Do I really need 110 or 119?

[iowapilot]

I was wondering if I needed reception of these sats if my programming consists of the basic Total Choice with Locals. I did some searching on Google and it looked like all of the channels that I am hooked up to are on 101. I did a quick run through and that seems to be the case. To me, it looked like HD was on 110 and Latin on 119.

The problem is I have no mounting point that has a completely clear LOS to all three, except the roof. I REALLY do NOT want to mount on the roof, even if it is done professionally. The point I picked is on my back deck which shoots about a foot or two through the very edge of a tree. I am getting about 89 on my best transponder, which is about what I had at my old house (installed professionally) which had a completely clear view.

I guess I am afraid of finishing up this installation and then finding out somewhere down the road that DTV moves some programming over to 110 and/or 119 and I have to reinstall. My question is, do they move regular programming over to these sats or is it pretty much set with the channels they have? Are 110 and 119 exclusively HD and Spanish? I thought I read somewhere that some locals are on one of the two secondary sats, but mine are definitely on 101.

One last thing....If I am getting 101, could this be a tweaking issue for the other two? I guess I don't have a very good concept of how far apart these satellites are in the sky. I feel fortunate enough to be getting 101 at the strength it is coming in, and would like to just leave it if I can. I understand that this tree might grow and cause some problems later, but since I am trying to burn through the very edge, it is something that could be trimmed sometime if need be.

Any help/advice is appreciated.

 

[iwantchai]

I have a similar situation with my tall trees... I get 101 great but barely get 110 and cannot get 119 at all...

110 and 119 are primary used for HDTV and some of the newer additions to local cities DTV supports. The sats are much lower in the sky than the 101.

110 is about 5 degrees lower than 101.
119 is about 12 degrees lower than 101.

see http://www.csgnetwork.com/antennasatelazposcalc.html for more info on the positions in the sky.

I am wondering if anyone knows where one can get a larger dish than the 18x24... maybe i can get my strenth up a little to at least get some HDs of 110..

 

[iowapilot]

Well, I got a letter from DTV in the mail today saying they would waive the $25 setup fee, so I just called and set something up so someone with much more experience than me can take a look at it. They will be here Saturday (suprising!) afternoon.

I know the first thing they are going to want to do is a roof mount. I am so ademate about them NOT doing a roof mount because I am worried that they wont seal it properly, or half-assed.

Thanks for the link, I will have to research which satellites are which. It didnt seem blatantly obvious to me when first checking it.

EDIT: Whoops, I guess it was blantantly obvious. I knew there was a reason I shouldnt be installing this system on my own.....

 

[dishjockey]

I've been putting dishes on the roof for years without a single leak.
If that was the only place to get a line of sight and you didn't want it there you wouldn't get it period.

 

[iowapilot]

Yeah, that's what I figured. The first thing an installer wants to do is start drilling holes wherever he feels like it. When you guys start paying the mortgage on my house you can do whatever you want. Until then, I'll be the one tell you where to put it.

 

[dishjockey]

Point is the dish has to have a clear los to the satellite .If you don't want it on your roof fine ,thats up to you.

 

[arxaw]

It can be on the side or end of the house, or on a chimney. Or you can install a short pole in concrete anywhere in the yard, as long as the location has LOS. If you set a pole yourself, they'll have to make 2 trips - once to find a suitable location and again to install everything after you've set the pole.