Looks like my 1 year old Tailgater has died. Probably from lack of use. I understand how to set it up, having done so quite a few times while traveling. What is the normal life expectancy? What do you do for service? Dish support could only suggest moving it to another location after I told the rep it had always worked in that location. Finds no satellites and if I connect the 211 to an old DTV dish on the RV it works fine.
Tailgater reliability
- Thread starter Al Fischer
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MattG@ DISH NETWORK said:
That's a bunch of crap, as its a Product sold through Dish and should be warrantied through Dish just like any other receiver or accessory sold through Dish.
Tailgaters are only covered through King Controls. You will have to talk them and see what they want you to do. Chances are you will have to send it to them but at your own cost. The product is no longer under warranty.
I love the product but am really starting to think that it has some major issues. Over half of the ones we've sold have had a problem. Now we've only sold a dozen or so but still.
There is usually a spot on one of the boards that burns up. The problem I've having with a customer's now is the signals are consistently low. The signal is on average 10 points lower than my tailgater that works fine. When we took the cover off we noticed that it's a little loose when turning from left to right.
I love the product but am really starting to think that it has some major issues. Over half of the ones we've sold have had a problem. Now we've only sold a dozen or so but still.
There is usually a spot on one of the boards that burns up. The problem I've having with a customer's now is the signals are consistently low. The signal is on average 10 points lower than my tailgater that works fine. When we took the cover off we noticed that it's a little loose when turning from left to right.
Reliability? (lack therof)
Well, the unit is about 14 months old and from what I can see is not of the same quality of the other Dish products. IT CARRIES THE DISH LOGO. I spent quite a bit of time with DISH support and their only suggestion was to place it in another location. (a waste of time) This was after explaining that it had been working fine where it was. Clear blue sunny sky. I finally removed the cover and observed that the azimuth of the dish was loose about 10 degrees. It was blinking red and green. The dish did not move. In this day and age a product that fails just past the warrantee and with little use is a definite POS! We are currently on a two week trip in the RV and watching TV on an old DTV crankup. Not Impressed with the Tailgater OR with the manner DISH handles it. I buy a DISH LOGO product from a DISH dealer and this is what I get? I really expected more from DISH.
Well, the unit is about 14 months old and from what I can see is not of the same quality of the other Dish products. IT CARRIES THE DISH LOGO. I spent quite a bit of time with DISH support and their only suggestion was to place it in another location. (a waste of time) This was after explaining that it had been working fine where it was. Clear blue sunny sky. I finally removed the cover and observed that the azimuth of the dish was loose about 10 degrees. It was blinking red and green. The dish did not move. In this day and age a product that fails just past the warrantee and with little use is a definite POS! We are currently on a two week trip in the RV and watching TV on an old DTV crankup. Not Impressed with the Tailgater OR with the manner DISH handles it. I buy a DISH LOGO product from a DISH dealer and this is what I get? I really expected more from DISH.
I don't have any pics. Sorry. All I can say about this product is that when it works its amazing. It does seem to be very basic and poorly made though. What do you expect for $350 though.
What sucks for us is how much time we spend working on them and contacting King Controls. When they're under warranty all we do is lose money since no one reimburses us. The small amount of margin on these does not help either. So far all we've done is break even with these units but hopefully have gained a few new customers.
What sucks for us is how much time we spend working on them and contacting King Controls. When they're under warranty all we do is lose money since no one reimburses us. The small amount of margin on these does not help either. So far all we've done is break even with these units but hopefully have gained a few new customers.
What do I expect for $350? Something that WORKS! I bought a fine 27" Samsung TV for the RV for less than $300. It will probably work for 10 years. A decent laptop can be found for $500 and it will not totally die in 14 months. With today's technology customers don't expect total failure a month after the warrantee expires. I guess that in about 9 months my 2 year commitment is up and I can revisit DTV. DISH has really let me down on this issue. It appears I am not alone in having Tailgater problems. DISH needs to address this with KING and DEMAND resolution for the problems their customers are having.
I have to agree, DISH should support the product.
If I buy a car and my car stereo stops working, the dealer does not dell me to call Sony. They fix it for me... its called CUSTOMER SERVICE.
If I buy a car and my car stereo stops working, the dealer does not dell me to call Sony. They fix it for me... its called CUSTOMER SERVICE.
What DISH should do is address this problem with KING and And I mean correct the issue without regard to warrantee date. This will eventually cost DISH some customers.
It nice to see people comparing a totally electronic device to a device that is almost all mechanical. With that logic a car should never need service.
While $350 sounds expensive, a high duty cycling automatic dish will cost you $1500 plus installation. You get what you pay for.
While $350 sounds expensive, a high duty cycling automatic dish will cost you $1500 plus installation. You get what you pay for.
NOT almost all mechanical. her is a multilayer PC board and an LNB in the box. The mechanics are two small motors and several plastic gears. Compare this to a modern washing machine and if your new washer failed after 6-8 uses you would be furious. You would buy another brand next time. This appears to be an electronic failure. (blinking red-green led)
That's exactly what I meant. I know $350 is a good chunk of money for most of us but you have to out it into perspective. The Tailgater is the least expensive portable dish on the market that I know of. There's a reason why it's as inexpensive as it is. Most portable Dish's are a minimum of $700 and can cost as much as $3,000.
I'm not real happy with the way the handle it either. I think Dish should offer some form of customer service with it, if not then take your name off the product.
This does happen with wash machines. This issue happens with all appliances and TVs. No matter what product you buy there is a chance that it craps out on you right after the warranty expires. Now, some products are very well built and are not likely to do that but there are far more products out there that do. The more customers demand lower prices the cheaper products will be made.
I purchased this unit for the fact that it was the DISH solution for a portable application. For $2k-$3k I could have had a roof mounted dish which obviously would be better EXCEPT that most RV parks have trees that limit the use. DISH sold me a package with a 211 and Tailgater and is advertising it heavily for the RV community, but no where does it state that they don't back it. DISH has at this point alienated a customer. And I WAS considering DishNet for my home internet connection.
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