I need educated. The Tailgator and how it is determined whether you can or can't get local channels

[ScienceMike]

The following statement made with the the tailgater information is not helpful or enlightening enough.

Note: Some channels, including international programming and RTN, might not be available. Local channels and Regional Sports Networks are sometimes not available, depending on your location. Call for advice. Bluefield, WV, Lake Charles, LA, Columbia, MS, Springfield, MA, and Providence, RI markets will not be able to receive SD or HD channels with a Tailgater.

I tried a dish support chat but didn't get anywhere.
If I got it right from the Chat thaen my availability of using RTN is dependent on I am in an area that my local channels are available? But how do I figure this out before I plan a trip?


I own Race Horses and had RTN before it moved to Dish. The reason I have dish is purely because of the RTN channels.

Now I come to find this this tailgater antenna available.

This is heaven for me to be able to travel and get RTN. Yes I can do it and do do it with Sling but the network requirements limit this option I can also stay at the track and watch too but not all tracks simulcast all other tracts .


Ideally If I am away watching my horse run I can keep up on the other RTN channels, if I am away doing something else and have horses running Tailgater is perfect for me to quickly setup and watch it. (Believe me when I say if I am at a wedding I will drive the Pickup and setup Tailgater if I have a horse to watch.)

So what is the rules that define the availability of local channels when you are using Tailgater?

I have heard that locals are on spot beams(Elaborate on spot beams and locals please)--- So if I am out of the spot beam then no locals and no RTN.

The last question is RTN is a set of national channels available to all areas Dish is served. So why then is RTN tied to locals when it comes to using the Tailgator?


There needs to be an app that I can put in my account and then put in my tailgater location and it figures out what I can and can not get.


Thank You.

MIke

 

[MattG@DISH]

RTN is only available on satellite 118.7, and the Tailgater only picks up 119/110/129. With a Tailgater, you will NOT see any RTN channels.

A spotbeam is signal that only covers certain area, and is what most locals are on. If you go too far outside of the spotbeam, you will not receive your regular local channels.

A CONUS beam covers the entire Continental United States

 

[ScienceMike]

Thank you for the info.

But it brings up more questions.

I like to learn.

I have RTN as I stated.

The thing is, I HAD to get Dish HD to get the RTN channels.

Why is RTN dependent on the HD.

Two reasons I ask this.

I know that the HD receivers have a second Dish that is pointed to the sats that offer up HD I thought that RTN was therefore dependent on those sats.

The thing is my parents have Dish and also had RTN when it was its own subscription. BUT when they went to upgrade to a Dish HD box and they had techs come out to install it they ran into a problem in that the second dish had no LOS and they couldn't do it.

So if RTN is at 118.7 which is between 110 and 119 that means that RTN is not dependent on the second Sat. So why do they make RTN an option only if your an HD subscriber?

When Dish took over RTN there was mass conffusion in trying to get it setup, When calling to setup with RTN most didn't know it existed as an option and it was difficult in ordering it.

So is RTN really dependent on an HD subscription or do you just need the HD box to get it. In other words if my parents change over to an HD Box and just upgrades their dish 500 dish to a dish that has the 3rd 118.7 LNB can they subscribe to RTN?

Also I am a Dish HD subscriber and subscribe to RTN. I have a two dish setup can someone tell me not in great detail which sat each dish points too? I am guessing the Sat I have with 3 LNBs isx the one pointing to 110, 118.7, and 119. is this right.

Also I take it that the Tailgater can't get 118.7 because it uses a different LNB than the other sats if what I googled on 118.7 is correct and interpreted by me is right.

 

[MattG@DISH]

We only broadcast RTN in MPEG-4 format, which none of our SD receivers can see (SD receivers are MPEG-2), which is why you're required to have an HD receiver. You do not need HD programming on your account, but an HD receiver is necessary to receive RTN.

If you press menu-6-1-3, in field "G" you will see the satellites you receive.

118.7 is an FSS satellite, and requires a special LNB to pick up signal from it, which the Tailgater does not have.

 

[ScienceMike]

Thanks Matt.

The info is superb.

A little ticked at Dish how they handled the takeover of RTN. I know it is not a major money maker for them so I am sure that since there is probably less demand for it and the reps know less about it and the installers know even less than that. But it would be nice to know what is a minimum package and equipment setup one needs to buy to get it. I personally went about 7-8 months after RTN made the switch to dish and turned off their signal because it was so difficult to order and also had installer woes stories from others that switched earlier including my parents, their episode as I i will describe took place right after RTN made the switch. I initially tried a couple weeks before RTN turned off the G3c signal during an overlapping grace period when RTN was officially available on Dish and still available on my original equipment. But had all kinds of trouble so I just dropped trying to set it up. They even extended the grace period because of transition problems.

When RTN became available on dish it took people 3-6 months to get things to where they could get it setup. At that time all we heard was that it took HD and the whole nine yards of HD to get it and that you HAD to have the second sat dish to specifically get to the sat that had those channels.

I am not sure what my parents subscribe to as far as packages. I would like to know though what is the minimal setup she needs to subscribe to and what equipment that entails to get RTN. The thing I am wondering is although RTN is fed off the main dish are the packages and or equipment that is needed to get RTN added require to have that second dish? That is why I also ask again besides the main sat dish what exactly does the second dish point to and what channel sets are reliant on them?

If I can do it with the one dish only in Dish's lingo what do I order?


Thank You again Matt You have been helpful.

PS: I have a little knowledge of how this sat stuff works.

When RTN was its own company and was running off of Galaxy 3c and at the end of its life they had not many installers to be found. I also was an early adopter of RTN when they also did not have many installers so I did my own self install. In my area I actually became a goto for others in horse racing that wanted RTN and I helped them install their setup and even had someone who we were having more trouble than normal get me a Birdog to do it. So I became a one trick pony in setting up a sat dish with a single LNB to find G3c. So if I learn more I don't want to get to where everyone is asking for my help to install but I am thinking the easiest thing for my parents might be to do the install my self for them.

See I am a little warry of installers in my parents area. They were taken advantage of. She recently had system problems which turned out to be just a controller issue. But when she talked to me I told her that when I had seen one of her bills she had Equipment Protection and that if there was a problem that it should be covered. So she called and it was and things got fixed. But she tells me that about a year ago when she had trouble she had called the original installer which was an independent contractor which she was instructed by the installer to do if she had problems and he came out fixxed it and charged her. Since then this installer has quit the installing business and has moved to Nashville to pursue a singing carear.

TL;DR

I am a tech guy with some experence with sat dish instalations having some not too pleasant experences with the way Dish took over a minor programing package RTN (the Horse Racing Network) and asking a couple questions on the forums I have decided to take it on my self to educate myself on the workings of Dish, their packages and their equipment to better handle my needs and to help friends and family who are also into horse racing get excactly what they need from the dish netwok. So look for some more questions in the near future.