free Wally Dish receiver. You can use the receiver in the house or the RV. Billing is part of the at home Dish service and you are using it at home or the road.

[azflycaster]

We have dish network at home and on the road for the last 3+ years. Our setup is s little outdated as technology changes at a very fast pace. In the Airstream we have a 211-Z receiver and a Tailgater (cube) antenna. Thee combo has worked well for us.

[mhenehan]

Thanks for both replies. I have been looking at the Dish Tailgater. Mostly because it is sold by Dish and supported by their customer service. I have heard both good and bad about just about every system available.

[turk123]

We purchased Dish for home and travel last year. Nothing but good things to say about it. $7/month for the trailer is a great price and it is full HD resolution. Get the gear from Camping world and the discounts they offer. You also need the tripod and the soft carry case! Bring a small bubble level with you for leveling it up. It will do the rest.

There is an app called "Sat finder lite" you need to download and use to find the three satellite's direction from where you camp. You will need to position the dish and tripod so it faces the southwest (or maybe south where you're at!). The app is real helpfull before you commit to a wooded site.

[QC TORPEDO]

I am having trouble getting the receiver to connect to the satellite antenna. It is facing south, no obstructions, using the coax provided. I connected thru the SAT connector on the side of the trailer, disconnected the coax inside and connected the receiver to that male coax, turned off the booster. What am I missing? Is there another thing I need to do to allow the signal to get to the receiver?

[azflycaster]

I would run the cable from the dish directly to the receiver for testing. If that works, start looking at all the connections in the trailer.

[Al and Missy]

Disconnected what coax inside? If you have a separate SAT connector outside, the other end of it should not be connected to anything. It is in the vicinity of the Blue Ray player. See page 5-12 in your manual.

The booster switch selects the antenna when on and the outside Cable connector when off. It has nothing to do with the SAT connector.

Al

[turk123]

dish will tell you to connect the coax direct until it finds the receiver. just once for your location. once everything is working you ca change to the side connection

[pmclemore]

I recommend the Pathfinder X2. Not the X1.

Pat

[QC TORPEDO]

I found the coax cable end from the SAT connection. It was under the funny little shelf made to hold the blue ray. I had to rip it all out to get to the end. So, I am leaving the particle-board, melmac shelf out and going with wire shelves to hold both the Wally and the blue ray. When I run the SAT, I will unplug the HDMI from the blue ray to the splitter and plug the SAT HDMI into the splitter. I found a 2x2 splitter switch but it is just one more remote and more wires, blah blah.
Thanks for the heads-up on the owner's manual page!

[Bgibbs]

I use the X2 antenna and the 211 receiver. The X2 gets its power thru the antenna cable. I was going to upgrade to Wally but I don't think it provides power to the antenna. I got a 4-way splitter for possible expansion. Dish has a few quirks. If you have not used the receiver in a while, it takes a long time to download the guide. I was told by Dish that I could not use the SAT cable in the trailer-Hogwash! It works just fine. I have run as much as a 50 ft cable from the X2 to the SAT connection. DISH said it could be no longer that 25 ft-Hogwash! The X2 is not as particular on the direction since it locates satellites, but it does need to be close to level. It seems to find satellites a little quicker if the cable connections face north. I did add the DVR from DISH, but you can't watch one channel and record another.

We have been using it for 2 years and other than the quirks (which I am learning) it has worked well. If you already have DISH, the price can't be beat.