Buying a new satellite system

[barnrt]

It's time for me to make a decision on what to buy for my new RV. I want a satellite system using Dish. On my last RV, I had a self seeking dome and it was fine. But there are so many choices now. I can go with the same as I had, or a Tailgater. There is also the Traveler. I would like to have DVR possibilities also. I am somewhat familiar with the equipment. But I would like to hear of some experiences you may have had.

[harley-dave]

We have and use both a Wineguard Trav'ler and a tripod mount dish. We prefer the Trav'ler and use it most times. The portable we use when under trees or have other obstructions. We take our Dish 622 DVR and away we go. Life is good.

Dave

[grampachet]

Love our Dishtailgater. Took an extra portable harddrive I had from my desktop computer, plugged in the USB called Dish paid one time fee of $40 and now record, pause skip. $7 a month only when we use it. I also connected the OTA antenna so i can record one movie and watch another. Like I said love it!

[gasguzler]

I am a huge fan of the Winguard Trav'ler 1000, it iis the best stationary mobil roftop antenna IMHO. I used to have a domed antenna and this thing blows it away with far better reception. Use a ViP722. I started out using a open face dish on a portable tri pod but it took so long to set up some times it got frustrating, iI was spending too much time fooling around with it. It takes just a few minutws for the Trav'ler to find the satellites and You are all set. Simple.

[wingsfan20]

We either take our VIP622 or VIP722 on the road with us. I use a Dish 1000.2 3LNB dish on a portable stand. I search for over the air HD local channel sand run coax through DVR. I contact dish to have my operating location changed to where I am. This way I can simultaneously record three HD programs (2-dish and 1- over the air.) Don't have to worry about more than one satellite at a time like tailgater. I am a true HD programming lover and don't like to leave it at home when we are on the road.

[greenrvgreen]

One other point in favor of the Tailgater (IMO). It ships with 50-ft of cable, and I replaced it with 100-ft of low-loss cable bought on Amazon for under twenty bucks. This means I can camp near to trees and still have a decent shot at sat reception. I've been amazed at the narrow gaps the Tailgater can shoot through.

FWIW, I used to go camping to enjoy nature and appreciate this great country. Now I'm all about the TV reception. Such is the aging process!

[ljr]

I've been thinking of a Traveler but was disappointed to find out it doesn't support the Eastern Arc (72/77/61.5). If you don't care about local channels in the eastern half of the country then that doesn't matter. It will handle individual EA satellites in manual mode.

Somebody at Dish told me that all local markets east of N/S line roughly through the middle of Texas would eventually be EA.

[lryrob9301]

Since your in New Jersey I would suggest the Winegard Pathway x2. It can locate both DISH Eastern Arc and Western Arc satellites and has output for two receivers. The Tailgater can only access Western Arc satellites which can be a problem in the northeast.
Pathway x2 Review

[Bill_Satellite]

The only way to have full use of a DVR with Dish is to use an open face antenna (either tripod mounted manual or roof mounted automatic like the Trav'ler). If you can get by with a single tuner, you can add a hard drive to a 211K/Z receiver and watch or record one satellite channel at a time. This works fine with the dome style antennas, it just doesn't give you the full capabilities of a true DVR.

[the_bear_II]

After using a portable HD dish antenna and tripod for many years, we finally got a tailgater this year along with the VIP211. Here's my comparison:

Portable Dish & tripod- most of the time easy to setup and find the satellites. Once in awhile for some reason it takes a long time to get the setup correct and locate the satellites. Once it is setup and tuned into the satellites it works well with very little signal loss.

Tailgater- cinch to setup and works well most of the time. We did experience some signal loss. I checked on line and it seems the cable connections if loose will cause loss. I re-tightened all of the cable connections and the loss was less frequent but still happened.

I will keep the portable as a backup but use the tailgater as the primary antenna.

[jram116]

We love our Tailgater with vip211z, and we have the hard drive so it is a dvr. Whats really great is that its only $7 a month when its on. The 1 down side is that you can only recieve 1 signal for 1 one t.v. We almost had them install a roof mounted unit, but the more I read I am glad we went with a non fixed unit.

[greenrvgreen]

I have the Tailgater and the vip211k. This is my first sat sys so I have nothing to compare it with. However, the Tailgater does a great job of finding the birds and giving me TV with zero effort. For me, that "zero" in the effort column makes it all worthwhile.

I've had the sys for over a year and still haven't hooked up the usb drive to make it a dvr, because that requires effort. However, you can do that, with a small fee and a phone call (more effort).

The tailgator can only get you one bird at a time, which essentially means one channel at a time, I think.

Highly recommended!

[donn0128]

Domes are probably somewhat less prone to wind damage in high winds.
Domes from what I have heard tend to loose signal faster in rain.
At least with DirecTV domes cannot get HD programming. Since your going Dish that is not an issue.
For our use, we carry a portable dish and tripod plus have the roof top mounted automatic dish. Many places we go the roof top is simply not an option. If I were doing it again, I would forgo the roof top automatic anything and strictly stick with the dish/tripod setup. Using the proper tools finding a signal is not hard nor time consuming. Plus the dish is far less expensive than the Tailgator or roof tops.

[2oldman]

Posts in Tech with Dish in heading