point dish

[skierrob]

Dumb question. I have a Dish that is pointed at 148 that I'd rather point to 129. What is the best way to swing the dish on my own so I don't need to pay someone to do it? Just move it left and right while on the cell phone with someone watching the signal meter tuned into a transponder on 129? Or does it also need vertical alignment?

If so, how do you point it to 129 accurately? Sorry for the dumb question!

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Liquidforce88]

You will need to change elevation on the dish.

 

[Mdvalenz]

I believe the setup program has you put in your area code and it tells you how to point the dish, but you would need a compass and protractor to make sense of the numbers they give you. It is just easier to get it in the general area and have someone watching the meter on the screen while you wiggle it around.

 

[larrykenney]

More difficult than you think!

I believe the setup program has you put in your area code and it tells you how to point the dish, but you would need a compass and protractor to make sense of the numbers they give you. It is just easier to get it in the general area and have someone watching the meter on the screen while you wiggle it around.

I tried that when moving my 148 Dish to 129. We worked for an hour and a half without success. The meter on the screen never showed a signal, so matter where we pointed the dish. We finally gave up, called the local Dish guy, he was there in a half hour and had it lined up on 129 in about 10 minutes. Cost me $99. It was worth it!

Larry
SF

 

[vegassatellite]

Point Dish screen doesn't have coordinates for 129.

Google "Look Angle Calculator" to find out where you need to point it.

 

[skierrob]

Thanks to everyone. I found out the info for my location and will try. Any Dish dishes that won't get 129? I know I have two dishes on the roof, but don't know yet if it's one 500 and one older dish, or two 500's, or what. Again, right now I've got one dish pointing to 119 + 110 (obviously a Dish 500) and another dish pointing at 148.

According to the lookups, 148 for me was at: Elevation 39.4, Azimuth (magn.): 212.8 and LNB skew 36.6.

129 is at elevation 49.0, azimuth (magn.) 185.9, and lnb skew 15.7.

So hopefully I will be able to do this on my own. I've got a compass... do I need something to look up the elevation? Or is there a guide on the dish itself showing elevation marks? What about the skew?

Thanks again to everyone for their help... I'd just rather try to do this on my own instead of paying someone $100 to come out.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[vegassatellite]

LNB skew is for LNBs that aren't used with DISH. DISH uses a skew plate on the back of the dish to rotate the dish to match up to multiple satellites. Since you are only trying to catch one satellite, leave your skew set to 90, otherwise your other figures won't be correct. The dish will have markings for elevation. If the 148 dish has a plastic "Y" shaped bracket at the end, then your azimuth will be a few degrees off from your above settings. Just means you'll have to sweep a few inches left or right.

Put the satellite receiver on 129 Transponder 31. It's a relatively strong one and so you should find the sweet spot with the dish much easier. Just make sure to move the dish real slow. It takes a few seconds for the receiver to lock on and show the signal so if you go to fast you'll move right past it. Move it about 1 inch every 2 seconds. It's easiest if you use a phone and talk to someone in the house at the receiver. If you have a set of baby monitors, you can monitor the receiver much as you would monitor a baby.