boyscout
Senior Member
It's the way of these things that you'll get so much different advice that you may not be much further ahead! Here's one opinion.
For the satellite service we bought the Dish Wally system. The equipment was REALLY inexpensive, and some nice options were available for it that were also inexpensive. We're part-timers using it for only months each year, so it was also great to be able to suspend Dish service and then start it up again with no penalty.
However when we were last using it, more than a year ago, Dish's offerings were getting pretty thin. I guessed that - at that time - they were in tough negotiations with some of the big networks and were dropping programming from them that they didn't want to pay for. There was less decent content and local content in the package we had, and more expensive add-ons that we didn't want to pick up.
For the antenna we bought the Winegard Carryout G2 (I believe the current model is now G3). It's an auto-seeking system that works on any one of three different systems, Dish, DirectTV, and Bell in Canada - nice to have the flexibility with carriers. It has been good, working well in all but the heaviest storms. We have not fixed it anywhere on our trailer because we frequently camp in places with trees or other obstructions, so we can move the antenna on it's 50-foot cable to the place on our site that gives us least-obstructed satellite views.
Hope this is useful. You'll get lots of other opinions. Good luck.
I have the Dish Wally receiver and KING DTP4900 DISH Tailgater Pro antenna mounted on the rooftop. If you decide to mount the antenna on the roof I recommend using the KING CE2000 Cable Entry Cover to cover the access hole and also the KING MB700 Quick Release Roof Mount Kit to allow the antenna to be easily removed if needed/desired.
As Barry K said it only costs me $7 month additional for the Wally receiver on top of my existing Dish account. We have been very pleased with this setup and enjoy having the same service at home and the RV. One very nice feature of this setup is you can rent movies from Dish and enjoy them without worrying about Internet bandwidth since everything is done via Dish.
We originally went with two Wally receivers but quickly decided it wasn't worth the hassle unless you go to a larger and much more expensive antenna. The Tailgater Pro has dual outputs so it can feed a second Wally, but the channel selections are limited due to the antenna size and satellite coverage. With two receivers some channels are not available on one Wally when watching a different channel on the other Wally, so it resulted in a complicated coordination of who was watching what channel. Since there are only two of us I dropped the second receiver and just use an HDMI repeater to feed the second TV. We never use the outside TV or one in the garage, but if we did I would just go to more repeaters.
As Barry K said it only costs me $7 month additional for the Wally receiver on top of my existing Dish account. We have been very pleased with this setup and enjoy having the same service at home and the RV. One very nice feature of this setup is you can rent movies from Dish and enjoy them without worrying about Internet bandwidth since everything is done via Dish.
We originally went with two Wally receivers but quickly decided it wasn't worth the hassle unless you go to a larger and much more expensive antenna. The Tailgater Pro has dual outputs so it can feed a second Wally, but the channel selections are limited due to the antenna size and satellite coverage. With two receivers some channels are not available on one Wally when watching a different channel on the other Wally, so it resulted in a complicated coordination of who was watching what channel. Since there are only two of us I dropped the second receiver and just use an HDMI repeater to feed the second TV. We never use the outside TV or one in the garage, but if we did I would just go to more repeaters.
As recommended by others, Dish with a Wally (which can have a hard drive added for DVR functions) is a great way to go. The Winegard Pathway X2 is Dish's best portable automatic antenna. It can receive both the eastern and western satellite arcs (locals anywhere in the country) and has the largest reflector for the strongest signals. We are full-timers and have been very happy with this combo - along with a Dish Outdoor account - for 5-1/2 years, now.
Rob
Rob
Keebler
Senior Member
The other thing to consider is if you even want satellite. We are starting to spend more time working from the RV, so we need decent internet. My preference is to spend the money on good internet service and stream my TV content.
Which HDMI repeater did you pick up? How's the picture and did you notice any latency in audio vs picture?
I tried the second receiver off the same antenna as well and thought it was less than ideal! It would have been ok if they limited the guide on the secondary receiver to only the channels that were available from the satellite that the master receiver was looking at. Since they didn't, it's really a pain trying to figure out not only what satellite the main receiver is looking at but also the channels that are associated with that satellite. I started building a spreadsheet but decided it's just not worth the effort...
Dish is my provider, my hardware is a Wally and a Pathfinder (Winegard). I like the flexible plans from Dish and the ease of changing location on a smartphone app.
Starlink looks interesting.
$500 setup and $99 per month.
Edit:
I just realized that the question was about satellite TV. I've been internet only for a few years. If the internet is down, then I'll watch whatever I can get free through the antenna.
$500 setup and $99 per month.
Edit:
I just realized that the question was about satellite TV. I've been internet only for a few years. If the internet is down, then I'll watch whatever I can get free through the antenna.
Last edited:
janelle29
Member
Activated our Wally yesterday for the first time this camping season. On the phone with Dish to set up local channels.....he says "oh by the way, there has been a change to the monthly rate". I am sure I immediately did this...[emoji849] The new rate....[emoji15]wait for this[emoji15]....$2 LESS per month. Thank you Dish for the $5 monthly rate to watch TV in our 5th wheel. We won't tell you we thought $7 was reasonable! [emoji23]
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Make sure you download the dish app to your phone if you are not full timing it. What we have found is that after about a month of inactivity you'll need to re-authorized the receiver which you can do from their app.
The MyDish app is essential when full-timing, too. It's the only way to change locals when we move other than calling Dish and waiting in line on the phone.
Rob
First you set up your antenna and turn the receiver on. Scan for eastern or western arc (depending on where you are and the antenna you have). Open the MyDish app, go to Services and select Manage Local Channels. The app will guide you from there.
Rob
janelle29
Member
It would be great to change locals without calling customer service! I just Iooked and do not see Manage Local Channels in MyDish app but we are moving to a new place on Sunday so I will research a little more then! Thanks for the heads up on this!
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janelle29
Member
FIGURED IT OUT! If you have a residential Dish account - you cannot change locals on your Wally receiver without calling. That would be why I don't have Manage Local Channels when I sign into MyDish app. [emoji3060] Happy Easter everyone!
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Thanks, I also couldn’t see the locals as Rob had described how to manage local channels and I guess due to having a residential account I’ll have to call to change.
Sorry, you two - I hadn't stopped to think that, as full-timers, our Dish RV account is all we have - no residential account with "anchored" locals.
Rob
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