Ice Castle dish and dish network

[walleye34]

I know there is a post below on satellites but I have a few different questions. I can tune my dish in no problem but since the standard wineguard dish only has 1 LNB I can only be on 110 or 119 not both. Dish seperates their channels. Has anybody tried to jerry rig a extra LNB on that wineguard dish so you dont have to flip back and forth. It seems locals are on 110 and everything else is on 119. And is it worth it? can you get locals on red or LOTW if your home base is Minneapolis or are you in a different spot beam? Also I get all my channels except ESPN, any ideas on why that would be?

[LakeDocktor]

It will absolutely not work with that dish. Everything is calculated based on distance between each satellite in the sky and skew or level at which the satellite sits. The only way to do it, would be to take a Dish 500 and make an exact replica of it (size and curvature) as well as the extension arm that the LNB sits on needs to be the same distance. You can't just add an additional LNB either. The LNB needs the technology to switch between the two satellites or three with HD. You could run 2 singles, but then would need a switch box to make it work. I don't believe they will work with the aftermarket LNB on the Winegard either. There are a lot of compatability specifications when it comes to Dish Network. Since most of that technology is now obsolete, most of us will never run into those issues. Even 1/16" difference makes all the difference when a satellite is 26,000 miles away. I have never been a fan of Winegard dishes and Dish Network. Not saying they won't work, but they aren't essential.

Your locals will come in as they are detailed in your account plan. If MSP locals are listed on your account, you can get them in Alaska if you wanted to.

ESPN is on 110 and comes from transponder 4 I believe.

[walleye34]

thanks for the info. I thought I read once they beam locals down only in certain areas called spotbeams so that way people in Fargo for example can get their local news vs Minneapolis news and your box has to be set up to get that areas locals?

[LakeDocktor]

The locals are set as tags on the database. Your programming info is then embedded into the information on your smartcard. There is way too much bandwidth and complexities to sort through when sending data to a specific demographic area. The programming information from each account holder needs to be set on every smart card regardless so it is done this way. There are way too many snow birds that have seasonal subscriptions and want to choose local programming from their permanent residence and this allows them to do so.

Although it seems like you are wasting the Winegard dish, I would seriously recommend getting a Dish 500 and a tripod. An easy way for this set up is to make a base for the tripod with 2x4s and place sandbags on the base for stability. I have also seen custom mounts on the trailer tongue. Ideally, the best option in my opinion is the VuCube. It is a self-pointing, enclosed, motorized dish that will automatically find satellite signal for you. It is the same concept as a King Dome on higher end RVs. When the programming dictates a satellite change, there is a short delay, but the VuCube switches on its own. Dish Network has their own version of this,The Tail Gater, but the VuCube is compatable with DirecTv if you switch providers.

[MuleShack]

I agree, ditch the wineguard and get a regular dish so you can pick up HD and 2 or more sats at once.

I have Directv and bought a dish $99 with 3 lnb but it picks up 3 sats at once. I mount it on a (patio) cast iron umbrella stand which is compact but yet heavy and sits level on the ground but still is portable.

[walleye34]

Thanks for all the great info lakedocktor! I had the set up you guys are talking about on my last ice castle. I took a dish 500 dish and mounted it to a patio umbrella stand, but now I just bought a new 2013 mille lacs model with the built in dish. Maybe I need to stick with my old set up, it did work great. Lakedoctor I seem to remember with my old set up on Red Lake I would try to go to local channels and it would read I am out of the viewing area? But you are saying I should get locals anywhere. I trust you and I guess I will find out this winter when I head back up. My last house had the best set up with the dish plus antenna. I fish LOTW a lot and you get locals just with a antenna up there. When you move around it's nice to not mess with tuning a dish. I move around a lot with my ice castle. With 3 guys drilling, cleaning holes and banking I tell people I can move around almost as fast as you can with your portable if it is cold and you are also banking the portable and not just flipping it over. Come on ice I need to get the new shack out!!!

[friendly]

I just bought a 2013 LOW ice castle. I dont have a dish program yet, if i dont buy one, will the winegard dish on the roof work as a HD antenna only or do i need the dish receiver?

[RiverChuckNorris]

Dish receiver

[walleye34]

the wineguard dish does not act as a antenna...I was disappointed when i found that out. Wineguard does make a dish that also acts as a antenna that looks very close to the ones that come on ice castles except it has a extra base by the LNB..I assume that is the antenna. I went to their HSOforum and tried to see if they just sell that as a add on but i dont think they do.