Combining House and Travel Trailer and Reducing Costs

[Groover]

Hello! We currently have AT&T TV in our house and we have a travel trailer that we would like TV in so we are looking at our options. For various reasons we can't do a contract for house or travel trailer.

We have been able to obtain a DISH Playmaker with ViP 211z receiver. For this we can get the no-contract flex pack and only buy it when we need it. That's fine, although if we take trips of two weekends in a month we still have to pay for the whole month.

Now we are thinking about the house and how to reduce costs. I called DISH and they suggested the flex pack with equipment, installation and activation fee, a cost of $275 up front then we can add on the RV option for $7/mo. They said there was no self-install option.

Then I thought - why can't we just install some kind of DIY bracket (maybe with quick release) to attach the Playmaker to the house and only pay for one flex pack at a time and move the Playmaker and receiver between the house and the RV? Then we don't have to pay for equipment, installation or activation for the house or anything extra to take it with us on the road.

I know that the Playmaker dish is smaller and takes time to switch satellites when channel hopping, but we are OK with that. Are there other downsides?

Then I started thinking - why not buy a DISH dish on eBay and install that on the house (where the current old DirecTV one is) and only move the receiver between house and travel trailer? Is that possible? Would DISH know/care we are doing this? Are there considerations to make sure the dish works with the ViP 221z?

Thanks!

 

[NYDutch]

What you're suggesting is easily done and commonly done by part-time RV'ers. Which dish to use at your house will depend on which set of Dish satellites are viewable from your house and which local stations you will receive. Winegard has a good phone app that will let you visualize where the satellites are using an overlay on your phone's camera view. You could also use you Playmaker to try different locations for the best sat view if you want. Dish really doesn't care which dish you use with your account, so switching is not an issue. You will need to run the 211Z's "Check Switch" utility when you switch dishes though.

Page Not Found | Winegard Company

winegard.com

 

[Groover]

Thanks for the reply NYDutch and confirmation we have these options.

Which dish to use at your house will depend on which set of Dish satellites are viewable from your house and which local stations you will receive. Winegard has a good phone app that will let you visualize where the satellites are using an overlay on your phone's camera view.

Well this is what puzzles me. The western arc is almost directly south for me, all three sats are well placed. But the old DirecTV dish on my house and the one on my neighbors house both point to the eastern arc, lower down in the sky. I guess Tucson locals need the eastern arc for DirecTV but looks like western arc for DISH?

Thanks!

 

[Tecnicoloco]

Yes western arc for dish

 

[NYDutch]

Thanks for the reply NYDutch and confirmation we have these options.



Well this is what puzzles me. The western arc is almost directly south for me, all three sats are well placed. But the old DirecTV dish on my house and the one on my neighbors house both point to the eastern arc, lower down in the sky. Why?

Thanks!

DirecTV does not have an "eastern arc" only a "middle arc" that's a little more central over the US than the Dish western arc. If you have a clear view of the Dish western arc sats at 110, 119, and 129 degrees, then a 1000.2 dish with a western arc DPP LNB will work fine. Solid Signal has the combo for %85 plus shipping...

DISH Network Triple LNB HD Western Arc (VOOM) Dish Antenna(DISH1000.2) from Solid Signal

DISH Network Triple LNB HD Western Arc (VOOM) Dish Antenna(DISH1000.2) The DISH 1000.2 provides reception from the 110°, 119° and 129° DBS orbital locations using a dish antenna size similar to a DISH 1000. Allows you to connect up to three receivers and a second dish for a fourth orbital location.

www.solidsignal.com

 

[charlesrshell]

DirecTV does not have an "eastern arc" only a "middle arc" that's a little more central over the US than the Dish western arc. If you have a clear view of the Dish western arc sats at 110, 119, and 129 degrees, then a 1000.2 dish with a western arc DPP LNB will work fine. Solid Signal has the combo for %85 plus shipping...

DISH Network Triple LNB HD Western Arc (VOOM) Dish Antenna(DISH1000.2) from Solid Signal

DISH Network Triple LNB HD Western Arc (VOOM) Dish Antenna(DISH1000.2) The DISH 1000.2 provides reception from the 110°, 119° and 129° DBS orbital locations using a dish antenna size similar to a DISH 1000. Allows you to connect up to three receivers and a second dish for a fourth orbital location.

www.solidsignal.com

I miss VOOM!! LOL

 

[Groover]

Many thanks for the replies! Great stuff.