Going from Direct TV to Dish Need information

[rondeb]

OK guys, We are fed up with Direct tv and are going to switch our home and RV to Dish. We had the roof winegard for Direct TV but just sold the big Class A and bought a small Class C.

We are short ( 1 to 2 months) trip takers maybe a couple times a year.

We plan to buy a portable satellite Dome based on the answers here (as I always get great info) No one will be in our house when we leave so do not need service in the stick built during that time. Our RV has a satellite cable set up that will go to the box and then from the box to the TV we had installed when we had the new tv set up.

Here goes- What has everyone found to be the best portable satellite for Dish. When calling Dish network, what do we ask for. We will want 2 receivers in our house and one receiver in the motorhome but hopefully not a separate account or is it better and cheaper to just take the second receiver from the house. Local channels while traveling is not important. Do I tell them one of the receivers will be in the RV and will the receiver in the RV need to be set up by Dish or can we do it. With our direct tv system. The receiver in the RV was just an additional $7 a month and was just connected to our home account.

Since we are starting from scratch with Dish Network I figure someone here has a new system you have installed and can guide me which way to go that works and keeps the cost down.

[johnnparry55]

chindog wrote:
Not all receivers will work with portable satellites. We have a Winegard Pathway X2 that we have been very pleased with. It will receive both the eastern and western arc satellites. The only receivers that are compatible with it are the 211Z and Wally. If you have a hopper customer service number at your house, it won't work with any of the portable dome type satellite dishes. You would get the dish itself from a 3rd party, not Dish. (Places like Camping World, LazyDays, GeneralRV, etc., sell the dishes). If you need an additional receiver for your motorhome, you can buy it from one of those other places and register it with Dish Network. They will charge you an extra $7/mo to send a signal to that receiver. While you are traveling, you can call Dish customer service and change your service location so you can get the local channels for wherever you happen to be. You can change the local location as often as you want with.

If you have any questions to Hopper, pls visit ***Link Removed***. Very prompt service support

[htwheelz67]

I switched to dish after being with DTV for 20 years, I used to take my box with us but now I use the dishanywhere app, all you need is internet and either a smart tv or firestick or similar, I can connect right to my reciever/dvr at home and watch anything I can at home or what is recorded or record from where I'm at. I've used it with both ATT and Verizon hot spots.

[DFord]

TechWriter wrote:
Your reply reminds me of the story about the guy who gave a panhandler $20. Then the panhandler complained that the $20 bill was wrinkled.

And just what do you mean by that?

[TechWriter]

DFord wrote:
So if I was to say I was at my son's house in the Baltimore service area, I would receive the Baltimore locals anywhere I go? I very seldom switch my antenna to the eastern arc so I use 119 almost all the time. I can't figure out why a small market like Springfield, MO would be broadcast nationwide. In fact many of the cities listed are very small markets. To have them available across the nation seems like a waste of bandwidth.

Your reply reminds me of the story about the guy who gave a panhandler $20. Then the panhandler complained that the $20 bill was wrinkled.

[DFord]

So if I was to say I was at my son's house in the Baltimore service area, I would receive the Baltimore locals anywhere I go? I very seldom switch my antenna to the eastern arc so I use 119 almost all the time. I can't figure out why a small market like Springfield, MO would be broadcast nationwide. In fact many of the cities listed are very small markets. To have them available across the nation seems like a waste of bandwidth.

[TechWriter]

DFord wrote:
. . . why are they charging me $12.50 for the St Louis locals? As I travel around and request locals from the area I'm in, I'm charged different rates (and taxes) depending on which state/city I'm in.

My bad. The rate is now $12/month for local stations, not "distant locals". For me, that price is good everywhere as I've changed locals many times while traveling.

DFord wrote:

Please enlighten us as to how to go about getting distance locals. I'd prefer some on the east coast so I can watch late night TV at a reasonable time.

You're confusing two different things:

• Local TV coverage ($12/month) -- your local TV stations will appear in your DISH programming guide. When you travel outside your local TV station coverage, then you can change to other local stations.
  
• Distant Network (like All American) -- a non-DISH service that used to provide East or West Coast TV stations (LA or NY I think). As you travelled around the country you could always count on receiving these stations because they were on CONUS sats.
  

Though DISH Distant Network service is no longer available, CONUS service is available for these TV markets:



For example, if you have a Sacramento, CA address, then you could receive Sacramento locals in HD all across the country . . . as long as you can receive sat 119.

[DFord]

TechWriter wrote:
There are several DISH CONUS markets that you can receive anywhere in the US -- Sacramento, CA for example.

Also, DISH locals cost a flat $10/month.

If this is true, why are they charging me $12.50 for the St Louis locals? As I travel around and request locals from the area I'm in, I'm charged different rates (and taxes) depending on which state/city I'm in.

I remember Dish losing a court battle in Florida many years ago and had to stop allowing "distance network" reception. Then a 3rd party (AllAmericanDirect.com) took it over until they failed. I haven't heard of any nationwide locals since they stopped offering them. Please enlighten us as to how to go about getting distance locals. I'd prefer some on the east coast so I can watch late night TV at a reasonable time.

[TechWriter]

DFord wrote:
I say all this to let you know you don't need to switch locals as you travel across a state. Sometimes the spot beams overlap and you can make use of that. If you're 500 miles out of a market area, you'll have to switch. Also, the cost of locals may change from one market to another and that will be reflected on your bill.

There are several DISH CONUS markets that you can receive anywhere in the US -- Sacramento, CA for example.

Also, DISH locals cost a flat $10/month.

[DFord]

Great find and good price on the Pathway. I see it can tune both the Eastern and Western satellite arcs when needed. I believe the Vip211k is one of the best receivers Dish ever made. I've had several down through the years and it has all the features I need. It's small and includes an OTA tuner, offers several connection options and it's DVR capable by adding an external hard drive (get one with its own power supply - the small 2-1/2 inch drives are meant to be powered through the USB cable and I don't think the 211k has enough power to operate a drive like that).

[rondeb]

I want to thank everyone for their input. We are now in a few days going to be Dish Network people. I bought the "WINEGUARD PATHWAY X2 AUTOMATIC SATELLITE DISH WITH WINEGUARD TR-1518 TRIPOD MT" (actually found a used one from an elderly couple that had used it for a year and have quit RVing for $275. It is like brand new) Then I found a new VIP211K on Ebay for the RV. Dish will install everything we need in the house and they said they will let up the RV one for us as all the cables everything are run. Your advice as usual helped save many hours of research. Good by to Directv. They have become a joke.

[DFord]

wa8yxm wrote:
DISH does not offer Distant Network, so you have to change you "Service address" thankfully I believe you can do that by smartphone app.

Dish told me the smartphone app can only change "local" channels if you have the Interrupted RV Service type of account. If you're using a receiver you pay for service along with the receiver at your house, they won't let you change them on your own. You'll need to call for tech support and give the an address. No matter where I'm at in Arizona, I look up a park address in Mesa and tell them I'm parked there so I'll get the Phoenix local stations. The agent you're talking with has no idea where you're actually parked. The locals are broadcast on "spot beams" that cover an area more or less 200-250 in diameter. As I recall, there are about 120 local markets around the country. I home locals are from St Louis but I don't bother to switch them when we travel in Missouri for a week or so. Last week we were in Sedalia about 200 miles from St Louis and still watched the St Louis local channels. A few years ago, we received them in Madison, WI (only at night). I say all this to let you know you don't need to switch locals as you travel across a state. Sometimes the spot beams overlap and you can make use of that. If you're 500 miles out of a market area, you'll have to switch. Also, the cost of locals may change from one market to another and that will be reflected on your bill.

[wa8yxm]

Depending on the model of the Winegard on the roof it may be possible to re-program it (Usually DIP switches need flipping)... Or not. (I'm not the expert on which ones you can reset)

Dish uses 3 sats low on the western horizon for most accounts. And again the key word is SOME Rooftop dishes can switch sat to sat under RECEIVER control

This works with the VIP line of single channel receivers
But with the multi-channel stuff.. Well you may need more antennas

I also recommend a proper Triple LNB Ground mount dish Those work with all Dish Receivers far as I know and you can often set them up out beyond the evil signal eating tree you are parked under.

DISH does not offer Distant Network, so you have to change you "Service address" thankfully I believe you can do that by smartphone app.

[DFord]

RonDeb wrote:
Forgive my lack of knowledge but what is an OTA tuner. Also, we tried the dish on a tripod and gave up as we just couldn't get a signal. We only have one tv in the rv so which receiver would you recommend We have never recorded anything on our Direct tv receiver but not saying we wouldn't ever. The main thing we watch on the tv are the baseball games and we purchase the baseball package now and I have confirmed that Dish provides that as well.

OTA=Over The Air TV signals that regular TV antennas like the standard crank-up antenna on your RV has. The cable from that antenna connects right to the back of the Vip211k receiver and then a channel scan is preformed to find stations close enough to your location you can view. Those local channels will change every time you relocate and another channel scan must be done.

By portable, I meant using an automatic dish like a Tailgater. The cheaper ones will only tune the Dish Network western arc satellites 110, 119 & 219 giving you everything Dish has to offer. Using a fixed satellite dish like on your house is possible but you need to good and lucky to aim it. I highly recommend any of the automatic dish antennas instead of the manual (although I used them for years and would not want to go back to one).

[Thunder_Mountai]

I've been using Dish for more years than I can remember in my house. Been using Dish in various RVs since about 2005. Do not lease receivers from Dish nor pay for their protection plan. It is a rip off. Buy refurb equipment on eBay or Amazon. Do not depend on having Dish techs to install your equipment in your RV. Most are not familiar with RV installs. There are mobile techs and You Tube/Internet for DIY installs. I'm currently in the process of installing a Hopper 3 in our bus utilizing the Winegard Travler.