Art Redmond

Thank you for all the information from different view points. I have also done some research and found that for my budget and needs, that the New Tailgater 4 + Wally + DVR seems to be my optimum. Again thank you all for your in-put.

Art

On 5/22/2019 at 4:55 PM, RandV said:

 

We (wife and I, no pets) will be leaving Florida July 8th for a four month trip in our 27 ft. TT.  We have taken two month and a six month trips within the last few years, so aren't rookies, but haven't RV'd in the eastern part of the US and Canada before.

 

Our itinerary: Florida to Buffalo, NY through Pittsburgh.

                      Niagara Falls to Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. 

                      QC to coastal Maine, then ramble around as much of New England as possible.

                      Then to Upstate New York, then  through Cleveland to Chicago (any suggestions for side trips into Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana?)

                      Then to Denver to visit family

                      Then to Carlsbad Caverns NP, Big Bend NP, West Texas, Texas Hill Country, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, then home to Tampa Bay.

 

Obviously we realize we can't see everything along that route! We are in our late 60's, reasonably fit and active, and enjoy both cities and the countryside.  We like to stay in state and national parks when possible, and reasonably priced commercial parks (swimming pools, cable TV aren't important).  We usually stay in one location for 2-5 days.

 

When we went on our long West Coast trip a couple of years ago we posted a question like this and got lots of really great tips, so thought I would try it again, especially since we haven't visited many of these areas, especially not in an RV.

 

So, if you are from or are familiar with the places along our route, please chime in with suggestions, warnings, etc.!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Riley and Val

I may be a little partial but If you can, I would visit Nova Scotia after leaving Quebec then on to Maine. Nova Scotia is the hidden Gem of Canada I was fortunate to live there for 24 yrs. I am sure that you will not regret the adventure. While in NS you must do the Cabot Trail. Trust me you willnot regret this side trip.

Art

Been to the West coast a few times, the 101 is one of the most scenic routes I have ever seen. Take your time and enjoy the drive. It`s not as windy as the Pass, believe me the 101 along the Oregon is one you should not miss. Enjoy today who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Art

4 minutes ago, Zulu said:

 

Not quite true. There are 6 DISH sats (110, 119, 129 & 61.5, 72.7, 77), and the Tailgater can only see 4 of them.

Of the Eastern Arc sats (61.5, 72.7, 77), sat 72 is probably the most important, but the Tailgater can't see it.

The Pathway X2 can see all 6 sats.

Good point, food for thought.

Art

13 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

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.

I was just looking at Dish domes and this is interesting, it has East and West included.

1 hour ago, WeBeFulltimers said:

"Whatever happened to the tripod and dish pointing" was written by the OP. Sounds to me like tripod & manual dish is what he wants. He also says he's "confused" not physically/mentally challenged.

I thought that was what I wanted but now realize that I would be better served with an automatic dish.

Art

2 hours ago, D&J said:

The coax My rig is fine I was talking about other rigs that I have helped people with. 

Denny 

I was not questioning your rig I was simply asking if it was feasible to do that. Sorry for not making myself clear.

Art

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

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

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

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. 

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.