So Easy - Unbelievable!

[DutchmenSport]

DISH TV came out today to install another receiver in our home. With our son and grandson returning home for a while, the extra receiver in the guest room is now in use, leaving none for the camper. So, got another one that can be moved from house to camper.

While the install guy was here, he got the bed room wired up ok, and talking to him, admitted I really wanted the extra receiver for the trailer. One thing led to another, and he told me about the Tailgater satellite dish as opposed to the clunky one we have on a tripod. The wife OK the purchase and so we got it.

Service guy installed the receiver in the extra bed room, then we migrated to the camper and he set up the receiver there too with the tailgater... OH MY, how simple and fast the tailgater was to set up!

After all this time struggling with compass readings, positions, angles, asmuths, angles, zip codes, locations, bla, bla, bla! ... just put it on the ground in a clear spot, plug in and (almost) literally "go!" The receiver has to set itself up, but the tailgater positions itself. Oh MY Should have done this a long time ago!

So, after the service guy left, I moved the tailgater around in the yard to practice setting up on my own. How sweet it is now!

The wife asked me if it was worth the cost, and I replied, "Well, I don't think I'll be cussing and swearing any more!" She said ... it was worth it then!

I'm just passing it along to everyone who's still doing it the old way, consider and let modern technology do it for you!

Happy Camping ... happy television watching too!

[wa8yxm]

The tailgater is great, Even better is the Winegard Pathfinger X2 or so I'm told I am considering one of those for when I want Satellite (But then I do not often wish I had Sat)

There is a problem with them though.. Each "Dome type" antenna (these are both domes) can see ONE satellite at a time.. DISH used 3 (out of six) birds to provide programming.. the Tailgater can see 3 of these (Western Arc( the winegard all six, depending on where you are parked.

But if you ever want a second receiver so darling spouse can watch one show while you watch another.. NO JOY if the shows are on different satellites.

Your tripod mount,, Can see 2 or 3 birds (depending on it's model) no problem, it can also see farther and in worse weather.

[Thunder_Mountai]

Love our Tailgator for boondocking in the backcountry of Colorado. We carry an extra 100' of cable if needed to get a clear shot of the satellites. When we leave for the day, we put the Tailgator in the TT or the truck. Only thing I don't like is that when we turn the generator off and then back on later the Tailgator has to go through its setup routine. Minor irritation.

[Denny___Jami]

We've had our Tailgater for two years and wouldn't have anything else, easy to set up and with our RV account changing locals is simple.

Denny

[Bobbo]

I have Directv, not Dish, but feel the same way about my Vuqube 2100.

[DutchmenSport]

greenrvgreen wrote:
Dutch, didn't you flame me in another thread for burbling about how easy the Tailgater is? Hmmm? Now you're a True Believer!

As said, the Tailgater is unbelievably easy. Dealing with Dish ought to be, but isn't. ...

Don't think it was me flaming about how easy the Tailgater is until May 2. I've been using the dish on a tripod with the compass and all the tick marks on my pole method until May 2. Probably would never have considered switching if the DISH service man hadn't said anything.

If I did flame, didn't mean to, or just don't remember.

[nylyon]

Just got the Tailgater myself and I too am amazed at how easy it is. One downside to us northeasters is that the dish receives the western ARC satellites which means that quite often the Tailgater will pick-up only 2 of the 3 sat's, but 110 and 119 have the majority of the channels anyway.

On a positive side, you can hook up an external hard drive (powered) to the 211 and with a one time activation fee, turn the 211 into a DVR where you can pause, rewind, skip, and record just as you would at home. Of course the 211 is a single receiver so you can't record one channel and watch another, BUT the DVR function on the road is awesome to have!

[Dutch_12078]

greenrvgreen wrote:
Dutch, didn't you flame me in another thread for burbling about how easy the Tailgater is? Hmmm? Now you're a True Believer!

"DutchmenSport" is not the same as "Dutch". And no, I didn't "flame" you, but if I were choosing a single satellite portable dome antenna, I would still choose the Winegard Pathway X2 over the Tailgater for the relatively small difference in price. The dual arc capability and larger reflector are more than worth it in my opinion.

[greenrvgreen]

Dutch, didn't you flame me in another thread for burbling about how easy the Tailgater is? Hmmm? Now you're a True Believer!

As said, the Tailgater is unbelievably easy. Dealing with Dish ought to be, but isn't.

@HappyCamper2003--My experience with trees has been just the opposite--very good. The Tailgater seems to shoot through some very narrow gaps. Be aware that it has to find at least 2 out of 3 sats, so there is a dark art to moving it around to get that second bird without losing the first, but at least you don't have to aim anything.

ALSO: I upgraded the coax cable to 100 feet of low-loss without any problems. This means I can march that little dome way out there in an effort to find unobstructed sky.

[DutchmenSport]

FrankShore wrote:
What do you have to plug the tailgater into and it requires a receiver in the camper, right? How big is the receiver and what model number is it?

Thank you,

Frank

The model for the new receiver is ViP 211z. (Dish 500). All you do is plug in the coax cable into the Tailgater and the other end of the coax into the receiver. That's it! When you turn the receiver on (or plug it in), the receiver sends a signal to the Tailgater, (and evidently power too through the coax cable as you can hear the inside of the Tailgater whizzing and spinning), and it set's itself. Then the receiver goes through it's set-up paces after it finds the satellite. Somehow the receiver knows when it's plugged into a "mobile" satellite dish rather than the stationary one on your house. Pretty sweet!

[FrankShore]

What do you have to plug the tailgater into and it requires a receiver in the camper, right? How big is the receiver and what model number is it?

Thank you,

Frank

[powderman426]

Happy Camper2003 wrote:
I too have the tailgater. The main problem I've had is, it has to have a completely clear view if the sky. It seems the slightest limb or tree will cause it to not find a signal. I've never been able to get as good of a signal strength as I have in the house.

If you have a smart phone or a tablet, download the AR satellite app and you will be and to view the satellites by looking at the screen to help find an open spot to set the dish in.

[Happy_Camper200]

I too have the tailgater. The main problem I've had is, it has to have a completely clear view if the sky. It seems the slightest limb or tree will cause it to not find a signal. I've never been able to get as good of a signal strength as I have in the house.

[We_Cant_Wait]

Have a Tailgater too, used with the TT we had at the time. With the coach having a dish on the4 roof we still kept the Tailgater incase we need to off set a dish in case of tree blockage. In the last year we had to use the Tailgater twice because of trees. love the easy of the Tailgater, just set it where I have a line of site and let it do it's thing.