Usually the best RVing stories are the ones we prefer to "not" tell others -- because they are the stories of how we really screwed up somehow. Those stories become the favorite ones our friends love to tell others about, especially when we are not around.
Jerry Fitzgerald loves to tell the story when I am around -- or get me to tell the story of my TV sat dish setup in Reno in the mid to late 90's. This was during the time that the small dishes were first becoming available to RVers. Roof mounts were not in use as yet. I had developed a technique for dish set up on a make shift tripod that I was very proud of -- and enjoyed showing others how easy it was to find the right bird.
On my first weekend trek to the then Reno Hilton RV park on the South East quadrant of the intersection of the 80 East West freeway and the 395 North South Freeway I had ocassion to do this. After backing into my site and hooking up I got my stuff out and began setting up my dish. My neighbor in the next site immediately came out and asked it he could watch me set up as he and his wife were considering such a dish. I, of course, said yes -- as that gave me opportunity to brag about my dish setup skills.
After explaining how to get the info on that location, how to use a cheap compass to get the general location, and finally how to zero in on the right bird - I explained how within 15 minutes max, I would be watching satellite TV.
Unfortunately, the bird eluded my search. I of course explained that something must be wrong with the setup info I had retrieved. But after checking I still could not find the bird. However, I still had other reasons why it was not happening for me. And my neighbor listened to each -- noting my expert analysis for when/if they decided to buy a dish.
After about an hour, my patient neighbor said their dinner was ready. About 3 hours later I noticed he and his wife having a glass of wine while watching the late news on park cable TV. Around midnight, I noticed the lights go out in their RV - just before I noticed him peeping out the blinds at my efforts by flashlight.
The next AM I had decided the problem was most likely a bad cable between the dish and the TV and was in the process of replacing all of them. My neighbor stopped by momentarily to say goodbye -- and diplomatically said he was sorry that there was an equipment failure in my setup. They then left. I decided to have a cup of coffee before giving in -- and hooking up to park cable. As I sat there, I began looking at the park map that was given to me when I checked in. My trusty compass was also sitting on the table.
As I stared at the map, it suddenly dawned on me that I had simply read the compass wrong -- actually, 180 degrees wrong. I had spent all this time pointing the dish 180 degrees in the opposite direction of the sat location. After turning the dish around, I was on the bird in just a few adjustments . . .
Anyway -- I would imagine that my neighbors in the Reno park did not buy a TV sat dish for quite awhile, and really enjoyed telling others about this fellow they had met in Reno. Also, if Jerry ever wants to tell you the story -- please tell him you have already heard it.
