Terk Triple LNB Dish Questions

[cspiteri]

I am wanting to upgrade to HDTV service and want to replace my present ChannelMaster dual LNB dish with a new Terk triple LNB dish. I have a tile roof and the mast is anchored to the roof with a tile overlay and cement cap. I don`t want to tear that all up to use the Terk mast and bracket. My question is can my present mast be utilized and will the Terk dish bolt up to it?? I assume that my present mast is plumb as the reception on the 2 satellites is excellent.
I don`t think a SatC kit is a good solution as my present LNBs each have an input and output cable going into a 4 in 1 out type of switch or splitter. The SatC kit literature looks like the LNB has a single output which goes into a two way splitter and I`m not sure how that would interface with the present switch.
Finally, can I get some input on how difficult it is to align these triple LNB dishes??? I have a satellite finder meter.
Thanks!!!

 

[Mike500]

The mast is the same basically for both dishes. There is no physical size or mechanical difference between the two. The Terk will mount to the current mast.

Alignment should not be a problem, if the mast is exactly plumb, the tilt and the elevation adjustments are set exactly on the specified marks. It is worth the extra effort to get the mast completely plumb, before beginning.

 

[cspiteri]

Clarification on Terk Dish

Mike;
Thanks for the reply. Is it safe to assume that the mast is plumb because of the high signal strength for the 2 satellites??? It would be very difficult for me to adjust that now as the mast shaft has a cement cap where it enters the roof tile.
Any comments about my not wanting to use the Sat C kit for the configuration ChannelMaster dish & LNBs??? Am I doing the correct thing by replacing the dish with the Terk??
Thanks

 

[Mike500]

You can do some adjusting of the mast by manipulating the bolts at the base of the mast. I do a lot of professional installs and have tapped the top of the mast with the palm of my hand, while carefully tightening the bolts to get it aligned perfectly vertical. Don't depend on the "bulls eye" level supplied with the Terk. It is not accurate. Use a magnetic torpedo level and place it on the side of the mast. Check both the pole's swing axis and the axis at 90 degrees adjacent.

I'd go with the Terk Phase II dish. The Sat C kit uses multiple cables and connections that can cause problems. As an installer, I must say that the Phase III dish is the best DirecTV solution.

 

[cspiteri]

Mike;
Thanks for you guidance. Is the Terk Phase III dish the model 26??

 

[Mike500]

I think you're right. But, all of them are designed and approved by DirecTV and made overseas. There is very little differnce between them.

Here is more help on getting the best alignment.

The procedure that you use to adjust and tighten the bolts on assembling elliptical dishes is very important, just like tightening the head bolts on a car engine. Tightening the bolts in any other manner may distort the settings by 1/2-1 degrees off.

The first step is making sure that the post on which dish is mounted is perfectly plumb.

Make sure that the tilt and elevation adjustments on the protractors are dead on and tighten these bolts securely.

Loosen the non-protractor skew and elevation bolts and tighten them again alternately in small steps, until all are completely tight.

Set the dish pointing and meter screen to the 119 satellite. A small TV and the receiver connected at the SuperDish plus will be very helpful, unless you have a good satellite meter like the SatBuddy, which allows for injecting a 22Khz tone signal to connected directly at the 119 feed.

Check and record the 119 signal strength readings at all available transponders.

Mark the position of the elliptical on the pole with a pencil.

Loosen the bolts holding dish to the post, just enough to allow side to side movement, with a hand force needed to turn it.

Slightly swing the dish from side to side in small increments and check the signal strength at all transponders.

When you get the highest average signal strength, lock the bolts and tighten.

I have found this to be the best procedure to maximize the signal for dish.