Wally Dish Receiver w/OTA Tuner & Other Ways to get TV in the RV

LindaH · February 20, 2022

Can someone explain to me how the Dish Wally OTA tuner works with the Wally? Is it a simple plug and play or do you have to hook the Wally up to the OTA antenna on the roof in some manner?

This article seems to say it's just plug and play, but I don't understand how the OTA tuner can pick up OTA channels all on its own. Is it an antenna of some sort?

We're nearing the time when we're going to stop our home subscription to Dish in favor of streaming and OTA, but we need some way of getting TV in the RV when we head south this fall (OTA *only* is not sufficient for us). One option, among others, that we are considering is purchasing a Wally and sign up for Dish Outdoors for the 4-5 months we're gone from home. Looking at the accessories we can get, I'd be interested in the DVR, Wi-Fi adapter, and the OTA tuner ( DISH Wally HD Receiver - MOBILE-WALLY | DISH For My RV ). But I'll forgo the OTA tuner if it's not a plug and play device.

Second Chance · February 20, 2022

The add-on OTA receiver module for the Wally receivers requires a coax connection from your OTA antenna on the roof. The reception will only be as good as your antenna and location (distance, line-of-sight from the broadcast towers). We pay $10/month for locals on our Dish RV plan and change the locals with the phone app when we move. It's worked very well for 6-1/2 years full-timing.

Rob

LindaH · February 20, 2022

Thanks, Rob. I had a feeling it couldn't be a simple plug and play.

And you answered another question I had -- the cost of locals. I know we pay an extra fee for locals on our home subscription, but nowhere on the Dish Outdoors website, that I could find, do they state that locals are an extra fee.

Second Chance · February 20, 2022

12 minutes ago, LindaH said:

Thanks, Rob. I had a feeling it couldn't be a simple plug and play.

And you answered another question I had -- the cost of locals. I know we pay an extra fee for locals on our home subscription, but nowhere on the Dish Outdoors website, that I could find, do they state that locals are an extra fee.

You have to dig keep in the Dish information to find what you're looking for, but if you have an outdoor-only account (no Dish account for a stix 'n brix), what you want is called the Flex Pack. You can mix and match what you want (sports oriented vs. news vs. entertainment, etc.) and add locals. You may have to go through the "Dish For My RV" rigamarole or call Dish to get specifics.

Rob

durangodon · February 21, 2022

Are you sure that the locals are not $12 month?

Second Chance · February 21, 2022

1 minute ago, durangodon said:

Are you sure that the locals are not $12 month?

They probably are, now - prices have gone up over the past six years.🙄

Rob

LindaH · February 21, 2022

I just got an answer back from Dish Outdoors regarding local channels:

"Local channels are included in all of our packages except the Flex pack. If you are interested in the Flex pack the charge for local channels would be $12.00."