Satellite Dish Woes.

We are at Colorado River Thousand Trails and I just spent over two hours trying to get our Winegard Carryout Satellite dish to connect to Direct TV.
I finally gave in and called Direct TV to make sure that I still had service, they said , yes my service was still on and did I see any code number on the TV screen? Yes, I see code 771. Here is the rest of our conversation,

Tech...That means you are not connecting to the satellite.
Me...You think?
Tech...You must have a clear view of the southern sky.
Me...Yes I know, this isn't my first rodeo.
Tech... Is there a tree or branches blocking your view?
Me...No, I have a clear view of the southern sky.
Tech...Are you sure?
Me...What?
Tech...There must be something blocking the satellite.
Me...No, not a thing. I can see all the way to the horizon.
Tech...Are you positive.
Me...??????
Tech...Sir, are you there?
Me...Yes. What settings should I be using to set up the receiver?
Tech...You will have to call Winegard.
Me...But it's your receiver.
Tech...But it's not our dish.
Me...Good bye.

Well a quick call to Winegard tech services. This is how that went:

Tech...How may I help you?
Me...  I will cut to the chase, I explained everything just like I did with Direct TV.
Tech... Do you have another piece of coax?
Me...Yes.
Tech...Take the wire off the dish and put the new wire on and hook directly to the receiver.
Me..(I now have a wire running through a open window and across the inside of the RV to the receiver), OK, it's all hooked up what do you want me to do now?
Tech...Run the set up on the receiver again.
Me..OK, running setup.
Me...Holy %#@*, I have a picture.
Tech..(laughing) Great, is there anything else I can help you with?
Me... No Sir, you just saved my life. You see, tonight is the first night that the TV show Dallas is on and my wife said that I better have that thing working "OR ELSE". I didn't want to know what the or else was so you see....You are a life saver.
Tech...(really laughing hard now)..You have a great day Sir, and thank you for being a Winegard customer.
So, here's my tip...Save yourself a lot of time and aggravation when you have a problem and go directly to the source.