RoadTrip Stationary Satellite Review

[bsmeaton]

Got our first chance to try the Winegard RoadTrip Stationary Satellite dish on our maiden voyage last weekend.

The antenna is a dual LNB with two cables. One cable is primary and has control over which satellite is viewed (Dish 110 or 119). The second cable can only see channels on the satellite selected by the primary cable.

We use a Dish dual tuner HDTV DVR reciever, with the primary cable for the HD living room tuner, and the second cable rebroadcast through the second tuner which picks up the bedroom and basement TV jacks.

Once the reciever is installed, just turn on the antenna switch. You can hear it on the roof going through it's motions to locate each satellite (takes about 2 minutes). In the meantime, for the initial install I had to run Check Switch on the reciever and it easily determined it was using the Winegard licensed switch and was capable of viewing satellites 110 and 119. Thats it!! The HD reception was crisp and clear. As I went through the channels on the living room TV, I would occassionally hear a whir on the roof as it moved to the alternate satellite. The bedroom TV can see any channel on the satellite selected by the living room TV. If you select a channel on the living room TV that happens to be on the alternate satellite.... a short whir.... screams from the kids in the bedroom....DAD!! THE TV SAYS - "lost satellite connection". . That will take some family coordination to keep the peace.

The roadtrip is 12" tall, which eliminates some of the height issues. Install was flawless for us. A little more expensive than the other models, but has the newer electronics module that is upgradable to in-motion.

Winegard Customer support says they are attempting to get license for the new third Dish Satellite 129. Once available, there will be an upgrade to the module that we would have to purchase.

Too much money to spend for TV? Absolutely. However, it has virtually eliminated the setup time we used to spend getting our portable dish aligned, and re-aligned every time the wind blows. Now it's just switch on. Probably more important for a part timer than a full timer with extended stays.

No experience yet with trees or rain as far as satellite reception.

[Ozz]

Love ours with Direct TV.

[carlson]

Brad,
What is 129 going to do with the Dish Network??

[bsmeaton]

E. Sven -

Dish network added another 30 or so HD channels to Satellite 129, as well as local channels in HD. Once winegard gets licensing, the dish will be able to track all three satellites for programming based on whatever channel you select from the menu.

Direct TV has also done the same, and it may even be the same satellite.

[RV5rMustang65r]

Directv uses satellite 110 for HD and you will need two other pieces of equipment for the Winegard, a WB 2700 Satellite Interface ($499 at Camping World) and a WB 1100 HD converter ($100 at CW) in addition to the Roadtrip ($1,349 plus sale price install of $133.65 at CW). I'm scheduled for an install next week so don't have any experience with quality of reception.

[VanMan]

How about someone else reporting on trees and rain? Do you have to be very conscious of where you park due to trees and line-of-sight or does being on the roof pretty much take care of that? Does rain fade effect the dome more than a "non-covered" dish? Does the high dollar, miracle, spray-on stuff really work to reduce rain fade?

[VanMan]

quote:Originally posted by bsmeaton

If you select a channel on the living room TV that happens to be on the alternate satellite.... a short whir.... screams from the kids in the bedroom....DAD!! THE TV SAYS - "lost satellite connection". . That will take some family coordination to keep the peace.

Just buy a second dish for the bedroom TV !!

[bsmeaton]

Mustanger - glad to hear they got a fix for Direct TV HD. There was an initial compatibility problem with the format Direct TV chose for HD and the winegard LNB. Evidently Direct required an LNBF - whatever that is.

Anxious to hear how it works out for you.

Van-Man, I can't offer a qualified feedback as I haven't used mine much yet, but I did use the portable on the ground for years. I could receive through trees, through my boat hull, through just about anything except - a human. Water content in a person would kick that thing right off link. I suppose that's why dense cloud cover kicks them out.