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Old 06-24-2012, 06:49 PM   #1
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Satellite TV

I am thinking of stopping our media-com, which now provides our cable and internet service for our home, in favor of satellite TV that will provide services both for the home and on the road. I read an earlier post that started in 2010 but I am still confused as to what I will need to change. Will either the Tailgater Satellite Antenna or the Winegard Carryout GM-1518 Automatic Portable Satellite TV Antenna work both at my home and camping. If so how does it work and what other accessories will I need.

Thanks

John
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Old 06-24-2012, 06:59 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by urnmor View Post
I am thinking of stopping our media-com, which now provides our cable and internet service for our home, in favor of satellite TV that will provide services both for the home and on the road. I read an earlier post that started in 2010 but I am still confused as to what I will need to change. Will either the Tailgater Satellite Antenna or the Winegard Carryout GM-1518 Automatic Portable Satellite TV Antenna work both at my home and camping. If so how does it work and what other accessories will I need.

Thanks

John
I think what you want to do is order either DISH or DirectTV for your home, let them install your permanent dish on your home then when you travel take one of your receivers with you. Depending on which service then you can shop for a portable satellite antenna.

In my case I have DirectTV at home, I carry my DVR on the road and have installed an antenna on the roof of the A/S, its a fixed mount that is controlled by a box in the trailer. I chose this setup because we're going to be on the road about 8 months or longer in the next 12 months and wanted to use the DVR and also wanted HD quality. The antenna is a Winegard Travel'r and as near as I can tell is the only way for me to get what I wanted.
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Old 06-24-2012, 09:25 PM   #3
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John,
I've been with DirecTV for over 15 years, so I don't know much about Dish Network. I have a high definition receiver at home, and use a standard definition receive while traveling. DirecTV allows you to duplicate your service package for a second receiver for about $5 a month. Since we spend a lot of time on the road, this makes it a good deal for us.

On the road, I just use a portable dish that I got at a thrift shop for $6. It's manual setup but now that I have the hang of it, it only takes about 5 minutes to find a satellite. I believe the dishes you mentioned are automatic, which should simplify setup even more.

We've used it everywhere across the country from Washington DC, to Las Vegas, Malibu Beach, New Orleans, to the middle of the desert in Arizona, with great reception.

Here's a picture of our setup from a rally in Pittsville (just down the road from you) this weekend.
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Old 06-25-2012, 06:52 AM   #4
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Direct tv. View cube. We have the ability to move it out from under trees
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Old 06-25-2012, 08:35 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by urnmor
... Will either the Tailgater Satellite Antenna or the Winegard Carryout GM-1518 Automatic Portable Satellite TV Antenna work both at my home and camping. If so how does it work and what other accessories will I need.

Thanks

John
I bought a Carroyout a while back when Camping World put them on sale. It comes with a 50' coax and a 50' 12v power cable. The 1st consideration besides an external coax jack is a handy source for 12v power. The antenna has an internal controller that is jumpered for DirectTV. If you subscribe to DISH, you will have to change the jumper servings. This is included in the instructions.

To set it up, place the antenna where it has a clear view of the SW sky. There are a couple of apps available that can assist if you have some overhanging limbs that may block it's view. Connect it to power and wait about 3 minutes for it to locate and map the right birds. My DISH receiver shuttles between the house and trailer, so I need to run Check Switch the 1st time out to teach it about the different antenna and then it loads the program guide. There is a slight delay as you switch channels as it must reposition the antenna to the correct satellite. Once setup, it works like a stationary antenna.

The Tailgater may be a better choice. It gets it's power from the receiver through the coax so it doesn't need a separate power cable. It also is less expensive. I've only seen them advertised, maybe someone else has some firsthand experience with one.

At least for DISH, a single tuner receiver is recommended. It is possible to setup a dual tuner model, but the physical connection to the antenna and setup can be complicated.
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Old 06-26-2012, 06:07 PM   #6
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My thanks to all for the great info. If I switch form media-com I think I will go with Direct TV as it appears to be the most flexible.

thanks again

John
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Old 06-26-2012, 07:04 PM   #7
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We also use DirecTV and found it works pretty well. If we watched more TV, I might invest in something that would help me find the satellite a little quicker, but it is no big deal. Having the antenna flexible (as in on a long cord) so you can find a clearing to the skies is important, particularly on Saturday afternoons in the fall.

If you know the zip code where you are and you have internet access, you can get the local coordinates for where to aim your antenna.

Dish Pointer
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Old 06-26-2012, 07:21 PM   #8
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I might add that as band parents who enjoyed a little down time during competition events, having the flexibility to move the satellite dish came in handy a number of times.
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Old 06-26-2012, 07:27 PM   #9
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Direct TV, order the "emergency" kit, it comes with a dish and stand. FWIW we typically don't bother with it for most trips. I don't watch much TV at home and even less on the road. We do have a digital television in the AS and the antenna does well most of the time. It is not unusual to pickup 15-20 channels most of the time in the areas we camp.

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Old 06-26-2012, 07:28 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nilesrob View Post
I might add that as band parents who enjoyed a little down time during competition events, having the flexibility to move the satellite dish came in handy a number of times.

That's quite an arrangement, Brad. We usually take about 75 ft. of coax and an in-line amp, but rarely have to use it. Once, I had to hang a blinking light on the dish to keep the kids from plowing into it after dark.
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Old 06-27-2012, 08:35 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by urnmor View Post
I am thinking of stopping our media-com, which now provides our cable and internet service for our home, in favor of satellite TV that will provide services both for the home and on the road. I read an earlier post that started in 2010 but I am still confused as to what I will need to change. Will either the Tailgater Satellite Antenna or the Winegard Carryout GM-1518 Automatic Portable Satellite TV Antenna work both at my home and camping. If so how does it work and what other accessories will I need.

Thanks

John
Were you thinking of using satellite for your internet service as well? It's been a few years since I looked into that, but as I recall, the internet dish is quite substantial and pricey, along with a separate monthly charge. Other internet options may be less expensive.

I don't believe that either of those satellite devices that you describe will provide HDTV on Direct, if that matters to you.

Satellite TV is widely used by RVers. Like others, I have a permanently-mounted Direct HD dish at home, and an old, manually-configured, standard definition dish and box for travel. The standard definition provides a satisfactory picture on our small, 22" TV. Another advantage to standard definition on the road is that it is somewhat quicker to set-up, less data to download. If we have to re-boot our HD system at home, such as in a power failure, I suspect it takes about 30 minutes for the system to fully re-boot, and that's with an already installed, aimed satellite dish. A compass and satellite meter are inexpensive and important tools. I make no attempt to level the tripod because I often have to move it about during set-up to find a "clear view of the southern sky". Leveling is unneccessary, and takes time, but if you don't level it, the elevation markings stamped in the dish are meaningless; however that's not a concern as you can easily find the elevation, once you've got the general azimuth. I say "general" because I often use dead reckoning, point where I think it should be, and go from there. On standard definition, Dish and Direct satellites are fairly close together, with Dish a few degrees to the west. While I'm manually moving my dish around, if I find a signal, I pivot it a little to the left or right to verify which satellite I'm on, since the signal meter doesn't know the difference. Manually aiming a dish in the field in open country is simple, especially if armed with a signal meter; aiming a dish manually in the mountains, among trees, can be vexing, time-consuming, even with a signal meter, compass, etc, and sometimes it's just impossible. Sometimes, it seems, things are not where they should be. I carry about 300' of cable, but usually find results with 50-100 feet, sometimes 150'. Once you find the sweet spot, the standard definition downloads and boots quickly, relative to HD.

Since we are often camped around obstructions of some sort (think Joyce Kilmer), I don't believe a roof-mounted device would meet our needs. The portable, automatic dishes are seductive, provide flexibility around those obstructions, but they're pricey, and for us, are more of a "want" than a "need". Besides, I'm cheap, and I'd be concerned that their combination of price and attractiveness could cause them to grow legs. Having said that, we've never, ever, had problems with theft while RVing, knock-on-wood; however, we don't leave $1,500 devices lying about the campsite.
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Old 07-29-2012, 08:00 PM   #12
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I've Got dish at home, my wife Is Japanese and has to have the TV Japan it offers. I looked on Dish site and looks like The Tailgater runs about $500 scompleat with the HD reciever, also selling them on Ebay. Guess I'll have to go that way. Or throw me a tripod a spare dish and my home unit in the back of the truck when we travel. It's a pain setting up but works if you are trying to keep your money in "your" pocket.
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Old 07-29-2012, 08:22 PM   #13
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first you will need a receiver (black box) could be dish or direct. If you have 2 receivers at home, take one of them.Save $ Next you will need a sat dish (dish or direct) or use one of the Weingards or the tailgater. The auto Weingard requires a DC cable as well as the coax. The Tailgater only has the coax. Dish will give HD the Weingard ?
Both have a provision for a lock. Bicycle cable lock was suggested.
The Weingard is made here in Iowa and I toured the factory and was impressed but I think I would go with the Tailgater because of the simplicity of set up and $
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Old 07-29-2012, 09:20 PM   #14
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first you will need a receiver (black box) could be dish or direct. If you have 2 receivers at home, take one of them.Save $ Next you will need a sat dish (dish or direct) or use one of the Weingards or the tailgater. The auto Weingard requires a DC cable as well as the coax. The Tailgater only has the coax. Dish will give HD the Weingard ?
Both have a provision for a lock. Bicycle cable lock was suggested.
The Weingard is made here in Iowa and I toured the factory and was impressed but I think I would go with the Tailgater because of the simplicity of set up and $
We have Dish Network at home and love it! We bought the Tailgater because it is proprietary to Dish. You WILL have to purchase a separate receiver to get make it work. A receiver from home will not work-tried that! I added the receiver to my household plan for $7.00 a month and I get the same channels as at home. I can even get local programming wherever I go by calling Dish and giving them my Zip Code of where I am at and... voila! I have the local channels. We absolutly love ours. Set it up, hook it up and in 10 mins I have TV.
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