DISH satelite TV

[Larry337]

I recently switched my home service from Direct TV to DISH. In the past I used a winegard MP1 carryout and a SD receiver from home to get satellite while camping. It was a hassle to reconfigure the receiver and manually point the antenna but I got good at doing it and it did work, most times. I havent tried yet to set up DISH. I understand I need a different receiver, a 211z, which I'm fine with. My question is should I try and use the cheap MP1 I already own or just buy the automatic Tailgater. I have found a bundle which includes the VQ2510 and 211z for $350. I'm okay with that price if it works well. I'm leary of using the old MP1 because I'm not sure I have the patience if setup becomes difficult. The bundle seems relatively plug and play. Also the VQ2510 has been replaced by the VQ4510 but I have searched and can't find any real difference. Should this be of any concern. I have found a VQ4510 bundle for 425 but dont see anything to justify the extra $75.

[Bill_Satellite]

Thanks for clarifying that I was correct about there being few (only 36 in the entire US) markets which would require 77.

[Dutch_12078]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
SOME=FEW. IF (big IF) you change locals EVERY TIME you move then 77 might come into play from time to time. On those rare occassions you can use the OTA antenna for locals. It's simply not a big deal any more no matter how many times you post "not true" to all the posters who give this information.

If I recall correctly, there are 36 markets with locals on the Dish 77 sat. We've been in 5 or 6 locations where we could see the 72.7 and 77 birds, but not 62.5 at the same time. Getting the locals on 77 was a plus when they were available. Especially in weak OTA conditions...

[Dutch_12078]

There have been a few occasions when I could only see a single satellite with our tripod mounted triple LNB dish. All of those times I was able to hit either 72.7 (EA) or 129 (WA), so we at least got the majority of the available non-OTA HD channels. So far, we've never landed on a site where I could not find at least one bird, although we did have one COE site in PA where a strong wind gust would move a branch enough to knock out our signal momentarily. Having the ability to see both arcs is a big plus in my book.

[Robocop]

Bill.Satellite wrote:

Maybe I missed it, but if you are talking about receiving Dish while in Canada we need to start an entirely new topic!

No. Sorry to steal the thread with my own queries. I still managed to get 110/119 off of Highway 60 in Whitney, Ontario at Algonquin Provincial Park. The Tailgater did great once I found the ONE and ONLY spot that got me above and through the trees. Most Canadians have Bell or Direct. But most had not seen a Tailgater so it was a subject of discussion.

[Bill_Satellite]

Robocop wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
The Eastern Arc satellites are substantially closer together but they are a bit off the East Coast so how far West you travel will make getting these difficult but you can then use the WA. Having the option for both is great if you spend a lot of time on the Eastern Seaboard. You can do the same thing with an open faced antenna and simply swap out the EA and WA LNB's. It's just a matter of how much work you want to do.

Understood. I've discussed many options while in Canada last week with a cable tech guy as we kept looking for best line of sight for his open face and my Tailgater 4 hours north of the border. I spend more time East and thinking about saving a few bucks, going open face as the option when line of sight is not up to par for the Tailgater. But the Pathway is so inviting.

Maybe I missed it, but if you are talking about receiving Dish while in Canada we need to start an entirely new topic!

[Bill_Satellite]

SOME=FEW. IF (big IF) you change locals EVERY TIME you move then 77 might come into play from time to time. On those rare occassions you can use the OTA antenna for locals. It's simply not a big deal any more no matter how many times you post "not true" to all the posters who give this information.

[TechWriter]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
The Eastern Arc satellites (only 61.5 and 72 are required these days . . .

Not true. Some local stations are on 77.

[Robocop]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
The Eastern Arc satellites are substantially closer together but they are a bit off the East Coast so how far West you travel will make getting these difficult but you can then use the WA. Having the option for both is great if you spend a lot of time on the Eastern Seaboard. You can do the same thing with an open faced antenna and simply swap out the EA and WA LNB's. It's just a matter of how much work you want to do.

Understood. I've discussed many options while in Canada last week with a cable tech guy as we kept looking for best line of sight for his open face and my Tailgater 4 hours north of the border. I spend more time East and thinking about saving a few bucks, going open face as the option when line of sight is not up to par for the Tailgater. But the Pathway is so inviting.

[Bill_Satellite]

An open face antenna does not allow you to find those satellite that were blocked by trees when using your Tailgater. The Eastern Arc satellites (only 61.5 and 72 are required these days) are substantially closer together but they are a bit off the East Coast (in line with Eastern Maine) so how far West you travel will make getting these difficult but you can then use the WA. Having the option for both is great if you spend a lot of time on the Eastern Seaboard. You can do the same thing with an open faced antenna and simply swap out the EA and WA LNB's. It's just a matter of how much work you want to do.

[creeper]

No automatic dish is going to help you in forested areas if the sats are block. I have the X2 and it's great. It gives me the option to use the eastern arc when something blocks the western arc.

In forested areas a tripod and a manual dish is often the only option. At times I've had to shoot the signal through a small hole in tree cover and often it's a mater of moving the dish a foot or two just to clear a branch.

In that case I use my cellphone to get a general area of the sats, then use an Align a site to find a hole in the tree cover and align manually.

BTW, the X2 has a bigger dish for easier acquiring of sats and help in heavy rains.

[Robocop]

I posted this on another thread before jumping into this one and see more discussion as well. This fits right into my present satellite dish conundrum. Have had a Tailgater for two years. Did not realize initially how difficult getting at least two (110/119) if not the third (129) western arc sats when I am in a forested area but fully understand the nature of the beast. I do like the automatic acquisition though. I have learned the nuances, use apps and a compass to dial in as best I can and run extra coax as need be. Now I am on the fence about either upgrading to a Pathway X2 for the additional option of eastern arc sats or adding a tripod dish to my resources and dial into a sat more methodically, although trees are still an issue. Trying to figure out the best option. Sure, I do not 'need' another auto dish but the Pathway X2 seems to be getting great reviews.

[TechWriter]

I rv wrote:
sat 61.5 is locals in hd and all other channels in sd,sat 72.7 has all other channels in hd,sat 77 is no longer needed

Not true. There are some DISH markets that use 77 for locals.

[Larry337]

Got it yesterday, set it up in the drive way and working perfect. Thanks for all the tips. As per instructions I used the western arc in case it needed updates, if it did I didn't notice it. In any case it seems good to go.

[GoPackGo]

What they said.

They ARE automatic, but they still need a clear view to start with. I'm in a place right now where I used the app. It helped me set the dish in the best place so it could shoot thru the trees. The app just makes things real easy.