which tree is the culprit?

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barfo

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Feb 18, 2006
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I am pretty sure that my very narrow LOS is being partially blocked by a tree top or branch on the large tract of land adjacent to my property, because the signal is generally about 15 points lower than it should be, and it fluctuates noticeably in the wind, but does not move when calm I would cut down or trim the offending tree (very forested, no one would notice) if I could identify the culprit. But how? Dispointer is no help, too many trees to tell which one it is. I don't have an iphone, so can't use that app. Trying to eyeball it makes 3 or 4 trees likely suspects, but my moral values allow me to cut down one, but no more. :) Any creative ideas? TIA.
 
Back in the C-Band days I used an old helium/neon laser to point out offending trees. I jiggered up a rig that would hold the laser in line with the feed as accurately as possible, then as the sun set (so I could see the orange dot in the leaves better) I set out with my chain saw and pruned anything that glowed.

The hard part with today's dish designs would be to figure out the correct alignment. I suppose you could line it up by setting the angle then aiming with a compass.
 
Why don't ya just find a tech to slide by and take a quick glance? If you have the service place have a tech come out its just 15$ and they can pin point exactly what is blocking it for ya. :up
 
If possible, you could tie off a rope to some branches on a calm day and see if pulling on them changes the signal
 
Thanks for the suggestions. The laser idea is clever, and since I do have access to one, I might try that, but I fear that I won't be able to line it up accurately enough. As for the tech idea, that is not possible given my location (which shall remain anonymous :)), but in any event tell me how he would ID the tree, and I'll do it myself. Rope won't work, I tried it, can't get the rope high enough to lasso a suspect limb. All good ideas, though, keep em coming.
 
Find out the elevation for the exact satellite you are missing. Take a piece of string and tape it to the top of your dish. Then tie the other end of the string to something you place in front of your dish. Raise the angle of the string to that elevation. Move the object in front of your dish to the compass heading for that satellite. Now sight up that string and that should show you where the signal for that satellite is coming from.
 
Thanks for the creative suggestions. It occured to me that astronomical markers could prove useful. That is, if I knew exactly when the sun was directly above my LOS perhaps that would help. (I realize that the solar conjunction would be helpful, but I'm not willing to wait that long.) Also, a star map, info about the moon position for my location, etc, could prove even more useful. What would be ideal is to overlay this info over the info provided by dishpointer. In any event, do you think my ideas are sensible, and if so, can you point me to some relevant info? TIA.
 
Again, I would just catch up with a Tech, tip the guy $10 just to come by real quick... take a look, tell you which is blocking what and that's it. No harm no foul- you get what you need and he gets a little lunch money for his trouble. I've had people come up to me for this very thing at gas stations, I take down their address and run by and I often get tipped rather well for it!
 
I ended up using the inside cardboard tube from a role of paper towels. Put the tube against each edge and bottom of the LNB arm in turn, therefore ensuring that it was perfectly lined up, and sighted through the tube. Elevation was not exactly correct using this method, but that didn't matter since I could easily identify the suspect tree. Anyone need some firewood. :)
 
I had a offending tree, across the street, as soon as i moved my dishes from front of house to back of house the neighbor cut down the beautiful tree, and all trees on his property:(
 
I suspect that a tech with an inclinometer or myself with a homemade one will find the problem more difficult than most of you suspect. I am basically overlooking a forest, and there are several suspect trees, all of about the same height. Since I can't cut off the tree tops or move the dish higher or farther away from the tree I have to ID the offending tree and cut it down. Actually, I think the paper towel tube gave me a good sense of which tree is likely to be the culprit. I haven't cut it down yet, so don't know for sure. But in any event, I thought the tube was a good idea, so I thought I would share it.
 
splish said:
I suspect that a tech with an inclinometer or myself with a homemade one will find the problem more difficult than most of you suspect. I am basically overlooking a forest, and there are several suspect trees, all of about the same height. Since I can't cut off the tree tops or move the dish higher or farther away from the tree I have to ID the offending tree and cut it down. Actually, I think the paper towel tube gave me a good sense of which tree is likely to be the culprit. I haven't cut it down yet, so don't know for sure. But in any event, I thought the tube was a good idea, so I thought I would share it.
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I'd still hunt down a tech and have them check it out for ya for a slight tip... after all the guy did go out his way to look at this for ya. No harm no foul and using a inclinometer will allow you or the tech to pin point exactly what is blocking it...it doesn't take much just a few leaves will do it.
 

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