Tailgater help / advice? Maybe?

[doc73]

So we now have dish at home and decided to get the tailgater for on the road so the little one gets mickey mouse club house on the road... But I am having a heck of a time getting this thing to work correctly on the road.

It always gets the 110 satellite but nothing else (signal strenth gave 25 to 30)no matter where it is... been on my roof, trucks roof front area back area, picnic bench...

I know I am in the SC lowlands right now and there are trees around but will that knock out any chance at satellite? I tried the apps to get a better spot but still nothing even when rhey show/ look "clear"

I Know it works because I had it gong at home in PA, but no trees on farmland, and I see others with manual dishes working just fine here.

Should I have just gotten a manual dish? Worse part is the tailgater I think gets the western sats and I have a perfect view of the eastern arc... arrrrgggg!

Thanks

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[BandJCarm]

Before you get a manual dish, see my thread........

This stuff is SO FRUSTRATING.

P.S.
I got the Pathway. More expensive, but I can tell it whether to go east or west.

[doc73]

I think I just had read it. I guess this is the way with technology. ..

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[Sirsea]

We have had a tailgater for a couple of years and trees will definitely block the signal; you need a clear view of the SW sky or it won't work very well if at all. We carry 150' of cable and have had to use all of it at times in order to position the unit away from trees, etc.

[doc73]

Yeah I guess we are out of luck then. Now I might be lost with you saying the sw sky... what are the western arc satellite numbers? I have been using an app satellitear and it just says echostar whatever number... I have been trying to aim at the ones at the 110 119 degrees and they are se. The sw satellites that show on the app are actually in the only clearing around and are all visible per the app. I assumed they were the eastern arc?

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[Sirsea]

On my tailgater, you just position it where the handle is facing North and the unit self-aligns, no further tweeking needed.

[BombDoc]

Originally Posted by doc73

Yeah I guess we are out of luck then. Now I might be lost with you saying the sw sky... what are the western arc satellite numbers? I have been using an app satellitear and it just says echostar whatever number... I have been trying to aim at the ones at the 110 119 degrees and they are se. The sw satellites that show on the app are actually in the only clearing around and are all visible per the app. I assumed they were the eastern arc?

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Where are you in SC?

I've had issue with mine in some campgrounds. Not picking up all satellites. When I have no trees it works great, but trying to shoot through trees is tough. I have the Dish RV app on my iphone and I'm beginning to questions how accurate it is. Sometimes I can clearly see all the satellites, and still only pick up one or two. I'm one of those guys that want HD everything and am not satisfied with SD if I'm paying for HD. I move it around quite a bit, elevate it on the roof of the 5'er, top of my truck, on the picnic table, tailgate, and all kinds of other things. I've found that if you get one satellite, move it just a bit and sometimes you can get them all. It is tough with trees around, but when I tailgate in Columbia, SC I get everything, no trees at all.

[BandJCarm]

Dishpointer Pro is worth $20.00. I tried all the free apps. Worth nothing. Dishpointer Pro shows A) where they all are and b) the camera shows what's between you and the satellites you choose.

DISH uses (western) 110, 119, and 129.

[BombDoc]

Originally Posted by Sirsea

On my tailgater, you just position it where the handle is facing North and the unit self-aligns, no further tweeking needed.

I didn't know the handle was supposed to face north. Is that in the manual? I must have missed it. I just set it down. Maybe that has something to do with it??

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by BombDoc

I didn't know the handle was supposed to face north. Is that in the manual? I must have missed it. I just set it down. Maybe that has something to do with it??

X2 never heard this before.
If its auto aligning then it shouldnt matter.

Id love to see documentation on this!

I do know it can be fussy if not level.

Course I use a winegard carryout to.

TURBS

Sabre owners united!

[kz08h5]

The handle pointed north thing is for a visual reference to help identify the southern sky. Trees are not your friend when using the tailgater.

[doc73]

We are down I Yamassee at the Thousand trails. I did notice how sensitive it is. A hair moving it will get some better reception I have found.

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[bubbles]

The manual says to point the tailgater toward the southern sky. The handle is the rear of the antenna and therefore the handle will be to the north. If the trees are quite aways from the antenna our tailgater will pick up all 3 sat's. As said, sometimes just a slight movement of the antenna either left or right will sometimes allow all the sat's to be picked up. Of course each antenna movement requires a reset of the receiver for automatic sat capture. Our tailgater functions as advertised and is a joy to have (JMO). As for manual dish setups I believe most are much larger dishes and would therefore be able to receive signals where the tailgater won't (trees & all).

[doc73]

Thank you. These trees are ten feet above the trailer so I was guessing they were the issue. I will trythe side to side with g as I had seen it improve when messing with it last night. I will also try the dish pointer app if avail on android.

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[Sirsea]

While the Dish Tailgater is self-aligning the internal mechanism (the dish) does not rotate a full 360*; there is a dead spot where it reverses direction when searching.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by doc73

Thank you. These trees are ten feet above the trailer so I was guessing they were the issue. I will trythe side to side with g as I had seen it improve when messing with it last night. I will also try the dish pointer app if avail on android.

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Last year at the Goshen rally I had to set my wingard carry out on top of my slide out to get reception.
It wasn't tree's in the way but rather my lovely neighbors.

TURBS

Sabre owners united!

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by doc73

Thank you. These trees are ten feet above the trailer so I was guessing they were the issue. I will trythe side to side with g as I had seen it improve when messing with it last night. I will also try the dish pointer app if avail on android.

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The tailgater positioning does not have to be precise (dead on south). I just use a cheap hand held compass for pointing it to south when in doubt. Typically just pointed at the southern sky is sufficient.

[comfun1]

Has anyone had the manual and switched to the tailgater? Reason I'm asking is I have a manual and am thinking about the tailgater but reading this thread is causing me to wonder if it would be the right move.

[bend302]

We bought a tailgater last December and found in Florida that the satellites are Southwest even though the documentation said to point South.

As you move South, the angle is higher in the sky so I would think that in the Carolinas you would clear a lot of low obstructions.

Bill

[Mkayers]

I just switched from manual to tailgater and was up and running in about 5 minutes. Just make sure to have the handle pointing north and be somewhat level. Some people say its better to have it off the ground but havent run into that yet.