March 23, 2013

Desert Sky, Apache Junction, AZ

Last night Monte and I kept going back and forth about what to do with the satellite antenna.  We had the option of having the store we purchased it from, get us a replacement.  BUT what happens if that one doesn’t work?  Monte read some reviews on that particular model (We should have done that first!) that were not positive.  Our other concern was what would be our recourse if the replacement model works now but stops working a month or two from now and we are a thousand miles away?  If we purchased something from a chain store and had a problem down the road we could return or exchange it easier.  So in the end we returned the KingDome and were given a full refund. 

We returned one Dish receiver to Camping World.  (And discovered that if the unit had been activated we wouldn’t have been able to return it so I was really glad that I changed my mind about having a second receiver prior to activation)  While we were in Camping World we looked at the different satellite antenna models that had available.  We compared the Winegard RoadTrip In-Motion (at a cost of $1,400 plus) that allows for viewing while driving down the road to the Winegard Minimax (at a cost of $ 799) that works while stationary.    It was a no brainer for us as we would not be watching TV while traveling.  

When we got the unit home and Monte unpacked it he discovered the installation was going to be a little more difficult than the first unit we purchased.  This model has an off/on switch that has to be wired in.  It also was missing a connection for one end of the cable.

 

 

Monte decided that installing the receiver in the living room would be easier than installing it in the bedroom.  BUT I complained that I watch more TV in the bedroom.  He said not to worry because he had a solution. 

 

 

We had a store credit to Best Buy so we purchased MyWirelessTV, a multi-room wireless HD connection kit that will allow us to broadcast from the living room into the bedroom and as a bonus allow us to broadcast to our small portable TV that has connections in the basement. 

 

 

 

 

 

 In the afternoon we took a ride to San Tan Valley to visit with my daughter and granddaughters.  They are scheduled to be with their dad next weekend and that is the last weekend before we leave the area.   

      We had only planned on staying a couple of hours because Monte was anxious to get back home and set up the antenna.  Renee wanted me to visit longer so she asked me to stay for dinner and then she would drive me home. 

After a delicious dinner of sausage and peppers

 

 

 

(thank you Deb)

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 I took a walk with Renee. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kennedy opted to ride her scooter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

while Daphne rode her bike. 

 

 

 

Daphne & Kennedy playing a game with balloons.

Just goes to show that kids don't need expensive toys.

 When Renee dropped me off back home, Monte was on the phone with Dish following their prompts.   

Earlier, per instructions from the manual, he had opened the dome so he could program it for the Dish.

(The antenna comes pre-programmed for DirectTV)  He had temporarily set up the dish on a box at the end of our driveway.   Within minutes we acquired a satellite connection so we are convinced the problem we had the day before was because the KingDome satellite antenna was defective.  

       We spent a couple of hours playing with our new toy before calling it a night. 

Every new box, bag or basket we bring into the house is a new toy for Pumpkin.