Which is best? Dish Tailgater Pro or Dish Playmaker Dual

[Community Alumni]

Hi folks. I'm looking at both models and wondering which one you guys think is best. The Tailgater Pro costs $50 more than the Playmaker, however, it does not require the additional $50 expense of having to buy the roof mounting kit necessary for the Playmaker. The mounting kit makes the cost of both models identical.

I have owned Winegard antennas and have been generally satisfied with their performance. I'm just wondering if I'm missing out on something better. Thanks in advance for your comments.

[subsurfcpo]

Sorry for the delay - off visiting the grands...Haven't purchased anything yet... trying to do my due diligence before I coulda-shoulda-woulda

[Dutch_12078]

Which Dish receiver do you have?

[subsurfcpo]

Is there anything else needed?

I'm reviewing all the data and posts to set-up my rv tv and settled on this thread. So far I have added to my shopping list...

• Winegard Pathway X2
• :Tripod
• and 50' or more of quad shield coax

I don't want to get all this and then find out I missed something small but important.

Thanks, jp

[23hotrodr]

hpdrver wrote:
Looking to buy a used X2 but will use Dish Tv, Does the X2 require a power inserter to power the satellite or can it power the dish over the coax. Thanks

It requires a proper compatible receiver model and powers the dish via the coax from the receiver. We've used the X2 for several years and as long as it has a clear look at the proper area of sky, it has worked fantastic for us. Good luck to you.

[hpdrver]

Looking to buy a used X2 but will use Dish Tv, Does the X2 require a power inserter to power the satellite or can it power the dish over the coax. Thanks

[Dutch_12078]

bgum wrote:
It is my understanding that in dual receiver systems that only one sat is used which also limits programming available.

On the X2, if the 2 receiver setting is chosen, only the eastern arc 72 sat is used. If the 1 receiver setting is used with 2 receivers connected, the primary receiver selects the satellite to be used depending on the program selected, and the second receiver is limited to receiving only channels available on that satellite.

[bgum]

It is my understanding that in dual receiver systems that only one sat is used which also limits programming available.

[Dutch_12078]

bgum wrote:
The Playmaker by Winegard that we recently purchased gets the east and west arcs. We were in Pigeon Forge recently when they endured sufficient rain to flood and in two days of hard rain didn't loose a signal. Couldn't be any better.

The Playmaker only gets the 61.5 sat on the eastern arc and still needs the western arc 110 and 119 sate for full programming coverage. The spread from 61.5 to 119 means you need a very large LOS spread. The Pathway X2 on the other hand, receives all three eastern sats or the three western sats for the maximum possible aiming opportunities.

[bgum]

The Playmaker by Winegard that we recently purchased gets the east and west arcs. We were in Pigeon Forge recently when they endured sufficient rain to flood and in two days of hard rain didn't loose a signal. Couldn't be any better.

[Second_Chance]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
The best Winegard auto-aiming dome style dish is still the Pathway X2 that can fully utilize both Dish satellite arcs, but it does not have a roof mount option. Many of the parks we visit do not have a good roof top LOS anyway, so a truly portable dish works better for us in more locations. I prefer a full sized open face dish for our purposes though.

This^^. Besides being capable of both the Dish eastern and western arcs, the Pathway X2 has the largest reflector of the automatic portables and thus the strongest signals. We've used one for about six years, now, and are very happy with it.

Rob

[Dutch_12078]

The best Winegard auto-aiming dome style dish is still the Pathway X2 that can fully utilize both Dish satellite arcs, but it does not have a roof mount option. Many of the parks we visit do not have a good roof top LOS anyway, so a truly portable dish works better for us in more locations. I prefer a full sized open face dish for our purposes though.