KING VQ4550 Tailgater Bundle - Portable Satellite TV Antenna and DISH Wally HD Receiver

I have aimed dishes manually for years. Wow, is this thing something I wish I had years ago. Here's some time numbers with a Wally dish receiver:Wally boot-up time from plugging power cord in--about 1 1/2 minutesDish aim and receive satellites--about 1 minuteWally Acquire signal--about 3 minutesWally receive guide--about 2 minutes.Note the only additional time over rebooting using a fixed pre-aimed dish 1002 is the 1 minute aiming time.From the description, I thought anytime I selected a channel on a different satellite, the unit would need to do the whole reboot sequence. But the dish just slews to the next satellite in about 5 seconds. Nearly as fast as having the 3 head dish.I did notice that the local channels that s/b in HD were only SD. I investigated this and found the unit was locked onto the stronger spot beam transponder that was the SD version. On my home fixed antenna the stronger SD transponder had a signal strength about 70, nearly 4 times what the HD transponder had with the mobile dish. With the mobile dish, the signal on the stronger transponder was only about half the weaker one on the fixed antenna and the weaker transponder was not to be found. So looks like some performance is lost with the smaller size dish. Note: all the HD channels I get on 129 & 119 were in HD. Only 110 had the problem with SD instead of HD. Since these channels were on spot beams, instead of continental wide beams, I suspect I'm on the edge of the spot beam.But only a minute to aim and find the satellite. Compared to my setting up the tripod 3 head version; I don't think I could even get the tripod out of its compartment on the motorhome in a minute. Not alone plumb, look up & set in the elevation, skew and azimuth and connect my signal meter and coax to the motorhome.But I still have the 3 head version for the times when the motorhome is parked with a tree blocking the signal.I did determine what channels I receive are on each of the three satellites. Made a list of these for the occasional times when my wife wants to watch something on one satellite and I can see what channels the second receiver can get for my viewing on the same satellite.The AUX outlet for a second Wally is a bit more complex and the instructions that come with the antenna only lead to the confusion. I wrote the following procedure after puxing with the thing for a day. Hope this helps others:Procedure to Acquire Satellites on Wally#2 with King VQ4500 Tailgater Mobile antennaFirst need to connect and achieve satellite lock on with Wally#1 (on MAIN output of the VQ4500) before doing anything on Wally#2 (on AUX output of the VQ4500). I'm using 129, since it has most all my channels (29) and I only loose 5 channels on 100 & another 5 on 119.Once Wally#1 is locked onto satellite 129. i.e. Fox News 205, TCM 132.boot up Wally#2. Note: Wally does not need to be physically unplugged—you can press & hold the POWER switch on the Wally until the green LED (next to the POWER switch) blinks OFF and turns back ON.There are four “starting up screens, the last one says at the bottom right screen corner 9999.Next the Acquiring Signal #535 comes up. This is the only point where you can take over the boot-up process. Press HOME> Settings> Diagnostics> Dish>Test Installation. Note pressing the number next to the label on the screen will jump directly to that label . Test Installation #58 determines if the switch is a DPP 1K.2 (triple head 1002), a mobile antenna such as the VQ4500, or if there is no switch at all and Wally#2 must use what it finds from the satellite aimed at by Wally#1.If the previous switch configuration was DPP 1K.2, the Switch NONE must be saved. There are two Warning screens #836 & #963 that allow you to opt out of this process, since it changes all the existing channel info. But we do want to select SAVE on both screens to force the Wally#2 to use what it finds from Wally#1.Wally#2 will now return to the Acquiring Signal #535 screen, followed by Guide Download #330. When Guide Download is finished, Press BACK until live TV appears. Pressing GUIDE will show the channels that Wally#2 can receive from the satellite Wally #1 is pointing to.Once hooked back up to a 1002 fixed dish 3 head antenna this test switch procedure will need to be repeated in order to show all the channels on the three satellites.When in doubt -- because something didn’t work right—repeat the power switch reset, Wait for the 4 Starting Up screens and when Acquiring Signal appears; force the Wally to do the Test Installation for switch selection. (Press HOME> Settings> Diagnostics> Dish>Test Installation.)

So there items to only like and there are items to love. I couldn't give a 4.4 rating so I just went with 5 Stars.The entire package is the right way to go. Antenna and receiver included. If you cannot place the antenna at least 3 feet off the ground opt in for the tripod. I configured a small piece of plywood over a fence post to secure my antenna too and its working great.I can only speak to the Wally receiver at this time, that's the package I purchased. If you purchase the Wally receiver and Antenna the instructions are wrong. You don't just plug everything in and call to get activation when prompted. You actually need to call and activate before starting the scan process. The Wally receivers are different apparently and need the upfront activation. The Zip code where the receiver is positioned is important to getting local stations. If you choose your billing address of say RI and you are in FLA you will not get the local RI stations. Once activated you are good to go. Note the activation process is also where you will get to listen to the disclaimers and jargon regarding your account it only takes a few minutes but you have to answer yes and no for acknowledgment. You also pick your channel package and need a credit card to pay.The tailgater antenna...Automatic antenna is definitely the way to go. Some of my fellow campers have to move theirs around and perform a ritual dance to get things lined up. I live in Connecticut so here are a few tips. Download a compass app for your phone that shows you the degrees. Line the Antenna up so the front (non handle side) faces between 218 and 225 degrees (southwest), not just straight south. This gives you access to the 110, 119 and 129 satellites. Cloud cover shouldn't hamper your line of sight but a mere tree branch can wreck havoc.I'm getting mostly HD channels with clear picture with those settings. I will post additional information the first time it rains to let you know how it worked out.

Added this setup to our RV this summer. This package improved our picture so much that it looks like we bought a new TV. Setup each time you move to a new location can take a little while and a call to DISH but the support team will have you up and running in minutes with all of the local channels for that area. Paying only for the months you use it is a huge bonus.

This thing works great! My first test was in my yard, surrounded by trees, fences and power lines- and on a cloudy, rainy night. I just hooked up the cable, put it down on my lawn, and went back inside figuring that it would never work- but it found all of my channels! Then we took it on our next camping trip- it was another stormy, rainy night and I put it on the ground next to the south side of my RV. The next RV was pretty close and they had their awning out, (in a storm?- not too smart), so again I didn't have much hope of it working, but again I was surprised that it managed to find my channels. A one point it was really pouring outside and I started to get the message that it was switching to an SD equivalent channel, but I'm pretty sure that was just because of the water on the dome. Really impressed with how well this works. I plugged its cable into the Cable TV input of my RV and then removed the Cable TV cable from my switch box and connected to the 211Z receiver input. Took like 5 minutes to install. Just need to get a cable to lock it to something as I was a bit worried that someone nefarious camper would walk off with it.

I just bought this unit and tested it in the RV at my home. It worked well here; hopefully just as well on the road.It took about 45 minutes for the initial set-up. I'll set it up again at home to see how long it takes after this initial set-up has been accomplished. TBC.....

Picks up satellites within 15 minutes awesome.