Dish Play Maker satellite

[griz_king]

Will this orient itself to the South automatically? Looking to mount it on the roof of new toyhauler. Dealer says it will Dish says it wont

[chuckster57]

According to this it does

https://planetdish.com/dish-playmaker/

That being said, I have had a Wineguard portable since 2009 and I didn’t mount it on my roof because I wanted the option of parking in a shady spot and not losing satellite tv.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by griz_king

Will this orient itself to the South automatically? Looking to mount it on the roof of new toyhauler. Dealer says it will Dish says it wont

The Playmaker dish has a handle you point NORTH and then it will be looking in generally the southern direction. I had Dish TV and carried a compass for that reason. Once the handle points north and it is connected to your Wally or other receiver it will automatically point south and lock on the necessary satellites on its own. I set mine mostly on my slide out but a few times set the dish on a tripod and needed to use longer coax due to trees blocking the southern sky. I was actually able to use 75' coax and pick up signals well but they don't recommend that long a wire. I also had 15', 25', 50' sections of coax I kept rolled and ready in the event needed.

[Wyldfire]

Mounting on roof will severely limit where you can park to use it. A single tree or building to the south of you will block its ability to get one or more satellites.

[Alpine Custom Upgrade]

Originally Posted by griz_king

Will this orient itself to the South automatically? Looking to mount it on the roof of new toyhauler. Dealer says it will Dish says it wont

I use a Direct TV portable dome for my RV. I use a 75' dual coax cable that is wired into the inside tv box. That allows me to park under or near trees and have always been able to locate my dome in a clear enough area to get reception. Trees will absolutely interfere/prevent reception. Another thing I learned about my dome is that while it does a great job of finding the satellites on its own, it does not rotate a full 360 degrees so if I set the dome facing a certain way, it can NOT find the satellite because it cannot rotate to that point. I I took the top of the dome off, found what it rotational limits were and put an arrow on top to make sure it gets it pointed in the south direction. I use a compass as well to verify which direction is south. Your results may vary.

[wiredgeorge]

Re-reading your question, the Playmaker was not intended to be fix mounted. It must be oriented every time it is used by the handle facing north. I kept mine in my passthrough storage and took it out and set it on my slideout if no trees were in the way. If trees blocked a view of the southern sky I set it on a tripod.

[GlasNav]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Re-reading your question, the Playmaker was not intended to be fix mounted. It must be oriented every time it is used by the handle facing north. I kept mine in my passthrough storage and took it out and set it on my slideout if no trees were in the way. If trees blocked a view of the southern sky I set it on a tripod.

WiredGeorge is absolutely correct, handle to the North, the unit will only function properly when oriented in this manner.
As far as a roof mount, I considered placing one at the top of our ladder which is only a couple of feet from the Winegard roof unit. However, the other postings are correct regarding obstructions such as branches etc. Recommend purchasing the collapsible Winegard tripod mount that disassembles easily and takes up hardly any space.

Only drawback is what happened to us last month, departed our house and left the Winegard Satellite Dome Bag sitting in the garage, didn't realize it until setting up the first night in a remote State Park, no service OTA. The remainder of the trip we suffered thru OTA and occasional RV Park Cable.

[Kojac]

This is how I mount mine, takes about 15 mins! I bought the pole kit on Amazone for about 95 dollars. Sorry about photo being sideways!

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by Kojac

This is how I mount mine, takes about 15 mins! I bought the pole kit on Amazone for about 95 dollars. Sorry about photo being sideways!

I used that mounting pole system for mounting my WiFi & 4G LTE antennas but on the side of my camper. In the down position, they are no higher that other penetrations (like the A/C). The mount shown by Kojac would work fine as you can easily turn the base of the mount to orient the antenna. Problem would come in if there are trees between the antenna and the southern sky which is why I just parked mind most times on my slide out if not trees obstructing and put the antenna on a tripod away from obstructions otherwise.

[CedarCreekWoody]

While the Playmaker will do the fine tuning you have to manually orient it to the south. It is very sensitive to obstructions. I've heard other models are less sensitive.

[lonerider98]

Cojack Do you have a link for your mount?

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

While the Playmaker will do the fine tuning you have to manually orient it to the south. It is very sensitive to obstructions. I've heard other models are less sensitive.

The effectiveness of any parabolic dish is directly proportional to its size. The Playmaker dish is the smallest out there an hence the lightest and easiest to store. The small size makes it more susceptible to attenuated signal strength in with trees in the direction of south. Works fine if re-positioned away from the direction of interfering trees and set on a tripod for up to 75' cable distance.

[JRTJH]

Also, remember that if using the Playmaker with that 75' cable, the Keystone KEYTV system does not have enough power to "run the motors that move the dish in the Playmaker" that align the dish to aim at the satellite....

So, you may find that the "automatic aiming" won't work properly. It's not just Playmaker, but any satellite receiver that uses DC power through the coax cable to provide power to the motors in the dish package.

If I remember correctly (somebody give the correct information if I'm wrong) the maximum distance for the coax run for the Playmaker to work properly is 25'.... I may be "not remembering correctly" but there is a short run distance that KEYTV will power the system, but not the full stated 75'......

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Also, remember that if using the Playmaker with that 75' cable, the Keystone KEYTV system does not have enough power to "run the motors that move the dish in the Playmaker" that align the dish to aim at the satellite....

So, you may find that the "automatic aiming" won't work properly. It's not just Playmaker, but any satellite receiver that uses DC power through the coax cable to provide power to the motors in the dish package.

If I remember correctly (somebody give the correct information if I'm wrong) the maximum distance for the coax run for the Playmaker to work properly is 25'.... I may be "not remembering correctly" but there is a short run distance that KEYTV will power the system, but not the full stated 75'......

When using a PLaymaker, I connected the coax from antenna through a pass through bulkhead coax connector to a 2' length of coax and to the Wally receiver and did not use or have KeyTV. I am never sure why someone would use one of those things as it presents a potential issue that doesn't need to be in the loop. Obviously, the Playmaker receives power from the Wally and I was able to use 75' of coax to connect and if the KeyTV can only push through enough power for the Playmaker to work at 25', I would not use the KeyTV but would bypass it.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

...
I would not use the KeyTV but would bypass it.

Yep, that's why I mentioned it, hopefully to prevent anyone from spending all the time to install a Playmaker into the KEYTV system, only to then spend all those troubleshooting hours, and find out it wasn't possible to use it that way in the first place..... Sort of "keeping the barrel away from your toes so you don't shoot yourself in the foot" kind of advice....

[Kojac]

I will try and find the receipt, its been a couple of years so it might take a day or two!

[Kojac]

Originally Posted by lonerider98

Cojack Do you have a link for your mount?

Sorry it took so long: flagpolebuddy.com Looks like they went up a hundred dollars in 3 years?http://flagpolebuddy.com

[mgrote]

Did they tell you that it will only work on one tv. I had one and can’t get rid of it. Fought with it for a year, called dish several times and finally got a top dog tell me that if you have multiple tvs the second tv has to watch the same satellite as tv 1, that is if the second tv ever acquires the signal, mine never could.
I put up a permanent mount DISH Pro - Smart Multi-Satellite RV Antenna SK2DISH and use my home receiver’s and dvr. No second subscription and you can continue to watch your dvr program’s on the road.

[rlh1957]

Yes it will orient itself.
Rooftop is convenient, but can limit reception if you park under shade or tree, whereas mobile on a cable you can move receiver dish to the best point.

Mine is on the roof and tracks in fine. I have been limited at times by trees.

[apachewolf]

Originally Posted by griz_king

Will this orient itself to the South automatically? Looking to mount it on the roof of new toyhauler. Dealer says it will Dish says it wont

I am not familiar with the dish you mentioned but In 2011 I bought a combo set, receiver and antenna. The receiver was/is a Dish Network VIP211Z and the antenna is a Winegard PATHWAY X1. At that time the price was about $ 490.00. It has worked well since than. The X1 is connected to the VIP211Z. When we arrive at our destination I bring out the X and place it where it has a clear view of the southern sky. I turn on the VIP 211Z and it finds the satellite all by itself. I used to have one of those big (20” dia) dishes on a tripod it could take from a few minutes to hours to find the sat. This one I just turn on the receiver it than ask me where I am (state) and the rest is done quickly and without my help. If you are out of range call Dish on their 800 number and they’ll set the receiver to whatever zip you are in. If you have Dish at home with the local channels that is what you’ll get if you are on the road. If you are too far away from home you’ll get the local stations on the area where you are now. It takes about 10-15 min to setup with the download of programs available where you are. You can buy your own receiver and add that to your account for a mere $ 5.00/monthly. You can also turn it off when not needed, either by calling them or by logging into your account and resetting it there. As for mounting it on the roof that could be a problem. The X1 can be mounted BUT if you park under trees or there are other obstructions you can’t use it. That is why I just put it down where there is room. Sometimes (mostly) I put it on the roof of the slide out but other times I just find a good spot for it.

Hope this helps.

Happy camping.