Which Dish receiver to you travel with?

realladyat57 wrote:
We have a Dish VIP 722 HD receiver at home but don't want to take it with us when we travel . . . Our main issue is that we want to travel with satellite TV with DVR capability.

I suggest you find a way to take your VIP722 with you. This is a 2-tuner receiver that can support two TVs -- one HD and the other SD --and serve as a DVR. A perfect RV combo.

However, none of the convenient automatic portables (Tailgater, Pathway X1, X2, etc) or the dome dishes (MiniMax, TracVision, etc) really support your 722.

To use your 722, you would need either a rooftop Winegard Travler (~ $1200) and/or an open-faced portable dish (like a DISH 1000.2 or 1000.4) which you would have to manually setup and aim each time.

If the cost or manual setup scare you aware, then opt for a VIP211 receiver with an automatic portable. I recommend the Pathway X2.

The 211 isn't much of a DVR, but with an automatic portable -- it's easy!

realladyat57 wrote:

Also, we heard from a source (not sure if it's reliable) that Dish will no longer install systems in RVs. Have any of you heard this? Are any of you aware of issues we might confront installing it ourselves? (DH is very handy but he's not done much with electronics.)

I don't think DISH cares one way or the other.

On the other hand, sat installers (both DISH and DirecTV) really don't like RV installs -- RV wiring is funky, hard to get at, and the owner is likely watching your every move.

Plus, local installers are probably totally unfamiliar with all (or any!) of the dish options (Travler, Tailgater, KVH domes, Pathway, etc, etc).

Instead of contacting DISH directly, I suggest you contact a local satellite TV installer. You may have to try a couple.

But do your homework (as you seem to be doing) before you call.

Finally, I RV with 2 Hoppers & a Joey. This is my DISH setup.

We have a Dish Hopper, a Joey, and a VIP211k with an EHD, that we feed from a 3-LNB 1000.4 tripod mounted dish.

yep, it was a one time $40 fee for me
bumpy

We also use a 211K with an external hard drive and a Pathway X1

We use a Dish vip211k receiver with an external hard drive that makes it a DVR. Connected to a Tailgater dish antenna that automatically locates and latches on to the satellites. One time fee of $40 (I think, been a few years) to activate the hard drive for the DVR. It does get HD programming. And DVR works fine so DW is happy.

I have traveled with Dish in our RVs since Dish first offered service. Currently we use a 211 receiver with the Tailgater automatic portable antenna. The 211 is not a DVR but it does have the capability to record to an external hard drive. This of course requires an additional fee on your Dish bill.

Prior to the Tailgater setup we used either a 722 or 611 (I Think that's the model number maybe 612). Anyway both of these are HD and DVRs. With these units I used a portable Dish HD satellite antenna mounted on a tripod stand.

We've never had a problem taking a receiver from use at home to the RV and back...it's pretty much a plug and play. You do have to wait 5-10 minutes while the receiver negotiates with the satellite before you get a picture on the TV.

Setting up the Dish Receiver and running the cable from the Sat Dish to the receiver is very simple. Very DIY. Some RVs are already prewired with cable connections you can use.

Setting up the portable Sat Dish does require some careful assembly. You have to make sure the mount is as close to plumb as possible. And pointing the Dish can require some patience unless you use a "dish finder" device.

The Tailgater is the way to go for a Sat Dish antenna. You set it where it has a clear view of the southern sky and it locks on to the proper satellite automatically. Just be sure to secure it with a good lock and cable so it doesn't walk away. The Tailgater will only work with a 211 and one other receiver (I don't remember the model). It will not work with the 722.