Adding DISH to Winegard Satellite

[meant2shop]

We have a 2000 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Vision 37B. It has a Winegard satellite dish mounted on the roof with a manual "crank" on the rig interior ceiling. We have never really tried or been successful in getting TV signals using the Winegard, as so far, we stay at RV parks with cable at the site, plus we're novices at how the Winegard works.

What do we need to do/add/purchase to be able to get as many TV channels as possible when we are "dry camping" or staying at a park w/o cable TV?

We are current DISH subscribers at home, and have two receivers and DVRs at home. Does the DISH satellite work in conjunction with the Winegard, or does it replace the Winegard for TV reception w/o cable?

What is initial cost for the portable DISH satellite, installation, etc. and is there also a monthly fee required, or do you just pay for it when you are RVing and using it?

With the addition of DISH, should we be able to get TV channels wherever we are camping or will we have times when there are still no or limited available channels (like in the desert or in an area a distance from a town)?

Thanks,

Jim and Susan and our two Westie girls
Merlin, OR

[sportscoach1]

Originally Posted by meant2shop

We have a 2000 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Vision 37B. It has a Winegard satellite dish mounted on the roof with a manual "crank" on the rig interior ceiling. We have never really tried or been successful in getting TV signals using the Winegard, as so far, we stay at RV parks with cable at the site, plus we're novices at how the Winegard works.

What do we need to do/add/purchase to be able to get as many TV channels as possible when we are "dry camping" or staying at a park w/o cable TV?

We are current DISH subscribers at home, and have two receivers and DVRs at home. Does the DISH satellite work in conjunction with the Winegard, or does it replace the Winegard for TV reception w/o cable?

What is initial cost for the portable DISH satellite, installation, etc. and is there also a monthly fee required, or do you just pay for it when you are RVing and using it?

With the addition of DISH, should we be able to get TV channels wherever we are camping or will we have times when there are still no or limited available channels (like in the desert or in an area a distance from a town)?

Thanks,

Jim and Susan and our two Westie girls
Merlin, OR

I would call my local Dish Dealer and ask them to install a reciever from the house and also have them show you how to find the satellite. Thats what I did with my Direct TV reciever and it works great while I am on the road then put it back in the den for the winter at no charge. Good Luck

[The General]

Originally Posted by meant2shop

We have a 2000 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Vision 37B. It has a Winegard satellite dish mounted on the roof with a manual "crank" on the rig interior ceiling. We have never really tried or been successful in getting TV signals using the Winegard, as so far, we stay at RV parks with cable at the site, plus we're novices at how the Winegard works.

What do we need to do/add/purchase to be able to get as many TV channels as possible when we are "dry camping" or staying at a park w/o cable TV?

We are current DISH subscribers at home, and have two receivers and DVRs at home. Does the DISH satellite work in conjunction with the Winegard, or does it replace the Winegard for TV reception w/o cable?

What is initial cost for the portable DISH satellite, installation, etc. and is there also a monthly fee required, or do you just pay for it when you are RVing and using it?

With the addition of DISH, should we be able to get TV channels wherever we are camping or will we have times when there are still no or limited available channels (like in the desert or in an area a distance from a town)?

Thanks,

Jim and Susan and our two Westie girls
Merlin, OR

Hi Jim and Susan,

You will need to call DishNetwork and have them install a receiver in your RV and the cost should be about $8/month for the extra receiver and ask for free installation and the installer will explain how to use. There are no other monthly charges. You can also take one of your home receivers and install in your PA, when needed, but you may not want to go through the hassle of doing so.
You will need to use the generator or an inverter, while dry camping, to provide power to the TV and SAT systems.
Be careful where you camp because you will need a clear compass view at about 160 degrees for reception. If you have a tree or something else in that sky location, you will not get reception and may want to ask for a free portable SAT dish from DishNetwork to put out on the ground for reception.
If you do the above, you will get all of your stations your currently receive at home except the local channels. The local channels will be accessable for about 150 miles from your home and not much further.

[Jobert]

If you do talk to Dish, your best off not mentioning the dirty word "RV", that said,they do have a program for RV's now but it requires a second account and some other hoops to jump through. You might tell them you are putting it in the basement on your workbench or something similar. I like the suggestion of calling a local dealer/installer and working with them. Your dish at home probably uses 3 different sats to get programing and switches between them automatically. With your manual sat, you would have to manually switch between them, or replace it with a newer roof mounted dish/dome. If you aim at sat 119, you will get most of what your used to watching. Hope this might help, Happy Trails Bert

[meant2shop]

Originally Posted by Jobert

If you do talk to Dish, your best off not mentioning the dirty word "RV", that said,they do have a program for RV's now but it requires a second account and some other hoops to jump through. You might tell them you are putting it in the basement on your workbench or something similar. I like the suggestion of calling a local dealer/installer and working with them. Your dish at home probably uses 3 different sats to get programing and switches between them automatically. With your manual sat, you would have to manually switch between them, or replace it with a newer roof mounted dish/dome. If you aim at sat 119, you will get most of what your used to watching. Hope this might help, Happy Trails Bert

Thanks for the info: So if I understand correctly, our best bet would be to get an add'l receiver and portable DISH sat dish? Do these work WITH the Wingard sat dish we currently have on the roof? Or does the DISH receiver and portable sat work by themselves/together to get channels and the Winegard is not involved in the process? When you say "if you aim at sat 119, you will ......", are you referring to the DISH sat equipment or the Winegard? As you can tell, I'm still a bit fuzzy on all of this. We do have a local DISH installer that is knowledgeable and reasonably priced.
Thank you.

Jim and Susan
'00 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Vision 37B
Merlin, OR

[navychaps]

If you have a "Winegard DISH antenna" installed, you will not need an additional dish. If you have a second in home receiver you can bring it to the RV and hook it up to the dish and then use the point dish function to find the satellite. If all you have is a Winegard crank up antenna, then you will need a separate dish.

You can tell from the inside if it is a dish as it has a "lock" and a compass heading dial. also, you may have an elevation meter. If it is a regular antenna then all you will have is a crank and pointing dial to rotate the antenna to the best signal. There is NO lock and No Compass dial. Hope this helps.

Here is a link to the Dish Antenna manual: http://www.winegard.com/kbase/upload/2451069.pdf

[The General]

Originally Posted by meant2shop

Thanks for the info: So if I understand correctly, our best bet would be to get an add'l receiver and portable DISH sat dish? Do these work WITH the Wingard sat dish we currently have on the roof? Or does the DISH receiver and portable sat work by themselves/together to get channels and the Winegard is not involved in the process? When you say "if you aim at sat 119, you will ......", are you referring to the DISH sat equipment or the Winegard? As you can tell, I'm still a bit fuzzy on all of this. We do have a local DISH installer that is knowledgeable and reasonably priced.
Thank you.

Jim and Susan
'00 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Vision 37B
Merlin, OR

Jim and Susan,

Your Winegard works totally separately from the portable dish and your installer will guide you through the process.
You only need the portable when you are parked in an area that your Winegard cannot access the sat signal that you receive from the southern sky at about 160 degrees.
I use 150 feet of R6 cable to be able to move the portable dish around enough to get a clear shot at the Satellite.

[meant2shop]

Thanks all for the good info. Just curious - When we are camping at RV parks with full hookups, including cable, we've noticede that some folks have their DISH or DIRECT TV portable satellite dishes set up outside their rig.

Why is this if they already have cable available? Does the portable satellite dish just give them improved reception and more channels to watch?

Thanks again.

Jim and Susan
Merlin, OR
'00 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Vision

[Triker56]

Why is this if they already have cable available? Does the portable satellite dish just give them improved reception and more channels to watch?

My Winegard Trav'ler Slimline mounted on the MH roof brings in a lot of HD channels that the campground don't even carry on cable.
And most have only the basic programs with there cable.
It may have been over 8 years ago when I last hooked up to a campground cable system.

Also at least 5 years that my roof dish couldn't get a signal in a campground.

[The General]

Originally Posted by meant2shop

Thanks all for the good info. Just curious - When we are camping at RV parks with full hookups, including cable, we've noticede that some folks have their DISH or DIRECT TV portable satellite dishes set up outside their rig.

Why is this if they already have cable available? Does the portable satellite dish just give them improved reception and more channels to watch?

Thanks again.

Jim and Susan
Merlin, OR
'00 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Vision

Jim and Susan,

We pay for DishNetwork that provides us much more then cable can, such as, 200 chanels, HBO, ShowTime etc. The portable dishes are used when we are under trees without a southern sky access for our satellite beam transmission to our roof sat.

[meant2shop]

Originally Posted by Triker56

My Winegard Trav'ler Slimline mounted on the MH roof brings in a lot of HD channels that the campground don't even carry on cable.
And most have only the basic programs with there cable.
It may have been over 8 years ago when I last hooked up to a campground cable system.

Also at least 5 years that my roof dish couldn't get a signal in a campground.

Do you have DISH or DIRECT TV along with your Winegard Trav'ler Slimline that's mounted on your roof, or do you get all the channels you need/want/are available with just the Slimline?

Thanks,

Jim and Susan
Merlin, OR

[Triker56]

Originally Posted by meant2shop

Do you have DISH or DIRECT TV along with your Winegard Trav'ler Slimline that's mounted on your roof, or do you get all the channels you need/want/are available with just the Slimline?

I have had DirecTV since 1995 at first in a Brick & Stick.
Then moved it to the MH when I went Full Time in Oct. 1999.

I started out with the Winegard manual crank up. then a couple years later I got the Winegard small 18" auto Dish.

In May 2008 had the Trav'ler sk-3006 installed. Got one of the first ones made as it only has 3 outputs instead of the present 4 output ones.

The Trav'ler picks up the 99/101/102/110/119 satellites.
I have 3 receivers in my MH. A SD in the front up over the driver.
A HD DVR one across from the couch and a HD one in the bedroom.
I need 4 inputs so I have used a 2 way switch for the front & rear receivers when needed.

But I also have a Datastorm dish on the roof with a 3 LNB on the B.O.W. That has outputs that I use for the front receiver and the others if I am in a location the Winegard can't get the satellites and the BOW can.

That said I am grandfathered in both E&W DNS and get all the HD and 3D programs that come with my package from DirecTV.

[meant2shop]

We already are DISH subscribers at home, with two receivers. I don't feel savvy enough to have to remove and reconnect one of these receivers correctly in the house, each time we need it for an RV trip, so will probably look into calling our local DISH guy and getting another receiver, which I understand you only pay for it during the month(s) you use it, and also get the portable DISH satellite, stand, and extra cable.

That being the case, should we also upgrade our Winegard roof-mounted crank-style satellite dish to something more current/high tech/easier to use?

Would replacing it give us more channels to watch and an easier time finding the correct position to receive those channels? Or are we fine with what we already have (which is probably original equipment for our '00 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Vision 36B)?

Don't REALLY want to spend the extra bucks to replace this if having the DISH hookup, portable satellite, and receiver would enhance our reception greatly. Most of the roof setups we've seen at Camping World, etc., run around 800-1000 plus.

We're not full-timers so just wondering if we really need to upgrade.

Thanks again,

Jim and Susan
Merlin OR

[meant2shop]

Originally Posted by meant2shop

We already are DISH subscribers at home, with two receivers. I don't feel savvy enough to have to remove and reconnect one of these receivers correctly in the house, each time we need it for an RV trip, so will probably look into calling our local DISH guy and getting another receiver, which I understand you only pay for it during the month(s) you use it, and also get the portable DISH satellite, stand, and extra cable.

That being the case, should we also upgrade our Winegard roof-mounted crank-style satellite dish to something more current/high tech/easier to use?

Would replacing it give us more channels to watch and an easier time finding the correct position to receive those channels? Or are we fine with what we already have (which is probably original equipment for our '00 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Vision 36B)?

Don't REALLY want to spend the extra bucks to replace this if having the DISH hookup, portable satellite, and receiver would enhance our reception greatly. Most of the roof setups we've seen at Camping World, etc., run around 800-1000 plus.

We're not full-timers so just wondering if we really need to upgrade.

Thanks again,

Jim and Susan
Merlin OR

Still waiting for someone to give us their expertise and answers!

Thanks,

Jim and Susan