A quick overview of how to set up your DISH satellite TV: 1. Connect a coax cable between your receiver (Wally or another Dish receiver) and the Satellite antenna (Playmaker, Pathway X2 or another antenna) 2. Connect an HDMI cable between the receiver and the TV 3. Point your antenna to an unobstructed southern sky (Use an app to “view” the satellites, see below) 4. Switch on your TV and choose HDMI as the source (Consult your TV manual) 5. Switch on your receiver and follow the on-screen prompts.NOTE: When you do the first set up make sure there is ONLY a straight cable between the receiver and the antenna this is to confirm your equipment works when you can see a DISH setup screen on the TV. |
![]() INTRODUCTION The way most people are receiving a TV signal is OTA (over the air) with an antenna on your roof or mounted inside or using a satellite antenna. OTA is suitable to receive local broadcast stations and that does not cost you anything. Satellite TV is a paid subscription where you can choose the package with stations you like to receive. Another way to receive TV broadcasts is by using the internet. DISH satellite TV This article will discuss our setup using DISH TV, a Wally receiver with DVR, and a Winegard Pathway X2 antenna. We use this equipment in our 2005 Winnebago Vectra since 2016 and learned some things while doing so. Even if you are using DirecTV it might be interesting to read and maybe you want to switch to DISH? We cut the Comcast TV cable in 2015 and signed up for Dish at home, bought the RV in 2016, and added the portable antenna for DISH. The RV was equipped with a Kingdome satellite antenna but that could not be upgraded to use DISH. While on the road we bring our Wally receiver with DVR with us to watch TV. Let’s dive into satellite TV now, sharing all I know about it; KNOWING HOW IT WORKS HELPS YOU TROUBLESHOOT |
There are two ways to get DISH: 1. For a home
2.For RV, boat and truck The best choice is to buy a bundle with a Wally receiver, and an antenna. If you want to use the equipment on two TVs you need an antenna with dual connection (And two coax cables.) |
![]() Satellites stationed in space are broadcasting roughly 300 TV channels at the same time and can be received by the satellite receiver. The signal is encoded en can only be decoded using the equipment from the provider. (DISH signals cannot be decoded by DirecTV receivers and vice-versa) |
Satellite position
DISH is using satellites that are stationary in the southern sky in a western arc and an eastern arc.
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![]() To find the satellite location I use an app on my Android phone called Satellite Dish Pointer I will look for 119 (western arc) or 72.7 (eastern arc) to find where I need to point the antenna to. I know during the setup that the antenna will find the satellites just fine as I checked the clear view on the satellite with my application. Knowing there are no trees or buildings between the antenna and the satellites makes things quicker and easier while switching between western and eastern arc might solve any obstruction problem. You use this app by choosing the satellite (for example 119) and pointing your phone camera into the southern sky it will then track the satellite and show you exactly where it is and put the portable antenna in the right spot the first time. In general, you put the backside of the antenna, where the coax is connected, to the North so it can turn to search the satellites in the south. |
![]() FEATURES
To keep the antenna from the ground, level and for added stability, there is a tripod with adjustable legs available here on Amazon Be aware that this is a big antenna compared to the “Tailgater” it cannot be mounted on your RV!
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![]() To add a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) you need to buy an external hard disk (USB) and activate it on your DISK account. In case you have more than one receiver, the activation is valid for all receivers. 1TB Records up to 100 hours of HD programming you can use a Harddisk up to 4TB (The external hard drive must not use flash memory and should only be a single-hard disk drive.) The Wally has two receivers built-in and can record two channels at a time but they have to be on the same satellite or watch one channel and record another one. Do not swap the hard disk between receivers as you might encounter data loss. When you delete a recording they are moved into a “trashcan” space is only freed up when you also empty the trashcan! |
![]() “Local channels” are the channels for the area where you are in, not the channels that are local to where you live! That is why you have to change your services address to be able to receive them. Be aware that if you change the service address the receiver that might stay at home will also change the local channels but probably will not be able to receive them.
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![]() It is very important to not use anything between your receiver and antenna. This is why; The antenna needs 12 volts to operate its motor. Without the signals from the Wally, it will not be able to locate a satellite or receive a signal and change to a different satellite. When you use a splitter it will drop the voltage down to an unusable level due to the resistance. A portable antenna like a “Playmaker” has only one LNB (receiving device) while the home antenna has 3 LNBs, one for each satellite (2 LNBs for east arc) You are able to use a splitter in a home configuration. The home dish does not have an electrical motor as it does not have to turn to a different satellite, it has an LNB for each satellite. The portable dish can only receive from one satellite at a time. NOTE: |
![]() You need a good quality coax cable that can be laid outside and has a watertight connection on the antenna. There should be no splitters, boosters, or other devices between the cable and the receiver. You need at least two 30 feet cables to be flexible of where you put the antenna. This is a good cable (Amazon $8 ): Buy two of those cables and 2 couplers (Amazon $6.99): Coax Coupler 2-Pack |
![]() To check if everything works on the hardware side, you can take these steps using a volt-meter; Set the meter on resistance (OHM) and check the inner cable and outer shield, there should be very little resistance measured between the inner cores, then measure the outer shell and that should also have a little resistance. Next measure between the inner core and the outer shell, the meter should not show anything or you have a short in the cable. Next, put the meter on voltage and measure the Wally receiver antenna connection between the inside and outside of the plug, this should show approximately 12 volts. Now attach the antenna cable and measure the same way at the end of the cable, this should also have about the same voltage. The reason you have to check the 12 volts is that it is used to control the antenna operations. The receiver will transmit a signal to the antenna to turn to a different satellite when the channel you select is on another satellite than it was on before. To be able to turn the antenna needs 12 volts.
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This is the DISH support page to troubleshoot software and connection lost. I will update this when the steps I have taken are not found on the support page.
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![]() I bought a (1/2 inch) Heavy-Duty Security Cable 15 feet, Vinyl Coated Braided Steel with Sealed Looped Ends and a padlock to secure the antenna and tripod. Making sure the antenna will not relocate on purpose. 😉
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![]() You can use the Wally in combination with a USB Dish WiFi adapter and logon to an existing WiFi network that provides Internet, You need to buy the DISH adapter, any other WiFi adapter will not work. Cost is about $33 (2020) The Wally has two USB ports we use one for the WiFi adapter and one for the hard disk (DVR)
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