Wineguard Satellite Dish antennae

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TangoMike

TangoMike

Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2016
Posts
21
Location
Lubbock, Texas
I have a 2003 Winnebago Adventurer 35U which I bought used last year.  The last owner bought a Dish Network V211 receiver but never hooked it up.  The dish antennae on the roof is a manual OEM Wineguard 18." I hooked it up and paid for a month's service (pay as you go) from Dish Network and get no signal from a satellite.  I thought the coax might be faulty so I bypassed it with another coax from the dish to the receiver.  Same problem.  I looked at the LNB on the dish and it says "Compatible with DIRECTTV Multisatellite." Do I need to change the LNBF to a compatible Dish Network LNB?  Most dish Network LNBFs are D-shaped.  The one I have is rectangular.
 
My Winegard was set up as default to DirectTV.  Have you changed the dip switches to be set for Dish?
 
Yes, you would likely need a different LNB plus changing the dip switches.  That said, that original Winegard dish is quite obsolete ...mine was obsolete when I replaced in in 2005, and the 2005 one was obsolete when replaced in 2016. I don't know your antenna will work with a modern receiver or not.

It is very likely that the previous owner used a portable dish. A Dish installer could fix you up with a portable dish on a tripod that you would have to manually aim, OR you can buy one of the new portable dishes like the Tailgater than you set out and it aims itself. You just need to do your research first to ensure the portable dish you buy is compatible with your receiver. And you would need to talk with Dish to get the receiver activated in your name.
 
The manual crank up Winegard 18" dish does not have any dip switches. That square LNB will work fine with your VIP211 receiver assuming the LNB is good and you're aiming it correctly. We used our crankup dish with a VIP211 for a couple of years until we upgraded to a Dish Hopper receiver and a larger tripod mounted dish. The dish you have is pretty fussy about aiming though, and it can take some time to hit the right satellite. Are you using the signal strength meter on the 211 settings screen to dial it in? Have you run a "Check switch" test so the receiver knows which LNB you have?
 
When I first turn the receiver on I get an error message saying to check the connection between the receiver and the dish.  Apparently the receiver is not communicating with the dish.  As stated before I ran another coax from the LNBF to the receiver and got the same error message so the coax does not seem to be the problem.  The dish looks exactly like the new DM-46 dishes so I am thinking the problem must be with the LNBF.  I will contact Wineguard to see if they have a remedy.  I do not want to buy a replacement dish if the one I have is OK, especially since the dish portion is nothing more than a piece of metal.  The technology is in the LNBF and the receiver from what I understand.  Thanks anyway.
 
Dish Tech Support is pretty good at answering questions, and getting you set up to receive programming.  They worked with me for several weeks getting my rooftop dish operational.  It took so long with mine because I wasn't in a location without total tree coverage very often.
 
TangoMike said:
Where are the dip switches located?
Click to expand...

Apparently my Winegard is newer than yours, but on mine the DIP switches are on the side of box near where the coax attaches to the electronics control board. Per NY Dutch yours may not have any.
 
Did you run "check switch" on setup to make sure the Vip211 knows what antenna it is trying to use? 
 
JoelP said:
Apparently my Winegard is newer than yours, but on mine the DIP switches are on the side of box near where the coax attaches to the electronics control board. Per NY Dutch yours may not have any.
Click to expand...

Is your dish a manually cranked up and aimed single LNB model like the OP has? The only rooftop dishes with service select dip switches that I'm aware of are automatically aimed domes. What model is your dish?
 
dip switches are for the software on automatic seek antenna's.  A manual antenna would not have dip switches.
 
When I first turn the receiver on I get an error message saying to check the connection between the receiver and the dish.  Apparently the receiver is not communicating with the dish.  As stated before I ran another coax from the LNBF to the receiver and got the same error message so the coax does not seem to be the problem.
Click to expand...

Until that hardware interface issue is resolved, aiming the dish or contacting Dish Support, is pointless. It may well be the LNBF as you surmise - the communication between receiver and satellite is proprietary to each service.  You can find various DishTV LNBs at sources such as Solid Signal.

http://www.solidsignal.com/c.asp?c=3816&d=DISH-Network-Dishes-and-LNBs
 
Solid Signal does have a replacement LNB that fits the OP's dish, but it's not listed under the Dish LNB's:

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=ZKF-G52N
 
I went ahead and purchased a replacement dish with 3 LNBs.  Hopefully that should resolve the issue and will be able to receive 3 satellites without having to move the dish and also have HD TV.  Cost me $300 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Steellabels-Winegard-Crank-Up-Obsolete-capability/dp/B00GGT9CCQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498997607&sr=8-1&keywords=rv+hd+satellite+conversion
 
^^ You just beat me to that statement! ^^

From Amazon Q&A:

"Question:
Is skew preset for my location before shipping of unit ? Zip is 35594

Answer:
Yes, we preset the skew to your Zip Code it will only need to be changed if you travel more then 300 miles East or West of your location and need not be adjusted for North/South travel.
Bob Golden"
 
John, I once doodled up a setup to convert my DM-46 to a triple LNB using a small linear drive motor to remotely set the skew. But when I started adding up the parts and machining costs I'd have to farm out, it started getting close enough to the price of a fully automatic Trav'ler that it didn't make sense to continue. I can set up and aim my tripod mounted Dish 1000.4 with either a western or eastern arc LNB in usually 10-15 minutes, and locate it as needed to avoid trees, etc., so I'll just stick with that for now.
 
TangoMike said:
I went ahead and purchased a replacement dish with 3 LNBs.  Hopefully that should resolve the issue and will be able to receive 3 satellites without having to move the dish and also have HD TV.  Cost me $300 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Steellabels-Winegard-Crank-Up-Obsolete-capability/dp/B00GGT9CCQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498997607&sr=8-1&keywords=rv+hd+satellite+conversion
Click to expand...
I had a Direct TV setup on my Trav'ler and switched to the Dish deflector and 3 LNB arm. If you have the Trav'ler box once you turn it on the box will do everything including adjust the skew no matter where you are. With the Trav'ler box you can turn off the box without losing your connection to the satellite using less power and not generating anymore heat from the box constantly being on (I have a sheet that explains how to to that if you need it). I also had the 211z and switched to the 612z, because you can only watch or record one channel at a time with the 211z. With the 612 you can record two channels at a time, or watch one and record another. If you need to record more channels at the same time there are other options, a bit more expensive though. 
 
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