crank-up dish

[hmwilbur]

Has anyone replaced their bat wing antenna with a Winegard crank-up satellite dish? The info on the internet says it is an easy install but when we call dealers they want an arm and leg to install one.

[RonS]

I dont have an answer to your question but this has been my experience with the roof mounted Dish, which I had on previous RV. With only one tree in the RV park it always seemed to be in the path needed to get the feed from the satellite. I now use the ground mount, and with a long cable can always find the signal. Camping World now offers a automatic satellite antenna which is a ground mount, which I will put on my wish list.

[BobW]

Has anyone replaced their bat wing antenna with a Winegard crank-up satellite dish? The info on the internet says it is an easy install but when we call dealers they want an arm and leg to install one.

I would never add a crank up antenna to an RV again. Been there many times. Winegard makes a great auto seek antenna that's worth every penny. And another thing, how would it look, putting a $40 antenna on a $90,000 RV? After all, your the owner of a DRV LLC.

[Motor31]

I've had 2 winegard auto seek dishes in the last 4+ years. They are great, when they work properly. Right now the one on my rig has so much slop in the mechanism that a breeze blowing on the dish can change the signal from 99 to 45, dropping the program. I am currently using a small bungee cord to hold it in place. I would rather have a crank up model that I could set up myself and not have to depend on the mechanical device to set the dish. I am on Direct tv so it's one satellite only. I understand that Dish uses 2 so that may be an issue for folks on that system.

I don't care about the price of the dish on my rig. My rig is not some glorified status symbol, it's my home and the antenna has no impact on the value of it. Buy something that works for you.

[BobW]

I've had 2 winegard auto seek dishes in the last 4+ years. They are great, when they work properly. Right now the one on my rig has so much slop in the mechanism that a breeze blowing on the dish can change the signal from 99 to 45, dropping the program. I am currently using a small bungee cord to hold it in place. I would rather have a crank up model that I could set up myself and not have to depend on the mechanical device to set the dish. I am on Direct tv so it's one satellite only. I understand that Dish uses 2 so that may be an issue for folks on that system.

I don't care about the price of the dish on my rig. My rig is not some glorified status symbol, it's my home and the antenna has no impact on the value of it. Buy something that works for you.

The dish I'm referring to is the dome type. I also had the uncovered auto seek type and I had the same trouble with the wind you had. The crank up ones also have wind problems. Not sure, but I think all the new ones now have a dome to cover them from the wind.

[Motor31]

What is your signal strength on the dome compared to the bare dish? I had heard a rumor that it lost about 10%+ signal due to the smaller size. I frequently get a max of 95 to 100 on the dish. It would be nice to know since the auto seek dish seems to be a bit harder to find now.

[BobW]

What is your signal strength on the dome compared to the bare dish? I had heard a rumor that it lost about 10%+ signal due to the smaller size. I frequently get a max of 95 to 100 on the dish. It would be nice to know since the auto seek dish seems to be a bit harder to find now.

I have both a home receiver and another in my RV. I only get about 50% on both the antennas. I understand that the new software makes the signal weaker and that 50% is a strong signal.
By the way, this is the 4th antenna I've had. I'm going to call myself an expert on the subject. also I've owned a TV repair shop for many years. The mail advantage with this auto seek antenna is that you can receive a signal from both satellites, the 119 and 110. It only uses one LMB to receive both by slewing from one to the other. After arriving I switch on the dish and within a minute I have TV.