Winegard GM 9000 Carryout G3 Portable Automatic Satellite Antenna

This is a great way to have Sat TV on the road. We have DirecTV at home and also have a Winegard Travl'r dish on the roof of our camper. The Travl'r regularly gives us trouble and frequently our campsite has trees in the way of the roof-mounted dish. We decided to get the portable so we would have TV almost all the time on the road.First thing; This unit only gets SD TV from DirecTV. It gets HD from Dish. Well, we are roughing it, after all. All of the newer DVRs from DirecTV requires a SWM unit. This is a little box that allows receivers to have just one connection from the satellite. THE GM-9000 NEEDS THE WINEGARD SWM-80 KIT TO WORK WITH NEWER RECEIVERS AND DVR'S. This kit costs about $80. It's worth it. Beware that you make sure you are buying the kit made by Winegard. There are sellers who pretend to sell the factory kit.Setup is simple. You will need several short cables to connect the various pieces of the SWM-80 kit and power injector (comes with the antenna) together. You should use two cables to the antenna. The unit comes with one 25ft length of coax. For less than $20 here on Amazon, you can buy a dual-coax RG6 50ft cable. This is two cables in one. It's perfect for this application.This setup allows you to connect two or more (up to 8 according to the documentation) receivers. This is called the SWM setup and only works with receivers designed to work with SWM. The SWM setup only looks at the 101 degree satellite. This isn't a problem since almost all DirecTV SD programming is on that satellite. The 103 degree satellite (the other one this dish can get) is virtually all HD channels.Don't be put off by the need for the SWM-80 kit. It is easy to hook up. We mounted the components and the power injector on a piece of plywood and did all the connections. Now, all we do is run the 50ft dual coax, connect the receivers, and go.We also purchased the optional mounting tripod. It's a lifesaver if it rains. It was very simple to set up this system. We have 2 DVR's running off of it with absolutely no problem. We can record one program and watch another on each receiver. Just be sure your DirecTV equipment is SWM for this setup. Chances are it is.HELPFUL HINT: When setting up the SWM system, run the satellite setup on each receiver. Look at the antenna options. If there is one for "Round 18" Dish" use that. If not, the "SWM 3" will most likely work. Ignore error messages and press "Continue". You may need to reboot the receiver before everything works correctly. One receiver set up with no problem. The other needed to be rebooted.

I purchased this to replace a Dish Network Tailgater. I use Directv at home and it cost less to just add a receiver to my account rather that paying for two different accounts just to have tv on the go. I am a truck driver and this is installed on my truck. Very easy setup and easy to use with a home receiver that I had sitting in a closet not being used. I initially purchased the Tailgater (which also worked perfectly) because the cost of the dome was about half the price of a Directv one but they’ve since become more affordable and with only paying for an additional receiver versus a full account with Dish it will pay for itself in a few months. Once set up and activated, all you do is plug the receiver into power and it automatically finds the signal and tunes itself.

did not work

I installed the GM 9000, reset the DVR per the instructions, plugged it in, and it found the satellite n a few minutes. I had a problem of losing reception, i use both tuners so i can watch while it records another show, transponder 1 on tuner one kept going to zero, I would switch over to tuner two and the transponder had a good number, switch back to tuner one and the same number showed. This kept happening, I called Winegard Tech support, and they returned my call within a couple of hours. She walked me through the set-up on the DVR and had me change the dish configuration, problem solved. I had a king quest before this antenna, Winegard service is superior to king quest.

I purchased this antenna to replace a manual carryout suitcase antenna that I have used for the last 3 years. So far I have set the G3 up 7 times and it has locked on quickly each time. The only thing that I am concerned about is that it rattles when you pick it up like there is something loose inside, and it makes a grinding noise at start up. I contacted Winegard about the grinding noise and they said it was normal. They have been very good at responding to my emails. Four stars as I haven't had the G3 long so we will see how well it will holds up. I mount it on the tripod that is listed for it and Winegard sent me the feet necessary to attach it.

Pro small antenna and lite weight. Also the automatic satellite locator really is a blessing.Con 1. Not an HDTV antenna, I was focused on my HR54 Receiver would work with the antenna, I missed the fact that the HD channels can not be seen, I get a 771 satellite error which is only seen on the HD channels.2. Did not know that I needed a SWM-D30 kit, that it was absolutely needed to contact any satellites and connect to the HR54 receiver.

This product worked when I lived in CA, for some reason it does not work since I moved to TN. I would like to return it but I dont have the original box.

I bought this about 3 years ago, because the King units weren't holding up. I didn't think the winegard would either? But I would give it a try. It's still going strong!! It grabs a signal faster than the king, holds signal heck of a lot better in the rain, it has to be almost hurricane rain for this one to lose signal.. yes, it was bit more expensive, but it's worth it because it will also work with DTV, Dish, and Rogers cable.