Dish Pointing - Line of Sight Question

[confused_blonde]

OK guys, this is my first post and I'm new to all this, so be gentle. Oh, I may be confused, but I'm not dumb, ok?

I just got a Dish 500 with a 322 Receiver for mainly RV use. I had it set up by an installer in a campground. He just pounded a post into the ground and sat the dish on it. I'm not going to do that, I'll probably get a tripod, but right now I have a large piece of plywood that I have a standard dish mount attached to. I want to play with it in the yard before I go out and make a fool of myself in public.

Question 1: With the skew set at 128, it's hard to tell what direction the dish is actually looking. What is a good reference point to look at from behind the dish to point it? Most people I know have DTV with a round dish and it's kind of easy to figure out. This isn't as obvious. I bought a compass and one of those cheap sat finder meters from ebay and I know which way SW is. I also have a level and understand the importance of that. I also am going someplace soon where there are lots of RV's and trees but some gaps to point a dish through, so knowing what part of the dish to point the right way will be very helpful there.

Questions 2: With the elevation at 31, it's not pointing very high. There is a 5' fence in the back yard. About how far do i need to be from the fence for the dish to see the sat over it if the dish is pretty much sitting on the ground?

I think that's it for now. I've read a bunch of stuff here already and think I have the basics down. I just didn't see anything regarding the above 2 questions.

tia!!!

 

[SmityWhity]

I suspect you already know this, but when you travel from one location to the next, get the zip code for where you are going either before you leave or when you get there, and then set the SKEW and the ELEVATION for the new location.

Sounds like you will be using the Dish 500 Foot/Mast attached to a piece of plywood. A couple of cinder blocks or sand bags to hold it down would not hurt, maybe even a couple of stakes (or steaks with a couple of large dogs ).

And then the next step, as you know, will be to position the plywood so that you can get the top of the mast perfectly plumb in all directions.

Which way is it pointing? Use the SPLIT on the back of the mast bracket, where the two bolts are to tighten it down. Start where you think the AZIMUTH should be, and then move/turn the dish in increments of about 1/16". You may want to try larger increments at first to see if you can get a signal, but you will soon have to shift to 1/8" movement or less. The receiver can take 8 - 10 seconds to register, so you could pick up the signal and then lose it without the receiver ever showing it. Don't forget to cover the 110 LNBF with foil or paper while looking for the birds.

I would try about 15 feet away from the fence. Then, so that you know more than some of us here, I would play around and move it closer to the fence so that you have a good idea of how high the signal is coming in. Especially if it's a wooden fence. Maybe even try putting it behind a hedge. It's going to depend on where you're at, but I seen a dish against a hedge work even with the hedge about a foot higher.

Good luck and have fun.

PS -- Don't forget to mark the Elevation, Skew, and Azimuth, before you remove it from the pole. This will make it easier when you return home and re-install the dish.

EDIT:
And on behalf of Scott, Welcome.

 

[confused_blonde]

I suspect you already know this, but when you travel from one location to the next, get the zip code for where you are going either before you leave or when you get there, and then set the SKEW and the ELEVATION for the new location.

Yes, I've already made a list of zip codes of regular haunts, but thanks.

Sounds like you will be using the Dish 500 Foot/Mast attached to a piece of plywood. A couple of cinder blocks or sand bags to hold it down would not hurt, maybe even a couple of stakes (or steaks with a couple of large dogs ).

Couple of sand bags sounds good. Steak, salad and a cold beer sounds even better.

And then the next step, as you know, will be to position the plywood so that you can get the top of the mast perfectly plumb in all directions.

Yes

Which way is it pointing? Use the SPLIT on the back of the mast bracket, where the two bolts are to tighten it down.

I looked at that and know exactly what you mean. That actually makes sense.

Start where you think the AZIMUTH should be, and then move/turn the dish in increments of about 1/16". You may want to try larger increments at first to see if you can get a signal, but you will soon have to shift to 1/8" movement or less. The receiver can take 8 - 10 seconds to register, so you could pick up the signal and then lose it without the receiver ever showing it. Don't forget to cover the 110 LNBF with foil or paper while looking for the birds.

Understand, but I didn't know I should cover the 110 LNBF. That's the one on the right looking at it from behind if I remember. I know it's marked on there.

I would try about 15 feet away from the fence. Then, so that you know more than some of us here, I would play around and move it closer to the fence so that you have a good idea of how high the signal is coming in. Especially if it's a wooden fence. Maybe even try putting it behind a hedge. It's going to depend on where you're at, but I seen a dish against a hedge work even with the hedge about a foot higher.

OK. Yes, it's a wooden fence. There's some bushes around too I can try putting it behind to see (after I get it to work properly).

Good luck and have fun.

Thank you. I hope too.

PS -- Don't forget to mark the Elevation, Skew, and Azimuth, before you remove it from the pole. This will make it easier when you return home and re-install the dish.

OK, didn't think about that. Thanks.

EDIT:
And on behalf of Scott, Welcome.

Thanks, Scott, and SmityWhity!

 

[dishcomm]

I suspect you already know this, but when you travel from one location to the next, get the zip code for where you are going either before you leave or when you get there, and then set the SKEW and the ELEVATION for the new location.

Sounds like you will be using the Dish 500 Foot/Mast attached to a piece of plywood. A couple of cinder blocks or sand bags to hold it down would not hurt, maybe even a couple of stakes (or steaks with a couple of large dogs ).

And then the next step, as you know, will be to position the plywood so that you can get the top of the mast perfectly plumb in all directions.

Which way is it pointing? Use the SPLIT on the back of the mast bracket, where the two bolts are to tighten it down. Start where you think the AZIMUTH should be, and then move/turn the dish in increments of about 1/16". You may want to try larger increments at first to see if you can get a signal, but you will soon have to shift to 1/8" movement or less. The receiver can take 8 - 10 seconds to register, so you could pick up the signal and then lose it without the receiver ever showing it. Don't forget to cover the 110 LNBF with foil or paper while looking for the birds.

I would try about 15 feet away from the fence. Then, so that you know more than some of us here, I would play around and move it closer to the fence so that you have a good idea of how high the signal is coming in. Especially if it's a wooden fence. Maybe even try putting it behind a hedge. It's going to depend on where you're at, but I seen a dish against a hedge work even with the hedge about a foot higher.

Good luck and have fun.

PS -- Don't forget to mark the Elevation, Skew, and Azimuth, before you remove it from the pole. This will make it easier when you return home and re-install the dish.

EDIT:
And on behalf of Scott, Welcome.

Welcome......Just my 2 cents...Stand behind the dish and draw an imaginary line thru the mast perpendicular to the ground...This is the actual angle at which the dish is pointing..Disregard the arm.....Nowif at all possible make sure the mast (tripod, etc) is plumb/level..This makes it so much easier to acquire signal....Good luck..please come back any time you need our assistance..

 

[Jim5506]

If you think about an old C-Band satellite dish with the 6 foot dish and the lnb over the center, then these DishNetwork dishes are a small oval cut from one side just offset from the center. So, the actual aim of them is above the perpendicular to the dish rim by some 20 degrees or more.

I visualize where the satellite is in the sky by looking from behind along the bracket that holds the lnb then dropping down until I can see the center of the lnb eye - thats approximately where the bird is located in the sky.

 

[Desert Satellite]

Start from the left of where you think your dish needs to point and start a couple degrees high... move the dish to the right with your signal meter reading about half scale... when it reads a satellite and you think you are close, disconnect the meter and run a check switch (menu, 6, 1,1 on the remote). If you get back 119 and 110 you are golden... if you only get one, for example you only see 110, then put your meter back in line and move the dish a few degrees to the right to the next satellite that pegs out your meter... when your meter pegs out you need to keep adjusting it back down to the middle (around 5).. till it stops pegging out your meter... when you find the 2nd satellite, remove your meter and do another check switch (menu, 6, 1,1) and see if you are getting both 119 and 110... enjoy.... the satellites in the sky start from left at about 61.5 and all the way to the right up to about 148. The satellites are on the same arch as an unhappy face The left and right side are lower than the middle arch. If you start at about the right elevation you might hit DTV 101, then Dish Network 110 and 119... I do all the time and when my meter sings the third time I know it's 119.:up

 

[SmityWhity]

Understand, but I didn't know I should cover the 110 LNBF. That's the one on the right looking at it from behind if I remember. I know it's marked on there.

There's more than one way to skin a cat, I mean catfish. You could follow Desert Satellite in the above post and make adjustments as needed. But sometimes someone new at this gets confused when instead of getting 119 & 110, they are getting 129 & 119, or maybe they are getting 119 on the 110 LNBF instead of the 119 LNBF.

If you cover the 110, then when you find the 119, it will be on the 119 LNBF and the 110 should show up on the 110 LNBF when you remove the cover. If not, then either your mast is not plumb or your skew is way off, and maybe elevation is also off a little. More than likely, the mast is not plumb. When properly peaked, the Dish 500 is pointed 1/2 way between 119 & 110 but is picking up 2 points on the Clarke Belt arch. If the mast is not plumb, then you have created another arch that crosses the Clarke Belt arch, with one point at the cross and the other point either higher than or lower than the Clarke Belt .

Myself, I like a challenge....
I plumb the mast, set the skew, set the elevation, look at the sun (no compass nor sat meter), almost snug the 2 mast bolts, turn up the TV volume, peak the noise on the azimuth, snug the 2 nuts/bolts, peak the noise on the elevation, tighten the 2 elvations nuts, re-peak the noise on the azimuth, tighten the 2 mast nuts/bolts, then enjoy the TVGC & TWC; all in less than 15 minutes.

 

[confused_blonde]

Thanks for all the great help you all!!!:::

I just set it up in the yard, leveled it, pointed that seam at the back of the clamp at 240, hooked up the signal meter (hey, it actually worked, too) and got a great signal right away. Moved it back and forth a little, then moved it up and down, up seemed to make the biggest difference, went inside, looked at menu+6+1+1, and got a reading of 96-97 on 119-11 and 88-89 on 110-11. Is that good enough?

Did the check switch thingy (I got scared because step 3 took longer), but it came back with what looks to be all good:

1 2 3
119 110 X
OK OK X
TWIN TWIN NC
Reception Verified
DPP Twin

Anything else I need to do?

Oh, I have another question (or 2).

There is a little tree (about 10 feet tall) just on this side of the fence. It is about 15 feet or so from where the dish is. Some of the stuff I read about where the sats are in relation to the dish say to look from the bottom of the dish along the arm to the lnb eye and follow that out to the sky. If I look that way (had to lay on the ground to do it, and got my top all dirty), it points right to that tree. Wouldn't that block the signal then?

Other question, for now, is when I went to turn the receiver on, the top was really hot, especially toward the right side, looking at it from the front. It's like 96 here today, but this was almost like I could cook an egg on it hot. Should it be that hot, even when it's turned off?

SmityWhity, Desert Satellite, Jim5506, dishcomm, and anyone else, you all have been so nice and helpful, unlike a few other boards I use. Wish there was a hugs and kisses smiley I could throw your way, or a beer.

I have some other questions I'll post on other subjects, and I know more will come up, so I'll be around. Just waiting for the RV to cool down before I go back out there and play with my new toy some more and see what it can do. I'm sooooo happy.:clap:clap:clap@party@party@party

Oh, SmityWhity, blackened catfish, Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

 

[Desert Satellite]

Sounds like you should not have any problems in the future. Trees do block satellite signal. You can try what somebody else suggested... move the dish toward the tree and see what you point you start losing signal.
Is a Dish Network receiver is plugged into electrical power the receiver is always talking to the satellite. We call it "standby mode". If you was to get up the next morning and touched your receiver with it being turned off all night (no lights on front of rcvr) you would find out it's hot. Therefore it's not advised to put a receiver in an enclosed area. Some have, and after 3-5 months their rcvr stops working. Yep... it's cooked... and sometimes they omit a bad oder.
What area are you in... I'm in Phoenix AZ. It's currently 99.9....

 

[confused_blonde]

Thanks, Desert Satellite. I had to work most of the weekend so I didn't get to play. I'll try moving it around behind the tree and some other bushes and the fence now.

...Is a Dish Network receiver is plugged into electrical power the receiver is always talking to the satellite. We call it "standby mode". If you was to get up the next morning and touched your receiver with it being turned off all night (no lights on front of rcvr) you would find out it's hot. Therefore it's not advised to put a receiver in an enclosed area. Some have, and after 3-5 months their rcvr stops working. Yep... it's cooked... and sometimes they omit a bad oder.
What area are you in... I'm in Phoenix AZ. It's currently 99.9....

I'm in VA, and it gets hot here all summer. Being the receiver is sitting out in the RV and I don't run the AC while it's not being used, should I unplug the receiver when I'm not using it? It gets pretty hot in there.

 

[tsduke]

Thanks, Desert Satellite. I had to work most of the weekend so I didn't get to play. I'll try moving it around behind the tree and some other bushes and the fence now.


I'm in VA, and it gets hot here all summer. Being the receiver is sitting out in the RV and I don't run the AC while it's not being used, should I unplug the receiver when I'm not using it? It gets pretty hot in there.

If your in a campground, why not run the ac and use the electicity your paying for?

 

[confused_blonde]

Because more often than not I'm not in a campground and the RV is sitting in the yard unused, unfortunately. I'll start a new topic about this since it has nothing to do with the original topic. Thanks.

 

[SmityWhity]

Oh, SmityWhity, blackened catfish, Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

VA? With blacken catfish, I thought you were down in bayou country!

The sat signal is coming in at an angle, some say the dish has a 20 degrees offset so the signal comes a ways above the top of the dish. Which holds true for hiding a dish behind a hedge - it can be right behind the hedge and lower than the top and still get the signal. On the other hand, if you put the dish on a balcony, you need to make sure you do not have it too high or set back too far, or the roof or other over-hand could stop the signal.

We'll take a beer via paypal.
Or if you have any Jax Beer laying around, I cold drive to VA to get it.