Satellite in Fish House

[Nisswaguy]

Lk Doc and others, you've been a WEALTH of information and I thank you for that!! Wish me luck as I attempt to get up and running on Saturday. I just hope I can get past step #4 of the 5 step process when I first turn the receiver on and get to the "Dish Point" screen!

[Hawg]

If you're level and plumb you are going to be amazed that you spent more time typing than installing.

[fishingstar]

I have 3 direct tv and 2 older dish receivers. FREE

all you would need is a new card for them

Dan

[Shack]

You guys who have mobile data plans can access your satalite content through an app via a device placed in your home which feeds to the app. Total different approach and maybe "not" the idea or subject and does cost some money but we have some threads from last year about it down in the computer forum if intrested.

[Sutty]

+1 Thanks

[Nisswaguy]

Just a quick update. I was finally able to get everything up and running. Thanks for all the help! I've only taken the time to tune in 110 and 119. Is it hard to tune in 129 to get HD? I just haven't attempted it yet. Part of my problem is that where I live, I have too many trees at my house so in order to mess around with it, I have to pull it somewhere where I have a clear shot at the southern sky.

[LakeDocktor]

129 is going to be a little further to the west than the other two satellites. It is also lower in elevation, so if trees are in issue, tuning in 129 may be as well.

[Nisswaguy]

Thanks Lk Doc. I don't have any plans to use it in the trees. Just saying it makes it difficult for me to run out and play with it. I'll be using it this weekend as my deer shack (in an open field), as well as during ice fishing (provided we get enough ice). So line of sight shouldn't be an issue.

[geo17]

I have the same cheapy winegard satellite on my ice castle. Two years ago I had an older Dish reciever and it worked great. When I moved last spring I upgraded to the newest Dish recievers and I had nothing but problems. Should the new recievers be compatible with my satellite or should I go back to the old recievers? Also it seems the satellite itself is kind of wobbly. Do I need to make this so it doesn't not move when I lock it from the inside or should there be some play in it?

Thanks

[FIRECAT]

Just got a new Ice Castle with winegard dish. Had Dish network installed in house, Been at it 3 hours, have set the dish to all the settings the setup screen called for. Elev. 33 Azimuth 198. Fine tuning slowly, gets a weak signal once in a while. any ideas whats wrong?

[grasshopper]

adjustment.

[FIRECAT]

Talked to a Tech guy about tuning in a Winegard Dish and HD Dish receiver. He said there a real pain. So what does a guy do, get a older non-HD receiver activate it, and pay another $6 a month to Dish.

[walleye34]

firefox

I have a non HD dish reciever. I think it is a VIP 722. I can tune it in super easy with my satellite finder I bought for like $30. Takes like 20 seconds. Flipping back and forth between 110 and 119 is not bad either with the wineguard dish. I have always found dish network to be pretty flexible especially if you are not under contract. They are willing to do just about anything if you threaten to leave. Maybe they will give you a free one for 6 months to at least cover this winter. worth a shot anyways. Sounds like direct TV is the way to go overall so you dont have to flip between 110 and 119 to get all your channels.

[walleye34]

I would also suggest to all the guys have issues tuning it in go buy a sat finder and dont use the point dish option. The problem with it is the lag time is so slow to actually tell you you found a sat you go right by. The sat finder is a little meter that tells you instantly when you find one and the needle jumps as the signal gets stronger so you can really fine tune it. They are like $20 online and radioshack has them in the stores for like $40. well worth it.

[LakeDocktor]

FIRECAT, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it you are getting good signal and then low signal, it is your cabling or connections. Dish Network's signal band is on higher frequencies. The standard connections or cheap cabling used in most installations can cause issues with signal loss or signal degrading at times. I have seen it work, but many times it does not.

Walleye34, you are correct about the lag time in processing the signal between the dish and the receiver on the point dish screen. While the cheap signal meters or toners work, they don't differentiate between which satellite you are actually receiving signal from like the point dish screen will. With numerous birds in the sky, you may think you have things locked in place only to have one of the DirecTv satellites locked. The more you set up a system, the easier it is.

HD receivers will work just as well as the older receivers. YOU NEED TO COMPLETE THE CHECK SWITCH TEST EVERYTIME YOU MOVE THE RECEIVER FROM ONE DISH TO ANOTHER!! If you take the receiver out of your home and point it on a Winegard dish and don't complete this step, the receiver will continue to think that the dish and processing of the LNB is being completed by the dish at your home. When you place it back in your home, you need to complete the Check Switch test again to "lock" the receiver on the dish being used to acquire your signal.

And the VIP 722 is a HD receiver. All VIP receivers are HD receivers.

[FIRECAT]

Walleye34, My problem with hitting the satellite was the lag time, Wait 5-6 sec. turn a little again, and it will come up.

LakeDocktor, I didn't know how the check switch test worked, now i do. Thanks a lot to both you guys! P.S. I will be getting a satellite finder to make it a little easier.

[LakeDocktor]

One more thing to keep in mind when using the Winegard dish with Dish Network... When you put your zip code in on the setup screen of your receiver, the azimuth, skew and elevation settings are for a Dish Network satellite dish. These are approximates for the dish to receive two or all three satellites from the Dish Network dish. Remember, you can only tune into one satellite on the Winegard dish when using Dish Network. Those approximates are going to be different as the skew on the Dish Network dish allows for eash individual satellite on different elevations and azimuth be tuned in.

[Jaron_K]

You can also purchase what they call an alien box. Not sure if any of you have heard of this but it just came out last year i believe through Dish. I have an uncle that sells this stuff and its basically and octagon looking box that you can hook it up to your tv and set it outside making sure there are no trees blocking above. Last year at our deer camp he brought it, set it outside and turned on the tv. In a matter of a minute or so he had Dish. He does the same while ice fishing just sets it on the ice. Not sure how expensive they are but seemed to be the simplest way to do it.

[FIRECAT]

I believe that"s a dish tailgator, $350.00 But i hear they work good.

[LakeDocktor]

The VuCube was actually the originator of the portable self locking satellite system. Dish Network came out with the Tailgater based on the VuCube. If I were to get either one of these, it would still be the VuCube. You can use it for both Dish Network and DirecTv, where the Tailgater is just for Dish Network.

[geo17]

today I tested the satellite hook up and still have some questions. I have an ice castel with the winegard rm-4600 crank up dish and I used my dish network receiver vp722 from the house. I was able to lock in 119 great but noticed my local channels and some of my movie channels were not available. Then I was able to lock into 110 but got an error message that I had complete signal loss but everything was fine outside. Went back to 119 and locked in but had the same issues with the local stations. I also had no program guide when I locked on 110. Do I need to run the check switch when I switch satellites? Am I even able to get local stations when I use the house receiver in the ice house? Would switching to Direct tv give me the local channels even if I travel up north?

THANKS

[geo17]

Or is possibly getting that power antenna that I see that is in a tube that mounts to the side of the fish house be the best bet for the local stations of where ever I am at? I think they run like $50 or so.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

The one in the tube isn't powered, but you can buy a separate unit to power the antenna.

[Nisswaguy]

Geo, did you run a "check switch" on your receiver once you hooked it up to your Winegard dish in your Ice Castle? If not, then I'm guessing that would solve your issue.

[geo17]

Yeap I ran the check switch one time. Then locked in to 119 and got channels except for the locals. Then went to 110 and got a good signal but nothing showed up and I got that error message. I am looking to get local stations where ever I put my shack.