Portable satelllite dishes

[matstam13]

Does anyone have experience with the winegard carryout or vueqube satellite dishes? they seem to get great reviews but none of them ever mention how they perform in the rain or if your in an area with snow. thought getting one of these would be easier than messing with the round dish and the satellite finder.

[therink]

Not sure if this helps but I use a Directv slimline HD dish on a pvc stand that I made. I do not use a signal meter. I just point the dish to 235 degrees using a compass and fine tune from there. It usually takes less than 10 minutes to set up and I got the dish for free. I use a 150' length of coax so I can place the dish where needed to clear trees, etc. I suppose the auto finding portable dishes are good but I'm not willing to fork out that kind of $ for tv when I can make my own set up.
Steve

[Maxzd]

Does anyone have experience with the winegard carryout or vueqube satellite dishes? they seem to get great reviews but none of them ever mention how they perform in the rain or if your in an area with snow. thought getting one of these would be easier than messing with the round dish and the satellite finder.

I have a winegard portable dish (suitcase) and also a fixed winegard 12" Dome on my 5th wheel roof. I bought the portable dish first, then bought the dome and installed it. My father in-law had a VuCube, and he just upgraded to the winegard carryout which he created a mount on his ladder.

When I have no line-of-sight problems one switch and my winegard dome is searching for satellite and locks on. Awesome for the quick overnight stays where setting up a dish is just not realistic.

Snowing and Raining I have seen all three solutions work fine. I would imagine you would have to clean snow build up off it will eventually block the signal.

No question, setting up a dish portable isn't fun. I've had times where I get signal within minutes, and other times I've had to walk away come back later or I'll smash the thing. It's so precise and so sensitive. The dome's are expense but self seeking is almost instant, and you can move it around the campsite if you have line-of-sight problems. I kept my portable dish for the odd issue but I try to avoid it not fun!

Good luck with the decision.

[Jim W]

Another option is the new Dish "Tailgater" this is similar to the VuCube but is geared towards the DISH HD receivers. The Tailgater is man portable and uses the HD receiver signal to power the satellite antenna to locate the satellite all you need is to have a clear view of the southern sky. The tailgater sells for under $400 also.
Jim W.

[Jim & Kay]

I have a VuCube 2000, just set it down, turn it on, and it will automatically lock on to your signal. No problems with rain unless an extremely heavy downpour, never used it in snow. I have a portable dish that I favor now because I can get Direct tv HD with it and can't with the VuCube unless I'd switch to Dish Network.

[reubenray]

I have a VuCube 2000, just set it down, turn it on, and it will automatically lock on to your signal. No problems with rain unless an extremely heavy downpour, never used it in snow. I have a portable dish that I favor now because I can get Direct tv HD with it and can't with the VuCube unless I'd switch to Dish Network.

What type/size is your Directv dish and what type of LNB configuration are you using for D*HD? Being I move so much I have spares of different types and sizes.

[Jim & Kay]

Reuben,

I have the SWiM dish from Direct & the H25 receiver, the receiver is wall mountable & compact. I, also, added the RF Remote Dongle Adapter to enable me to change channels from the bedroom area, as well as the downstairs area. I will post photos on my page in the MOD album.

[matstam13]

we have always had a dome mounted on top of our motorhome but now into a 5er and have to go with the manual set up. couldnt seem to lock onto a signal and have been messing with it for days. although costly i think the cube would save some time and headache.

[fivergeezer]

I have had the Wineguard Carryout portable sat. dish for going on 3 yrs. It has been flawless, even in marginal clear-view sky situations. I have the matching tripod folding stand and sometimes just set it on top of one of the slides. I find it much easier than hand tuning my old roof-mounted dish especially since so many campgrounds seem to have plenty of overhanging trees.