Just ordered DTV. Why am i so worried?

[mcfehn]

Please try to stay with me here. I am new to the whole satellite TV thing.

I just ordered directv service yesterday. Ever since then I have been extremely worried about the line of sight issue. Tech told me I have to have a clear view of the southern sky. Well, my neighbor has an oak tree that sits smack dab on the south end of my house. I've been to dishpointer.com and here are the results I got.

Directv 7S and Directv 5 both show more of a southwestern line of sight. Directv 3 however shows the line of sight going right through that tree. I guess my question is just how many satellites...and which specific ones will my dish need to see in order to get a good, strong signal? Also, just how hard will the installers try for a successful installation before they say sorry, this just isn't going to work? Do they really turn that many people away because of this issue?

I know I've asked a lot of questions but i'm looking forward to any answers you can provide.

 

[wildbill129]

How tall is the tree? It will need to be pretty tall to interfere. Maybe you could take a picture of your line of sight and post it here. The dish will be mounted close to your electrical service panel, or close to a sub-panel (like for an a/c unit) so that should give you an idea of where it would go. You can always put it on a pole somewhere to get around that tree if need be.

 

[charper1]

Please try to stay with me here. I am new to the whole satellite TV thing.

I just ordered directv service yesterday. Ever since then I have been extremely worried about the line of sight issue. Tech told me I have to have a clear view of the southern sky. Well, my neighbor has an oak tree that sits smack dab on the south end of my house. I've been to dishpointer.com and here are the results I got.

Directv 7S and Directv 5 both show more of a southwestern line of sight. Directv 3 however shows the line of sight going right through that tree. I guess my question is just how many satellites...and which specific ones will my dish need to see in order to get a good, strong signal? Also, just how hard will the installers try for a successful installation before they say sorry, this just isn't going to work? Do they really turn that many people away because of this issue?

I know I've asked a lot of questions but i'm looking forward to any answers you can provide.

Get a heading compass and do a quick site survey yourself. Look at the headings for these DirecTV locations in relation to your spot where the dish may go; facing each compass heading, eyeball up about 45° - 50° angle . These are not the headings I am listing; just the orbital spots. You may or may not even need 72.5°, 95.0°, 109.8° and 119°; depends on what you need to receive. Not sure what bird you mean by DirecTV 3...

72.5° DirecTV 1R (some locals; DMA dependent)
95.0° Galaxy 3C (ethnic programming)
99.2° Spaceway 2 & DirecTV 11
101.0° DirecTV 4S/8
102.8° Spaceway 1 & DirecTV 10/12
109.8° DirecTV 5 (not much if anything these days)
119.0° DirecTV 7S (some locals; DMA dependent & ethnic programming)

 

[stonecold]

Get a heading compass and do a quick site survey yourself. Look at the headings for these DirecTV locations in relation to your spot where the dish may go; facing each compass heading, eyeball up about 45° - 50° angle . These are not the headings I am listing; just the orbital spots. You may or may not even need 72.5°, 95.0°, 109.8° and 119°; depends on what you need to receive. Not sure what bird you mean by DirecTV 3...

72.5° DirecTV 1R (some locals; DMA dependent)
95.0° Galaxy 3C (ethnic programming)
99.2° Spaceway 2 & DirecTV 11
101.0° DirecTV 4S/8
102.8° Spaceway 1 & DirecTV 10/12
109.8° DirecTV 5 (not much if anything these days)
119.0° DirecTV 7S (some locals; DMA dependent & ethnic programming)

Engineers at DirecTV, Inc. have confirmed that a spacecraft control processor (SCP) aboard the DirecTV 3 satellite switched off on 4 May 2002 and is disabled. The control of the Boeing 601-model satellite was automatically transferred to the spare SCP and the spacecraft continued to operate normally. There was no interruption of service.

DirecTV 3 was moved to a graveyard orbit in October 2002 but returned in 2003, when it was leased to Telesat, which uses the satellite as backup for its troubled Nimiq-2 at 82 degrees West.

Nimiq 3 and Nimiq 4i were leased by Bell TV from DirecTV Inc. when they were already in orbit. Originally called DirectTV3 and DirectTV2 respectively, these Hughes HS-601 models were brought out of retirement and are currently used to share some of the workload from Nimiq 2 and Nimiq 1, respectively. They went online in Bell TV's stead in 2004 and 2006.
Nimiq 4i ran out of fuel and was replaced by Nimiq 4iR on April 28, 2007.

DirecTV-2[A] 100.8°W August 3, 1994 Atlas IIA[2] Hughes Electronics HS-601
DirecTV-3 91.1°W June 10, 1995 Ariane 42-P Hughes Electronics HS-601

 

[charper1]

I thought that was an old bird, so not sure which bird the OP was talking about; I would assume its one of the "BIG 3" orbital locations tho right?


P.S. to the OP: you can always go with a eave, roof or chimney mount to gain more height if needed. I have had my roof mount for years with no issues at all. I prefer it up there out of the way.

 

[mcfehn]

I have attached three pictures to give you a better idea of what I am talking about. I hope they show up.

In the first picture you can see the tree in question in the right side of the frame. Behind that tree is due south. To the left of the tree you start to see to the southeast.

In the second picture you see the same tree from my front yard and get a pretty good idea of just how big it is.

Picture number three shows the wide open southwestern part of the sky from my house.

It's just that one tree I think i'll have to be worried about. But more opinions are welcome.

Thanks again.

 

[mcfehn]

How tall is the tree? It will need to be pretty tall to interfere. Maybe you could take a picture of your line of sight and post it here. The dish will be mounted close to your electrical service panel, or close to a sub-panel (like for an a/c unit) so that should give you an idea of where it would go. You can always put it on a pole somewhere to get around that tree if need be.

Pictures are up and ready for your input.

 

[charper1]

Relative to where the dish will be; what heading is that tree? Based on the photos alone, I don't see an issue.

 

[mcfehn]

Only thing I can say about the tree is that it is directly in the line of sight due south. If the dish needs to go southeast or southwest it hopefully will be good. But with my luck, that one damn tree will ruin the whole thing. LOL.

 

[charper1]

So due south is 180° (or there about not accounting for magnetic declination if I remember correctly) - Sounds like you will be fine. What is your zip code? With that you can get an aiming coordinate for a SlimLine dish. This should at least give you a ball park idea. Which may be somewhere around the 200° heading .

 

[ebms1]

Only thing I can say about the tree is that it is directly in the line of sight due south. If the dish needs to go southeast or southwest it hopefully will be good. But with my luck, that one damn tree will ruin the whole thing. LOL.

im in new orleans ... the sats esp. the more southern sats or like 55 degrees elevation... the lowest is the 119 @ 43...

where you are they are a little lower

i dont think that tree would knock out my 119 ...

im not sure where your sats are in elevation where you are ...

 

[mcfehn]

My zip code is 47715

 

[charper1]

I was real close with the guess: You will be fine.


Address: 47715
Latitude: 37.9831°
Longitude: -87.4703°

DirecTV SL5 multi-LNB (99, 101, 103, 110, 119W)
Elevation: 43.8°
Azimuth (true): 201.3°
Azimuth (magn.): 204.3°



Address: 47715
Latitude: 37.9831°
Longitude: -87.4703°

DirecTV SL3 multi-LNB (99W, 101W, 103W)
Elevation: 43.8°
Azimuth (true): 201.3°
Azimuth (magn.): 204.3°

 

[mcfehn]

Thanks for all the input. I feel a little better. We'll find out for sure on July 6th! I'm really glad I found this forum. You would think, however, that since I work for a TV station I would know more about satellite lingo. But I'm a producer not an engineer. Bookmarked this forum and I will be back often.

 

[charper1]

good luck; let us know how it turns out. WELCOME!

 

[Jimbo]

McFehn,
I don't think you'll have any problem at all.
The Sat signal comes in much higher than the LNB arm, therefore I think you will have an issue at all.

Your setting of 201 is more to the SW than S and seeing your saying that the tree is S, your good !

Relax and welcome to the site !

 

[wildbill129]

Welcome aboard! This place is a wealth of information. Glad everyone was able to ease your anxiety. Let us know how your install goes!

 

[bubbagscotch]

YOU'LL BE OK

I think you'll be ok, I've seen some installs where I've asked how are they getting a signal with that many obstructions infront of the dish. I believe you will be ok with the install, and don't think your line of sight will be an issue.

 

[ryotgz]

My zip code is 47715

So you live on the east side of e'ville? I live on the Northeast side by the Airport. I have Dish right now and will be switching to Direct soon. Is July 6th the soonest they could install it for you?

Also post some feedback on what receiver you get. Hoping they use the HR24's in this area.

 

[mcfehn]

I will be curious as well to see what equipment I get. I have heard lots of good things about the HR24. However, I did not go with the whole home dvr package. Instead I got two separate DVRs. With the amount of stuff my family records...many of which overlap...I need to be able to record more than two shows at once. So I'm getting one for the main tv and the second for my bedroom. Not sure if that will make a difference in what units I get but just thought I'd throw that out there.