Which satellite dish and receiver?

[ekirkland]

I'm new to satellite TV and need some help in deciding what dish and receiver to purchase. I have cable at home and do not want to change my home setup. I want the dish to have automatic setup; don't care about recording anything; will only be viewing with one TV. I live in the Southeast and will do most of my viewing in the Southeast but do travel out West and New England; a lot of our viewing will be tailgating at football games. I'm pretty sure I want Dish Network; definitely want Pay-as-go package. I would like a dish as small as possible for storage in our travel trailer. Help please.

[GoPackGo]

delete.

[ekirkland]

So with a Tailgater w/Wally and USB tuner, would I not get ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox? I don't think I really care if I get my local channels or not as long as I get the networks, unless it would prevent me from watching football on these networks; I guess some SEC football might not be available on western satellites.

[RollandB]

We've got the 211 receiver and a Winegard Carryout G2. Went the Carryout G2 since it will do west and East Coast and will do Dish, Direct and Bell. I figuepre why be limited to one provider since they all play the game of giving a new subscriber a lower rate.

[mooky_stinks]

We have the Pathway X1 and it works fairly well but if I was buying one tomorrow it would be the X2 because of the ability of the eastern arc. Especially in New England.

[AllegroD]

I use two of these fans. One sucking in air and one blowing out.

[RLS7201]

I agree with using the 211K, but it does run hot. I run a USB fan behind my 211K. It plugs into the 211K's USB port. Fan shuts off when I power down the 211K.
USB fan with adjustable speed.
Note, seller offers both 8cm & 12cm fan sizes.

[GoPackGo]

I full time and have been using a Winegard X2 since I started 4 years ago. It works great. IMHO it is essential to be able to get at both the eastern and western sets of Dish satellites due to various obstructions- think trees, poles, neighboring campers and ETC. And usually one set of sats is easier for the receiver dish to see just because of your geographical location. The X2 also allows for you to hook up to 2 TVs and watch different programs as long as both programs come off the same satellite.

- The X2 has a handy location to attach a chain and padlock - which I do. I have a 30 ft chain and just attach the other end to one of my jacks or a handy tree.

- If you get the X2, I strongly suggest that you also get the tripod stand for it. The stand gets it up off the ground in case of minor flooding (Winegard states that 2 inches of water can damage the electronics). AND the additional height helps the dish see over bushes, campers, etc.

[ljr]

WyoTraveler wrote:
I just purchased the VIP 211K Dish receiver and the Winegard SK-1000 Traveler. Installing myself. If you check everything out inside first before drilling holes it goes well. I removed my TV, and ceiling lights to pull cables. I got tired of using a portable sat antenna. I didn't want the possibility of a portable auto dish walking away. However, they are less $$$

The OP said he'd be traveling in the east. If local channels matter the SK-1000 might be a bad choice.

[BB_TX]

When you sign up for Dish pay as you go, do not sign up for auto pay on your credit card. When the month paid for is about to end, call and pay for the next month. If you do not intend to use it for a few months, do nothing. At the end of that month, they will simply terminate your service. They will send a reminder that you are overdue on payment, but just ignore it. When you are ready to restart your service, call and pay for a new month service.

If you sign up for auto pay they will continue charging every month whether you use it or not.

[AllegroD]

I have a Wally (had a 211K) and a Tailgater and receive local channels for the area I am in, on West coast. I just change my service address.

I would go with a Wally (easier to use and very clean interface) and X2.

[TechWriter]

newman fulltimer wrote:
just get a,211k and a,Tailgater

If OP gets a Tailgater, he won't be able to get receive his local channels at all. OP's local channels are all on DISH's Eastern Arc sats.

OP, DISH has two sets of sats called Western Arc (sats 110, 119, and 129) and Eastern Arc (61.5, 72.7, and 77).

A King Tailgater only receives the Western Arc sats.

On the other hand, the Winegard Pathway X2 can receive both DISH Eastern & Western Arc sats.

Along with the Pathway X2 (or Tailgater) you would need a DISH receiver like the 211z or Wally.

You can order all this stuff + programming through DISH.

[WyoTraveler]

I just purchased the VIP 211K Dish receiver and the Winegard SK-1000 Traveler. Installing myself. If you check everything out inside first before drilling holes it goes well. I removed my TV, and ceiling lights to pull cables. I got tired of using a portable sat antenna. I didn't want the possibility of a portable auto dish walking away. However, they are less $$$

[K_Charles]

We use a VIP211K and a Pathway X1. It is smaller then the Pathway X2 and has no outside moving parts. We live in New England and go from Maine to Mississippi every year and the dish work every where (except if we are in the woods)

[Bill_Satellite]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
I agree with the Dish VIP 211K choice, but In my opinion, the Winegard Pathway X2 is a much better automatic antenna choice than the Tailgater. The X2 receives both Dish eastern and western arc satellites sets, and has a larger reflector than the Tailgater for a stronger signal to the receiver. The Tailgater is only capable of receiving the western arc sats. Eastern arc reception is particularly important if you want to receive man of the east coast local stations in HD, and in some locations, receive them at all. Have both arc capability also gives you more aiming options on sites with tree cover. The Dish "Wally" receiver is also a possible choice, although it would require an optional USB tuner for over the air reception. OTA capability is built-in to the 211K.

THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^