Pole Mount Questions

[RickVitzthum]

I am getting ready to install either D* or E* (not sure yet). I was going to mount the dish on my Fascia board but I am now thinking a pole mount would be sturdier and easier. I spoke with our company electrician and he could put together a 2” inch metal pipe with a 90 degree sweep on the bottom and a weather head on top.

Will D* or E* be able to mount to a 2” pole? I am not sure which size/type of dish they will use. With either provider I will go with the HD package and locals. I am in Washington State if that makes a difference.

Also, what is the preferred pole height, ground level to top? I will be incasing the pole base and sweep in concrete.

Thanks!
Rick

 

[Todd Humphrey]

Is this post going into the roof or ground?
I am assuming roof.
You cannot attach a dish mount to another post and expect it to work well or even look good.
In WA state ( I am in Skagit Country) DISH requires two dishes for HD. DTV use new 5-lnb satellite dish that MUST be very stable.

If you MUST do a roof mount, then I suggest you install a 2" OD pipe through the roof (2"OD Pipe is not readily available your electrician will most likely not be able to find one), and a separate pipe with a 1-5/8" OD (1-1/4" sch 40 steel pipe has a 1-5/8" OD).

You will use one pipe for Dish by mounting the D500 directly on the smaller pipe and attach the second mast to the larger pipe. You can then use the larger pipe to feed the cables into the building.

If you use DTV, you will mount that dish directly to the larger pipe and use the smaller pipe to feed the cables into the house.

You will have to adapt a weather head for the larger pipe, but that should not be hard.

If you are installing composite roofing, I would skip the pipes and attach directly to the roof. I install 90% of my dishes that way and it works well, when done in the right location and properly.

 

[RickVitzthum]

Thanks Todd,

Great info! I was actually planning on an in Ground Pole. I would probably lean towards D* since it would only be one dish.

Does a ground mount pole change your thoughts at all.

Again Thanks!!

 

[AllieVi]

My dishes are on poles in the ground and I definitely recommend this approach when possible.

Do you really need the sweep? If you need an underground feed to the house, I'd do it separately from the post.

When you talk with people about what size pipe is needed, make sure you talk the same language. You need to know the exterior pipe diameter. Steel pipe sizes refer to the inside diameter - the outside is about 3/8" larger. Chain link fence elements work well, but are thinner. Whatever you choose, measure the outside to make sure you get what you need. Don't rely on size descriptions.

Make sure you do something to prevent the pipe from being able to rotate in the concrete. A bolt in a hole drilled through standard pipe works as does deforming the thin-walled chain link pipe a bit with a hammer.

I recommend the pipe top be at a height that allows a comfortable working height when making adjustments to the dish. That means the top should be about 4' off the ground. Much higher or lower and you're just making everything more difficult.

Plan to have the pipe in place a day or so before the dish installer arrives so that the concrete will be set enough to be rigid. The dish installation procedures assume the pipe is perfectly vertical.

 

[RickVitzthum]

Thanks AllieVi, Good info. Never thought about the pipe turning. But I got it covered now. Again Thanks!

 

[RickVitzthum]

One more questions, on a 2" pole how will the dish be mounted? With a collar?

 

[AllieVi]

One more questions, on a 2" pole how will the dish be mounted? With a collar?

I recommend that you visit a store that can show you the dish and how it's attached. The ones I'm familiar with have a collar compression clamping mechanism. The dish assembly slips down over the pipe and a bolt tightens it in place.

The adjustment of the collar doesn't allow a lot of expansion. If you want to cap the pipe, wait until after the dish is installed.

 

[Todd Humphrey]

Fence pipe will not provide the stabilty you need for a Ka/Ku dish. They barely work OK for a Ku DBS system.

I recommend installing a 2" sch40 steel pipe. The pipe will have a 2" ID. Take a short section of 2" OD material (if you can get a mast from a Ka/Ku dish before hand, you can cut a piece from that) and slip it into the 2" steel pipe.
There are a couple ways you can secure the two together. You can use self tapping sheet metal screws and set 4 to 8 through the two pipes, or you can have them wielded.

When those Ka band satellites fire up there are going to be a lot of installers very surprised just how senstive these dishes are going to be, in even moderate wind.

There is no way to CAP these pipes. You can fill the top with a sealant or sometime they will come with a plastic insert that serves the same function, but they are not a water tight cap without some sealant. Myself, I use roofing tar in a tube to seal the end. Yes, you have to be real careful to not make a mess, but it seals very well to the metal and when it sets, last far longer than any sealant.

 

[raoul5788]

I recommend that you visit a store that can show you the dish and how it's attached. The ones I'm familiar with have a collar compression clamping mechanism. The dish assembly slips down over the pipe and a bolt tightens it in place.

The adjustment of the collar doesn't allow a lot of expansion. If you want to cap the pipe, wait until after the dish is installed.

This is what an AT9 looks like installed on a pole.

 

[chadzx11]

I recommend installing a 2" sch40 steel pipe. The pipe will have a 2" ID. Take a short section of 2" OD material (if you can get a mast from a Ka/Ku dish before hand, you can cut a piece from that) and slip it into the 2" steel pipe.
There are a couple ways you can secure the two together. You can use self tapping sheet metal screws and set 4 to 8 through the two pipes, or you can have them wielded.

Sort of like this?

Uber ghetto, IMO.

You should see some of the BS AT/AU 9 installs I've seen. Job security for me! :

Usually, I am either in the ghetto looking at junky installs or in the high roller parts of town looking at AT9s. You guys should have seen the AT-9 I found in the ghetto. I mean, I was so deep in the ghetto, they slammed the door in my face, then tried to talk to me through it (they saw whitey coming and thought I was a cop. I get that all the time). I know they thought I was nuts for rolling around in their yard laughing. I wonder if they called DTV to ask why the QC guy thought their install was the funniest thing ever.....I thought I had seen it all. Aparently, not yet.

 

[safetyfastmg]

Been wondering this myself. I'm moving in a month and want to get Dish at the new house and prefer a pole mount.

 

[Todd Humphrey]

With dish you need to know if you are going to need two dishes. You can mount two dishes to a single steel pipe, but it can be tricky. The last thing I would recommend is installing a 4x4 wood post and screwing two standard wall/roof mounts to it. It looks awful and is the wood post twist as it seasons, you can find your self needing a fine tune in a few months. Some wood post do not move, but I have seen too many move to recommend that method. Did I say it looks ugly?