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TJ · 09-09-2017, 06:29 PM

Getting ready to have a satellite dish installed on the Ventana LE and am looking for some first-hand observations on these two antenna systems. Since there is quite a bit of anecdotal information out there regarding the Winegard units, I am particularly interested in hearing from folks who have the Eagle-3. Or, even better, from those who have or have had both.

Thanks, in advance, for any information you may have.

TJ

smlranger · 09-09-2017, 06:59 PM

I have owned two Winegard Traveler's for Direct TV. The first one was not a SWM set up and held up for the 4 years we had it on the coach (traded the coach). My second Traveler was the newer SWM model and I had problems with it. The first was corroded factory cable connections which causes 'No LNB' voltage errors. Getting timely and helpful tech support from Winegard was difficult but finally got the parts I needed sent to me for a fix. One year later while on a 3 month cross country trip, that same Traveler developed so much slop in the turret mechanical mechanism that it would not stay on signal. Even modest wind would cause us to lose signal. We were in Oregon. When I called Winegard for help, they just said I had to remove the unit from the roof, ship it to them for rebuild (on my dime....dish was 3 years old). When I asked if the local RV Sat dealer/service listed as a Winegard dealer could repair it, Winegard said no, it had to come back to the factory.

So, we did some research and had that same Oregon-based RV Sat dealer remove the Traveler and replace it with the RF Mogul Eagle. The dealer confirmed that Winegard allowed little field servicing of their stuff, refusing to sell parts to him when he could easily repair their stuff. RF Mogul is completely field serviceable. The RF Mogul is more sturdily built and all of the controls are in the control box which sits inside your motorhome. Some of the Traveler controls sit under the turret which makes repairs more problematic.

We had one issue with our RF Mogul and that was a glitchy GPS module. I called RF Mogul, got immediate tech support for diagnosis, and they sent a new GPS module to me quickly. They provided instructions to swap it and it took all of 10 minutes to do it with a screw driver.

The RF Mogul is a bit more expensive but I think if you look at one next to the Traveler, you will see the difference in quality.

Check this out:

http://fasttracksatellite.com/rf-mog...right-for-you/

Another thing we noted in comparing the RF Mogul to the Traveler was how much faster the RF Mogul acquires the satellites. When we would move from one location to another, our Traveler (even when it was new and worked as designed) would take 10 - 12 minutes to find and lock onto the sats. Sometimes it was quick but most times it seem to take forever. The RF Mogul never has taken longer than 2 - 5 minutes. That difference in speed in locating the satellites has really been noticeable.

TLGPE · 09-10-2017, 11:36 AM

We can echo the recommendation for RF Mogul. We had ours installed in June this year (2017). It works really well, and as stated, the service is is really good. The techs are knowledgable and helpful, and will walk you through anything you need to check out or work on.

One of the factors that persuaded me to buy ours was the fact that the unit and its parts are field serviceable and available from stock.

Yes, it does cost a bit more, but the self-service on the road could be invaluable.

Also note that the reflector is larger than the Winegard's. That collects more signal in marginal areas.

Altogether, I'm convinced, and am glad we got ours.

HTH

Tom

Dutch Star Don · 09-10-2017, 11:44 AM

Winegard has been around for a long time. I've had two of their HD antennas. One was on my other DP for about 6 years and now one on my current DP, a little over three years. The first one worked flawlessly and was still running when I sold the coach. The current one has worked well, but I've had a couple of issues. The first time, I got a code, no power at LNB. I called Winegard and they immediately diagnosed it as bad cable between the base and the LNB (cone on arm). The Winegard tech told ne to simply replace it with a short piece of coax. I elected to buy their OEM cable $35.00. Problem solved. A few months later, I was not receiving about 5 or 6 stations when on the road. Unfortunately, 3 were my favorite stations. I called Winegard and they walked me through diagnostics and determined my arm (arm that sticks out from dish) was bent. I replaced the arm $188.00 and everything is working fine again.

I don't know if Winegard is going cheap on their products or some are having some unusual issues.

This response is long, but here's why. Many years ago, there was a company called Moto-Sat that was also available for DirecTv use. Their sat actually had a really cool blue light on it at night. They eventually got tired of constant programming changes by DirecTv. This forced them to provide updates to their customers, which they eventually refused to do. After that, anyone with a Moto-sat was now out of luck for getting DirecTv.

So........(JMO)......be careful when you go with a brand other than Winegard. I've been seeing the RF Mogul units now for several years, but if they don't gain a larger part of the RV market, they could fall victim to the same thing Moto-Sat did.

Dale & Mark Bruss · 09-10-2017, 11:54 AM

From the other side. I have a Dish Trav'ler on my trailer for over seven years with zero problems.

The Trav'ler on my Bounder on my Bounder is now a year and a half old with zero problems.

The DirecTV version of Trav'ler and Eagle are close in price. For a Dish user, the Trav'ler is often on sale for less than $1300, making it $550 less than the Eagle,more than a bit.

Both units use standard reflectors and LNBF heads from the satellite provider so there is no bigger.

TJ · 09-11-2017, 09:26 AM

Thanks for the feedback. As in most cases, I see that there are pros and cons to both systems and it was good to have them laid out. The Winegard system has gotten its fair share or criticism in other threads, so good to see that some people are also getting good service from them. RF Mogul is, indeed, kind of the "new kid on the block," but do have the benefit of staff that previously worked at MotoSat. I now how some pondering to do, though I am leaning toward the RF Mogul Eagle-3 for a couple of reasons:

- Field serviceability rather than shipping the whole unit back for repair, if needed
- Four-point mounting system rather than a full-contact mount that may trap water
- Lighter weight and lower profile in stowed position

While the cost of the Eagle-3 may be a bit higher (I'll have to check that further), I'm not particularly worried about that in the long run. My goal is to get the best system for my needs and let cost be a secondary consideration.

Thanks again. And, any additional comment is certainly welcome.

TJ

Mr_D · 09-11-2017, 09:36 AM

My rig came with the MotoSat HD sat and controller. The controller burned out (not unusual I'm told). Replaced it with the RF Mogul Eagle controller. Works great and very fast to acquire a signal. If the MotoSat dish motors go out I can buy the RF Mogul dish (for either Dish or Direct) and have the controller reprogrammed.

Dutch Star Don · 09-11-2017, 11:49 AM

Jim, keep in mind that probably 90% of all antenna/satellite equipment on RV's is made Winegard. Consequently, if Winegard sells one million units and RF Mogul sold 100 thousand, you're going to have more complaints with Winegard. They could both be at 1% in breakdowns and that would show up as 10,000 for Winegard and 1,000 for RF Mogul. Just something to think about!

smlranger · 09-11-2017, 01:09 PM

The fact that Winegard is a larger company with many more units sold and in service is a valid point. True also that RF Mogul is a fairly recent re-started company formed by former Motosat engineers. So, yes, RF Mogul may be more vulnerable over time if they don't sell enough stuff.

That said, take this test before you decide:

1. Call RF Mogul and ask for Carlo. If he is not immediately available, he will call you back soon. Now, when he does be ready to drink water from a fire hose because he knows every detail about their stuff. Ask him what could break on their dish that would require you to take it off the roof and send it back to Utah for repairs. I believe he will say nothing unless you just don't want to fix it yourself or let one of their dealers do it.

2. Now call Winegard tech support and see how long it takes to talk to someone. When you do get someone (they may have improved since I last called them so you may get someone more quickly), ask them to list the issues on the Traveler that would make them ask you to take it off the roof, package it up and ship it to Iowa for repair. My guess is that they will hedge on that but they might actually tell you if they are honest. It will be more than one.

3. Finally, go to a Camping World or any RV supply place that sells Travelers and check if they have one on display. If so, grab the LNB arm and see how much slop there is in the turret. It is akin to a bobble head doll, IMO. Now you might not have a RF Mogul dealer nearby, but if you do the same on one of their units, you will see that the turret mechanism has no slop. If you appreciate how things are built, decide for yourself which seems more sturdy.

I didn't know anything about RF Mogul when I bought my second Traveler. If I had, I would have easily gotten the RF Mogul.

The odds are you will do fine with either. However, if you do have issues (especially if you are one the road somewhere), the Mogul does seem to have the advantage.

phranc · 09-11-2017, 08:51 PM

I had the RF Mogul for DirecTV installed a few years ago at a FMCA rally in Ashville NC.
There was about a hundred dollars more for the RF Mogul , but if I should need service the modular control boxes would make that a moot point . Well as it turns out I can't tell you how good their service is as I never needed any . Works the first time and every time and acquires a sat in 3 or 4 min . Plus the blue light is cool. good product

moisheh · 09-13-2018, 08:53 PM

Keep in mind that rf mogul are the same engineers stopped supporting motosat. I do not trust them. I bet they have less than 5% of the market

powercat_ras · 09-14-2018, 04:06 PM

Winegard just refreshed the Trav'ler (at least the Dish version, anyway) with improved hardware/software so if you go with their solution you should call their customer service line and get the model # and SKU of the current version. Might as well get the latest and greatest if you go with them.

jerry davis · 09-14-2018, 04:50 PM

Had the Motosat on my Alpine for 9 years without a problem. I now have had the RF Mogul Eagle unit on the DS for over a year with zero problems. Very, very fast at finding signal, usually 31/2 minutes or less. And they still have the cool blue light. Easy to find the coach in the dark.

Ken C · 09-14-2018, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tranquil Jim

Getting ready to have a satellite dish installed on the Ventana LE and am looking for some first-hand observations on these two antenna systems. Since there is quite a bit of anecdotal information out there regarding the Winegard units, I am particularly interested in hearing from folks who have the Eagle-3. Or, even better, from those who have or have had both.

Thanks, in advance, for any information you may have.

TJ

We have had an RF Mogul Eagle for 4 - 5 years. Works well and locates the satellite within 3-5 minutes. RF Mogul has built in GPS which I suspect allows it to lock on quickly. The field serviceability issue was a big deal for me since we are full time RVers.