Mounting Dish on PT post

[jscud]

My son has his EA 1000.4 dish mounted on a Pressure Treated post on the side of his front lawn. Three times now it has moved out of position to the extent that he has lost all signals. The elevation is not changing, it is only the azimuth. Each time I have been able to repoint the dish by adjusting the cam nut to get his signal back.

At first I thought he might have knocked the dish while mowing or that the wind was moving it. But all mounting hardware is tight. I tried moving it with my hand and could not.

Is it possible that the PT post is twisting enough for him to lose his signal entirely? The post appears to still be straight.

John

 

[KAB]

Was the post set in concrete?

 

[MrDogDad]

Pressure treated posts certainly can warp. I have 5 foot tall fence posts that have warped and twisted 3-4 inches over 5 years. Unless he wants to constantly re-aim his dish, he should replace the wood post with metal.

 

[boba]

YES YES YES WOOD WARPS. Not only will it warp but it swells with moisture and shrinks as it dries out, not very stable looking for a van 22,300 miles over the equater.

 

[delta_charlie]

Hi, yes you need to replace the wood with metal and set the base in concrete. If the dish does not need to be mounted up very high (3 feet or so) you should be able to use a galvanized fence post. If you need to mount up higher get a galvanized pipe for added stiffness. Most dishes use 1 5/8 post or pipe but double check. Simply lose the base clamp (foot) and bent mounting pipe and slide the dish mounting bracket direct into the post or pipe. BTW - a neat trick to do is to re-use the old foot and attach it to the bottom of the new post or pipe so it's in the concrete to help prevent any twisting. Later, DC

 

[jscud]

Thanks for confirming that the PT post is the problem. Three feet high but NOT set in concrete. That mounting method worked great back in the old Dish 300 days. Didn't think it would be that big an issue with the 1.4K. It was put there by a 'professional' Dish installer too! (previously a 61.5 wing dish was on the post). I guess it is time to upgrade to a galvanized pole set in concrete.

 

[DishTechPA]

The 1k.4 EA signals are very sensitive. Plumb and level is a must on the. 4's. A metal pole in concrete, plumb and level, you'll be good.