We are spending about 10 months a year CG hosting now so I decided to give satellite TV a try. I purchased a slightly used VIP211 receiver and Tailgater antenna from CL and signed up for DISH's month to month service. Things are working pretty good although I believe I may need to replace the Altitude wheel on the antenna as I have seen in some posts here. My issue is a less than decent understanding of some basics such as:What is with "Eastern" and "Western" arc?When changing channels does the dish need to move from one satellite to another?I am pretty stationary for months at a time. Is there a manual antenna/tripod combo available for purchase that will work in SoCal with my VIP211?Thanks for the help. Joe

Not sure about one or 2, but three is easy, YES there are lots of freestanding dish tripod setups thst will work just fine. Cheapest is to search places like solidsignal.com on line, pick the setup you think wiwill work best and buy it. They do take some getting used to as far as setup is concerned, but once learned its fairly simple. There are smart phone apps like dishpointer pro that will help you pinpoint the best place to setup. I know of a couple of hosts that hire a local Dish contractor to come and set it up for them. Would be worth hiring one the first time or two and let them show you the proper way to setup.

1. Dish has two groups of satellites: Eastern and Western. Sometimes, one or the other is easier to lock in on. In SoCal, Western would usually be the group of choice. There are 3 satellites in each group, each offering a different array of channels.2. With a tailgator, yes, if the channels are on different satellites.3. Yes. Any dish mounted on a house for Dish will work but some (newer) are better than others. You can then mount that on your rig, a tripod, a pole, etc.

jmcgsd wrote:My issue is a less than decent understanding of some basics such as:What is with "Eastern" and "Western" arc?When changing channels does the dish need to move from one satellite to another?I am pretty stationary for months at a time. Is there a manual antenna/tripod combo available for purchase that will work in SoCal with my VIP211?Thanks for the help. JoeEastern / Western is where the bird is in the sky. It's always in the same spot but appears to follow an "arc" based on how for North you are.Regarding moving the dish for new channels. That was true for the old B.U.D. systems (big ugly dish) but not for the new digital service. One bird carries all the channels on one or more transponders (antennas). Your dish will have one or more LNB (antennas) that receive those transponder signals. Once you aim your dish, you don't have to move it again.edit: I should preface, my experience has only been with residential service, never in a RV. I had elliptical dish, it may have been able to grab multiple sats / transponders. I never had to move it and had over 250 channels in service.

There are two sets of satellites for Dish, those that best serve the central to western US and those that best serve the east.The Tailgater does automatically move from one sat to another if you change to channels that are located on different sats.A tripod mounted antenna with 3 LNBs will pick up all sats simultaneously and not require any further movement once aimed correctly. A little practice and aiming is not too difficult. And the larger antenna will give you more reliable reception in inclement weather.

GordonThree wrote:jmcgsd wrote:My issue is a less than decent understanding of some basics such as:What is with "Eastern" and "Western" arc?When changing channels does the dish need to move from one satellite to another?I am pretty stationary for months at a time. Is there a manual antenna/tripod combo available for purchase that will work in SoCal with my VIP211?Thanks for the help. JoeEastern / Western is where the bird is in the sky. It's always in the same spot but appears to follow an "arc" based on how for North you are.Regarding moving the dish for new channels. That was true for the old B.U.D. systems (big ugly dish) but not for the new digital service. One bird carries all the channels on one or more transponders (antennas). Your dish will have one or more LNB (antennas) that receive those transponder signals. Once you aim your dish, you don't have to move it again.The above information is incorrect. Dish uses 3 satellites and your Tailgater has only 1 LNB. Therefore, when you change channels, if that programming is located on a different satellite then the antenna inside the dome must move and re-point itself to that satellite.edit: I should preface, my experience has only been with residential service, never in a RV. I had elliptical dish, it may have been able to grab multiple sats / transponders. I never had to move it and had over 250 channels in service.

Questions from a newbie to DISH | Good Sam Community

Dutch_12078
Explorer II
Jan 01, 2017
The Tailgater is a Dish western arc antenna only. Having a tripod mounted, manually aimed residential dish will allow you to receive all three satellite in a given arc at the same time, which is particularly useful for multiple receivers/TV's or multiple tuner receivers like the Dish Hopper series. Having both eastern and western arc LNB sets on hand will also increase your aiming opportunities when trees or other obstructions are in the way. In some areas of the eastern states, the local stations are only available on the eastern arc satellites, although there are locations that are western arc only, such as the Roanoke, VA market area. Most are on both arcs though...
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Jan 01, 2017
You are preaching to the choir! Good choice!
With that antenna you could also update to a DVR or even a Hopper and keep the 211 in case of emergency!
jmcgsd
Explorer
Jan 01, 2017
We had rain yesterday. Not particularly heavy, but it was continuous. The Tailgater lost signal entirely. I tried resetting it through Check Switch numerous times and still nothing. This morning is clear. Turned on the TV and can get all channels. Didn't need to run Check Switch at all. Moral to the story - time to get a residential dish. Keep the Tailgater for quick weekend side trips.
Denny___Jami
Explorer
Jan 01, 2017
TechWriter wrote:
DISH's Western Arc (WA) sats are 110, 119, and 129 (and 118 for International programming). The Eastern Arc (EA) sats are 61.5, 72.7, and 77.

Generally, areas west of the Mississippi use the WA sats and areas east use the EA. If you RV around the country, then you'll probably need to keep track of what arc to use.

How do you know what arc to use? As a rule, your ZIP code determines which arc you use:

- Use your current ZIP code to find what city your local TV stations come from.

- Then use The List to look up what sats are used for that city. For example, the Milwaukee, WI TV HD locals are all on 61.5 (the EA). However, the SD locals are also available on WA sats 110 and 119.

I've used our Tailgater from east to west coasts but no further north than New York City in the north east. I have always been able to get all the western arc sats, one time in Florida I had to change my service area to get HD locals, I find that most spot beams overlap so using a map I change my loacals to that service area without changing my location.

If my Tailgater quits I will look at the getting a Pathway X2 for the bigger surface area.

Denny
jmcgsd
Explorer
Jan 01, 2017
Thanks all. A residential dish on a tripod sounds like what I need.
TechWriter
Explorer
Jan 01, 2017
DISH's Western Arc (WA) sats are 110, 119, and 129 (and 118 for International programming). The Eastern Arc (EA) sats are 61.5, 72.7, and 77.

Generally, areas west of the Mississippi use the WA sats and areas east use the EA. If you RV around the country, then you'll probably need to keep track of what arc to use.

How do you know what arc to use? As a rule, your ZIP code determines which arc you use:

- Use your current ZIP code to find what city your local TV stations come from.

- Then use The List to look up what sats are used for that city. For example, the Milwaukee, WI TV HD locals are all on 61.5 (the EA). However, the SD locals are also available on WA sats 110 and 119.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Dec 31, 2016
Dup.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Dec 31, 2016
^^^^ This is what I would recommend as well.
jorbill2or
Explorer II
Dec 31, 2016
Since your camp hosting and staying in one spot .. get a residential sat dish with 3 lnb's and mount on a tripod. The tailgater as stated is small, prone to rain fade ,and does need to move between the 3 satellites meaning watching different channels on separate tv's(with a additional receiver ) is difficult .. impossible if the Chanel's aren't on the same satellite. Since your in one spot you don't need the portable .. right?
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Dec 31, 2016
GordonThree wrote:
jmcgsd wrote:

My issue is a less than decent understanding of some basics such as:
What is with "Eastern" and "Western" arc?
When changing channels does the dish need to move from one satellite to another?
I am pretty stationary for months at a time. Is there a manual antenna/tripod combo available for purchase that will work in SoCal with my VIP211?

Thanks for the help.
Joe

Eastern / Western is where the bird is in the sky. It's always in the same spot but appears to follow an "arc" based on how for North you are.

Regarding moving the dish for new channels. That was true for the old B.U.D. systems (big ugly dish) but not for the new digital service. One bird carries all the channels on one or more transponders (antennas). Your dish will have one or more LNB (antennas) that receive those transponder signals. Once you aim your dish, you don't have to move it again.

The above information is incorrect. Dish uses 3 satellites and your Tailgater has only 1 LNB. Therefore, when you change channels, if that programming is located on a different satellite then the antenna inside the dome must move and re-point itself to that satellite.

edit: I should preface, my experience has only been with residential service, never in a RV. I had elliptical dish, it may have been able to grab multiple sats / transponders. I never had to move it and had over 250 channels in service.

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