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King Tailgater or Winegard Playmaker?


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Has anyone had positive experience with the King Tailgater portable antenna for Dish satellite TV?  Mine has been negative.  A Camping World salesman persuaded me less than a year ago to buy a Tailgater, which I found attractive because of its easy portability; ability to be placed so as to avoid any obstacles, such as trees, interfering with satellite reception; and automatic operation.  He said that I should try it to see if it would work with my existing Dish receiver, which was a mistake, as the Tailgater manual clearly stated that I needed a different antenna.  So, back to CW to buy a 211z receiver, which, when I opened the box, proved not to be usable with the TVs in my motorhome, because it does not have a coax cable output.  So, back to CW to exchange the 211z for a 211k, which does have a coax output.  Although the 211k was in an opened box, I was assured that it was new, having been returned by its previous purchaser.  But I could not get TV and a distinctly unhelpful Dish Technical Service representative, who merely seemed to be following a written script, finally told me that I would have to have a Dish technician look at my installation.  I had to pay $100 for a service call for a technician to tell me, first, that software had to be downloaded into the 211k in order for it to work, and second, that the Tailgater was not working.  By that time I was in a different area, but I was able to exchange the Tailgater for another one at a different CW.  But still no TV.  To avoid the charge for another service call, I took the Tailgater and 211k to the technician, 30 miles away, where it was determined that the Tailgater was working but the 211k was not.  Neither the technician nor CW had or could get another 211k, since Dish has discontinued it for the Wally receiver, which also lacks a coax output.  But I found a Dish retailer in a different city, 30 miles away, who got one for me, and I finally had TV!  But not for long, as intermittent loss of reception and "crazy" error messages on the TV forced me to repeatedly unplug and replug the 211k to reset it, sometimes all day long, which was the only advice that Dish Technical Service could offer me.  Because the intermittent failures and "crazy" error messages indicated to me that the 211k was not working properly, I bought a new one on amazon.com and paid a technician to download the required software into it.  When reception failed again, I replaced the old 211k with the new one, only to find, alas, that while reception might be OK for several days, it would sooner or later fail again, which clearly indicates that it's the Tailgater that's not working properly.  As the King rep with whom I spoke insisted that the problem must be with my motorhome's cable installation, I bypassed it by plugging the cable provided with the Tailgater directly into the 211k--with exactly the same result: "crazy" error messages and no reception followed, eventually, after repeatedly unplugging and replugging the 211k, by reception.  As the King rep seemed unwilling to admit that there could be any problem with the Tailgater, I anticipate that he will next tell me to buy a new cable to connect the Tailgater directly to the 211k.

I am wondering if a Winegard Playmaker portable antenna for Dish is more reliable than the Tailgater and if I will just have to "eat" the $400 I paid for the Tailgater and buy a Winegard.  Any advice based on experience with the Tailgater or Playmaker will be much appreciated.

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I've had the Pathway X1 with the 211z for about a year, with absolutely flawless results. The X1 is the mountable version of the Playmaker, so is functionally identical. It's MUCH faster than my old 9754, and I love how it powers from the receiver. Fast acquisition and channel changes, plus zero glitches or downtime make it a big winner for me. FYI, you can use the 211z in your system as well by adding a simple rf modulator to the receiver.

Regards,

Jay

 

 
 
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The Winegard Pathway X2 would be the better choice.  Larger dish and works on both arcs.

Moral of your story, don't do business with Camping World which requires any level of technical expertise.

 

Everybody wanna hear the truth, but everybody tell a lie.  Everybody wanna go to Heaven, but nobody want to die.  Albert King

 

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Thanks. I have no idea what "both arcs" means.  Price was not my primary consideration, but I think I would prefer a dish that requires only a single cable, as the Tailgater and Playmaker, and also the Winegard G2 Carryout, do.   My experience suggests that you may be right about CW.

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Dish uses two sets of satellites, with one set located closer to the east coast, and the other towards the west coast. The east coast satellites are located at 61.5, 72.7, and 77 degrees, while the western arc satellites are at 110, 119, and 129 degrees. The Tailgater and most other dome antennas are only capable of "seeing" the three western arc satellites. The Pathway X2, however, is capable of receiving both arcs, which greatly improves your aiming opportunities on treed sites, as well as allowing you to receive the eastern arc only local stations in some areas. All other programming is available on both arcs.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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What would really help if you can explain what crazy massages you are getting, there are a few that mean different things.

Denny 

Denny & Jami SKP#90175
Most Timing with Mac our Scottie, RIP Jasper our Westie
2013 F350 SC DRW 6.2 V8 4.30 Gears
2003 HH Premier 35FKTG Home Base Nebraska

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It's complicated, D&J.  The malfunction begins with Channel Signal Loss or Complete Signal Loss appearing on the channel I am watching.  Sometimes the channel will resume after a short break, then go off again, sometimes more than once.  If the channel does not resume and Channel Signal Loss is displayed, scrolling up or down to an adjacent channel and then back to the one I was watching will restore it.  If it's Complete Signal Loss, I go to the program guide, click on another channel, then on the one I want to watch.

Eventually, Complete Signal Loss will appear on every channel, even the music ones that are usually immune, and no TV can be viewed, so it's time to unplug the receiver, wait ten seconds, and plug it in again to reset it.  After a while, the Mobil Antenna Setup screen will appear, and whether I scroll and click on Scan or let it go to Scan automatically after five minutes, the "doing test 1" of the 3 switch installation tests will appear.  Sometimes test 1 will simply stay on the screen; it will never go to test 2, so unplug again.  Sometimes the test 1 screen will go to No Satellites Found or All Satellites Not Found, so unplug and begin again.  Sometimes one of those messages will appear when test 1 has gone to test 2.  Eventually test 1 will go to test 2 and then test 3, and then the No Satellites Found or All Satellites Not Found will appear.  Sometimes it will go to doing check 1 of 38 checks of switch configuration.

I have sometimes had to do the unplug routine literally all day before test 3 will go to Acquiring Satellite Signal, followed by Downloading Program Guide.  The Program Guide generally does not complete--no green bar appears--so I will click on Stop and be able to watch TV.  Sometimes when I then go to No Info Available and click to download the Program Guide, it will not download, but eventually it will.

When Not All Satellites Found appears after test 3 and I click on View to view channels on those that have been found, I seem to get all the channels that I ever watch anyhow.

Sometimes, as happened again this morning, the Mobile Antenna Setup screen will appear when I turn the receiver on, even though I was watching a channel when I turned it off the night before.

I should note that these interruptions do not follow any change in the location of the Tailgater, which has not been moved, even for several months, before the malfunction begins (although Dish Technical Service, apparently merely reading from a script, insisted that I move the antenna to avoid the non-existent obstacle that the No Satellites Found indicated).

It was these messages that I called "crazy" that led me to conclude that the 211k receiver was malfunctioning, but, as I have said, after replacing it with a brand new one in which software had just been downloaded, and then connecting the Tailgater directly to the receiver to bypass the cable in the motorhome, it is apparent that it is the Tailgater that is malfunctioning.

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Thanks for the info, Dutch_12078.  I watch very few of the channels that are available on Dish, which I put on my four Favorites lists, and I don't have a recorder or any other enhancements, or ever use Pay Per View, so I don't think that having access to more channels would be an advantage for me.  

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Are you sure you have a clear view of the southern sky, I mean nothing in tne way, it sounds like you don't.

Denny

Denny & Jami SKP#90175
Most Timing with Mac our Scottie, RIP Jasper our Westie
2013 F350 SC DRW 6.2 V8 4.30 Gears
2003 HH Premier 35FKTG Home Base Nebraska

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We went through 3 Tailgatersand finally sold the last replacement while it was working.  Now have a Wineguard G2 and no issues. 

Last week I installed a Wineguard Traveler for Dish on the roof.  It works great.

 

 

Ken

Amateur radio operator, 2023 Cougar 22MLS, 2022 F150 Lariat 4x4 Off Road, Sport trim <br />Travel with 1 miniature schnauzer, 1 standard schnauzer and one African Gray parrot

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When we first hooked up our tailgator I had trouble receiving some of the channels.  Talked to a King Tech and he instructed me to remove the dome (6 screws) and watch the "dish" move as I went to the channels that weren't coming in.  While I thought I had a clear shot at the southern skies, that dish went from south to almost due west to locate another satellite.  That due west location had a pine tree in the way.  I moved the dome & enjoyed the channels from then on.

Todd

“…nothing so liberalizes a man and expands the kindly instincts that nature put in him as travel and contact with many kinds of people.” – Mark Twain

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We've had our Tailgater for around 6 years and the only time we had trouble was when something was in the way but when it gets replaced it will be with a X2 be because of the eastern feeds and a stronger signal. We did have trouble this winter but after taking it apart and cleaning out all the desert dirt it works like new agian.

Denny

Denny & Jami SKP#90175
Most Timing with Mac our Scottie, RIP Jasper our Westie
2013 F350 SC DRW 6.2 V8 4.30 Gears
2003 HH Premier 35FKTG Home Base Nebraska

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23 hours ago, gypsyken said:

Thanks for the info, Dutch_12078.  I watch very few of the channels that are available on Dish, which I put on my four Favorites lists, and I don't have a recorder or any other enhancements, or ever use Pay Per View, so I don't think that having access to more channels would be an advantage for me.  

Being able to switch between Western Arc and Eastern Arc doesn't give you more channels. 

Depending on where you are in the Eastern U.S., your dish may not be able to "see" all of the Western Arc satellites, so having the ability to switch to the Eastern Arc satellites would be an advantage.

Of course, if you travel mainly in the Western U.S., that may not be a big deal for you.

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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Yes, D&J, I'm absolutely certain that my tailgater has an unobstructed view of the southern sky, with no trees or anything else in the way.  As I've tried to explain, the Tailgater will work fine for a while, as it did after it was finally installed with a working 211k, and then, without it being moved an inch, malfunction will begin.   For example, I watched TV Sunday evening, but when I turned the receiver on the next morning (yesterday), the mobile antenna installation screen appeared and I had to go through that process.  But when I turned it on this morning (Tuesday) it was fine.  The intermittent nature of the malfunction has, of course, made it difficult to diagnose the cause of it.  The fact that malfunction occurred when I connected the Tailgater directly to the receiver, without moving the Tailgater, made me conclude that the Tailgater is intermittently malfunctioning.

Thanks to all who have replied to my post.  It seems that people have both good and bad experiences with the Tailgater, which is also reflected on other forums, but there seem to be fewer reports of problems with Winegards.

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8 hours ago, LindaH said:

Being able to switch between Western Arc and Eastern Arc doesn't give you more channels. 

Depending on where you are in the Eastern U.S., your dish may not be able to "see" all of the Western Arc satellites, so having the ability to switch to the Eastern Arc satellites would be an advantage.

Of course, if you travel mainly in the Western U.S., that may not be a big deal for you.

The eastern arc is moving west, last week we were in the panhandle of Texas and I had a hard time finding locals on the western arc, settled for SD from a city 150 miles away. 

Denny

Denny & Jami SKP#90175
Most Timing with Mac our Scottie, RIP Jasper our Westie
2013 F350 SC DRW 6.2 V8 4.30 Gears
2003 HH Premier 35FKTG Home Base Nebraska

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8 hours ago, gypsyken said:

Yes, D&J, I'm absolutely certain that my tailgater has an unobstructed view of the southern sky, with no trees or anything else in the way.  As I've tried to explain, the Tailgater will work fine for a while, as it did after it was finally installed with a working 211k, and then, without it being moved an inch, malfunction will begin.   For example, I watched TV Sunday evening, but when I turned the receiver on the next morning (yesterday), the mobile antenna installation screen appeared and I had to go through that process.  But when I turned it on this morning (Tuesday) it was fine.  The intermittent nature of the malfunction has, of course, made it difficult to diagnose the cause of it.  The fact that malfunction occurred when I connected the Tailgater directly to the receiver, without moving the Tailgater, made me conclude that the Tailgater is intermittently malfunctioning.

Thanks to all who have replied to my post.  It seems that people have both good and bad experiences with the Tailgater, which is also reflected on other forums, but there seem to be fewer reports of problems with Winegards.

I would take a close look at the power coming into the receiver or RV, it sounds like during the night it's blinking off causing the receiver to reset. When it's hooked to a standatd dish a power blink is no problem but not when its hooked to a Tailgater.

Denny

Denny & Jami SKP#90175
Most Timing with Mac our Scottie, RIP Jasper our Westie
2013 F350 SC DRW 6.2 V8 4.30 Gears
2003 HH Premier 35FKTG Home Base Nebraska

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I'm just saying that it doesn't take very much of a blink for the 211 receiver to forget where it's at and where the satellites are. Sometimes it will come back on and still receive the sat it was on but the rest are gone and sometimes it losses all of them.

Denny

Denny & Jami SKP#90175
Most Timing with Mac our Scottie, RIP Jasper our Westie
2013 F350 SC DRW 6.2 V8 4.30 Gears
2003 HH Premier 35FKTG Home Base Nebraska

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  • 3 weeks later...

In the interest of providing accurate information, recent experience has made me conclude that my very firm belief that my Tailgater was malfunctioning was incorrect, and that the problem I have experienced has been due to the cables, as the Tailgater people insisted must be the case.  Arriving at the park in New Mexico at which I had made a reservation for the summer, I was disappointed to find trees blocking the southern horizon, leading me to conclude that I wouldn't be able to receive Dish TV and would have to move to a different park.   But assured by the manager that people previously in my site had used a Tailgater at a front corner of their coach, pointed directly at trees, I placed my Tailgater there, and rather than running the long cable that came with it to the receptacle at the rear of my coach, I ran a shorter cable (one of the many I have carried to connect with parks' cable TV) from the Tailgater through the driver's window to my 211k receiver.  To my enormous surprise, I immediately got the Mobile Antenna Installation screen and then TV!  After a week with no TV problems, but wanting to have a more tidy cable installation, I ran the Tailgater's cable from it to the coach's receptacle and despite repeatedly resetting the receiver was unable to get the Mobile Antenna Installation screen.  I found the connector on the coach's cable to the receiver to be loose and replaced it, but still received only "crazy" messages and could not get the Mobile Antenna Installation screen.  So, I ran the shorter cable from the Tailgater under the coach and through the passenger's window to the receiver in the compartment over the windshield on that side, and immediately received the Mobile Antenna Installation screen and TV.

I have, of course, no way of knowing where the cable problem may be.  It could even be in the cable that came with the Tailgater, as I had previously connected it directly to the receiver and been unable to get TV, which had convinced me that the problem must be in the Tailgater.  For the time being, and perhaps until I can get some expert help, I will simply continue to use the untidy cable through the window.  

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Tailgater hooked up with "came with" cable to receiver, no output.

Tailgator hooked up to shorter "other" cable to receiver, output.

you have your answer.  Go get some GOOD sat cables (different lengths) and through out the bad cable.   

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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Before concluding that the (new) cable that came with the Tailgater is the problem, I would want to connect it directly to the receiver again, as I don't remember the exact conditions under which I did that before.  If that fails, I would want to connect a cable on which the Tailgater works when connected directly to the receiver to the coach's outside receptacle, to test that and the inaccessible cable inside the coach.  The cable I am now using is too short for that, and while it is working, I am not eager to spend the significant amount of time required to do these tests, though I will probably get around to that when I have nothing else to do.   

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9 hours ago, gypsyken said:

Arriving at the park in New Mexico at which I had made a reservation for the summer, I was disappointed to find trees blocking the southern horizon, leading me to conclude that I wouldn't be able to receive Dish TV and would have to move to a different park.   But assured by the manager that people previously in my site had used a Tailgater at a front corner of their coach, pointed directly at trees,

Keep in mind that the center sat (119) of the western arc is at about a 50 degree elevation in AZ. You don't need to be very far from the trees to clear them at that elevation. Even the lowest WA sat (129) is at about 47 degrees. At that elevation, trees just 50 feet away from the antenna need to be over 54 feet high to block the signal from the 129 sat.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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