pegmikef
Well-known member
This is for anybody interested in an easy to use, reasonably priced, portable satellite system. After reading many threads on this forum regarding satellite systems and some other research, I decided on the the Dish Network Tailgater antenna and receiver and the RV program option. This is a pretty new system that has only been out a couple of months and costs around 500 dollars (receiver and antenna) including shipping. I bought mine on Amazon.com.
The antenna is similar to the winegard carryout or the VuCube, but cheaper (300 - 350) and is automatic. It comes with a fifty foot coax cable and receives its power through the cable. You basically point the antenna to the south, hook up the cable(s) dependent on your rig, and plug in the receiver. You are prompted for the state in which you are located, and then satellites are found, scanned, and the program data is downloaded to your receiver. You are then set up and ready to watch TV. This system only works in the 48 contiguous states and the antenna only supports one specific receiver (vip 211k).
The whole procedure was painless. I received the equipment, set it up in the driveway, called Dish Network to create an account and activate the receiver. Since the RV deal is 30 days at a time, you pay in advance. You own the equipment, so there are no other fees. There is no activation or deactivation fee, just the programming fees and they depend on the package you purchase. In my case, I bought the 120 channel one for 47 bucks including tax. When you no longer need it, you call and deactivate it. You can reactivate it anytime by just calling, but it is in 30 day increments. They will bill you after the first month if you are going to have consecutive months.
So far, I have used it in my driveway here in San Angelo and last week at a remote park in New Mexico (Bottomless Lakes State Park). It worked like a champ and it took less than ten minutes to set it up in New Mexico . . . just entered the new state and the system did everything else.
Here's the link to the site.
http://www.dishnetwork.com/redirects/promotion/tailgater/product-information/default.aspx
The antenna is similar to the winegard carryout or the VuCube, but cheaper (300 - 350) and is automatic. It comes with a fifty foot coax cable and receives its power through the cable. You basically point the antenna to the south, hook up the cable(s) dependent on your rig, and plug in the receiver. You are prompted for the state in which you are located, and then satellites are found, scanned, and the program data is downloaded to your receiver. You are then set up and ready to watch TV. This system only works in the 48 contiguous states and the antenna only supports one specific receiver (vip 211k).
The whole procedure was painless. I received the equipment, set it up in the driveway, called Dish Network to create an account and activate the receiver. Since the RV deal is 30 days at a time, you pay in advance. You own the equipment, so there are no other fees. There is no activation or deactivation fee, just the programming fees and they depend on the package you purchase. In my case, I bought the 120 channel one for 47 bucks including tax. When you no longer need it, you call and deactivate it. You can reactivate it anytime by just calling, but it is in 30 day increments. They will bill you after the first month if you are going to have consecutive months.
So far, I have used it in my driveway here in San Angelo and last week at a remote park in New Mexico (Bottomless Lakes State Park). It worked like a champ and it took less than ten minutes to set it up in New Mexico . . . just entered the new state and the system did everything else.
Here's the link to the site.
http://www.dishnetwork.com/redirects/promotion/tailgater/product-information/default.aspx
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