Can we self install the Superdish?
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fv3 said:
When I upgraded to the Dish 500, they removed the 300 but left me the shell (not the LNB). Later, I had the 300 added again to get the 148 feeds of HD. Unfortunately, I added it a bit early and had to pay for it, including the installation. A month later they were installing for free due to the added locals on 148. Oh well, ya can't win 'em all.
As an honest professional installer, I do not take any of the customer's equipment, unless he or she asks me to do so. A lot of installers, including DNSC installers, sell reclaimed equipment on Ebay.
For those who have poles mounted in the ground, it would be quite easy to make a SuperDish adapter out of 2" diameter (actual) tubing, as long as the inner diameter is less than 1.66." Unless the old post is at least schedule 40 pipe, a new post should be installed. If you have a thin chain link line post, you mau get by id you grout an cement a rebar inside it with the 2" diameter tube over and longer than the original pole.
No, currently a pole install is not usually included in most professional installations. This has not been standard since the Primestar days.
For those who have poles mounted in the ground, it would be quite easy to make a SuperDish adapter out of 2" diameter (actual) tubing, as long as the inner diameter is less than 1.66." Unless the old post is at least schedule 40 pipe, a new post should be installed. If you have a thin chain link line post, you mau get by id you grout an cement a rebar inside it with the 2" diameter tube over and longer than the original pole.
No, currently a pole install is not usually included in most professional installations. This has not been standard since the Primestar days.
A lot of installers probably take the older antenna by default seeing that you did not need it anymore but if they try to take the dish and you need it then I would ask to keep it and there should be no problems.
I am sure there is a way of making an adapter for the current 1 5/8" poles that are for the Dish 300's and 500's in which could be adapted to fit a SuperDish on it (at least the smaller SuperDish) but
may not be able to withstand strong winds as well as the bigger size pole would.
When I had Primestar installed in 1995 the installer had to wait an hour or two for the concrete to dry before he could place the dish on the pole. I would think that some of the installers use the quick drying concrete. I have heard that there is concrete that sets up in 10 minutes but costs a bit more.
I am sure there is a way of making an adapter for the current 1 5/8" poles that are for the Dish 300's and 500's in which could be adapted to fit a SuperDish on it (at least the smaller SuperDish) but
may not be able to withstand strong winds as well as the bigger size pole would.
When I had Primestar installed in 1995 the installer had to wait an hour or two for the concrete to dry before he could place the dish on the pole. I would think that some of the installers use the quick drying concrete. I have heard that there is concrete that sets up in 10 minutes but costs a bit more.
I've installed over 200 post units. The key to setting the post so that it does not move, before the concrete completely hardens has to do with two factors.
First, the hole must be narrow. For a 1-5/8" pole, I use a Seymour 4" Iwan earth auger to drill the hole into the ground without distrubing the smooth sides of the hole. Forget the standard post hole digger. The hole is too rough and uneven. I use a 1-5/8" muffler clamp to keep the pole from turning.
Second, the concrete must be mixed very dry. The drier the concrete mix; the stronger the concrete is. Pack the concrete around the post and tamp it down with a sledge hammer around the post until it is plumbed with the level.
For customer installs, I use the chain link fence line post. I've dug these up after 9-10 months and they will already be showing rust at some contact point with the concrete. So, for my own personal installs and for installs for my friends and those who care, I use aluminum pipe or tubing. I've used stainless steel before, but it was too expensive. Aluminum pipe is fine, since it's wall is over 1/8" THICK and will last for at least 50 YEARS. I know this for a fact, becasue while hunting with a metal detector, even aluminum foil is intact after 30 years in the ground, while steel "tin" cans are almost totally gone. Even thin shell aluminum airplanes downed in the Pacific are in rather good shape after years of salt water immersion.
I am sure, also that an adaptor can easily be made for the smaller SuperDish from a length of 2" OD steel tubing a tap and a few bolts. This would easily clamp on the standard 1-5/8" pole. If made of schedule 40 pipe, the post will easily support the 2" SuperDish, since relatively thin tubing successfully supports the current Dish500.
First, the hole must be narrow. For a 1-5/8" pole, I use a Seymour 4" Iwan earth auger to drill the hole into the ground without distrubing the smooth sides of the hole. Forget the standard post hole digger. The hole is too rough and uneven. I use a 1-5/8" muffler clamp to keep the pole from turning.
Second, the concrete must be mixed very dry. The drier the concrete mix; the stronger the concrete is. Pack the concrete around the post and tamp it down with a sledge hammer around the post until it is plumbed with the level.
For customer installs, I use the chain link fence line post. I've dug these up after 9-10 months and they will already be showing rust at some contact point with the concrete. So, for my own personal installs and for installs for my friends and those who care, I use aluminum pipe or tubing. I've used stainless steel before, but it was too expensive. Aluminum pipe is fine, since it's wall is over 1/8" THICK and will last for at least 50 YEARS. I know this for a fact, becasue while hunting with a metal detector, even aluminum foil is intact after 30 years in the ground, while steel "tin" cans are almost totally gone. Even thin shell aluminum airplanes downed in the Pacific are in rather good shape after years of salt water immersion.
I am sure, also that an adaptor can easily be made for the smaller SuperDish from a length of 2" OD steel tubing a tap and a few bolts. This would easily clamp on the standard 1-5/8" pole. If made of schedule 40 pipe, the post will easily support the 2" SuperDish, since relatively thin tubing successfully supports the current Dish500.
Also when you mix the concrete drier it takes less time to dry because it has a lower water content.
One could use a pole driver and drive the pole in the ground and be able to place the dish on the pole before the concrete sets up.
One could use a pole driver and drive the pole in the ground and be able to place the dish on the pole before the concrete sets up.
It depends on how thick the pole is. The cheaper poles will bulge out at the top while the higher priced ones will not bulge out so bad. If the pole is not to be reinstalled a lot then putting the pole in the ground once should not cause it to bulge out bad enough to cause the dish to not fit onto the pole unless it is too thin of a pole.
Also (if you are not going to use a pole driver) you can drill a hole through the pole close to the bottom to put a metal rod through it in which will prevent the pipe from spinning.
Also (if you are not going to use a pole driver) you can drill a hole through the pole close to the bottom to put a metal rod through it in which will prevent the pipe from spinning.
Stargazer said:
An automobile muffler clamp, which can be had for about a dollar in the same diameter as the pole, is much easier to use and does not flop around in the hole. Since it is best to use a narrow augered hole, a long rod would be cumbersome.
