After warranty I have pulled the cover off mine a couple times to watch it. When you connect up and select scan, the dish will begin rotating. It will slowly rotate counter clockwise for a part circle, then reverse direction and rotate clockwise the opposite direction until it completes a full circle. Then it will rotate back to a generally southern direction and begin incremental side to side and up down movements as it apparently homes in on the sats.
I have started mine with the handle in any number of directions and it does not seem to matter. Nothing in the Tailgater instructions about handle direction.
