Dish Sat dish

FWIW, X2 on the delay, but I often had issues with my Tailgater where it would have trouble locking on to a new satellite when necessary. Sometimes signal loss for a couple seconds, other times it would go to the SD channel instead of HD. A bit aggravating but not a deal breaker. At the moment I am using a regular tripod setup and have no issues at all when changing channels. Prefer the tripod setup but the Tailgater comes in handy for short stays when I don't want the chore of setting up the tripod.

Thank you all for the responses. I feel much better now about making a decision.

We have a Pathway and I don't think a few seconds makes much difference. It may take 2 or 3 seconds to change the channel and then 5 minutes of adds be for the show starts.

RONTHET wrote:
Ok i read all about the tailgater, pathway2 etc. The question is I have heard the channel changing is a delayed process. I wonder is just the dish like i have at home on a tripod is the way to go. I assume channel process would be just like at home. I have read some post other places that using the smaller portable dishes like tailgater etc the channel changing could take 20 to 30 seconds. Anyone experience that with tailgater etc. Thank you.

There usually is a delay with any dome style system but this delay is usually in the 2-3 second range and not anything that should concern you. 20-30 seconds? Not at all unless something has gone terribly, terribly wrong! With that said, an open face, multiple LNB antenna will always perform better both in channel acquisition and rain fade.

RONTHET wrote:
Ok i read all about the tailgater, pathway2 etc. The question is I have heard the channel changing is a delayed process. I wonder is just the dish like i have at home on a tripod is the way to go. I assume channel process would be just like at home. I have read some post other places that using the smaller portable dishes like tailgater etc the channel changing could take 20 to 30 seconds. Anyone experience that with tailgater etc. Thank you.

Think you have some bad info.

When changing channels that are on the same sat. there is no delay.

If changing to a channel on one of the other 2 sats. then, as some have mentioned, any delay is about 5 secs.

We have had a Tailgater in the past and now for the last couple of years a Pathway X2.

We have had a Tailgater for 7-8 years. Have never noticed any delay between channels. But I really don't know which channels are on which sats.

We use a Pathway X2 antenna and do not experience any significant delay - especially if the channels are on the same satellite. Here are some things that were explained to me by a Dish technician (just two weeks ago) who has more than ten years experience:

The portable antennas we use for RVs have one LNB (the receiver node suspended above the dish reflector that actually picks up the signal). As a result, these portable antennas can only pick up one satellite at a time. The larger the reflector, the stronger the signal... thus, the Pathway X2 gets a better signal than the Tailgater.

The antennas used in fixed locations (as well as the Winegard Traveler that mounts on the roof of an RV) have three LNBs, therefore the antenna is capable of receiving all three satellites on an arc simultaneously. You can buy a "home style" dish, LNBs (sold separately), non-penetrating mount and a $49 meter for about the same as a Pathway X2. It's a LOT more stuff to carry around and will take 30 - 40 minutes to set up each time you move. If you stay in one place - such as a seasonal spot at a lake or something - it may be worth it to you. As full-timers who move often, I chose to stay with the Pathway X2.

As an aside, most of the receivers compatible with the carry-out style antennas are single-tuner receivers. To watch or record multiple channels at the same time, you would need a multi-tuner receiver compatible with the multi-LNB antennas.

Rob

I have a Pathway and have never had a delay approaching 20-30 seconds. If the channel you change to is on the same sat, then there really is no delay. If the Pathway has to change satellites, then it is maybe a max of 5-6 seconds.

I've never felt the need to actually time the channel changes because there doesn't seem to be a noticeable delay. But all the automatic portable sat receivers can only look at one sat at a time so there will be SOME slight delay when changing sats. I consider it a non-issue, especially given the convenience these things provide.

And just for the record, I full time and have been using my Pathway every day, all over the country, for the last 3 years.

When we had our dome which view 1 sat at a time there was no noticeable delay in changing channels that were on different sats. In fact the only thing we noticed was the sound of the dome changing from one sat to another, because our dome was roof mounted. IMO if you want to use a portable dish then the Pathway 2 is the way to go. For use we removed the roof mounted dome and went with the Traveller II full sized dish system.