Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outside?

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isubeatle

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Aug 9, 2006
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The only bad part of being out tailgating all day is that we don't get to watch any other games that day and tend to miss a lot. So what's the best and/or easiest way to watch games outside?

If I get an HD antenna does that work pretty good out in the parking lots?

How does the satellite thing work? I've got DirecTV at home, but i'm not really interested in climbing up and taking it down every home game. Can i buy a dish off craigslist or something and take that with one of my home receivers and still use my account?

thanks!
 

TXCyclones

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

The only bad part of being out tailgating all day is that we don't get to watch any other games that day and tend to miss a lot. So what's the best and/or easiest way to watch games outside?

If I get an HD antenna does that work pretty good out in the parking lots?

How does the satellite thing work? I've got DirecTV at home, but i'm not really interested in climbing up and taking it down every home game. Can i buy a dish off craigslist or something and take that with one of my home receivers and still use my account?

thanks!

The HDTV antenna work good in the parking lot. Check out YouTube for homemade antenna, and especially the one from clothes hanger. I've used this one tailgating at the Cowboys games and ISU games and get better reception than most people around us! I've even customized mine to silver & blue for the Cowboys tailgates.
 

stateofmind

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

I bought an extra hd dish off of craigslist and I mounted the pole in a bucket of concrete. Test it out at home and make sure the base is level. Once you do that you just have to slowly rotate from side to side.
 

isubeatle

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

how many stations can you get to come in? is it just the main stations like abc, nbc, cbs, and fox?
 

isubeatle

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

I bought an extra hd dish off of craigslist and I mounted the pole in a bucket of concrete. Test it out at home and make sure the base is level. Once you do that you just have to slowly rotate from side to side.

do you just use your home account?
 

TXCyclones

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

how many stations can you get to come in? is it just the main stations like abc, nbc, cbs, and fox?

Pretty much those and a few others. But no ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports SW, BTN, so it does have some drawbacks (except for no BTN).
 

iacyguy

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

Strippers
 

alarson

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

do you just use your home account?

Yeah, you could just use your home account.

We use a winegard carryout for our tailgate. If you really want to step it up it supports 2 coaxes out so you can hook up 2 separate boxes\tvs to it.

I posted this in a prior thread, but here's the components in our setup.

Qtf0tG3.jpg
 
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isu22andy

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

Yep we fought the old dish in a bucket method for hours upon hours. This is the way to go ^
 

Bret44

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

Portable Direct TV dish works great for us.
 

Omaha Cy

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

I was ready to shell out the cash and buy that winegard carryout the other day to go with my direct TV HD DVR, due to its ease of set up. However, further research showed you can't get HD channels with it!!!!!! WTH?

Looks like I'm going to just have to get a tripod of sorts and a spare dish to take to games.
#disappointmentcity
 

cloneluke80

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

TV at tailgates is overrated, invest in a nice speaker setup with bluetooth and pump some good music. Maybe a few tailgate games. I am even considering a table to mount to my hitch...
 

alarson

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

TV at tailgates is overrated, invest in a nice speaker setup with bluetooth and pump some good music. Maybe a few tailgate games. I am even considering a table to mount to my hitch...

I'll strongly disagree with that. The ability to watch games all day is pretty awesome
 

yler4cy

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

I was ready to shell out the cash and buy that winegard carryout the other day to go with my direct TV HD DVR, due to its ease of set up. However, further research showed you can't get HD channels with it!!!!!! WTH?

Looks like I'm going to just have to get a tripod of sorts and a spare dish to take to games.
#disappointmentcity

You can buy a dish through Winegard to pick up HD reception, but as far as the HD channels it will pick them up in SD and I think they are as clear as if it were in HD. For the cost and difference in price I would say it isn't worth it.

I think that alarson would agree with what I am saying on the clarity of picture.


EDIT: Watching games during tailgating is amazing honestly. Wake up early for Gameday and allow it to go the rest of the day. We are going to do the 2 TV setup this year for tailgating.
 
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CascadeClone

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

I built a portable dish mount from some PVC pipe (plans on internet easy to find). It was like $10 of materials and weighs about 3 lbs. Set it on a leveled piece of plywood.

Just pulled our home dish off the pole - left the altitude locked in. Then just mount on the PVC thing, rotate until it locks in. Took 2 minutes. It was easier than doing it at home.

One thing I will say, though, it definitely changes the atmosphere of your tailgate. You go from focusing on eating, drinking, talking, cornhole, etc to focusing on the tube. Unless there is a big game you want to see, I'd actually recommend against it.
 

cloneluke80

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

I'll strongly disagree with that. The ability to watch games all day is pretty awesome

fair enough, just saying I enjoy talking and drinking with friends and am most interested in the ISU game... just to spend money to have cfb in the background during tailgating is not that important to me.. I do love sitting at home all day watching college fb on away weekends though...
 

CysRage

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Re: Looking to step up our tailgate this year. What's the best way to watch TV outsi

I was thinking about bringing a TV and playing other games throughout the day too. I have a slingbox on my digital cable box. For those of you who don't know what a Slingbox is it takes your digital cable signal and sends it over the internet so you can watch your home cable anywhere you have a reliable internet connection. Does anybody know if Iowa State's campus internet is available in any of the tailgate lots? I also have Sprint 3G WIFI. I know cell service let alone data usage can be tricky on gameday but has anyone with Sprint 3G tried it on gameday? Thanks!