Blind Winegard satellite antenna -- No technical support available

[TxCowboy]

Anyone have a Winegard Pathway X2 and also using DISH with Wally receiver?

This is a rant -- if you don't want to read it, please move on.

DW and I have been wrestling with this thing for almost four days now and apparently you need an open area the size of a football field to have any hope of getting satellite reception. Worked with DISH tech support for almost three hours yesterday before we actually was able to pull up a television channel. Unfortunately, every time we changed the channel, the system displayed a 015A error screen, Total Communication Failure, followed by a black screen, and the finally the picture would appear on the screen. Even the tech support guy was ****** -- the Wally is so new that he had almost NO tech support guidance and was making up ideas as he went along. He's kicking this "upstairs" so I'm calling back later today to see if there is anything else that can be done.

To make the issue worse, we've called and emailed Winegard twice a day since Monday. The only response we received from them took two days and was an email that asked if the components were hooked up correctly. DUH!! Apparently, there is no one available to actually talk you through what might be causing this antenna to NOT see the satellites. And before anyone asks, yes, we connected the antenna directly to the back of the receiver, totally bypassing any wiring in the RV. The satellite continues to fail the Mobile Antenna Setup.

We'll give it a couple of more days then this $800 purchase is going back.

And this is being marketed literally as a "plug and play" system. Jeez....

 

[richheck]

Is this a new (never been authorized) Wally unit? I believe the Wally has to be authorized using a standard fixed or Winegard Traveler antenna to allow the Wally to download the necessary software to run the X2. Has this been previously done?

I know I had to do this to both of my Wallys before I was able to use them.I was lucky enough to have the Winegard Traveler on my coach so I ddi not have to take them into my S/B house to authorize.

 

[TxCowboy]

This is a brand new Wally straight out of the box purchased as part of the Pathway X2/ Wally bundle through DISH. With DISH tech support's help, the Wally was activated and updated yesterday following a forced update signal through DISH.

We're still trying to get this system to work with one Wally then we'll try to tackle activating the second one.

EDIT: Previously stated this bundle was marketed through Winegard. That is wrong. It is marketed through DISH.

 

[danemayer]

I don't know all that much about DISH, but I thought that some channels come off one satellite and some off another. The dish has to lock on one and if you change channels, sometimes to the other.

Is it possible you've managed to get a signal off the first satellite, but there's no clear line of sight to the second?

 

[TxCowboy]

Dan, yes to your question, it is possible. I've now positioned the satellite dish to a half dozen different locations, changed out the connecting wires (good RG6 stuff), totally bypassed the RV wiring, etc., etc.

Even the DISH tech support guy said yesterday that the "system" isn't responding correctly. Even on the satellites that it is locked onto, the highest signal strength is 50 percent or less. And it is a totally clear shot to the southern skies where I am.

I now have almost 12 hours screwing with the system. Totally frustrated.

One more thought -- this system keeps failing the Switching test. Tech support and I tested that a dozen times yesterday and it failed every time. But the tech support guy couldn't figure out how to fix that error because this is a WALLY receiver, not the Joey. As I said previously, he had almost no information on troubleshooting the Wally. And wouldn't you know it -- the "user guide" for the wally is more on how to operate the remote control than to troubleshoot issues and errors. The screens in the manual don't even match the screens that appear on the television.

 

[danemayer]

If you've got clear line of sight to a satellite and only have 50% signal strength, with known good coax running directly to the receiver, I'd say you have a defective device.

 

[TxCowboy]

Update:

Just received an email from Winegard Tech Support. Here is the content of that email:

While the Wally receiver is technically compatible we have been seeing some software issues in the Wally that will not allow it to function properly with our antenna. The only advice I have is to connect the Wally to a home style satellite in order to update the software then it can be used with the Pathway series antenna.

My response:

If the Wally is only "technically compatible" with the Pathway X2 antenna, why is Winegard selling it with the Wally receiver as a bundle with DISH's endorsement? There is no technical support for the X2 with Wally receiver and the documentation provided by both Winegard and DISH is wholly inadequate.

======================

So, there you have it. The components of the bundle we purchased is basically NOT compatible with the other components.

Anyway, I've spent almost 12 hours screwing with this an finally got one of the two Wallys talking to the satellite so we have television in the living room. The system still won't recognize the Wally receiver in the bedroom but I'll have to work with DISH on that issue. Maybe DISH and I can work through what's happening so that they can spread the word to the Tech Support staff.

EDIT: Previously stated this bundle was marketed through Winegard. That is wrong. It is marketed through DISH.

 

[richheck]

Jeff, like I mentioned in my previous post the Wally has to do a software download and install before it is able to control the Winegard X2 or any Tailgater products. This is true with all of the 211 products and the new Wally. bofore I got my Traveler I always had to use my house 1000.2 W antenna for the downloads and activation. Yes the Wallys are new and Dish is having issues with some of them. My first order of two (2) only I was able to activate one and had to have Dish send me a replacement for the second.

 

[TxCowboy]

EDIT: After a three hour visit with a DISH technician here at the RV and his numerous conversations with DISH tech support, they replaced the Wallys with the older technology 211Z satellite receiver. The tech could not get the Pathway X2 satellite successfully communicate with and update the Wally receivers.

Also, the Pathway X2 could not successfully communicate with the second 211z even though the X2 is marketed to support two separate satellite receivers. No tech support was available to assist him with troubleshooting this issue.

So, we do have DISH service on one of the two interior televisions and are happy with that configuration. Hope DISH can gets the bugs worked out because we would eventually like to have DISH in the bedroom as well.