Tailgater & VIP211K No Satellites Found

[mctech123]

I have a Tailgater and VIP211K that I have used for tailgating for the last two seasons without any issues until Saturday(9-14). We have setup our satellite in the same location with the same clear view of the southern sky for several years. This game-day when I started setting up around 7am the VIP211K Point Dish/Select your State Screen was displayed. I selected my state and the checking Steps 1 of 3 began as normal, however that is where the problem began. After about 1-2 minutes of Step 1 of 3, A message was displayed "No Satellites Found" which is code 151.

I immediately called Dish Network for assistance, and after countless explanations of why receiver is not at my house, and having them explain to me in very-very-detailed steps of how to verify that I had installed the coax correctly. I assured the customer service rep that I have connected this system about a hundred times. After getting nowhere, I was transferred to advanced tech support, who asked me to verify movement of the Tailgater by feeling and listening. I was able to confirm that the Tailgater is moving, but the technician could never help me get past step 1 of 3 on the setup. After working with the advanced technician for nearly 30 minutes I was asked to leave a message for someone, not sure who, and they would call me back next week with more ability to help. This was NO HELP on game-day!

Has anyone seen this? Any Ideas or suggestions, is there any way to reset the VIP211K besides the 10 second unplug method? Could I have missed an important update from Dish between this Saturday(9-14) and its last use (9-7)

*note I tried using another RG6 coaxial cable to rule out that issue.
I do not have Dish Network at home.

 

[SomeDishGuy]

I have a Tailgater and VIP211K that I have used for tailgating for the last two seasons without any issues until Saturday(9-14). We have setup our satellite in the same location with the same clear view of the southern sky for several years. This game-day when I started setting up around 7am the VIP211K Point Dish/Select your State Screen was displayed. I selected my state and the checking Steps 1 of 3 began as normal, however that is where the problem began. After about 1-2 minutes of Step 1 of 3, A message was displayed "No Satellites Found" which is code 151.

I immediately called Dish Network for assistance, and after countless explanations of why receiver is not at my house, and having them explain to me in very-very-detailed steps of how to verify that I had installed the coax correctly. I assured the customer service rep that I have connected this system about a hundred times. After getting nowhere, I was transferred to advanced tech support, who asked me to verify movement of the Tailgater by feeling and listening. I was able to confirm that the Tailgater is moving, but the technician could never help me get past step 1 of 3 on the setup. After working with the advanced technician for nearly 30 minutes I was asked to leave a message for someone, not sure who, and they would call me back next week with more ability to help. This was NO HELP on game-day!

Has anyone seen this? Any Ideas or suggestions, is there any way to reset the VIP211K besides the 10 second unplug method? Could I have missed an important update from Dish between this Saturday(9-14) and its last use (9-7)

*note I tried using another RG6 coaxial cable to rule out that issue.
I do not have Dish Network at home.

You most likely were transferred to King Controls, who does the tech and warranty work on the Tailgater. They manufacture it for Dish.

If you do indeed have a clear view of the southern and southwestern sky (depending on where you are), and you do indeed have a straight coax running from the tailgater to the sat in spot on the back of the 211K, the two explanations are generally that either there is an obstruction (you say no), or that something is wrong with the Tailgater antenna. In the troubleshooting flow for the Tailgater, if the tailgater is moving, we (Dish) generally do not transfer to King Controls, they will usually always say it's not their problem if the antenna can be heard to move during the scan.

King Controls works banker's hours, and their tech support staff is generally surly and indifferent, so you may (or may not) get a call back from them eventually. Unlike Dish, who is getting money from you monthly, King gets nothing from you, and they generally act like it (from my experience with them).

Big picture, Dish is pretty limited here. You're connecting to an antenna that is not made by Dish (there is plenty of room for criticism here, since it does have Dish branded right on it, but it's not made by Dish), and if the antenna isn't pulling in sats, it's generally a problem with the antenna.

Here is my synopsis:

1. Problem with the receiver? I'd advise the customer to connect the 211k to a home system, run check switch, and see if it can get all the satellites the other receivers in the house get. If so? It's not the receiver.

2. Problem with the coax? Is the Tailgater connected directly to the receiver? Not connected through the wiring inside the RV walls? Try another coax. If another coax has the same issue, it's not the coax.

3. Problem with the tailgater? Is that Tailgater moving and making noise during the scan? If so, that often means nothing is wrong with the tailgater, although I do not believe that to be the case 100% of the time. The Tailgaters tend to be a bit flimsy.

4. Problem with the line of sight? If nothing else seems to be the problem, this is a likely issue. Especially if the scan finds some of the sats, and misses one like 129 (which is the hardest to lock). Is weather OK about 10 miles south and southwest of the location? That is the most likely weather issue location.

 

[jerryez]

Did you run check switch when connecting the 211k to the tailgater after using the 211k with your home sat dish.

 

[boba]

Did you run check switch when connecting the 211k to the tailgater after using the 211k with your home sat dish.

Reread last line of post#1

 

[dvrexpander]

Biggest issue I've seen with these things are people not putting them on level ground or and obstruction. I was able to fix one of these for a tailgater while at a game the other weekend, needless to say he was happy and it was one of these two reasons it wasn't working.

 

[Scherrman]

My bet is there is an issue with the Tailgater. We have sold about a dozen or so Tailgaters and have had issues with half of them. As stated before, you were probably calling King Controls and leaving them a message. I've had to call them numerous times and they generally call me back within 20 minutes. They are not always the friendliest or even that helpful to be honest. If you've had the Tailgater for two years then it is out of warranty so you will have to send it back to King Controls on your own dime if you want them to fix it.