Wineguard tuning problems, and satellite questions

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hambone303

hambone303

Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Posts
23
Location
Georgia
I have a Wineguard roof mount satellite antenna. I have had problems getting it to tune into the Satellite. I have checked and rechecked the elevation and direction. How acurate are the remote angle indicators?  The only other thing I can figure is that the LNB attached to my Wineguard is a DirecTV LNB and the receiver I am using is a Dish Network receiver. I was told by a co worker, that he is using a direct dish and a dish network receiver at home with no problems so I assumed that it would work for me.
Would I be better off buying a complete new setup? I see most of the campers at the campsites I have visited, use a tripod system, and get the dish away from the camper. Is this for better signal reception? Should I abandon the roof mount all together?
I am a recreational RVer, I may use my RV to take the family camping ten times in the upcoming year for a total of approx 50- 70 nights, so I was hoping to avoid paying for a full subscription and use one of my home receivers, Is this going to be a problem as well?  Does anyone use one of the pre paid units I often see on Ebay?  Thanks for any help
Jason
 
I  have an automatic roof mounted Winegard sat dish an I have found that the indicator for vertical angle is very dependant on the MH being LEVEL.  If it is off a level little bit, the dish angle can be off quite a bit.  If you have the add on angle indicator on a manual dish, recalibrate it.

A LNB does not care which system it is working with so that is not a problem.

A tripod is used when there are obstacles, trees, etc., or there is no roof mounted sat antenna.

I use my home box when we travel and have been doing so for over 10 years with no problems. 
 
DirecTV antennas work just fine with DISH NETWORK receivers so long as the receiver is set to a type 300 antenna (DISH)

You an only see one satellite and thus get only half your programming at any one time, but they do work

I find that though elevation is fairly accurate azimuth can be off a bit. (Assuming you are level.. Elevation is affected by how level you are)
 
The older Winegard roof mounts are said to have a sloppy mechanical mechanisms, which allows the dish to get out of alignment in a breeze and makes it difficult to get an accurate set-up. Supposedly the latest models have solved that problem.
 
There is a kit for the older Winegard models that improves the mechanism considerably.  Ours is 10 years old with the kit and I can have it pointed using the Elevation Magic in about 30 seconds most of the time.  The only time I have to do any searching at all is if we're out of level.
 
Thanks... it is a manual setup. When I have tried to use it, I was pretty level. I will have to try and recalibrate it.  I selected the dish 300 setting as well. I think I will spend the money on a tripod and dish setup. I can see where trees would be a problem as every campsite we have used so far has been somewhat shaded. I am going to mess around with this later today here at home and see if I can get it going after recalibrating the angle indicator. Thanks for all of your replies and I will report back later.
 
We carry a manual tripod and dish that I have had out once in the past year, they are a pain! If you want one that's fine but I'll bet you will find yourself using the roof dish because it is so much quicker and easier.

If you are in the mid latitudes of the US and have a whistle tuner (or signal meter other than the TV) just crank the sat all the way up and then back down 21/2 turns and gently move it back and forth in the quadrant the sat should be in. I never calculate elevation or azimuth, it is quicker and easier to find them blind. Having the setup screen on the TV tells you if you have the right Sat.

After a few times you get familiar with the Sat alignment and it gets even quicker.
 
Hey Jeff:  Are you saying that you leave the whistler in the circuit all of the time?  It occurs to me that one could leave it in line and just turn down the volume once it is set up??????
 
I ran a short coax to the front of the cabinet and plugged the whistler in there so that I can plug and unplug the earpiece to shut off the sound but the unit itself does stay plugged in. If there is a signal loss it is negligible.
 
If you decide you want a portable mount get one of these instead of a tripod. The mount consists of a stake that you pound in the ground and a simple adjustable bracket with an attached bubble level that secures the dish to the stake. It's one of those things that's so simple and works so well that you can't believe you didn't think of it. 
 
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