How to handle possibly moving my dish

[raysmith]

I am having pixilation problems on my 722 receiver with channels from the 129 satellite position. I checked the signal strength on the Dish pointing menu page and it jumps all over the place (e.g., 20, 17, 11, 2, 3, 25, 11, etc.). I’m getting intermittent pop-ups indicating partial and/or complete signal loss. Channels from 110 and 119 satellites are fine. The pop-ups suggest checking line of sight at the dish itself.

Based on the dishpointer website and the Satellite AG app, there might be a branch of my neighbor’s tree that has grown large enough to be a problem for the 129 satellite, but it’s hard for me to be certain.

Can I ask for a DISH person to come and just verify whether I have a line of sight problem or not, and if so, offer some suggestions for where to move the dish? My dish is currently located in a perfect spot, unobtrusive, on ground level, attached to the cement foundation right near the entry to the basement where my distribution panel is located. If fixing the problem involves anything beyond a simple adjustment I will likely need to first make some landscaping changes which would require a second visit to actually move the dish (like a pole mount). Also if the new location is overly obtrusive or visible from the front, there will be significant pressure to go to Comcast – which I would prefer to avoid.

I will ultimate contact DIRT for this – but I thought I’d get a read from this group first as to whether 2 visits are possible or not.

Ray Smith
Batavia, IL

 

[Hall]

If it's really tree branches in the way, I doubt that "a simple adjustment" will be able to fix it. The dish/pole will need to be moved. Then, and I'm not sure what Dish's policy on this is, but I'm certain they will insist on moving it while they're there and not come back while you do landscape changes. Now, what might save you is if they require utility markings before they dig the new hole. When we moved, the tech couldn't dig without having the utilities marked first but he did do a temporary mount on the ground (bolted to a sheet of plywood and held down with cement blocks !). They don't schedule the follow-up until the markings are done, so that would buy you time.

 

[KAB]

Based on the dishpointer website and the Satellite AG app, there might be a branch of my neighbor’s tree that has grown large enough to be a problem for the 129 satellite, but it’s hard for me to be certain.


Ray Smith
Batavia, IL

Is the neighbor's tree branch suck that it could be trimmed? Maybe he would do it if you offered to pay for it.

 

[raysmith]

If it's really tree branches in the way, I doubt that "a simple adjustment" will be able to fix it. The dish/pole will need to be moved. Then, and I'm not sure what Dish's policy on this is, but I'm certain they will insist on moving it while they're there and not come back while you do landscape changes. Now, what might save you is if they require utility markings before they dig the new hole. When we moved, the tech couldn't dig without having the utilities marked first but he did do a temporary mount on the ground (bolted to a sheet of plywood and held down with cement blocks !). They don't schedule the follow-up until the markings are done, so that would buy you time.

I should have been more clear. By "simple adjustment" I meant moving it, but perhaps a bit higher and a little further along the foundation, avoiding any sort of pole mount - which to me is a much bigger deal. But I don't know what the scope of possibilities are for mounting it. If a pole mount is required, then I assume utility markings would be required before digging, which would require a second trip- so my temptation is to just schedule the service call and see what happens.

 

[raysmith]

Is the neighbor's tree branch suck that it could be trimmed? Maybe he would do it if you offered to pay for it.

It could be trimmed, but the way the tree is situated, it would be a temporary fix as it will just grow back. I'd prefer to solve the problem for the long term.

 

[Hall]

When the installer told me about utility marking before digging a new hole I asked about mounting to the foundation. I had seen a lot of Directv dishes that way in our neighborhood. He said Dish doesn't do them (prefer not to, not allowed, etc, I don't know).

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[JSheridan]

We do it all the time. He probably didn't have a hammer drill.

 

[Hall]

Good enough reason!

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[uriel0818]

Maybe you have clear los for the eastern arc. That would be alot easier and a pretty simple fix. Its looking towards the left of the western arc

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