Dish pointing when away from home

[onytay]

Does anyone know how to calculate the dish pointing when away from home. I take my dish with me from time to time and aim it according to the zip code that I'm currently at. I can pickup all my channels, but I can't get my locals. There should be a way shouldn't there? People travel with dishes all the time, right?

 

[charper1]

Welcome to SatGuys.


Local channels are on a spot beam, with the exceptions of NYC and LA because they serve DNS also. Once you travel outside of your service zip code's DMA (your local market area) then the local's signal can't "be seen" by the dish anymore. The area that a satellite signal covers is called a footprint.

 

[onytay]

Thanks. Not what I wanted to hear, but thanks.

 

[dfergie]

to SatelliteGuys...

 

[davey4000]

I understand what you say about not getting local channels due to being out of your spot beam, but does that mean you would not get any network channels at all...not even distant ones?

 

[dfergie]

The distants aren't on spotbeam so if you quailfy you would get them...

 

[davey4000]

I'm not sure what qualify means. For instance if I get local channels in Atlanta and I take a dish and one of my current recievers to Ft. Lauderdale, FL, what would I get in the way of network channels in Florida? a) Atlanta local channels b) DNS channels c) no network channels at all.

Reason for the question --- I'm working a 3 month construction job in south Florida and will be living in a trailer while there.

 

[dfergie]

c) no network channels at all unless you "moved " your account to Ft. Lauderdale. Then you would only get what is available there. I was speaking of the nationals ( NY and LA ) that are available if you quailify...

 

[davey4000]

Thanks for the information. Seems like an expensive proposition if I want to keep my wife happy at home with her Atlanta local channels and me have network (from anywhere) channels in FL. Sounds like two accounts which I had hoped to avoid.

 

[dfergie]

Should be able to get OTA channels in FL.

 

[davey4000]

Good idea! I should be able to pick up some pretty good ones down here with an outside antenna. Thanks again.

 

[johnml]

You can get all the OTA channels with a cheap small outdoor antenna. You can also get all with a indoor antenna, but my experiance with the indoor type is that you will have to move it around for different channels. I live in Ft Lauderdale/Oakland Park, Which is only 16 miles from the antenna farm.: