dish aiming??

I'm a DTV guy, but maybe this part is similar. Does Dish have an on-screen meter like Direct? Perhaps that would be easier than a hand-held.

Also, 'sweeping the sky' in a small arc, then changing elevation slightly, repeat, is sometimes what I have to do. Are you using the correct indicator on the dish for elevation? I found myself reading that wrong. If this is HD, a plumb mast is very important.

Mast is plumb. And I think im reading all measurements correctly. I watched a video on YouTube showing set up and I did the same. I even checked out someone elses dish near me and they have the same settings. And it seems to be in the same direction I am trying. I feel the issue is in the 211k. I read they are finicky when setting up

It is important that the tripod mast be as near perfectly vertical as possible for the elevation, azimuth, and skew marks to be accurate.
Make sure you have a high quality coax cable.
I put everything at the correct (for the area) settings and use a meter like yours to maximize the signal while "tweaking" the dish. Sometimes got it fairly quickly. Sometimes a long time if at all. Bought a Tailgater and have not regretted it.

I use a good sat meter but they can cost $$$. Since this is a seasonal site, why not call a local sat dealer and have them install the dish.

Here are a couple of dumb questions:

1. Are you using true or magnetic azimuth for setup?

2. Are you sure the cable input on your rig is correct? I have read here of one mislabeled, and at least one with a bad internal cable.

Camper is setup for satellite. I have a tailgater working right now but want to have a regular dish so I dont have to put it away every week. I will recheck plumb and all settings.

I was sooooo happy with my new Tailgater. It worked absolutely wonderful at home. I moved it all over the yard and practiced setting it up.

Then we went on our first trip. I was all excited about setting up the Tailgater, it's sooooo simple. And ... you guessed it .... NOTHING! ARRRR. I moved it, moved it, moved it and still nada! I could hear the motor running inside the cube, so I knew I was connected to the receiver! I even put the cube on the top of the camper, and we could hear the motor running through the vibrations in the roof. Still ... no actual signal connection! ARRR!

I called the Dish helpline and asked what was going on. They guy hung in there with me. He told me to unhook the coax from the trailer and hook directly into the receiver. Well, I was a little miffed, because it worked perfectly fine at home! But I did it anyway just to appease him.

Well, by golly it worked ... FIRST SHOT! OMG! I thanked him and we were on our merry way for the rest of the week. I did have the coax through the window though.

Next day it REALLY began to bother me why it did not work before, and then I figured it out! I'd switched to a shorter (store bought) coax cable that ran from the trailer wall (inside) to the receiver, and did not use the cable the Dish technician set up for me. I went out on a limb and switch the wire back, and it continued to run perfect!

I would have never thought in a million years that the wire I switched would cause failure.

Bottom line? It could be your coax cable causing signal loss.

Edit: FYI, I also have the aluminum 3 eye dish on a tripod and it worked perfectly fine with my original coax. So the wire can make a difference between the tripod dish and the Tailgater.

Good luck!

First; Dump the analog meter it is junk,, Get a small portable battery operated TV (or cord powered TV for that matter) and hook it to the receiver's COAX out or to your outdoor TV connection (If you have one) and use it. The software inside that receiver is every bit as good as a BirdDog professional satellite aiming meter. (Over 1,000 dollars used).

Now: Use the phone app to make sure the dish has a clear view of the sky. This is important Make sure the mast the dish is mounted on is plum (Straight up and down) and not slanted.

Then once hoked up turn on receiver, it will stall at some point and eventually give you a Pop UP. press the * button on the remote to get to the antenna aiming page... Make sure you have chosen the proper antenna, WRITE DOWN the settings and preset elevation and skew.. NOTE it will tilt to the LEFT if I'm not mistaken not to the right like a 1000.1 does.

Slowly swing through the azimuth, watch the color bar. When it peaks and is GREEN, go back inside and check the other 3 sat's all should be green, you can "Tweak" elevation and skew a bit (Always re-peaking after) but this should not be needed. .Lock dish down

Do a check switch.

Then continue the set up from where it stalled.

Bill.Satellite should be along soon :)

I hate contradicting other posters over and over so I think I will stay out of this one.
Setting up a manually pointed dish without assistance from someone who has done it can be very difficult. I would seek hands on assistance locally.