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Old 01-21-2018, 08:48 PM   #1
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Which Portable Dish?

2010 Suncruiser, built-in Kingdome is one of the original antennas and current receivers are not compatible. So, we have two Dish Wally receivers for two of the TVs and are now looking for recommendations for the best Dish compatible portable antennas. I see the Tailgater, Playmaker, and others on Amazon and Ebay. We are not tech savvy in this area and just want access to clear TV with easy hookups. We do not watch the same channels - his and hers is a necessity. Any recommendations appreciated.
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Old 01-22-2018, 05:02 AM   #2
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I had enough of Direct TV (long story)....switched over to the pay-as-you go and got the Tailgater VQ4500 with 2 wallys.
The Tailgater support 2 separate receivers and the dome can be permanently mounted on the roof if so desired. The other reason I decided to go with the portable I don't have to look for that wide open site with little or no shade. I can now move the portable to a spot that will find a signal and have some cover.
For changing over from direct, I saved some money and I get HD which I was not getting from direct tv. Very easy to set up and the programming is about the same.
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Old 01-22-2018, 12:56 PM   #3
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we had a tailgator and was easy to use but when we purchased our Journey it already had the dome on the roof so we sold it. Liked the portable unit a lot, only issue was in Texas when there was heavy dew I had to wipe off the unit to get a signal while I had my morning coffee. The tailgator only works on Dish Network but does get HD. Our unit only operated one TV but it was a few years older, newer models may be different.
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Old 01-23-2018, 12:07 AM   #4
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Here’s the thing with small dome automatic SAT dishes that support two receivers, the Dish is so small that as you move between channels the Dish also moves between the 2 (3) SATs. So, if you’re watching a channel on SAT 110 and move up a channel or two the Dish inside the dome will physically move to pick up the SAT at 119. This is no big deal if you’re using one receiver, but when using two receivers you can watch different channels as long as they are on the same SAT. As soon as one receiver requests a channel on a different SAT location than the other receiver you’ve got a problem. The Dish can’t cover two locations at the same time.

This is why big SAT dishes have multiple LNBs, so they can cover multiple SAT locations at one time without repositioning. It’s also why those big dishes are oval and not round.
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Old 01-25-2018, 10:10 PM   #5
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The latest technology for two Dish receivers is the Dish Playmaker Duo. It is a new design that acquires and changes between sats faster than any other portable receiver on the market.

The only CON for the Playmaker is that it can only receive the "Western Arc" (WA) Dish Sat Positions - 110, 119, and 129. Certain market areas only have local channels on the "Eastern Arc" (EA) Sat Positions - 77, 72.7, and 61.5.

Here is a map showing which local TV markets use WA vs. EA. Good news is that there are now only a few local markets that only use EA.

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Old 02-03-2018, 08:50 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by powercat_ras View Post
The latest technology for two Dish receivers is the Dish Playmaker Duo. It is a new design that acquires and changes between sats faster than any other portable receiver on the market.

The only CON for the Playmaker is that it can only receive the "Western Arc" (WA) Dish Sat Positions - 110, 119, and 129. Certain market areas only have local channels on the "Eastern Arc" (EA) Sat Positions - 77, 72.7, and 61.5.

Here is a map showing which local TV markets use WA vs. EA. Good news is that there are now only a few local markets that only use EA.

This is true. However, if you travel in the Northeast, you might not be able to pickup SAT 129 because it would be very low on the horizon. This might limit your channel selection.

For flexibility in a portable dish, I personally prefer the Winegard Pathway X2. It is capable of receiving the Western and Eastern Arcs. Sometimes being able to switch arcs allows me to obtain signal through tree cover.

The Pathway X2 also has two receiver capability. However, if you configure it for dual receivers, it locks on and stays on one satellite. This limits the usable channels. You can configure it for a single receiver and still connect two. However, the main receiver controls which satellite the dish is pointing to.
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Old 02-07-2019, 11:48 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by rgodfrey View Post

For flexibility in a portable dish, I personally prefer the Winegard Pathway X2. It is capable of receiving the Western and Eastern Arcs.
Can the Pathway X2 be mounted permanent to the roof of an RV?

From everything I can see, the answer appears to be NO, but I cannot find anyone that clarifies this limitation. Winegard offers no roof kits for the X2, and I cannot find any photos of X2 mounted to an RV roof using Google Images, so it appears it's made to be ONLY portable. Correct?
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Old 02-09-2019, 07:24 AM   #8
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Can the Pathway X2 be mounted permanent to the roof of an RV?

From everything I can see, the answer appears to be NO, but I cannot find anyone that clarifies this limitation. Winegard offers no roof kits for the X2, and I cannot find any photos of X2 mounted to an RV roof using Google Images, so it appears it's made to be ONLY portable. Correct?
You are correct in your research. The X2 is not designed to be permanently mounted. With most domes, all of the moving parts are contained within the dome. The X2 really isn’t a dome. The upper portion actually rotates. Additionally, when you set it up, the handle needs to be pointed North. If it was permanently mounted, that would be hard to accomplish.
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Old 02-09-2019, 06:44 PM   #9
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You are correct in your research. The X2 is not designed to be permanently mounted. With most domes, all of the moving parts are contained within the dome. The X2 really isn’t a dome. .
Thanks, that's what it appeared. After finding the Winegard website it offered more clarity about rooftop mount, with a chart, etc.

I'm leaning toward the King DTP4950 with a Wally. They offer an optional roof mount that quick releases to use on the ground if you get into a pinch, which is clever. It's got a loop to lock the dish onto the mount for security. Just unlock the lock, unscrew the coax, and take it down to the ground for a better view of the southern sky.

Does anyone else have good or bad things to say about the King dish? Although the King dish supports 2 receivers, I expect to have only 1 receiver. The RV isn't wired for 2 antenna wires. Although there are two HDMI paths in the RV for two receivers, there's only one COAX cable feed from the roof to the entertainment center, I think. I'm wondering when I bore the 1" hole in the roof to access the COAX if I could feed another coax cable down to the entertainment center panel. It may be doable since it's so close, but not sure. Has anyone else done that on a Vista or Sunstar 32YE?
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Old 02-09-2019, 10:34 PM   #10
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Don’t believe the 2-receiver hype about any of these. Yes, it has two outputs and technically can support two receivers BUT the first receiver is a “master” and the second receiver can only show programming that is on the same Satellite as the master receiver. So, if you want to watch a channel on 119 the second receiver can only watch channels on that same Satellite.

See, the domes are small and there is only one LNB. So the dish physically moves from one sat to the other as you scroll through the channels. It’s really a miracle if you and your wife want to watch a channel that happens to be on the same Satellite. And no channel surfing otherwise you’ll drive each other crazy.
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Old 08-18-2019, 05:23 PM   #11
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My backup dish is a Pathfinder. We've had it through three rigs and it works very well. Often, you have to be patient when changing channels, but other than the lag and the flash of the "signal lost", no issues! I prefer the bigger roof mounted, but when the pesky tree jumps out and breaks my signal...
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Old 03-01-2021, 03:48 PM   #12
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I have the Playmaker and it receives 110, 119, 129 and (really "or") 61.5
I actually prefer the portable version over a roof mount , when i bought it i had big plans to roof mount it. After 2 trips with it i decided its staying portable ! On both trips i would have been without TV if it was roof mounted due to heavy tree cover over the MH .
Both times i was able to find a break in the trees within my site area that afforded me a signal .
Since then, more times than not i would be without tv if it was roof mounted.
I just sit it on a little table and use a compass to roughly pick a clear view of the sats .
I went a couple steps further and ordered 4 threaded legs with articulating feet , I used JB Weld to add the nuts in the feet holes and velcroed a circle level on the top .. a quick spin of the legs and a glance at the level on top and its good to go!!
We arent full timers and camping trips are for camping fun and generally not for hardcore tv watching (not that the tvs arent on constantly Lol) so its enough for us.
And now we are on the Netflix , Amazon etc kick .. so we are mostly watching that now by just streaming from our phones to the tv .. but i guess thats another topic
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Old 03-01-2021, 10:08 PM   #13
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I ended up installing the King Dish pro antenna on the roof with the quick disconnect. I carry an extra 100' of coax with me in case I need to take the antenna off the roof and position it on the ground for LOS to the south sky. So far, after 18mos of usage, it has worked just fine with one receiver. And so far I haven't had a situation where I need to relocate the antenna from the roof to the ground. A couple of times I've been at a overnight stay without TV due to trees, but that's only one night, not worth the setup time required. But if I were camping for a few days or more in one place, and needed to relocate the antenna to the ground, it's easy enough to unlatch from the roof and use it like a portable. I like the roof mount for easy and quick connection to the sats, and I don't have to store it in the basement.
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Old 03-02-2021, 09:15 AM   #14
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If you are willing to use a portable dish that requires a manual setup, check out the portable dish and tripod provided at TV4RV.com. The tripod is high quality and has fully adjustable legs for leveling purposes. It does take longer to setup, but you will get pretty proficient after setting it up a few times. This type of dish allows you to use two receivers at one time and will pick up all three (129, 114, 110) satellites at one time, so you can watch any station on either receiver at the same time. The dish cannot be mounted on your roof, but by having it on the ground you can move it to various locations to avoid obstacles like tree limbs. Using a manual dish allows you to avoid issues like mechanical and electrical breakdowns that can occur with an automatically adjusting dish (i.e., playmaker, pathway, etc.).
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