I've installed OTA TV antennas since the late 1960's. Prior to the advent of the original DSS (now-DirecTV) system, I installed C-band.
My first DSS system that i owned was a Toshiba DSS system that I bought from Best Buy and installed myself in early 1998. A loth has changes since DirecTV operated only at 101W.
I've had Dish since Februrary 1999 for my own system. That was also a self install. Back then, there was no lease option. You bought your own subsidized system and there was no commitment at all. I starrted with 3700 purchased on the internet from the now defunct Sutter Tel in Seattle. Installation was a snap. 119 was easy to find and easy to lock on to. When the Dish 500 came out, that was easy to set up and install, too.
In all the meantime, I could switch receivers and try them all with just a phone call. The secondary market for good, when you needed to sell a receiver. Dish would allow smart cards to be switched from one receiver to another as long as there was no pay per view owed.
The game really changed, when they came out with leased receivers, and made owning no advantage over leasing, except for qualification and a 2 year commitment.
I quit the subcontractor install business just at the time that Dish Network came out with the forst Dish 1000. That was the time that the HSP cheapened the compensation to a point that it was no longer profitable for me to stay in the business .
Just recently I decided to take advantage of HD for Life. I had owned all of my Dish Network receivers since 1999. In January 2000, I switched to yearly pay, since I was going to subscribe anyway, and they offered one free month if you paid annually. Also, having been an insider in the business, I was well informed of the pending Februrary price increase. By paying always in January, I was always able to lock myself in to the old price for another year and also get the month for free.
The 311 that I had used and purchased new for $39 when Radio Shack was closing a large number of their stores in 2006, was having IR problems. I had new receivers but Dish now required new cards.
So, I decided to get a 211 with HD Free forever. I called on Wednesday. The installer came out on Friday morning. They installed an EA 1000.4 and the 211. The fees were all waived.
The guy did good job. I did not expect an EA dish. My pole was set up especially for a 110, 119 and 129 dish. While 61.5 is currently usable, it will eventually tree out.
dishpointer.com is a fantastic program. I wish I had it years ago, when I did installs.
So, I reinstalled the dish on a new pole set up for the EA. There is now 25 feet of clearance above the tallest tree.
If I had it to do all over, again, I would have taken advantage of the FREE upgrade. A two year commitment is nothing. After the install, I was told that I had to activate Free HD Forever. The CSR I contacted stated that I had to commit to Credit Card Autopay and that could be done only if I was in the monthly pay plan or I would have to pay the $99 charge. I asked to talk to supervision and they waived everyhing. I had been told that I could retain my yearly pay plan. They had congartulated me for being a 12 years plus loyal customer.
My suggestion is to find out which market you are in and whether you are in an EA or a WA market. I'd go to dishpointer.com and study each an every one of the satellite locations on your property. The neatest feature is the multi-satellite dish feature for the EA dish. Place the yellow baloon at possible dish mounting locations. That will show the direction of the satellite at the center 72W location. Then, you can click on the red balloon and move it to both the 61.5W and 77W locations, move it toward the yellow baloon and to the top of a tree shown in the satellite photo. It will show the height clearance and distance from the yellow baloon.
Then, just go outside with a clinometer to your chosen location and check the actual clearance.
When I was in the bsuiness, since I was also a master electrician and had done thousands of wall fishes, I recommend that either you or a hired person run all the coax, and, if necessary plant the ground pole.
That way, when you done all of the homework, you'd get the best possible custom install as if you had installed it yorself, and still have a professional installer peak the dish; the best of both worlds.
If later and if you desire, you can return both the leased receiver and the lnb, purchase your own parts and receivers and do as you please. As an aside, I purchased an extra NEW EA triple lnb for $22 delivered off of eBay. It was delivered by UPS on the third day.
