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92landyacht · 03-25-2013, 03:13 PM

No, I don't think it's available yet. They may be preordering but Dish has no images or references to the VIP 211Z as of today.

daveswenson · 03-25-2013, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 92landyacht

No, I don't think it's available yet. They may be preordering but Dish has no images or references to the VIP 211Z as of today.

The website says they are in stock and shipping. Could be lying, I suppose.

masseyfarm · 03-26-2013, 09:37 PM

This sure annoys me!

We Do Not Ship to Canada

DISH Network ViP 211z MPEG4 High-Definition HDTV Satellite Receiver / Tuner (ViP-211z) from Solid Signal

Dave

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveswenson

The website says they are in stock and shipping. Could be lying, I suppose.

**jcanavera** · 03-28-2013, 06:52 PM

FYI, I just got off the phone with Dish Network a few minutes ago and they are now offering the 211Z receiver. Apparently the web site doesn't reflect that and the pricing is the same as the 211K receiver. The customer service person wasn't totally up on things but she put me on hold to verify. She wasn't aware that the web site doesn't reflect the receiver information as of yet. My advice is that if you order, make it very clear that you want the 211Z receiver.

Jack

**jcanavera** · 03-29-2013, 12:11 AM

Dish is now telling me that first, the 211z is not available as a stand alone purchase. Secondly if I buy the Tailgater with receiver, I will get a 211k or a 211z. They have no way to guarantee me which one I will get. I'm sure they will be sending out 211k's until their stock runs out.

Looks like I'll purchase a stand alone 211z from an agent. And then buy a stand alone Tailgater either from Dish or from the same agent. Apparently the first CSR I talked to didn't tell me the fine print.

Now the next thing is to understand the difference between receiver authorization and receiver activation. While I can turn activation off and on, I have to get the receiver connected at least once a month to a Dish antenna so that the receiver will stay authorized. I said who cares, if it sits 6 months in the winter unused, why can't you just reauthorize the receiver when I want it activated in the spring? This just doesn't make any sense. And to compound the issue, since I have a new Hopper/Joey system at home, I can't just unhook a Joey and put the 211z in its place. They are telling me I have to run another drop from an unused LNB port on the rooftop antenna and plug the 211z into it....or pull out the Tailgater antenna and hook it into the 211z once a month. Argh!!!!

92landyacht · 03-29-2013, 06:35 AM

I see no difference between a 211K or 211Z when it comes to maintaining it with Dish. With my 211K I simply have them remove the equipment from my account when it's not going to be used for a month or more. I then call them and have it put back on when I need it. No charge for the months I don't use it and no reconnection fee. Once put back on to the account I just connect the tailgater and away I go. Ten minutes later and I have all my programming.

**jcanavera** · 03-29-2013, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 92landyacht

I see no difference between a 211K or 211Z when it comes to maintaining it with Dish. With my 211K I simply have them remove the equipment from my account when it's not going to be used for a month or more. I then call them and have it put back on when I need it. No charge for the months I don't use it and no reconnection fee. Once put back on to the account I just connect the tailgater and away I go. Ten minutes later and I have all my programming.

I think they must be thinking that I want to pay for use of the receiver year round and that if I leave it disconnected too long, the receiver will fall out of activation. Like you say I don't plan on leaving it connected based on my trips. When I'm not out, I cancel the activation to save the monthly fee.

Thanks!

Jack

**jcanavera** · 03-29-2013, 02:05 PM

I just bit the bullet and ordered a 211z and a Tailgater from an authorized Dish retailer. Ended up it was $30 less in cost (including shipping) than buying the combo package from Dish, and no sales tax besides.

Dish would not sell me a 211z and Tailgater unbundled. Their bundled option would not guarantee me a 211z and I really wanted that smaller footprint receiver. I'll post some pictures of the receiver once I get it gets delivered. We go on our first trip in early May for about a week. I'll get the unit activated when I bring the trailer home to dewinterize.

Jack

**jcanavera** · 04-05-2013, 04:53 PM

My ViP211z receiver and Tailgater got here today and all is well. Had a little problem at first getting the dish to go look for the satellites, but once we did a check switch function all was well. Here are some pictures. The first one is to show its size compared to a Dish Hopper. The 211z is on top of the Hopper. Then a picture from the back. 2 usb ports, an ethernet port, HDMI, port, and composite hookups, and finally the coax hookup for the satellite. Note, no coax output on this unit. Third picture is the Tailgater dish sitting out front of my porch looking at the southern sky. Fourth picture is going through the initial software load screen.

Jack

Lumatic · 04-05-2013, 06:47 PM

Got my Tailgater yesterday. I was surprised to find it at the local ma pa rv in Moriarty NM. Am waiting for the receiver. $50 on Craigslist. I checked the receiver number with DISH to make sure it is a good one.

Lumatic · 04-06-2013, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lumatic

Got my Tailgater yesterday. I was surprised to find it at the local ma pa rv in Moriarty NM. Am waiting for the receiver. $50 on Craigslist. I checked the receiver number with DISH to make sure it is a good one.

Got the system fired up today. Easy set up. Anyone want to buy a used dish on a stick?

CA_Tallguy · 06-21-2013, 11:04 AM

Just a note for anyone considering the 211z as I am -- this unit does not have a BUILT IN over-the-air antenna jack BUT apparently you can get a USB adapter for an OTA antenna. Sounds like it's not a big deal to have an external module for it. I hope it's still power efficient and works well.

I think OTA is a great feature so you can get your locals integrated right in your program guide. That is, without having to call DISH and change your location -- much less hassle if you are just stopped overnight and passing through. Plus, you can pull in MORE local digital channels (and subchannels) over the air than you will get via dish sat.

92landyacht · 06-21-2013, 03:32 PM

Just a side note on using the Tailgator with either the VIP211K or VIP211Z receivers. I've confirmed with Dish that, if your receiver has not acquired the system for more then a month, you WILL have to call Dish to have them spot beam information to your receiver before it will successfully download the program guide. It took me over an hour to get my system running after a two-month furlough. I spoke with a Dish tech representative who never could explain why I was having trouble. My receiver was constantly resetting while trying to acquire the system and download the program guide. All she kept doing was trying to sell me additional program packages. She eventually handed me off to another tech that knew exactly what was going on. He instructed me to connect my receiver to my home system every few weeks to make sure I never have this issue again. He then beamed me a signal that allowed my receiver to successfully acquire the system and download a new program guide. It still took a couple of resets though. Up until then it looked like my receiver was defective. Once updated the unit ran perfect for several days.
Moral of the story… If you intend to use your Dish Network receiver in a motorhome application, them make sure you have it ping the satellite system every 2 to 3 weeks to make sure it doesn’t give you any problems.

I also found it VERY beneficial to have 100’ of extra CAT6 coax along with the Tailgator. The coach at the campsite next to me had a very pricey Wingate moving motion antenna on his roof. He was not able to use it because his site had no clear view of the Southern sky. He spent the next two hours trying to setup a manual dish antenna with little success. I just ran my Tailgator out to an open area and let it do its job.

tkasten · 06-21-2013, 03:54 PM

92landyacht- The Tailgator looks interesting. I'm wondering if theift could be an issue. Do you have a way of securing it? Do you leave it out over night or do you have to bring it inside? I currently use a sat. dish/tripod. Not worried about theift as they are a dime a dozen and can be replaced with little effort and not much money. Just wondering.

92landyacht · 06-21-2013, 04:33 PM

I usually place it on the roof of my motor home and lock the ladder in the up position. There is a very poor lock eyelet that you're supposed to lock it with, but I found it better to string a cable between the handle and the case. I then lock the cable to one of the roof rails. If I use it on the ground I lock it to any tree or post behind where the Sats are so it doesn’t interfere with reception. So far I haven't had any issues. Worst case, you can bring it in every night. Every time the receiver is powered down (not standby) or the dish is moved you'll have to go through the 10-minute startup sequence, but that's usually not an issue.

**jcanavera** · 06-21-2013, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 92landyacht

Just a side note on using the Tailgator with either the VIP211K or VIP211Z receivers. I've confirmed with Dish that, if your receiver has not acquired the system for more then a month, you WILL have to call Dish to have them spot beam information to your receiver before it will successfully download the program guide. It took me over an hour to get my system running after a two-month furlough. I spoke with a Dish tech representative who never could explain .

I had to reactivate mine prior to a trip a couple of weeks ago. It took about 15 minutes before the activation came up and the programming came up. I did this at home and the Dish RV rep said its a lot harder to reactivate out in the woods when you are in unfamiliar territory. I deactivated when I got home since I don't know when I'm headed out again. No reason to pay for something I'm not using. Since the Tailgater takes minimal effort to set up, it's a lot easier to do before you leave town. Much easier to check it all out from a known good locale than a campsite on the road.

Jack

92landyacht · 06-22-2013, 06:41 AM

Ya, the reason it took me so long was because I didn't know that I had to contact Dish prior to getting it working. I could have sworn that it was a problem with my setup so I kept trying to relocate the Tailgator and reset the receiver. After an hour I decided to call Dish. 30 minutes later (first tech rep was useless) I was up and running.

Now I know what to tell the Dish tech when I go on our next trip. Again, none of this is an issue as long as you keep your receiver connected to the SAT system. It's not a Tailgater issue, it's a dish/inactive receiver issue. If you have Dish at home, and use a 211K or 211Z receiver, then simply take your home receiver out to your MH, connect it to the Tailgater and 10 minutes later you're up and running.

**jcanavera** · 06-22-2013, 09:01 AM

If you have a non Hopper system at home, you could occasionally plug in your 211 to keep it active in Dish's network. Unfortunately I have a Hopper and would need either another feed from the Dish on the roof or disconnect the dish feed to the Solo Node in the basement and connect it to the 211. Bottom line it's just easier to call for activation and make sure it works before we leave home. That way I don't have any surprises on the road.

Jack

**jcanavera** · 06-22-2013, 10:12 AM

As far as security goes, I bought a long shackle lock and then the biggest and longest plastic wrapped cable that I could find from WalMart. The shackle in the lock completely fills the security loop on the Tailgater and the cable is 10mm. The cable is 15 feet long and looped at each end. Bottom line unless someone is walking around with some serious cable cutters or cuts the loop off the Tailgater, it will probably resist impulse or casual theft. On my first trip out I was able to set the Tailgater next to the front of the trailer and secure it to the hitch stand.

Jack

CA_Tallguy · 07-12-2013, 12:40 AM

Just broke down and ordered a Winegard Trav'ler SK-1000 for dish. Geez that is a lot to spend on a dish!

Does anyone know if you need to use the separate mounting plate accessory for mounting on a 70's trailer?

The other things I'm struggling with are the choice of receiver and if I will use the pay-as-you-go plan or the normal subscription.

I'm inclined to go with the vip211z receiver as I could also use it with a tailgater in case of trees, and the power consumption is dramatically lower I believe. One reason I wanted a roof mount auto-antenna was for ease of use in a walmart or rest stop on a quick overnight without shore power - so lower power consumption would be very beneficial.

But when parked for long periods (I'm a full timer) the Hopper system or other multi-tuner DVR would be more appealing. Could I get both and add/remove them at will as needed? Or maybe I'll just leave them both active and use the smaller unit in the bedroom and just power that up for those overnight stops.

One thing I'm not understanding is if there is a monthly charge for both receivers, and the difference (if there is one) between owning/leasing. If you get them from Dish, especially on the normal subscription plans vs pay as u go, it seems like they will be leased? And the Hopper seems like it will carry extra monthly fees. On the other hand, I get the impression that the vip211k/z units are or can be owned? Maybe just on the pay as you go plans?

Some reviews on amazon for receivers seem to say that dish has a monthly charge even if you are buying there - so why not sign up and get equipment from Dish under normal plans if I don't anticipate need to start and stop service? Doing that also provides $20/$30 month savings for first year.