Winegard Trav'ler Replacement

[pigman1]

After numerous problems with our Winegard Trav'ler and unbelievably obnoxious people on the phone that call themselves "customer service reps", we gave up. Instead of purchasing another disaster we removed the piece of junk and installed a dish from RF Mogul. OMG!! What a difference. The antenna finds the necessary satellites in less than half the time the Trav'ler took on it's best days and operation is so easy it's almost magic. Press power on, press search, and it's done.

Not only that, but the antenna has the ability to tune all the way down to the horizon, regardless of your latitude. The Winegard would not tune below 18 degrees above the horizon. This effectively eliminated reception in the northern reaches, such as Alaska. We've spent 8 summers in Valdez, and unless I went to extraordinary measures, the Winegard was useless up here (we're in Valdez now). This year I turned the Mogul on and in less than 4 minutes I was watching DirectTV in very heavy cloud cover with occasional showers.

I purchased the antenna from Don at Precise Satellite in Florida. He will install or send you a unit for you to install. I did it myself as I'd installed two other Trav'lers. The R F Mogul is lighter and much easier to handle, but is very stiff and strong. The install does require new wiring, so be prepared to punch a new roof hole or run it down a refer vent.

For anyone interested in a first class product with replaceable parts (unlike Winegard) and super customer service, contact Don at Precise Satellite or Royal at R F Mogul direct.

[az99]

The Trav'ler takes an extremely long time to find sats when I move a long distance from the last place it was setup. If you are close to where you were last or do not move, setup is quick.

[harley-dave]

Bill.Satellite wrote:

harley-dave wrote:
We have a Travel'r that was installed in 2005 and is still working. I have had to deal with the technical support people on 2 different issues and they were good with good trouble shooting ideas for me both times. Had all my ducks in a row including part description and number if available before calling customer service to order. Makes it somewhat easier. Been lucky I guess since I haven't had any problems with Winegard. Also Bill you mentioned software updates, how do I check to see if needed and get them if I need one?

Dave

There has never been a software update needed from the day the Trav'ler was released. RF Mogul (former MotoSAT folks) cannot say the same.

Thanks Bill

[georgelesley]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Does anyone really record 16 channels at the same time? If so, when the heck would you have time to watch all of that stuff! I have a hard time EVER finding 5 channels to record simultaneously with my Genie. To call the Genie "inferior" is just nonsense. The chips inside do not allow me to watch a show and faster so it's really not important.

I like the hopper 3 because of so many tuners. Many times when recording a few minute overlap in programs ties up two tuners at once. If recording two programs and then two more record and overlap 4-5 tuners can be used up for a few minutes and make watching another channel impossible. This especially happens with sporting events which our hopper automatically adds one hour recording time to, making conflicts more likely.

I used to record as many programs as I could overnite just to avoid this problem. Now it is no problem and I never have to think about conflicts.

[Bill_Satellite]

If you are referring to a long search time with the Trav'ler, I have never had a similar experience unless I had some kind of blockage. The Trav'ler needs a very clear sky as it needs to be able to find 101 PLUS another KU band satellite. This usually means 110 or 119 but it could be 72 or 77 in the East.

[pigman1]

There has never been a software update needed from the day the Trav'ler was released. RF Mogul (former MotoSAT folks) cannot say the same.

Oh, THATS the reason it kept taking longer and looonger and loooooonger to find and tune the satellites. 30-45 minutes and 2 or 3 tries, but eventually it did find them, at least more than half the time.

[Bill_Satellite]

harley-dave wrote:
We have a Travel'r that was installed in 2005 and is still working. I have had to deal with the technical support people on 2 different issues and they were good with good trouble shooting ideas for me both times. Had all my ducks in a row including part description and number if available before calling customer service to order. Makes it somewhat easier. Been lucky I guess since I haven't had any problems with Winegard. Also Bill you mentioned software updates, how do I check to see if needed and get them if I need one?

Dave

There has never been a software update needed from the day the Trav'ler was released. RF Mogul (former MotoSAT folks) cannot say the same.

[az99]

Unless you plan on taking it off the roof before you sell the RV, I would not plan on getting much extra for the RV because of a dish. No matter which service you chose the buyer will want the other. 🙂 The last one I sold had a Trav'ler for Dish and DTV. The buyer placed 0 value on it as they did not want any satellite. Guess how much extra I got for it. 0.

[CoCoDave]

Since it's unlikely we'll get far enough east for this to matter to us, I'm working with the assumption that either antenna will receive the Dish service in the Western Arc. That they will find the relevant Dish satellites quickly and automatically. Again, given unobstructed line-of-sight.

As a matter of curiosity, do those of you near the east coast pick up HD-only channels such as Velocity? Without manual intervention?

A handful of years from now we'll come to the end of the RV trail and have to sell this thing, so resale is a small consideration.

TIA

[harley-dave]

We have a Travel'r that was installed in 2005 and is still working. I have had to deal with the technical support people on 2 different issues and they were good with good trouble shooting ideas for me both times. Had all my ducks in a row including part description and number if available before calling customer service to order. Makes it somewhat easier. Been lucky I guess since I haven't had any problems with Winegard. Also Bill you mentioned software updates, how do I check to see if needed and get them if I need one?

Dave

[Bill_Satellite]

To deploy the Trav'ler you press and hold 1 button for about 3 seconds. To stow you push and release the same button. As mentioned, while the Trav'ler cannot do the full EA you can do some modifications in the Setup Menu to allow it to point at one of the EA satellites at a time. I put my current Trav'ler on the roof in 2013 when the SWM was first released and I have never had an issue that required repairs.

[az99]

My choice is Dish and the Trav'ler if you are in the eastern US. I hate Winegard and most of their products but the RF Moguls lack of EA aiming is the deal breaker for me.

[CA_Traveler]

RF Mogul DTV: Push the power on button. Push the search button. Completes in about 3 1/2 minutes, a little less if the GPS is already acquired.

[CoCoDave]

Bill.Satellite wrote:

CoCoDave wrote:
So, after all of the above, is there a majority/plurality opinion as to which antenna, Winegard Trav'ler/RF Mogul Eagle, best supports Dish service on a motor home? I have to decide on one or the other soon. We have an appointment on October 10th to install the antenna along with a Razar OTA.

TIA

Neither will do DISH EA so I think it's pretty much a toss-up.

OK. So if it's a toss-up with respect to Dish service footprint, which antenna is easiest to operate? Most reliable?

Ideally DW should be able to deploy the antenna while I do the outside hookups upon arrival at a new campsite. Given appropriate line-of-sight, etc. She's not inclined to deal with managing technical apparatus but is even less inclined to deal with sewer hose, 50 amp plugs, etc.

I've read the complaints about getting Trav'lers repaired. But if they are markedly easier to operate, that may offset some or all of that risk.

TIA

[Bill_Satellite]

CoCoDave wrote:
So, after all of the above, is there a majority/plurality opinion as to which antenna, Winegard Trav'ler/RF Mogul Eagle, best supports Dish service on a motor home? I have to decide on one or the other soon. We have an appointment on October 10th to install the antenna along with a Razar OTA.

TIA

Neither will do DISH EA so I think it's pretty much a toss-up.