Satellite dish

We purchased an in-motion dish that works great when pulling into tree covered campsites. We just pull in slowly and watch for the TV signal to show on the TV. This will happen even in the smallest break in the trees. That alone was worth the extra of the in-motion.

I am a in-motion dome convert. I had an in-motion dome for the first 8 years of full-timing and really thought I would miss the ability you describe. Turns out I don't as I just request a satellite friendly site when I make my RV park reservations. They know which sites are clear and which are obstructed. If they say they are not sure they can promise that, we go elsewhere. I know that every Wal-Mart in the Country (where overnight parking is acceptable) has a clear view of the Southern sky! If I plan to stay longer, I just find another campground. In about 13 years of full-timing this has worked very well.
Disclaimer: I also carry a portable dish in case of emergencies. I last used it September 2012 (Labor Day weekend) when I had to stay at a specific campground and they were booked solid except for the 1 site under a tree where they parked me.

Thanks to all that replied to my topic. Everyone was very helpful.
Think I'll get the Winegard Travler.

Sold my In Motion, which worked very well but wanted more coax outputs and High Def since we are full time rving.

To solve the issue of forgetting to lower the dish I added a magnet switch and glued a magnet to the non magnetic dish. The signal is then paralleled with the switch that is on the over the air antenna alarm. If either is left up there is an alarm on the dash,

Tried to PM Bill.

I am a certified ET, FCC licensed, and own an electronics repair facility.

My Travler (direct tv, multiswitch), is having an issue locking onto the 99 satellite. Absolutely 100% clear sky view. Not a wisp of a cloud either. I have been using Direct TV for over ten years and on several RV's. Both roof mounted systems and portable dishes. Very experienced in the setups.

This unit was working very well but I think a gear might have been (slipped) (slid out a bit so there is slop), when I had a jam up against my crank up antenna last month. I could not use the dish for the last month due to trees and had to use my portable dish.

Currently in a different RV park with wide open skys.

Here is what I found. Watching the dish search I saw a flash of signal on 99, very strong. The dish settles out and shows the normal 101,110,119 birds. No signal on 99. Thinking my LNB may have been sick (except there was a bit of signal while searching), I checked the dish and found that there is "slop" in the rotation of about 1/4 inch. That is, It is free for 1/4 inch when I gently try to turn it on the azimuth.

I found that I can manually turn it and lock onto the 99 bird.

My question now. Should that slop be adjusted out? And if so, please give me a hint how to do it. It is under warranty but if the slop was induced by me pushing on it and moving some plastic gear a bit then you certainly are not responsible to repair it under warranty.

Thank you for the help.

(This is the letter sent to Winegard, and no response in three days).

As an impatient technician I popped the top by removing the circle of 5/16 screws. No way this thing could have "gear slop". It is built like a tank. However there is slop in the turret. Not sure if this is normal and the things needs to be calibrated some way.

Any suggestions.

As you have discovered there are no plastic gears and no room for adjustment. There is about 1/4" of movement in the base so I don't think that is the issue either.

This unit was working very well but I think a gear might have been (slipped) (slid out a bit so there is slop), when I had a jam up against my crank up antenna last month.

I think this might be your issue, but could you explain exactly what happened?

Bill.Satellite wrote:
As you have discovered there are no plastic gears and no room for adjustment. There is about 1/4" of movement in the base so I don't think that is the issue either.

This unit was working very well but I think a gear might have been (slipped) (slid out a bit so there is slop), when I had a jam up against my crank up antenna last month.

I think this might be your issue, but could you explain exactly what happened?

Crank up antenna was lowered but had not been returned to the proper home position. The Travler was powered down for travel and it got jammed in the roof antenna. Had to put some force on it to separate the two.

The lnb does not look like it is torqued nor anything else.

Turning the base by hand (rotation/heading), will bring in the 99 signal strongly.

Running the dish through the startup/stow routine I see 99 come up very strong. However it only stays there for a couple of seconds and then goes back to peaking on the other birds. The other birds are solid as a rock. Just 99.

I can tell you even though the signal strength meters on the televisions show 0 strength, I can get a tiny bit of strength when looking at the transponder screen versus the signal strength.

One interesting addition. The newer receiver (probably has better receiver sensitivity), will actually receive the channels effected but often goes into the 771 error mode. I suspect it is just a better receiver. It too shows signal strength to be 0.

There is little doubt in my mind that some little balancing calibration is off a bit.

This is one of those issues I may have actually been chasing longer than before the entanglement with the roof antenna. While in Anaheim Calif there were Palm Trees that I suspected were blocking the 99 bird so had to use the portable dish. The trees were tall and skinny but the trunks could have been blocking one bird.

When you move the antenna to receive 99 do you lose some signal strength on 103 and/or 101? When the antenna is pointed automatically, what are your signal strength #'s on 101 and 103?

Bill.Satellite wrote:
When you move the antenna to receive 99 do you lose some signal strength on 103 and/or 101? When the antenna is pointed automatically, what are your signal strength #'s on 101 and 103?

Second part first: When pointed automatically 101 is 96, 103s is 0, 103ca is 84, 103cb is 79.

When moving the antenna manually I do believe there is a small drop on 103 but don't remember now. The 101 remains very high but don't remember the exact number. I can move it again manually to see how much if you need more specific numbers.

Sure appreciate the help. Been searching for several days online but came up blank on specifics.

As a Tech I am impressed with the quality and robust build of this critter. Sure satisfied the tech in me popping the top. It just seems it needs a little dittle stick adjustment.

Looking at the "manual setup I did not find the ability to select 99). Just wanted additional information.

It really sounds like you tweaked something as the arm and dish are very sensitive to being moved by outside forces.
You could stow the antenna and then when the LNB is 1-2 feet off the roof measure from the roof to each side of the bottom of the LNB. They should be the same distance. You can also look to the dish itself and see if there is even the slightest wrinkle (bend, scratch, wave) anywhere. The arm of the LNB being slightly out of line would be my first guess / best guess so you also might want to have someone watch the signal and try gently twisting the LNB to see if 99 appears.