Just startin out

[1Juice1]

Greetings to all. Just starting out with satellite dish set ups so please bear with me on my 101 questions. Not quite sure of proper component terminology but I’ll pick it up as we go along.

I just had a Dish HD turbo installed on a mast in the backyard. The LNB section is a 1000.4 Sats are marked as 61.5 - 72.7 – 77 on the “menu” dish pointing screen. Instructions tell me to point to sat 110 or 119 to check signal strength.

Went through all the transponders and cannot get anything stronger the a 60 on the sliding bar graph (Meter)

I looked at the dish set up and noticed that the skew is at 90 degrees . The tech did not even attempt to adjust the skew. Why? Should I try to peak the signal or is there a reason it is left at 90 degrees?.
The teck just drove a mast in the ground and did not level it. He did not use coordinates to adjust the dish stating that because the mast is not on the bubble the coordinates are not accurate. That point is valid.

When I square up the mast and get it on bubble should I use the skew coordinates that I have for the Dish 500 HD turbo that I have? My Zip is 07851. AZ 243 EL 28 SK 126

I guess my main concern right now is why was the skew left on 90 degrees. The dish is oblong and I read that the skew applies to this geometry and not “round” dishes….true???

I will be purchasing a meter to use at the mast to peak the signal any tips on this will help. Also what basic homeowner meter do you recommend?

Thanks all Regards Juice

 

[KAB]

60 signal is good.

 

[old corps]

60 signal is good.

+1!

I think anything above 50 is good.

BTW, contrary to the instructions you ain't gonna get anything on 110 or 119.

Ed

 

[TimberWolf]

The main concern should be that he just pounded a pole in the ground without any concrete or any means to keep it from spinning, which it eventually will.

He left it at 90 because he was lazy. He did a sloppy mount that is not up to spec and probably did not peak the dish for the best possible signal. He was lucky to get 60 on any sat much less all 3.

I wonder what the rest of the install looks like.

I would have Dish back out there to reinstall it before the 90 labor warranty is up.

 

[TonyT@DISH Network]

As the others have mentioned, the signal strength is good. The Point Dish screen is very much out of date. It does not take into account any of the newer 1k.2 and 1k.4 dishes. It is based on the old SuperDish, Dish 500, and Dish 300. Those are WA satellites, and changing the direction on the dish to accommodate those satellites will net you no signal more then likely.

Based on your zip, it looks about right. Elevation looks to be 42.4, Azi is 189.4 and skew is 87.5, all in degrees of course. There was likely not a need to change it from the 90, or the signal was better at that angle. This information was found using your zip and Satellite Finder / Dish Pointing Calculator with Google Maps | DishPointer.com .

With regard to the post, I would add that perhaps the post is not level, which made the 90 degrees work better then the recommended 87.5. Do you know how far the post was driven in? What kind of post was it, a solid steel bar? If there is any concern as to the installation, I would be more then happy to reschedule a tech, but I do not see an issue at this time needing a tech to roll on it, depending only on the answers to the other posters questions and my own.

 

[harshness]

Skew is important any time an antenna is looking at more than one location.

Understand that the antenna is trying to focus on multiple satellites that are about the size of short buses and are located approximately 22,000 miles away; more or less in a line (actually along the 165,581 mile around circle that is known as the Clarke Belt).

At that distance, the separation between 110W and 119W is about 4,135 miles so just a little bit of adjustment swings things hundreds of miles.

 

[CK SatGuy]

As the others have mentioned, the signal strength is good. The Point Dish screen is very much out of date. It does not take into account any of the newer 1k.2 and 1k.4 dishes. It is based on the old SuperDish, Dish 500, and Dish 300.

Any chance that the point dish screen will get updated so it does include the newer dishes and gets rid of the old SuperDish?

 

[TonyT@DISH Network]

It would save a lot of calls, though. Honestly, I know there is something being released onto some boxes with regard to setup, and may have a change in it. In the meantime, you can find the proper pointing angles by ZIP on dishpoint.com and via dishnetwork.com on a printable list .pdf file, and I think that is the reasoning behind the "lack of updating" it has seen up to now.

 

[1Juice1]

More info

As the others have mentioned, the signal strength is good. The Point Dish screen is very much out of date. It does not take into account any of the newer 1k.2 and 1k.4 dishes. It is based on the old SuperDish, Dish 500, and Dish 300. Those are WA satellites, and changing the direction on the dish to accommodate those satellites will net you no signal more then likely.

Based on your zip, it looks about right. Elevation looks to be 42.4, Azi is 189.4 and skew is 87.5, all in degrees of course. There was likely not a need to change it from the 90, or the signal was better at that angle. This information was found using your zip and Satellite Finder / Dish Pointing Calculator with Google Maps | DishPointer.com .

With regard to the post, I would add that perhaps the post is not level, which made the 90 degrees work better then the recommended 87.5. Do you know how far the post was driven in? What kind of post was it, a solid steel bar? If there is any concern as to the installation, I would be more then happy to reschedule a tech, but I do not see an issue at this time needing a tech to roll on it, depending only on the answers to the other posters questions and my own.

Thanks to all who are replying. Tony. The Post is driven down about 2.5 feet. Looks like 2"emt. might be 2.5" The dish mast is smaller OD (maybe 1.75" and inserted in the driven section. The two are teck screwed together and also have one bolt and nut joining the two together. If you want to send out a teck to do this properly thats fine with me. I would like to put a bag or two of redi mix on the foot under the soil. I could have the hole ready to go for the teck when he arrives. Is this acceptable?

I still want to eventually dial in the dish myself. On my set up should I just use the coordinates provided and peak with a meter? Should I not use the 110 and 119 signal meter on the install screen as referance? Areply here states that I might loose my signal entirely using that.
Thanks, Juice

 

[TheKrell]

The WA satellites are in a completely different direction from EA satellites. If you point your EA dish at WA satellites, you are very likely going to receive at most one satellite and not one of the ones you want. The Point Dish screen doesn't really care where you are pointing or what satellites you are peaking, as long as you yourself know which one it is tuning and which LNB on your dish that it's coming through.

 

[TonyT@DISH Network]

If you want to send out a teck to do this properly thats fine with me. I would like to put a bag or two of redi mix on the foot under the soil. I could have the hole ready to go for the teck when he arrives. Is this acceptable?

As far as what I can see, there is no reason to change the setup as it is. That being said, if you feel the installation is unacceptable we can work to correct that. The work order, when signed, usually means that you accept the installation. I say that just to share information, not to upset anyone. I will be happy to resend a tech to mount the dish differently. I personally do not see an issue with the installation, as I just mentioned, but other technicians here in the forums may think differently. The call is yours (as the customer) to make. If you want a tech back out there, I will arrange for it to happen. PM me a phone number if you do.

 

[Frank7004]

He said that the pole was pole slammed, no concrete. Id schedule a pole mt asap. Not only does it need concrete, generally the tech also puts some lags or some sort of anchors at the base to keep it from spinning.....so putting a little concrete at the top of the mast will probably do little for you.

If the tech did pole slam it, there is no excuse for that. I'd also send qas.

As far as you wanting to purchase a meter to peak your own dish in....once the pole is properly mounted and the dish is properly peaked in, there should not be any reason for you to ever touch the dish. -so no need for a meter.

 

[TimberWolf]

If you did try to sight it yourself right now, I would bet the entire pole would spin in place if you didn't have all the bolts completely loose. He also should have used the right size pole so he wouldn't have needed an adapter to fit the dish