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Old 10-08-2015, 06:22 AM   #1
DonandBonnie
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M.O.C. #5906
Couple of questions about Tailgater

We are going to buy a Weingard roof mount auto search antenna for Dish TV. Understandably we will at times be parked where the roof antenna won't have a clear view of the southern sky. In those instances is it possible or advisable to switch over to the Tailgater for better reception away from the roof Having said that, our Tailgater quit working. All we get is "No satellites found" even with the clear view. Is there any place that works on Tailgaters or are they even worth the repair effort
 
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Old 10-08-2015, 07:02 AM   #2
brenkco
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Are you going to keep using your 211 receiver? If you get away from the single tuner, the tailgater won't work for you anyway. I'm not sure if they are repairable.....

Ken
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Old 10-08-2015, 07:10 AM   #3
BB_TX
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Assuming you have a vip211k or z. First thing I would do is pull the top cover off and watch the operation when you initiate a scan. When I set mine on the ground with the handle to the north and start a scan the following happens;
Antenna (dish) rotates counterclockwise about a half turn,
Antenna then rotates clockwise a full turn,
Antenna rotates back to a generally southerly direction,
Antenna begins a series of incremental side to side and up/down movements,
If satellites are found, it will remain in that position and the receiver will start searching for signal.

Sometimes mine will not find the sats at that position and will rotate to an easterly direction and again do the incremental side to side and up/down movements, then rotates back to the south and repeats the incremental movements. It will almost always find the sats the second time to the south.

This will at least show if the motor and drive is working. Then you can call King Controls and see what they say.

I would do the above with the cable connected directly from the Tailgater to the vip211 to eliminate any possible internal wiring problem.
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Old 10-08-2015, 02:05 PM   #4
Virginia Young
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The signal has to be really strong for the tailgater. We had to run the cable thru the window and attach it right to the receiver. This was after trying for 4 days to get reception while hooked up in the convenience center and getting nothing but the no satellites found results.
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Old 10-08-2015, 02:42 PM   #5
DonandBonnie
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We've removed the top and watched it operate. It does pretty much as BB_TX has indicated it should. We know we are getting communication through the cable because the search has to be initiated from inside through the receiver box. We stopped in at Tiara RV in Elkhart this afternoon on another matter and in a passing comment told their tech who installs roof mount satellite dishes about the tailgater. He said he could check it out and probably fix it with parts from other units sitting around the shop. Oh and he says we should keep the tailgater and use it when we are in areas where the roof mount can't get a clear signal.
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Old 10-08-2015, 06:59 PM   #6
bigskyjimmy
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I have had my Tailgater for 3 years now and leaned ALOT about the little quirks with them, the first thing that threw me off was in the directions it shows the handle of the tailgater pointing SOUTH when in reality the handle is the back and should be pointing NORTH,untill I looked around the campground and saw everybody elses Tailgater poiting the opposite way mine was (that was a waste of 2 hours) Second off DITCH the cheap 50ft cable that comes with it,and switch to a 25ft quad wrap Coax that is FOR satilites,50ft of cheap wire AND all the wiring going thru a 40ft 5th wheel to the reciever is too far for the signal to travel ,if you live in Arizona when you are closer to the equator it is less of an issue but up North were I live it is harder to get a signal and need all the help I can get..ALSO do not give up when it says no signal found either Rescan till you get them OR Reset the receiver then try again sometimes I have had to do this routine for 45min till it finally kicks in...once I figured out the "routine" I love the Tailgater also the only time I put the tailgater on the roof is when a big RV parks next to my receiver or I park next to a tree etc.. otherwise it works great on the ground and like was said before when your start scan go out and listen for it scanning,Sorry for the long winded rant but I hope this helps you as well
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Old 10-09-2015, 12:51 AM   #7
DonandBonnie
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We've had the Tailgater for almost two years now and until this past summer it worked fine. We have been using the same coax that we used when we had DirecTV and it has worked fine, except that it has to be run through the window, instead of the convenience center. This may or may not be relevant to the failure, but the last time we received a satellite signal the handle had to be pointed almost directly east to pick up any signal.

The chain of events was that we set up in a campground in northern Ohio. The Tailgater was on the ground, sitting up on a ceramic block. We could not receive a signal with the unit facing south, but did receive some, but not all of the satellites with it pointed due west. Since we received the channels that we usually watch we did nothing further. A little more than a month into our stay, we had a torrential rain storm and lost satellite reception, which is normal in dense rain situations. Since the Tailgater was sitting on a block, it was not subject to standing water or runoff from the storm. After the storm reception did not resume as it usually does. We had to initiate another search. This time we only received the one satellite with the infomercials and such. Nothing we did brought in any other satellites. We thought it might be due to the leaves coming out on trees that weren't there when we first set up, but others in the park were using their dishes with success. We received the one satellite for little over another month and then lost that. For the rest of that stay and at several other locations we have only gotten the "No satellites found" notification.
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Old 10-09-2015, 03:06 AM   #8
BB_TX
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When I first got the Tailgater I just set it on the ground without regard to the direction of the handle. And it always worked. After watching the antenna rotate a full 360 degrees searching for the sats I really don't think it matters. I only point mine to the north now thinking if I do, the antenna is already pointed to the south it might help. But again, it always rotates the full rotation no matter where it is initially pointed, so even that is not a good reason.

After seeing it work I would not point the handle to the south as that is where the rotation stops and it may not be able to get the final movements it needs to home in on all the sats. I would guess that is why the instructions say to point the handle north. I think it should work as long as the handle is not pointed directly toward the sats, a generally southern direction.
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Old 10-09-2015, 03:57 AM   #9
DonandBonnie
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Glad you brought that up. If the dish rotates 360 degrees, what difference does it make what direction the handle is pointing? I'm wondering whether our Tailgater was dying a slow death and finally just quit.
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Old 10-09-2015, 04:31 AM   #10
grampachet
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Check your coax connections, after a heavy rain the connections may need cleaning/dying to remove any water or corrosion
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