Dish tailgater losing signal

Question

While in NM and AZ and now home in TX, my Dish tailgater or 211 receiver has be acting up. I now have to run the ck switch at least twice.I run ck switch and then the screen comes back on telling me to run it again.Then we go thru acquiring signal, downloading program quide, the usual stuff. I then have reception,all my channels show up on the program guide, but if I try and change channels, it will lose the signal. Sometimes I can use the up and down buttons and get it to respond. Just now, tried to get the western channel, lost signal,all channels say no signal,went to diagnostics,ran test, no signal. I could not get the western channel in NM or AZ the past few months.

The Tailgater is about 5 or 6 years old, and has been taken care of.

At one time,with this trailer, every thing clicked just like it was supposed too.

My question is, do you folks think it is the tailgater or is it the receiver causing the problem's.

sandia_man · Answer

I'd be more inclined to say it's the Tailgater than the 211 receiver. Could be a connection issue as well since it appears to work sporadically, check coax connectors and make sure they are tight or try different coax altogether to eliminate that possibility.

Although it could be the receiver, whether good or bad, the receiver can only provide satellite content available from coax connected to the satellite input on the rear of the unit. If it's weak or spotty it could reek major havoc on it's functionality.

We use the VIP 211 and manually set up the same model sat dish we have at home. We primarily camp in the four corner states with the majority of it in NM and AZ, even the many trips to Texas and we have always received all the channels we have at home while RVing.

peaeye1 · Answer

Sandia Man wrote:I'd be more inclined to say it's the Tailgater than the 211 receiver.  Could be a connection issue as well since it appears to work sporadically, check coax connectors and make sure they are tight or try different coax altogether to eliminate that possibility.  Although it could be the receiver, whether good or bad, the receiver can only provide satellite content available from coax connected to the satellite input on the rear of the unit.  If it's weak or spotty it could reek major havoc on it's functionality.  We use the VIP 211 and manually set up the same model sat dish we have at home. We primarily camp in the four corner states with the majority of it in NM and AZ, even the many trips to Texas and we have always received all the channels we have at home while RVing.Thanks, I agree that it is most likely the tailgater, I just got thru using another coax, still the same results. i have one more test to do, hook up direct to receiver. This trailer came wired for satellite reception. It is possible that some connections have loosened in our travels.  When I tried to run thru the channels this afternoon, I started at 205 and went up one at a time to 242, everything came in except for 214, then nothing would come in after about 240 or so. I will call Dish when it clears up in a few days, cloudy now, so perhaps we can get an idea then.

denny___jami · Answer

Take the cover off your Tailgater and see if there is any rubber dust in the bottom, if there is check the rubber wheel that moves the dish up and down.LinkDenny

peaeye1 · Answer

Denny &amp; Jami wrote:Take the cover off your Tailgater and see if there is any rubber dust in the bottom, if there is check the rubber wheel that moves the dish up and down.LinkDennyDenny  You are the MAN.......I opened up my tailgater, looked just like the link,just got thru turning the wheel around,now in the process of downloading program guide. i have confidence this will fix the problem.Even if it does not fix it, it was good experience. I am not too old to learn a few tricks.    I will report back later with final results.   Thanks again

peaeye1 · Answer

The info that Denny gave was spot on, everything is working fine, I just need to order a new rubber wheel from king controls.

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Dish tailgater losing signal

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