Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: jatrax on November 16, 2016, 07:29:36 pm
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For those with satellite TV I was wondering what antenna you have and what receiver you are using? I have a DISH account at home so plan on going with DISH but want to see what others are using. Particularly any antenna / receiver combinations that are working well with DISH.
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We subscribe to Direct TV and take our receiver from home. We use the Winegard G2 carry out dish and are generally pleased with the overall service. They are good in changing customers to local area stations a change we make a number of times during our winter travels.
The portable dish does not pick up DT HD programing, which we have not found to be an issue.
I have read there are changes in the works for DT since being bought by AT&T, something is happening in a year or two with the discontinuation of one of their satellite, the specifics of which I can't remember, but will negatively affect services. I have also read that by 2020, there is talk of dropping satellite service altogether and just going with streaming services.
From what I have picked up on other forums Dish appears to be a very popular system with a lot of R V travelers
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We have the permanent antenna on the roof. Very limiting - trees really are a problem for reception. I would much rather have the portable unit.
Janey
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We have Dish and use a roof-mounted Winegard RoadTrip Mission Satellite TV Antenna - Model RT4035S. Great reception, easy to use. I like the easy to clean dome cover on the roof. It is pretty loud inside the PC when it is initially locating satellites, but that is only for a minute. It is the tallest item on the roof which puts our clearance at about 11'-6". When not used for a while, service is discontinued and an 800 number needs to be called to restore it (they send a signal to the unit). Lastly, in order to get local programming where you happen to be, Dish needs to be called and given the area code you are currently in (although I think there is a separate company and subscription out there that you can pay for in order to take your own local programming with you)
- Mike
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It is the tallest item on the roof which puts our clearance at about 11'-6".
- Mike
The specs on the 2552 and all the E450 based PCs states a height of 10'1" including the A/C. You might want to double check your 11"6" statement, unless your have a dish that is 15" above your A/C. :-D
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We just moved from NY to Maine and had the Dish and hopper box installed along with Dish internet. That set up allows me to use my laptop to stream tv shows from home.
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The specs on the 2552 and all the E450 based PCs states a height of 10'1" including the A/C. You might want to double check your 11"6" statement, unless your have a dish that is 15" above your A/C. :-D
Tom: My A/C unit is a low-profile Coleman (8"), which I believe sits even lower on the roof than the stock PC A/C. Been a while since I checked the clearance and will probably do it again soon. It could be I added a bit of wiggle room to the measurement. :lol
- Mike
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Wiggle room is good. ALWAYS round up in mental calculations for the height of the rig before driving under that bridge.
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For those with satellite TV I was wondering what antenna you have and what receiver you are using? I have a DISH account at home so plan on going with DISH but want to see what others are using. Particularly any antenna / receiver combinations that are working well with DISH.
I use Dish, installed a Wingard 4000 on my roof and use a VIP211 receiver. I have also used the carry out type antenna mounted to the roof ladder. A self aiming antenna is a must for me. The receiver is less than $100 and the antenna can run around $1,000, but newer models are much less.
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The specs on the 2552 and all the E450 based PCs states a height of 10'1" including the A/C. You might want to double check your 11"6" statement, unless your have a dish that is 15" above your A/C. :-D
Tom: My A/C unit is a low-profile Coleman (8"), which I believe sits even lower on the roof than the stock PC A/C. Been a while since I checked the clearance and will probably do it again soon. It could be I added a bit of wiggle room to the measurement. :lol
- Mike
I have a roadtrack mission 4000 on my roof... It only sits 4" above the Penguine Brisk Air II air conditioner. On my 2551 that makes my clearance 10' 5" and I won't try anything that's posted lower than 10' 8" and have had zero problems.
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Bought the portable dish this summer and the brand new wally receiver. Do not get the wally unless they assure you they have made changes. It only works if it finds all three sattelites. Instead get the older model vip211z. Portable dish better than roof installed in case you are parked under a tree.
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We are planning to purchase a Winegard Pathway X2 with the VIP211Z receiver. After much research, for us using it in Maine this coming summer, we found that the Wally receiver will not work because it will not pick up all the satellites (unless the Wally has been redesigned to pick up all 3 satellites).
Pricing is also very interesting as well. We have found differences in price of well over $150.
Judi
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We got the Wally. Seems to work, but both park visits this spring we ended up under trees and there was no reception, the antenna would not lock on to any satellites. So all I can say is it appears to work fine in my driveway but I have only limited experience otherwise.
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We got the Wally. Seems to work, but both park visits this spring we ended up under trees and there was no reception, the antenna would not lock on to any satellites. So all I can say is it appears to work fine in my driveway but I have only limited experience otherwise.
That's true of any satellite unit, trees will block reception. There are various non-mounted units that can be put away from trees and wired back to receiver... But then you have to find a place to store the antenna and tripod when you are not parked. Not an easy thing to do in a PC as satellite antennas are big.
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We use the portable Winegard Pathway 2 and the Dish Wally Receiver. Auto locks onto both east and west satellites and supports two receivers. Small enough to move around to clear obstructions. The challenge with any portable unit is where to store it. We usually tow a car with us so we just carry it there. Bought a new unit in an open box from Amazon Warehouse Deals for $278 including the Wally. I'm satisfied.
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We had the Dish-on-a-tripod setup when we began RVing in our Airstream. Setting up was frustrating enough when trying to lock in three satellites with a nominal signal using the on screen strength meter; but in addition, when trying to set up in cold/rain/windy weather using a 50 ft. cable to reach a clear spot, it was beyond miserable. When we moved up to a Class A, we installed a one button does all Winegard Dish and made it a practice to avoid parking under trees. . .just parked near enough to enjoy them without being near enough to screw up the Dish. ;)
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We had DirectTV for years, but when the bills started pushing $200, we finally unplugged. Turns out we could get all the cable channels we care about over the internet with "DirectTV Now" for $40/month. We added an antenna in the attic for the locals -- and picked up about a dozen oldies channels we never knew existed. We use an Amazon Firestick in all the TV's, which got rid of all the satellite boxes and wiring. And we added an over-the-air DVR that rebroadcasts over wifi to the firesticks, so we even get live antenna TV anywhere in the house without any wires. The total conversion cost about $1000, which paid back in a few months.
We tried taking a Firestick on the road with us last time out, but discovered that the free WIFI at the RV park didn't have the bandwidth. It worked fine with one of our cellphones set up as a hotspot, though. For the savings on our TV bill, we could upgrade our cell phone service to unlimited and still come out ahead, but even that weekend's TV watching didn't bust our limit that month. For part-timers like us, it might not be worth it.
Instead of spending the bucks for a satellite antenna, you might look into the cellphone hotspot/firestick idea, unless you typically camp where there's no cellphone service.
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Wally unless things have changed must find all 3 sattelites to work. Suggest you return for older Vh model make enough noise and dealer you bought it from should do this for you.. They know this is a problem.
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Just to update this thread we did get the Wally to match our at home DISH subscription. With the exception of trees blocking reception at some parks, it has worked well.
I don't understand the above comment about three satellites but I can say the Wally has worked fine for us on the west coast. Have not tried using it on east coast yet so that might be the difference?