Hello all,
I was wondering if anyone has the King Controls keypad 1844. It's a little keypad with 2 digit display used for reprogramming King Dome dishes. Supposedly I can enter updated info so that my automatic satellite works with dish network again. But I would only need it the one time so seems like a waste of a purchase. I'd be happy to pay a relatively hefty rental fee.
Which KingDome model do you have?
I have a KD-2200, but the keypad is supposed to work on all of the older models.
I have a older KD-2200-30 too. The factory tells me I can upgrade to DISH for about $400.00, the retro parts are in the dome, which mean removal, I think. I just sent them a E about the keypad ( which I never saw when we bought the coach!). Will post when I find out what's what.
I have not been in recent contact with King as has Mike, but the manual for the KD-2200 and KD-3200 models indicates that they can also be reconfigured for the various satellite providers using the wall-mount control panel.
I'm stuck between a rock, etc. Happy with my DISH 'Tailgater', but got all this other (useless, so far) stuff on the roof and inside. Oh, well, we'll see what KING suggests. (who have been VERY prompt in their replies)
I know that the KD-2200 was designed for use while stationary, while the KD-3200 was designed for in-motion use. I would be interested to read if King would have you upgrade some internal components to make your -2200 the equivalent of a -3200.
I'm not interested in 'on the fly', but will check. Heck, it could be divorce city if the DW gets into re-runs of 'All My Children'. :facepalm:
The final word is that in addition to the keypad reprogramming I need a new DVB tuner at a cost of around $500. The new units (tailgater style) are only $400 or less. They said I'd be wise to buy a new unit. Personally I like the tailgater style better as it lets you reposition to try to get through the trees. We've never attempted to watch any kind of tv under way so the roof top in motion dish isn't much benefit. Wife would rather look outside or use her phone.
But in the end we're just paying $25/mo for sling tv. Works fine but the loss of usable internet when you are in a huge crowd of people (like at 12 hours of sebring this year) makes that a less than perfect option. One of my friends noted that his T-Mobile signal was perfect and had tons of bandwidth. He said it was because "nobody uses T-mobile". Probably a lot of truth to that. But i could probably pick up a T-mobile prepaid plan for cheaper than the $90/mo dish network pay as you go the one or two months of the year I could benefit from that.
Regarding the in-motion upgrade. I do believe that was possible but again probably not something you want to do when the newer technology is likely better than these noisy things.
I just did some checking for a friend: here's the cost to get set up. We have "America's Top 200" for $90. a month, works perfect, DISH is great to deal with! The dome can be roof-mounted
I realize the tailgater works good for you Mike, but you are also deep in the footprint where you are parked in AZ. Not so much in the NW.
Problem is with mounting it permanently on the roof, the handle has to be pointed north to work. Meaning the dish inside does not rotate 360 degree's. Maybe 340 degrees. I went through this when I mounted my neighbors on his Moho.
I tried it a few times, it wouldn't hit the bird, with the handle pointing south. That is the way he parks his moho at home. So we mounted it with the handle facing forward, which to me looks stupid. He also has to move his coach if the handle is pointed south when parked. This actually happened to him at the Wa. coast last summer.
The Winegard rotates more then 360 degrees inside the dome, which makes it a better candidate for a permanent roof mount.
The Tailgater signal strength leaves much to be desired compared to the Winegard domes. My neighbor couldn't get local networks in Seattle, where I have people getting them in Olympia and beyond. I personally got Spokane nets on my dome 100 south of Biggs junction Or.
No dome dish will give you HD with Directv, only Dishnet
Chris
I tried to talk my other neighbor out of a roof mount, but he went ahead with it. He'll be heading north for the summer into 'the green & grey', so we'll see what his 'war story' is next year. :facepalm: