Can I Mount a Winegard Pathway X2 Satellite Dish?

[John Parker]

I have had a King Tailgater Satellite Dish for several years. I drilled through the feet and mounted it to a 12 x 12 inch piece of plywood which fits into an angle aluminum bracket bolted to my roof. No storage or setup is needed, and I can easily move it when I need to. They say you can't do that, but mounting it has worked fine for years. .

Reception is another thing though. I will be replacing it with a Winegard Pathway X2 Dish. But I saw in the manual that the X2 is supposed to be manually put in "stow position" before you move it.  Of course, I don't want to have to go up on the roof every time we arrive or leave somewhere to do that. The Tailgater does it automatically.

Is it critical to get it into the stow position? Is this just for my convenience, or is it for the protection of the dish? Am I going to have a problem if I just drive off each time without putting it in the stow position?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[gjhunter01]

We have the Wineguard Pathway and I am not aware of or ever used a stow away position (4 years used and still working). When traveling, I just unhook the cable and set the Wineguard inside the garage compartment and go on down the road. I would not believe that being stored on the roof would make any difference to the dish. There might be a little more sway movement by being stored 12 ft high vs 3 ft high in the garage. I would be more concerned about high winds, so make sure it is well anchored or even make a wind deflector to protect it.

I would make sure it is unplugged going down the road so it's not searching for signal while bouncing in high winds.

Greg

[John Parker]

Greg,

That is just the information I was looking for.  Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.  This should be a big help to anyone else who wants to mount either of these portable dishes.  Looks like no damage to the dishes from mounting them. 

It will be anchored very well.  But I do mount mine temporarily, with clips, so I can turn it if the handle is facing South, and so I can remove it to another part of the roof or onto the ground to avoid trees, mountains, or other obstacles.   

Great information.  Thanks again. 

[chindog]

I've got the Pathway X2.  I don't know if you have to put it in the stow position (it's clearly marked on the body of the unit - you just line up the marks on the two halves of the sphere).  However, I always put mine in the stow position, as it takes up less space when storing.

If mounted, I would be afraid the black dish cover would blow off while traveling down the road.  It's kind of like a lid on a tupperware container.  It might have enough grip to hang on, but given the right angle of breeze and air pressure, who knows.

[John Parker]

Thanks, Chindog.  Didn't know that the cover comes off so easily.  I see what I can do with it. 

[gjhunter01]

I had taken my Wineguard apart just 2 weeks ago to spray grease on the plastic ring gear and motor gear. The cover is held on by 4 screws with plastic clamps and although flimsy, it seems pretty securely held in place. I also believe the stow position is just meant for storage space savings. The ring gear and motor gear look like they would store in any position just fine.

Greg

[John Parker]

Good to hear.