My Tailgater Continues to Amaze Me!!

Good to hear. Thanks.

I love ours, too. I set it up (yeah, ME!) for my grandchildren....they stayed in the RV. :) :) VERY easy, and so dependable!!!!!!!

Hmmm, don't bother bringing your Tailgater to our upstate NY cottage, it won't work. The Dish western arc birds are totally blocked by thick pine trees, but the eastern arc is clear. And it won't get the locals in HD where we are now in Maryland. The eastern arc works fine for HD locals though. Having access to either arc has meant that we've gotten service in a number of locations where being limited to the western arc only meant no or limited service. Our larger dish is also less affected by rain fade.

Why put any kind of a negative twist on such a positive post? Everything everywhere has some kind of a limitation. I thank the OP for the positive post as so many internet posts are only there because someone was looking for somewhere to complain about something.

I will agree the Tailgater is a great product. I can use mine in my driveway in central NH. I do have an I-pad app (DishformyRV) for finding the satellites. Use 100 feet of normal RG-6 cable with a connector. Two western arc sats are visible. And one is low on the horizon, and behind the trees. Regardless, the Tailgater does pull in great television, and all the channels I need.

I have found though, when in my southwest Florida location, I can pick up all three satellites very well. However, the third satellite is really just a duplicate of one of the others. So my guide shows me two entries for the same program at the same time. Not that it is a big problem. But this indicates that I am not missing much by not seeing the third sat in NH.

My I-Pad app makes it possible put the Tailgater in places that you would never believe it possible to find sats. In some state parks, I am able to set it in the woods, and have it peer through a tiny opening in the trees. Other people cannot believe it works there. So I swear by the DishForMyRV app too.

And I love that tailgater. Wonderful Technology. And for local channels, all I do is reset the TV input and use the over the air Jack antenna. Easy as pushing a button.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Why put any kind of a negative twist on such a positive post? Everything everywhere has some kind of a limitation. I thank the OP for the positive post as so many internet posts are only there because someone was looking for somewhere to complain about something.

Because the Tailgater does have some practical limitations that some of the glowing reports fail to mention and potential buyers may not be aware of.

We have had our tailgater for 3 years. Just this trip we had had nothing but trouble with it. Clear southern sky, and while watching tv we would loose complete signal. Dish helping me did some test and the dish person said the tailgater is bad because it isn't tracking. Called King Controls and talked to a tech and asked him who fixes it and was told that there is nobody contracted to fix it, I have to send it to Minnesota to get it fixed. They will check it out and if it goes to around 250$ they will call and sell me a rebuilt one for $250 plus shipping. We got a dish and tripod. Might have to see how this works.

Just to be fair, while it was working it was great. I just don't like the idea that Dish won't talk to you or send a tech out to troubleshoot if you have a tailgater even tho their name is on the product. I had to tell them that I wasn't going to pay our bill cause of the days we did not have any TV, then they turned me over to people that knew the tailgater. Then things got done.

Dutch_12078 wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Why put any kind of a negative twist on such a positive post? Everything everywhere has some kind of a limitation. I thank the OP for the positive post as so many internet posts are only there because someone was looking for somewhere to complain about something.

Because the Tailgater does have some practical limitations that some of the glowing reports fail to mention and potential buyers may not be aware of.

You consider the fact that trees blocking satellite reception to be a practical limitation. It's a limitation for all satellite systems. The fact that it can't do Eastern Arc is a limitation for many antenna types so no reason to pick on the Tailgater only.

I agree--each has advantages/disadvantages. If I were CG camping only (which I'm not), and my top priority was ease of use (and it is), then I would agree the Pathway is likely a better choice. However, tempering that is the relatively short (25-ft) max cable length. My point in my OP was that a longer cable length gives you many more options when camping among trees. IMO, this is the real value of a portable dish, the ability to camp in the shade and shoot sat birds in the clear.