Community Forums

Laginog · 03-24-2014, 03:42 PM

We just signed up for DISHtv in both our home & RV. Sad to say, my hubby hit something and broke our old Winegard DISH 500 antenna off the roof of our motorhome. It's pretty banged up and has a couple wires still attached that we don't know what to do with, (plus we're disabled & can't climb up on the roof!!!) So....now we need a replacement. We just bought our 2000 Winnebago Chieftain a couple weeks ago. We have already had to purchase 2 new batteries, have replaced a few other things......and we have an appt with ONAN next week to look at our generator that won't turn over. So....we're spending money left & right. What would be the best/cheapest replacement antenna that is compatible with DISH. We are considering a portable one to save some money right now & we would update later. BUT....we do have 2 TV's that would be on at the same time (so Tailgater won't work). Any help or suggestions appreciated!! Thank you SOOOOO much!!!!

lanerd · 03-24-2014, 04:57 PM

Well, hate to tell ya, but it's gonna be expensive unless you just go with a portable tri-pod unit and use a DISH 1000 antenna.

If it were me, I'd forgo buying something else and get the DISH Trav'ler and be done with it........as long as your hubby doesn't knock it off the roof again.

rivernut · 03-24-2014, 09:56 PM

Look at a Tailgater. I think we actually bought ours through Dish.

Geno

Rockwood27 · 03-24-2014, 10:44 PM

I don't have a roof mounted sat dish, only a tri-pod mounted one. I bought a new 1000.2 eastern arc dish, twin lnb & wall mount arm on ebay for $75. This is the same setup as mounted on my house. I also have a new 1000.2 western arc dish with triple lnb that a friend gave me but I haven't used it yet. I mount the spare EA dish on a pole in a tripod and run a single cable to my VIP 722K receiver that I take from my house. The 722K will feed 2 TV's, the front is HD, but the rear is SD. If your TV's haven't been updated to HD LCD's it won't matter anyway. You'll only get SD reception. Since you live in IL, the 1000.2 WA may work better for you. If you are planning on travelling to the northeast or east coast then an eastern arc dish will have a better chance of getting a signal. What kind of setup was installed at your house? You should try to duplicate your house equipment to minimize setup issues with your motorhome.

Fran

TechWriter · 03-25-2014, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laginog

We are considering a portable one to save some money right now & we would update later. BUT....we do have 2 TV's that would be on at the same time (so Tailgater won't work).

You could use a Winegard Pathway X2. However, for two TVs, each on its own tuner, you would have to use DISH 211 receivers with the X2.

Ed-Sommers · 03-25-2014, 09:47 AM

I've seen inexpensive dishes mounted on a piece of 3/4 inch plywood for a total outlay of around fifty bucks.

The secret with those is to have the settings spot on, and the plywood base exactly level (use a bubble level), then find satt by rotating the plywood a little. As you would have lined up the dish to the required compass setting, it would take little effort to hit the satt using the tv/tuner tones.

Ed

wa8yxm · 03-25-2014, 10:03 AM

Your options:
IF one receiver only: A tailgater or the new Winegard Pathfinder 2 (Better than the tail gater)

If more than one receiver or if you have a 2-channel at the same time DVR... You need a dish.

It may be the old dish can be upgraded and still use the same controller or not, not that sure, Google Bill Adams for more info).

Or you can use a tripod mount dish on the ground.. This is sometimes sold as a "Disaster recovery kit".

I gave up on Dish myself for now... More trouble than worth and I have over 100 hours of stored movies to plow though if I ever find the time. More TV than I can watch and no monthly billl (over the air).

TVforMyRV · 03-25-2014, 02:17 PM

As others have stated previously here, the Winegard Pathway X2 or Pathway X1 would be a good choice. They are both portable, but the X1 can be roof mounted as an option. There are some technical differences between the X1 and X2 so deciding which one is best for you could most likely be a fairly short question and answer session.

spritz · 03-25-2014, 04:21 PM

Not mentioned, Was there any damage to the roof? Ask a neighbor or someone to go up there to see if you will start leaking water

I'd worry about the roof more than the TV"s right know.
JS, Tim

TVforMyRV · 03-25-2014, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritz

Not mentioned, Was there any damage to the roof? Ask a neighbor or someone to go up there to see if you will start leaking water

I'd worry about the roof more than the TV"s right know.
JS, Tim

VERY GOOD suggestion.

Laginog · 03-25-2014, 08:54 PM

The roof had a small strip of fiberglass removed, about 1/2 inch wide by maybe 10 inches long. I think we were pretty lucky!! We put a piece of duct tape on it for now but...We ordered some eternabond stuff & hubby's cousin will climb up & fix it. If that doesn't seem to work real well, we will take it & have it fixed. And....even though it's not cheap, we ordered the Pathway X2. Hopefully it will work well for what we need. We will have extra receivers anyway. Thank you all for so much help!!!