So needing some suggestions , we r about ready to put dish network in our redwood. The permanent mount on the roof is not right for us , we r currently building a steel building with a covered area for redwood we will use as a home base at the lake . There are lots of places we go with trees so I’m afraid the roof mount would not work there either. So I’m thinking a portable of some sort. I have seen some dishes like you would mount at home , they sell kits to aim the satellite etc... is it a big pain for that ? Or a little portable one be better ? What about DVR’s , we would like to have two and possible one in outside tv , but outside is not a must just a want if possible.
Hi. Based on what you described the Winegard Pathway X2 would work well for your needs. It’s is portable and self pointing. It will handle dual coax inputs so you can run multiple receivers. Connecting it to your coach should be as easy as plugging it into the satellite ports in you wet bay. As it has a larger 18” reflector you will find it works better in bad weather. I’m always surprised by smaller dishes that lose signal in the rain. Rainy days are when I rely on TV the most.
I chose to have a Winegard Travler on the roof. I also carry a smaller portable wth a manual pointer in the basement. So far I have not needed it yet, but I appreciate your need for a tree or obstacle solution
Cheers
One thing to consider................do you want HD on multiple sets, and do you want DVR capability? I don't know if the pathway will work with the Hopper 2 or 3, but the Winegard Travel'r will, It gives the capability of recording and/or viewing 16 signals at a time. We've had ours now for 4 years and I've only had one occasion where the trees precluded operation. We just watched Blu-Rays and DVr content until the next stop.
We went a slightly different route and mounted two Tailgater Pros on the roof in quick release mounts. I carry a tripod for them if needed. Went this way because the Tailgater Pro will do two tvs but the second one is a little lacking. This way we have dvr on both Wallys and I have the ability to take the antenna off the roof if needed. For about half the $$$ of the Winegard
You might consider the dish on a tripod. I have all three, tripod, travelr and portable. The tripod was the least expensive and gave us the full features of dish (Hopper & Joey).
The cons of the tripod is that there is a learning curve to set the dish. I figured that if these young installers can do it, I too could learn. I got the install down to less than 5 minutes. There are some tricks but along with a good meter, it's an easy process.
There were just too many limitations for the portable for me. Although you can attach a hard disk and have full DVR functions the balance of the limitations were too many for my liking. The biggest restriction is the one channel at a time. I like to record sports. When they overlap, the portable doesn't work well. Secondly, the portables don't do well with longer coax runs. Specs show 25'. I found that true the farther north I traveled. Lastly, the second tv is limited to the satellite the first tv is tuned to (dish uses 3 satellites).
Bottom line is that there are no limitations with the full dish, roof mounted or tripod.
Hope that helps.
Ken
So on the tripod , are u running the cable to water bay and just hooking to one of the connections ? None of mine r marked so not sure what goes to what , two r kinda together and third separated . I’m leaning towards maybe a traveler but having a tripod dish for trees and a dish mounted permanent at the lake .
Yes, I have 2 satellite connections in the convenience center, one to the bedroom, one to the living room. Get yourself a coax tester, about $25 at Home Depot or Lowe’s. It will save you hours of frustration.
Btw, the tester works on direct runs, which is what satellites require. The other runs for cable and ota have splitters
So what’s the difference in dish that dish network would come install and one u buy online ? Could I have dish come install a dish then just pack it up and take and re align when we get to next location ?
I suppose you could. You’ll still need a good tripod (dish only does a permanent mount). Unless you want to take the disassemble the antenna, you can purchase a 2nd. For both, Try http://www.tv4rv.com/sunshop/. You’ll also need a meter...
I use the satlook lite. Since dish changed the transponder software, it’s a bit of a pain but better than any of the tone meters (junk IMHO).
I give Ken credit for being able to point the dish quickly and easily. I never found it that easy especially when I had to mange skew and pick up 3 sats.
If your going to be onsite for a season it makes sense to just use a permanent dish. For us, hitting the button and knowing by the time we are set up it’s already pointed works best. I also agree the little portable I have only picks up one sat but does have a dual lnb for both receivers. We only use that in dire cases of heavy trees and no internet or local broadcasts. Good luck!
If you go the roof mount Infound mine cheapest at Dyers Online. It was $1250
I have my portable Pathway X2 down now.... Once I am all set up, I set it down, program the receiver and go onto other stuff..
Every once and a while, I will need to do a reset to the system, but not that much any more..
so the ones using the traveler , what box are you running inside , we would like to have a dvr ?
Has anyone installed the hopper 3 on the trav'ler ?
We have DirecTV and run a Genie DVR in the Living room, an older HD receiver in the Bed room, and a Mini Genie for the Outside TV.
We generally ask for a Satellite friendly site, if not I generally have plenty of things recorded, plus DVDs, and there is always OTA.
Yes, for over 2 years now. Replaced our Hopper 2 because of the multiple tuners so many things could be recorded for later viewing sans commercials. I found this site from a gent who I believe winters in AZ about using the Travel'r with the Hopper 3. There are now two methods which work...........but he has step by step procedures with many photos.
Thanks everyone for the info , looks like I'm going with the trav'ler with a hopper 3 . Going to order and get ready to install. So what do you use for sealant before you screw the base down ? And what is he sealant over a lap sealant ?
