Winegard

All of these companies make various portable RV satellite units that can be utilized either directly through a serial port to pass commands to it's firmware, or their control PCB can be removed and replaced with an Arduino + H-bridge motor driver combo and utilize my satDUINO project.

Paradoxically, the units that are most similar to the high-dollar marine VSAT systems that are counted on by ships and militaries every day, have the most space inside the radome for a decent dish and feed, AND are generally easiest to hack into are the VUQUBE / Tailgater #1 (square-ish enclosure-style) dishes. Almost all of the brands moved away from this (superior) design and to the more compact, rounded radome-topped dish style over time. If you are willing to spend some time prowling for the best gear you can find -- I'd say #1: keep an eye out for a Winegard Trav'ler, then #2: the VSAT-style cube dishes and then in third, but still a respectable choice, would be a Winegard Carryout / Carryout G2.

If someone were to ask me how to spend the least amount of money for the most reasonable setup -- and they want to get started immediately -- I would probably say to scoop up a QUEST model dish on Ebay for $40, a knockoff Arduino UNO for $8, a few L298N H-bridge motor drivers for $5, and a MPU-6050 for $5 and acquire some metal window screen material for a grand total of about $50. With these items, you can take control of the dish with my satDUINO firmware, 3D print t0nito's Heli-Cone as well as sgcderek's L-band feed -- swap that in the place of the small dish that comes on these units -- and you could be downlinking high quality HRPT/HRIT signals by this evening.

Generally, I think that the Winegard dishes are of a higher quality, if you have a choice. What really matters most is trying to obtain a dish whose elevation is controlled via a belt (like this photo / rather than ones that function like this photo) because the latter is just going to give you more headaches by design.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6436342 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6790144 https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=sgcderek&page=1

Tailgater / DISH Network units

These all seem to be essentially the same company, or perhaps separate companies making the same design for DISH Network. The differences are negligible for what we are using them for. Some units are single output, some dual, but this does not matter if you are using them to track sats. It's possible that the QUEST models are a bit smaller, possibly. They certainly can be found cheaper.

Maxview VUQUBE VQ1000++ / Maxview VUQUBE 2 (possibly EU only?) / Maxview VUQUBE Flex++ / King Quest / King Flex VQ2100++ / King Quest Pro / King One Pro / King Tailgater / King Tailgater Pro / DISH Tailgater++ / DISH Tailgater Pro /

Winegard units

Winegard Carryout* / Winegard Carryout G2* / Winegard Carryout G3 / Winegard Carryout G4 / Winegard Pathway / Winegard Pathway X2 / Winegard Trav'ler* / Winegard Trav'ler Pro / Winegard Playmaker / Winegard Playmaker Dual / Winegard Roadtrip / Winegard Roadtrip T4 -> Winegard's Roadtrip series are "in-motion" dishes, made to work while doing highway speeds. They boast upgraded tracking algorithm onboard these -- if you can get access to a shell, these may be some of the better options available.

DIY serial cable necessary for some units

Winegard Cable

Do not buy these

Winegard Connect, Air 360, Rayzar, etc.