Winegard RoadTrip Minimax - no sat reception???

[aausland]

I just bought a Winegard RoadTrip Minimax satellite antenna (dish). The first day I got it I put it outside on the ground, followed the instructions regarding how to get it up and get it running (switches, etc.) and the thing started working fine. (I did get a warning one dish wasn't operable - I believe because at home I have a second dish to receive local channels) All the normal channels worked fine though....

Anyhow, I went to fire it up again the next day and it acted as if it had never been set up before. I re-ran the whole switch and set-up deal, point sat, etc.... and eventually it finished doing all the tests and just gave me a black screen, as if there wasn't any signal. However, the guide comes up with current shows, etc. if you pull it up.... But no stinkin' actual tv...

I don't know what to do - help!

[n2916s]

Sounds like it is just off a hair in aim. The guide downloads quickly and is remembered (at least by my receiver) so you had a lock on at least briefly.

Can you get the "aiming" page up? On mine, I can bring it up even if the antenna is not connected. One of the pages should give you signal strength.

It gets easier after awhile. I am lucky because my archaic (> 10 years old) Magnavox dish has an LED on the horn that blinks off when you get a decent signal. Otherwise, you need an in line meter or have someone watching the signal strength as you swing the antenna. I always set elevation first (there are gradient scales on my mount) and then swing good 20 degree arc around where my trusty Boy Scout compass tells me the satellite should be.

My first few times caused me to remember colorful language from my enlisted days...

Good luck,

mike

[aausland]

So I figured out that Winegard has a "quick start" guide available on-line for my unit, but it didn't come with the unit in the box!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How stupid!

Anyhow, the quickstart guide provided steps to wipe the receiver of old settings, then running the new tests got me to the switch settings I needed. There were some voo-doo magic steps they didn't give you such as turning the unit off and then back on after the switch settings were re-set. But it now appears to be working fine.

I've attached the errors I got - leading up to it working. It's disconcerting I get these errors though even if it's working....