HELP! Before we cord-cut Dish Network

[ghaynes755]

I've had mine off for months during the winter. Call them to reactivate and when I get to the first camping spot everything has worked fine. Are you deactivating between trips? If so then you do need to re-activate on next use. Since DISH is on monthly billing if you ask to deactivate mid month it doesn't actually seem to happen until the start of the following month.

[HowieE]

They have all adopted an automatic shut down if the receiver is not used for 2 weeks. This even happens with my Directv at home if we are on the road for that time. We now set up an record option on a weekly show to offset that at home.

Since the advent of digital broadcasting you can get enough channels with the trailer antenna or with streaming on line you can use the phone to support the TV.

I no longer carry the Directv dish.

[bwoodtx]

Whenever we come back from a trip I always hook up the tailgater and leave it hooked up . As long as it is hooked up it will not deactivate. I pay $5 for the additional receiver because I have dish at home.

[IanPoulin]

Could I conceivably purchase a tailgater type module and use it both on the road, and at home, for seamless, non-interrupted use?

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by ghaynes755

I've had mine off for months during the winter. Call them to reactivate and when I get to the first camping spot everything has worked fine. Are you deactivating between trips? If so then you do need to re-activate on next use. Since DISH is on monthly billing if you ask to deactivate mid month it doesn't actually seem to happen until the start of the following month.

While Dish is monthly billing, they do prorate the charge on a daily basis. Any over bill based on a monthly statement cycle is credited back the following month.

I really decided to start carrying a Tailgater and 211z a couple of years after digital broadcasting started. We found that in many cases signal levels went down and where we had service with the batwing antenna on the Airstream, all we now got were signals popping in and out. Many of the campground owners noted that they had to raise their home antennas to keep their own service. Since I already had satellite TV at home, it was pretty nice to have the same level of service on the road. The only bump in the road is having a clear shot at the satellites, and there are some great iOS apps out there that allow you to look at the sky with your phone to determine where to set the Tailgater unit.