Satillite Systems

[Kayli_s_Papa]

I would appreciate some good advice on buying the proper satillite dish. There are way too many options on the market for me to choose inteligently from. I understand it is preference and to some brand loyality that may dictate the purchase of a particular satillite system.
I have looked at The King Tailgater VQ-4500 and the Wingard Pathway X-2 as 2 final choices .
I would appreciate an opinion as to which one is better or maybe a different model.

[Bill_Satellite]

Kayli's Papa wrote:
I would appreciate some good advice on buying the proper satillite dish. There are way too many options on the market for me to choose inteligently from. I understand it is preference and to some brand loyality that may dictate the purchase of a particular satillite system.
I have looked at The King Tailgater VQ-4500 and the Wingard Pathway X-2 as 2 final choices .
I would appreciate an opinion as to which one is better or maybe a different model.

The choices are not that many if you understand what you want first.
1) Dome antennas are the least expensive option but you cannot get HD programming from DirecTV. You can get HD programming and month to month service from Dish Network but you have to be able to have a clear view of a large hunk of the sky as the programming comes from 3 different satellites.
2) Do you want to be able to watch 2 different channels on 2 different TV's at the same time or can you get by OK with 1 receiver?
3) Do you camp under the trees often or are you OK with a roof mounted antenna or one that can only be 25-50 feet from the RV?
4) The dome style antennas all suffer from rain/fog/dew fade while open face antennas will allow you to watch TV during all of these events. Just how important is watching TV?
5) If you think you want the best satellite TV service available (be it DTV or Dish) then you will want an open face home style antenna. The 2 choices are fully automatic roof mounted antenna ($1500 or more) or a ground mounted manual antenna that cost around $300-400 but requires a good bit of time to assemble, point, disassemble, store, wash, rinse, repeat at every new location.
So there you have it. Let us know what you think you need and what you can do without and you will be able to narrow it down to a very short list.

[Big_Katuna]

I am another satisfied Pathway owner. $400.

The Traveler is too big to be used as a carry out and a roof mount is out of the question as we camp in shady areas often.

There are no carry outs that get Directv in HD.

[Bumpyroad]

IIRC, walmart had a combo outfit for under $500 that included an automatic dish.
bumpy

[Dutch_12078]

azdryheat wrote:
I'm a Directv subscriber. I used a portable dish and it was a pain to find the satellite after a days drive. We now have the Wingard Travler and love it. It's also the only satellit to get HD channels from Directv. I push a button and it does all the work to find 3 satellites. It was an easy install, which I did.

The Dish version of the Trav'ler is about $1,000 more than the Pathway X2, and is also limited to the Dish western arc satellites in automatic mode like the Tailgater, although it can be dialed in to one of the eastern arc sats manually. On the plus side, the Trav'ler will work with multi-tuner Hopper series DVR's.

[azdryheat]

I'm a Directv subscriber. I used a portable dish and it was a pain to find the satellite after a days drive. We now have the Wingard Travler and love it. It's also the only satellit to get HD channels from Directv. I push a button and it does all the work to find 3 satellites. It was an easy install, which I did.

[Dutch_12078]

The Pathway X2 is the better choice for Dish network service. The X2 is capable of receiving both the eastern arc and western arc satellite sets, increasing your aiming opportunities on treed sites. The Tailgater is limited to the western arc sats only. The X2 also has a larger dish reflector than the Tailgater, for a stronger signal and a bit less rain fade. Both dishes work only with the Dish VIP series and Wally receivers, not the multi-tuner Hopper DVR receiver series.