Breaking Down Satellite TV Dish Options

[CA_Tallguy]

Hey folks! My head is spinning trying to figure out the differences and options available for satellite TV so I thought I might try to break down the options as I understand them and then ask for help in trying to decide what is best. Hope this summary is helpful for folks and isn't duplicating work done by someone else! Please weigh in if I've missed/misunderstood something in the specs on these units.

I've only covered the "stationary" units as most of us are probably not looking for an "in motion" solution.

MANUAL CARRY & POINT
-- tripod solutions and Winegard MP1
-- under $200 but require setup time
-- tripods with full multi LNB dish provide "like home" services
-- tripods with smaller, single LNB dishes provide limited services
-- can be a pain to setup and break down, especially if stopping for just short stay somewhere.

WINEGARD CRANK UP SINGLE LNB ($300)
-- manual pointing in roof mount
-- "digital magic" pointing aid model +$75
-- Dish (including HD), DirecTV, Bell
-- channels limited without auto switching?
-- supports 2 receivers

WINEGARD RM-DM61 DISH + REG ANTENNA ($370)
-- crank up with both sat and regular over the air antenna
-- MANUAL pointing with "digital magic" aid
-- DISH (including HD?), DirecTV and Bell
-- supports 2 receivers with caveats
-- very nice to have both antennas in 1 crank up!
-- single LNB (or can only point at one sat)
-- channels limited without manually repointing?

KING TAILGATER ($375)
-- looks like vuqube
-- works only with dish (including HD)
-- fully automatic
-- carryout
-- hits 110, 119, 129 birds (western arc?)
-- may have issues in far NE
-- single wire to carryout
-- supports only ONE receiver
-- CHEAP

WINEGARD ANSER GM5000 ($389)
-- ball shaped carryout
-- DISH (including HD), DirecTV, Bell
-- automatically finds satellites but uses ONLY 1?!
-- supports 2 receivers with caveats
-- requires separate power supply line?

WINEGARD PATHWAY X2 (coming in August)
-- price unknown
-- ball shaped carryout (looks like Anser)
-- dish only (including HD)
-- fully automatic
-- can use EITHER east OR west arc
-- only 411, ViP211, ViP211k, or ViP211z receivers
-- supports 2 receivers with caveats

KING VUQUBE VQ1000 ($499)
-- works with DirecTV, Dish, Others
-- NOT automatic (point with remote)
-- channels effectively limited since not auto?
-- NO HD

KING VUQUBE FLEX VQ2100 ($649)
-- fully automatic
-- HD with dish (only)
-- can add 2nd receiver with some caveats
-- works with Dish, DirecTV, Bell
-- DOES switch between satellites with channel changes

WINEGARD CARRYOUT ($699)
-- dome shaped carryout
-- DISH (including HD), DirecTV, Bell
-- can use both east/west arcs with dish
-- fully automatic
-- DOES switch between satellites with channel changes
-- requires power line run + coax
-- supports 2 receivers with caveats

KINGDOME RELAY KD5500 ($699)
-- "tailgater in a dome"
-- works only with DISH (including HD)
-- roof mount dome
-- fully automatic
-- can it be removed to set clear of trees?
-- must pair with ViP211, ViP211k/z or 411 receiver
-- also uses just "western arc" birds so may have probs in far NE
-- supports 2 receivers with caveats
-- DOES switch between satellites with channel changes

WINEGARD ROADTRIP MINIMAX ($799)
-- works with DISH, DirecTV, Bell
-- roof mount dome
-- basically the Carryout in a roof mount?
-- fully automatic
-- HD with DISH
-- can it be removed to set clear of trees?
-- supports 2 receivers with caveats
-- DOES switch between satellites with channel changes

KINGDOME ROVER KD1500 ($899)
-- works with DISH, DirecTV, Bell
-- roof mount dome
-- fully automatic
-- HD with DISH
-- can it be removed to set clear of trees?
-- supports 2 receivers with caveats
-- DOES switch between satellites with channel changes

WINEGARD ROADTRIP MISSION ($1100)
-- main diff vs MiniMax is low profile?
-- works with DISH, DirecTV, Bell
-- roof mount dome
-- fully automatic
-- HD with DISH
-- can it be removed to set clear of trees?
-- supports 2 receivers with caveats
-- DOES switch between satellites with channel changes

KINGDOME 2000 KD2000 ($1399)
-- roof mount dome
-- fully automatic
-- HD with DISH
-- can it be removed to set clear of trees?
-- supports 2 receivers with caveats
-- DOES switch between satellites with channel changes

WINGARD TRAV'LER ($1200 to $1500)
-- "like home" compatibility
-- multi LNB solution
-- BEST for home style DVR receivers
-- supports multiple receivers
-- only work with ONE provider
-- big, heavy units for permanent roof mount
-- definitely can NOT remove and place in clear sky (or on another trailer)

[CA_Tallguy]

As you may have inferred from my notes above -- I'm quite interested in finding out if there is a way that some of these roof mounted domes could be detached and used as a carryout! That would be the ultimate in flexibility in my opinion. King Controls does make some "semi permanent" mounts for the VuQubes but they won't really work with that shape on an Airstream. (Those mounts are made for big rigs and SOB RV's with rear ladders and such where they could be attached.)

I don't think any of the roof mount dome products are INTENDED to be installed in the same detachable way but I wonder, could I hack something to get that effect?

The other option would be to have both a dome + a carryout, I suppose. Seems like a waste though.

[PhilipKS]

Thanks for putting all of these on one page!

Philip

[m.hony]

Manual carry and point increase your chance of reception in shady campgrounds. A fixed unit will not get reception if your trailer is under a tree. Some people have both.

[RLS]

Originally Posted by m.hony

Manual carry and point increase your chance of reception in shady campgrounds. A fixed unit will not get reception if your trailer is under a tree. Some people have both.

So true, we have both the roof and tripod dish. We found that the roof one will not work about 50% of the time with the trees.

[jcanavera]

You might add this to the Tailgater description.

must pair with ViP211, ViP211k/z or 411 receiver

Great job with the analysis. Personally it all reenforces my choice of a Tailgater for the product that I am using.

The only other thing that enters into the decision is the subscription costs based on the satellite provider. That in itself is a nightmare. I almost switched to Direct prior to staying with Dish. My reasoning for not changing was the higher cost of a Direct/King solution and the lack of HD in the unit similar to the Tailgater. The other benefit was as a Dish home subscriber, being able to only pay a $7 receiver monthly charge for use and the ability to not be charged when I'm not using the service. Obviously if this is your only satellite system or are a full timer the monthly cost is much higher.

Jack

[CA_Tallguy]

Can anyone tell me how big of a deal it is if you only have a single LNB and use DISH? I really would like to have a roof mount solution and then possibly also a carryout. So I am wondering if the RM-DM61 -- the single LNB, manual pointed crank up dish that also has an over-the-air antenna -- would be sufficient for most of my TV watching (especially for quick overnights like rest stops or walmart where the carryout isn't an option). I don't currently have a crank up regular antenna installed so it would be nice to have something up there for that. Having a rooftop dish would be a nice bonus with that solution. I can't get a good idea on how limited the solution would be since it does not hop between satellites.

I would LOVE to have the roof mount Trav'ler but I just have a hard time spending that much especially when, as others have noted, they only get 50% usage due to tree cover. Also, I may get a second trailer or motorhome, that would amplify X2 that expensive cost to have the same thing in both.

That crank up option is only $400 (prob less) so it's no big deal to do that on both units. And then I could also buy a carryout/tailgater to bring with me in whatever trailer I was running.

My other thought would be, as I previously posted, to try to get a dome and install it so that it could be detached (to carryout or move to the other trailer). Then, I would only need a SINGLE unit and not THREE. The RoadTrip MiniMax from Winegard looks very similar to their Carryout model so that really makes me hopeful that it could work. I prefer the lower profile of the KingDome units and the Winegard Mission, however. Anyone have any thoughts on feasibility of this?

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by CA_Tallguy

Can anyone tell me how big of a deal it is if you only have a single LNB and use DISH? I really would like to have a roof mount solution and then possibly also a carryout.

Here is a link to the Dish Satellites. Click on one satellite and you will see the channels that are carried. This will give you an idea of what having one LNB will give you. SatelliteGuys.US_TheList - Subscription List

Jack

[graysailor]

Trying to decide myself on how to go with the satellite thing. Good info on trees blocking the reception. What a bummer as I always prefer the shady spots. I am interested mostly in a roof mount as it seems it might be a hassle transporting and setting up the other ones. Always decisions.

[wolverine]

We decided to go with the low cost option (tripod w/dish) primarily to give us maximum flexibility in acquiring satelites. To minimize acquisition time, we purchased an app for our smartphone (Dishpointer Pro) that allows you to make sure you can get reception from the site and to verify the exact setting of the dish to acquire the satelites--it works great. We use a HD Dish network receiver with DVR capability (which we purchased on EBay) to pick up multiple programs and record what we want to watch after we have returned to our Airstream. Since we don't have Dish Network at home, we enrolled in the Pay As You Go plan which allows us to prepay one month at a time when we will be requiring Dish Network service. We just call Dish from each new location we are staying and they switch our coverage to the appropriate local channels and then we inform them when we want to put the service on hold. We then have a credit for the unused portion of the month prepay and there is no reconnection fee the next time we use the service--it works great.

We also use an IR remote because we have installed the receiver under one of our dinette seats out of sight. We keep the TV hooked up to the Airstream coax output to get over the air stations and run our DVR Receiver with a HDMI cable. We installed a Supersonic 24" LED 12 volt TV from Amazon that draws very low amperage to use when we are stopping overnight in an area with local air channel coverage. Since we often make short overnight stops at Walmarts or Cracker Barrel restaurants, this lets us pick up local channels with out a 110 power source just by cranking up our Airstream antenna. Can't get much easier than that!

[m.hony]

We have the satellite dish antenna in a case that resembles a hat box or a snare drum case.

[mojo]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

You might add this to the Tailgater description.

must pair with ViP211, ViP211k/z or 411 receiver

Great job with the analysis. Personally it all reenforces my choice of a Tailgater for the product that I am using.Jack

You can also add a hard drive (110v) to the receivers listed by Jack. That way you can use the receiver like a DVR to download movies/shows that you can later watch in the trailer when you can't find anything else to watch on the 200 sat channels.

[jcanavera]

Sitting here tonight in a State Park watching the Cards/Dodger game on TBS. Love my Tailgater.

Jack

[Stealaway]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

Sitting here tonight in a State Park watching the Cards/Dodger game on TBS. Love my Tailgater.

Jack

We just upgraded from a 1991 34' Classic to a 2011 34' Classic. In the older trailer we put the tailgater cable in thru the window to attach to the VIP211 receiver and that worked fine from June until now. We tried to move the tailgater over to the new 2011 Airstream and attached the tailgater cable to the outside connection for cable/sat , then attached a cable into the top nipple "sat in" into the VIP211 and a cable from the VIP211 "TV out" to the bottom nipple "sat out". No signal. If we bring the cable in thru the door and attach it directly to the VIP211 box, it works great, same cable. We are pretty sure that the problem is somewhere in the "trailer". Any suggestions on how we can get this to work using the outside connection, we really don't want to cut a hole in our screen to go thru the window.

[Tater]

On my 12 30' classic, the cable was not connected at at the outside box on the trailer. If you're getting signal in from outside, and booster is off and jumper disconnected, it should work. Mine works fine now. I do have to hook satellite receiver to TV with him I though. Make sure TV input is set for proper source.

[wolverine]

Originally Posted by Stealaway

We just upgraded from a 1991 34' Classic to a 2011 34' Classic. In the older trailer we put the tailgater cable in thru the window to attach to the VIP211 receiver and that worked fine from June until now. We tried to move the tailgater over to the new 2011 Airstream and attached the tailgater cable to the outside connection for cable/sat , then attached a cable into the top nipple "sat in" into the VIP211 and a cable from the VIP211 "TV out" to the bottom nipple "sat out". No signal. If we bring the cable in thru the door and attach it directly to the VIP211 box, it works great, same cable. We are pretty sure that the problem is somewhere in the "trailer". Any suggestions on how we can get this to work using the outside connection, we really don't want to cut a hole in our screen to go thru the window.

Not sure if this will work for you, but we store our satelite cable wire in the refrigerator access area behind the hinged door and bring the satelite end out through the bottom of the stainless steel access door. We ran the cable to the box through the inside wall and mounted our Dish Network box in the area behind the drawer under the dinette seat. This works for us because we have a Satelite box with a IR remote so it is unseen underneath the seat. This may not work in the 34 foot Classic but works fine in our 31 foot.

[CA_Tallguy]

Hiding the box away win an IR remote is a great idea! I'm going to do that! Thanks.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Stealaway

We just upgraded from a 1991 34' Classic to a 2011 34' Classic. In the older trailer we put the tailgater cable in thru the window to attach to the VIP211 receiver and that worked fine from June until now. We tried to move the tailgater over to the new 2011 Airstream and attached the tailgater cable to the outside connection for cable/sat , then attached a cable into the top nipple "sat in" into the VIP211 and a cable from the VIP211 "TV out" to the bottom nipple "sat out". No signal. If we bring the cable in thru the door and attach it directly to the VIP211 box, it works great, same cable. We are pretty sure that the problem is somewhere in the "trailer". Any suggestions on how we can get this to work using the outside connection, we really don't want to cut a hole in our screen to go thru the window.

On my Classic we have a cable input in the same compartment with the electric cable. That's where we plug in the cable coming from the Tailgater dish. I have a jumper cable inside next to the output from the antenna. The jumper connects two connectors labeled sat/cable in and sat/cable out. I unscrewed the jumper from the sat in connector and connected a short jumper cable between it and the satellite receiver. The receiver has an HDMI port that we use to connect a cable to the HDMI port in the TV. Note the picture. The sat in connector on top is what I use to connect my receiver to the Tailgater dish outside.

Jack

[Soul Food II]

I an interested in purchasing a Tailgater with the new 211z receiver. This receiver was released in 2013 and has a smaller foot print and faster functionality according to specs. However it only has HDMI output plus RCA jacks for audio and video, NO coax output. Can this be connected to my existing 2009 airstream that does not have HDMI cabling? What is involved in adding HDMI cable that won't impact off air coax connection?

[switz]

One can install a HDMI switch box so the built-in DVD can be playing on the front TV and the Dish Sateliite on the other TV or switch sources. The Dish box will only support one TV at a time.