Which portable dish?

[mjstraw]

I'm thinking about getting a portable/mobile dish with Wally receiver to use with our travel trailer. Looks like they all are designed to use western arc satellites, with a single exception - the Winegard Pathway X2. But it's (understandably) bigger and heavier.

So, do those of you who RV with a dish system ever find that WA-only is a problem and wish you also had EA capability?

Mark

 

[NYDutch]

We use a tripod mounted 1000.4 dish for our RV sat service, and there have been many times when we've been glad we have the capability of using either arc. At the site we're on right now in central Florida for instance, we have no view of the western arc at all due to the many trees, but we are able to get all three eastern arc sats. It did require careful sighting and aiming though, with the dish seeing 61.5 on one side of a tree and 72.7 and 77 on the other side. A couple of weeks ago, we were on a site in Virginia where only the western arc was "seeable", which was good since the Roanoke market locals there are only on the western arc.

 

[mjstraw]

I'm lazy and think I'll go with one of the "automatic" ones.

Doesn't it take a different LNB for eastern vs western?

 

[NYDutch]

The portable automatic "dome" style dishes like the X2, Tailgater, etc., use a single LNB to receive the sat signals. They re-aim the dish as needed whenever you change to a channel that's on a different satellite. That does mean you can only get programming from one satellite at a time though, so if you have two TV's and receivers, they both must watch programs on the same satellite. The domes cannot be used at all with the current multiple tuner DVR receivers like the Hopper series. If you really want an automatic dome, then the X2 is the current best choice for maximum aiming opportunities due to its dual arc capability. The X2 can only be used with the Dish VIP 211 or Wally series receivers.

 

[mjstraw]

How much of a lag does re-positioning add when changing channels?

 

[rvvaquero]

How much of a lag does re-positioning add when changing channels?

I have a Tailgater portable. There is little to no lag difference when using it compared to using a fixed 1000.2 dish.

In my opinion, the X2 is your best portable option.

 

[NYDutch]

Doesn't it take a different LNB for eastern vs western?

To clarify that point a bit, the 1000.2 &.4 use different multiple LNB sets for each arc, not because the LNB's themselves are different, but because the spacing between the LNB's are different to acomodate the variations in satellite spacing on each arc. The domes use a single LNB, and the spacing differences are managed via the motor positioning programming.

 

[mjstraw]

To clarify that point a bit, the 1000.2 &.4 use different multiple LNB sets for each arc, not because the LNB's themselves are different, but because the spacing between the LNB's are different to acomodate the variations in satellite spacing on each arc. The domes use a single LNB, and the spacing differences are managed via the motor positioning programming.

So you carry two LNBs with you and swap them out when you change arcs?

Mark

 

[NYDutch]

So you carry two LNBs with you and swap them out when you change arcs?

Mark

Yes... It takes about 2-3 minutes to swap them when needed. Just two screws and swap the cables. It's well worth it to be able to use our Hopper w/Sling wherever we are. Without the eastern arc LNB set installed at this site, we wouldn't be able to watch the Red Wings/Mapleleafs hockey game tonight on Center Ice. Go Wings!

 

[Brussam]

We usually use the Winegard Trav'ler which is restricted to the WA for getting all three satellites. We carry a ground tripod with a DPP 1000.2 with both a DPH WA head and a DPH EA head for situations where there are trees in the way or if want HD locals that are only available on the EA in the area we are.