How to Set Up a Satellite TV

New subscriptions usually include free installation so subscribers do not have to worry about signal reception. At times, however, you might have to install the dish yourself, especially when you move to a different location. The steps here will guide you through the process of setting up your satellite TV.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Dish antenna
• Nuts and bolts
• Mounting bracket or pole
• Carpenter's level
• Drill
• Compass
• User manual
• Internet connection
• Concrete mix and shovel if using a mounting pole
• Hammer
• GPS or maps
• Screwdriver

1. Carefully go through the user manual you received with the satellite TV system. Familiarize yourself with related terminology and different components of the dish. Most requirements and a list of do's and don'ts are stated in the manual.
2. Use maps to find the latitude and longitude of your location. You can also go online or use a GPS to correctly determine location coordinates.
3. Find the satellite nearest to your coordinates. Any of several websites such as www.lyngsat.com can help you identify an appropriate satellite.
4. Look for a place free of trees, tall buildings and mountains where the dish can be mounted without any obstruction. While identifying a site for the dish, consider that the coaxial cable, connecting the satellite TV receiver to the dish antenna will need to be drawn across from your television set to the dish. A generally secluded area further avoids mishaps occurring from people, particularly kids, tripping over the dish.
5. Mark a suitable place from where the dish can point up in the general direction of the satellite.
6. Either fix a mounting bracket or a pole onto which the dish can be safely mounted. Mounting brackets can be fixed to hard surfaces whereas installing a mounting pole requires digging up a hole, inserting the pole and then filling up the gap with concrete.
7. Mount and secure the dish antenna to the mounting pole or bracket.
8. Align the dish and receiver to start watching digital picture quality programs.

Tips & Warnings

• To assist subscribers moving to a new location, some satellite TV companies arrange free dismantling and re-installation of the satellite TV equipment. This, however, depends on the kind of plan you subscribe to. Call your satellite TV provider to see if you are eligible for this service.
• Try different spots in the yard or balcony to identify a suitable obstruction-free location that will receive a strong signal. Changing the location even by a few feet makes a lot of difference in receiving a clear signal.
• People living in the Northern Hemisphere should point the satellite into the southern sky. Those living in the Southern Hemisphere will catch the signal by pointing the dish north.
• When searching an appropriate location for the dish, use a compass to correctly determine the directions.
• Use a carpenter's level to check the level of the mounting pole.
• Check if someone you know has already set up a satellite TV system. Getting help from a person who has already successfully installed a dish will save a lot of time.
• Check your location coordinates before making a decision about the spot where the dish can be mounted. This will ensure that you can later properly align the dish antenna without trouble.
• When installing a mounting pole, be careful to mount it at right angles to the ground.

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