Sattelite TV utter Confusion.

[Arthur Redmond]

I will be going full time again in a few weeks. I`ve been reading comments on the Forum and now I`m absolutely confused. What ever happened to the tripod and dish pointing. All I seem to get from Dish or Direc is these portable domes that you sit outside and it does everything for you. Is this the way to go these days. I need direction as I am now 79 and a little confused . HELP.

[GR "Scott" Cundiff]

I've used a tripod and dish for Dish Network for a few years now.  I like it better than the little carryout domes because it gives me a more "home like" TV watching experience.  Here's an article I wrote about my experience setting up a tripod and dish.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

Domes are a waste if you want good satellite TV.  Both Dish and Direct use multiple satellites to deliver their HD programming.  Domes are limited to a single LNBF and in the case of DirecTV, that LNBF is not compatible with HD programming.

Aiming a dish is dependent on your tools.  Starting with the tripod.  A tripod with adjustable length legs allows the mast to be vertical on rough terrain where most RVing happens.  I recommend the HD Tripod from TV4RV.com.

A vertical mast is imperative because you are moving a dish in three planes.  If the mast isn't vertical, any movement of one axis will also change another.

Using a see-through smartphone app helps to find holes in the trees.  But do not believe you can aim the dish using the app.  The dish views from the center of the dish and you can't look through your phone from that point.

Also the arm of the dish does not point toward the satellite.  The signal path bounces from the LNBF at at 15 degree angle from the dish surface.  Since the dish is usually twisted on its access, the actually signal path is to the right of the dish arm.

A smart meter makes live so much better.  Smart in the process of positively identifying the satellite you are focusing on.  A simple $20 meter will give you a signal strength but you can be on the wrong satellite.

Even though I have a Winegard Trav'ler automatic roof dish, I carried and used often a ground tripod for times when I wanted to use Dish's Eastern Arc Satellites

 

[whj469]

You can also get the dish that is mounted on the roof and it finds the satellites automatically. Nothing for you to do but turn it on and wait for the picture. You need a clear shot at the sky. Good Luck

[Al F]

I have used the Winegard Trav'ler for Dish Network for the last 8 years.  As long as you have a clear shot at the southern sky, push a button and in 5-10 minutes you have TV reception.

Link to Amazon for the Winegard Trav'ler:  https://www.amazon.com/s?k=winegard+traveler+dish&crid=11XSQA6LG5OML&sprefix=winegard+tra%2Caps%2C273&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_12

Setting up the tripod & dish takes some learning and practice.  Works best if you don't move a lot.  Cost is more like $200-$300 though. 

Buy the Dish to put on the tripod at Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Q3WFFO/ref=pe_385040_127541850_TE_item

Possible source for the tripod:  https://www.tv4rv.com/sunshop/  I have not purchased from them. 

[mptjelgin]

We have used a dish on a tripod for the entire time we've been full-timing (9+ years).  We just replaced our 18" Standard Definition dish with the larger High Definition, 3 -Satellite Direct TV dish and have been setting it up in about the same time (for us, 5 - 10 minutes from getting the equipment out to being finished).  

We often stay in forested areas so having the flexibility of moving the tripod out into a more open "window" has been necessary in several areas. 

The TV4RV link given above is a good resource. They can get you completely set up once you've decided which company (DISH or DirecTV) you go with. 

[Dutch_12078]

Our multi-satellite tripod setup for Dish usually takes no more than 10-15 minutes including getting the pieces out, leveling, setting the skew and elevation, and then aiming using a signal meter and an augmented reality app on my phone. Dish has two sets of three satellites, one set more to the west, and one further east. Both sets carry the same national programming, and having the choice of which set to use gives us more clear aiming opportunities on treed sites. In the near 10 years we've had this setup, we have yet to land on a site where I couldn't find a signal one sat set or the other. Having the multiple sat setup means we can use the Dish Hopper receiver series. The model we have receives and records 3 sat channels at a time, and the newest model can receive/record 16 at channels at once.

We prefer Dish as the more "RV friendly" sat service, but check the programming available on both to find the best fit for your viewing requirements. Direct has more sports choices, for instance.

[remoandiris]

I have been using a Dish 1000.2 dish and both EA and WA LNBs for about 3 years.  I also have a Super Buddy to aid in pointing.  I do not always get good signal, but it is good enough.  I do not bother setting up if only stopping for an overnight.  More hassle than it is worth.  And, sometimes chatting with a Dish CSR to change the service address for locals is a pain.

If I had the funds, a Trav'ler would have been GREAT!!  So wicked easy to use!!  But, if you're in the trees, you're screwed.

[Dutch_12078]

We've set up the dish daily quite often, although now that we have two unlimited data hotspots, we're streaming more often for overnight stops. If you can get Dish to designate your account as an "Outdoor" account, you may be able to change locals with a few button presses in the MyDish phone app. Other than that, using a pre-written script we find chatting with a Dish CSR to change locals to be a pretty simple process that usually takes no more than 5 minutes.

[Arthur Redmond]

Sorry for not acknowledging responses sooner, I have been off line for awhile. Thank you for all your knowledge on this matter. I`m still waiting for the Estate settlement to complete before I can buy my T/T. But it`s nice to have info like this before plunging in.

[WeBeFulltimers]

For 11 years 9 of which are full time I have used the Dish Network 1000.2 HD dish mounted on a surveyor's tripod using the mounting kit from tv4rv.com.  I use both EA & WA Hybrid lnb depending on which is needed due to obstacles and this dish setup is feeding a Hopper3 receiver. I also carry 250 feet of RG6 if it's necessary to get out a bit from the RV. I don't use any type of meter but do use SatFinder Lite just to take a peek when necessary. My normal setup time is about 10 minutes (15 if lnb change required). I am happy with this method and highly doubt I will go with one of the auto type.

[Zulu]

20 minutes ago, WeBeFulltimers said:

I am happy with this method and highly doubt I will go with one of the auto type.

OP is nearing 80. He might want the convenience of an automatic.

[Zulu]

...

Edited May 18, 2019 by Zulu
duplicate post

[Ronbo]

Gr Cundiff used to use a dome so he has experience with both. I just canceled my directv and am now using sling tv. They will give you a sling tv free if you pay for 3 months up front. You only need to add a hard drive to record ota programs. I pay $25.99 per month and an additional $5 for the dvr of programs not ota, plus another 5 for the package that include hallmark. It will record programs even while going down the road as long as I have internet and/or ota signal. 

[Al F]

6 hours ago, Ronbo said:

Gr Cundiff used to use a dome so he has experience with both. I just canceled my directv and am now using sling tv. They will give you a sling tv free if you pay for 3 months up front. You only need to add a hard drive to record ota programs. I pay $25.99 per month and an additional $5 for the dvr of programs not ota, plus another 5 for the package that include hallmark. It will record programs even while going down the road as long as I have internet and/or ota signal. 

Sling TV looks like it would work well as long as you have a good cell tower signal and are close enough to broadcast TV towers for a good OTA signal. 

There are important trade offs for Sling TV versus satellite TV.  

--  Local channels:  From an OTA (Over the Air) antenna only.  There are lots of places, especially in the West where you are to far away to get good OTA reception.

--  You must have a decently strong cell service signal to be able to stream data for TV.  

--  Satellite TV:  Anywhere you have an open view of the sky to the south you get very good reception.  Even many miles from a cell tower signal.  Example:  We had excellent satellite TV with our Dish Trav'ler in Alaska and Canada.  In Canada the local channels were limited to the places the spot beam for Juneau or Fairbanks reached into adjacent parts of Canada. 

[D&J]

On 4/13/2019 at 12:20 PM, Arthur Redmond said:

I will be going full time again in a few weeks. I`ve been reading comments on the Forum and now I`m absolutely confused. What ever happened to the tripod and dish pointing. All I seem to get from Dish or Direc is these portable domes that you sit outside and it does everything for you. Is this the way to go these days. I need direction as I am now 79 and a little confused . HELP.

Been a lot of information on what system to use and how easy it is to point a dish but the ones that are giving advice have been doing it for years and are biased to that system and it works great for them. Now because you have never done it before it can be a very long hard learning experience, we started out with a single LNB Direct TV dish and it had a short learning experience and it worked out great but when we went to a two LNB Dish Network dish it became harder but it was still manageable. When we decided to go HD on Dish Network I didn't want to deal with setting up a 3 LNB dish so we went simple and went with a Tailgater and after after 6 years we we changed to a Wingard X2 and never looked back. If you want to be able to setup a dish easley for one nigh stops or all winter stops with no long leaning curve go with a automatic system, I prefer the X2 because of the ability for both east and west sats, also the large reflector on the X2 gives me a stronger signal.

I've helped newbies with setting up a standard dish and it can be very frustrating to them and me at times, most of them have been told how easy it is and they find out that it's not and some just give up and most end up with a automatic. The biggest problem I have found with automatic dishes is the coax in the rigs themselves. 

Denny 

[Art Redmond]

5 hours ago, Al F said:

Sling TV looks like it would work well as long as you have a good cell tower signal and are close enough to broadcast TV towers for a good OTA signal. 

There are important trade offs for Sling TV versus satellite TV.  

--  Local channels:  From an OTA (Over the Air) antenna only.  There are lots of places, especially in the West where you are to far away to get good OTA reception.

--  You must have a decently strong cell service signal to be able to stream data for TV.  

--  Satellite TV:  Anywhere you have an open view of the sky to the south you get very good reception.  Even many miles from a cell tower signal.  Example:  We had excellent satellite TV with our Dish Trav'ler in Alaska and Canada.  In Canada the local channels were limited to the places the spot beam for Juneau or Fairbanks reached into adjacent parts of Canada. 

I noticed that you mentioned you have a Dish Trav`ler, ?? What is the difference with a Tailgater and a Dish Traveler. I know that you can enlighten this thick head of mine.

[Art Redmond]

I wish there weren't so many different portable Antennae. Dish Traveler , Dish Tailgater 1 Tailgater 3 & Tailgater 4.  Al F will probably help me see through this. 

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

A Tailgater is a dome dish that is limited to certain single-tuner Dish Receivers.  As a dome, it has only one LNBF so only one satellite can be seen at a time.  Sine the Tailgater can only be used with a single-tuner receiver, that is reasonably okay.

A Winegard Trav'ler is a roof mounted automatic dish with three LNBFs so all three satellites are locked in and any satellite can be used at the same time.  This is important for multiple tuner receivers and most importantly for DVRs. 

 

[Art Redmond]

1 hour ago, D&J said:

Been a lot of information on what system to use and how easy it is to point a dish but the ones that are giving advice have been doing it for years and are biased to that system and it works great for them. Now because you have never done it before it can be a very long hard learning experience, we started out with a single LNB Direct TV dish and it had a short learning experience and it worked out great but when we went to a two LNB Dish Network dish it became harder but it was still manageable. When we decided to go HD on Dish Network I didn't want to deal with setting up a 3 LNB dish so we went simple and went with a Tailgater and after after 6 years we we changed to a Wingard X2 and never looked back. If you want to be able to setup a dish easley for one nigh stops or all winter stops with no long leaning curve go with a automatic system, I prefer the X2 because of the ability for both east and west sats, also the large reflector on the X2 gives me a stronger signal.

I've helped newbies with setting up a standard dish and it can be very frustrating to them and me at times, most of them have been told how easy it is and they find out that it's not and some just give up and most end up with a automatic. The biggest problem I have found with automatic dishes is the coax in the rigs themselves. 

Denny 

Denny, I did set up set up dish antennas for 12 yrs full timing, been off the road for 3 yrs. now. I`m becoming a Nomad again but I now want the easiest way, going on 80 and am lazier now. So I guess automatic is the way for me. By the way why not by-pass the rig`s system and connect directly to the Auto/Dish. I did that in the last rig we had because the coax in the rig was faulty.

Art

[Art Redmond]

13 minutes ago, Mark and Dale Bruss said:

A Tailgater is a dome dish that is limited to certain single-tuner Dish Receivers.  As a dome, it has only one LNBF so only one satellite can be seen at a time.  Sine the Tailgater can only be used with a single-tuner receiver, that is reasonably okay.

A Winegard Trav'ler is a roof mounted automatic dish with three LNBFs so all three satellites are locked in and any satellite can be used at the same time.  This is important for multiple tuner receivers and most importantly for DVRs. 

 

I also saw a dome ant. called "Playmaker" what is the difference.

Art

[Al F]

5 hours ago, Art Redmond said:

I noticed that you mentioned you have a Dish Trav`ler, ?? What is the difference with a Tailgater and a Dish Traveler. I know that you can enlighten this thick head of mine.

Mark & Dale covered the differences.

More info/comments:

--  The domes have smaller dishes, so they have lower signal strength.  That means rain fade is more pronounced, and in northern latitudes you will even have less of a signal.  We had good reception all the way up to the Arctic Circle, north of Fairbanks, AK.  Beyond the Arctic Circle we had hills and mountains blocking the view of the satellite.  We talked with an RV'er in Homer, AK who said they couldn't even detect a signal with their dome.  

--  The Trav'ler receives the full spectrum of all the satellite channels from either Direct TV or Dish Network, depending on which version of the Trav'ler you buy and service you subscribe to.  

--  With Dish and I think Direct TV the receivers can record up to 16 channels at the same time.  Some modification has to be done for the Dish Trav'ler to accomplish this.  You also have to have the "Hopper" receiver for Dish to record all those channels at the same time. 

[Art Redmond]

3 hours ago, Al F said:

Mark & Dale covered the differences.

More info/comments:

--  The domes have smaller dishes, so they have lower signal strength.  That means rain fade is more pronounced, and in northern latitudes you will even have less of a signal.  We had good reception all the way up to the Arctic Circle, north of Fairbanks, AK.  Beyond the Arctic Circle we had hills and mountains blocking the view of the satellite.  We talked with an RV'er in Homer, AK who said they couldn't even detect a signal with their dome.  

--  The Trav'ler receives the full spectrum of all the satellite channels from either Direct TV or Dish Network, depending on which version of the Trav'ler you buy and service you subscribe to.  

--  With Dish and I think Direct TV the receivers can record up to 16 channels at the same time.  Some modification has to be done for the Dish Trav'ler to accomplish this.  You also have to have the "Hopper" receiver for Dish to record all those channels at the same time. 

Thank you for the clarification, I`m beginning to see the light.

Art

[Zulu]

You'll be able to use any DISH receiver (particularly the Hopper 3) with the following:

• Portable tripod with open-faced dish (~ $300, dish, tripod, cheap sat meter) -- manual setup and aiming. Least expensive.
• Rooftop Winegard Travler ($1300, not installed) -- push button operation. The best unless you're under trees.

 

You'll only be able to use a single-tuner DISH receiver (Wally, VIP 211, etc) with the following. A single tuner receiver limits what you can/can't watch/record:

• Winegard Pathway X1, X2 -- IMHO the X2 ($450 with a Wally receiver) is your best bet in this category. You can move it around to avoid tree cover and it's pretty much automatic. Plus, it has a large dish under its dome and can acquire all of DISH's sats.
• Tailgater
• Playmaker
• All domes

[Dutch_12078]

The Pathway X2 is still the only dome available that can receive the full eastern and western arc satellite sets. That's the model I recommend for anyone wanting the most aiming flexibility with  a portable self aiming dome. As said, like all the domes, it is restricted to certain Dish receiver models.