How to Set Up a Dish Satellite

The quick easy way to set up a satellite dish.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• post hole diggers
• satellite finder
• compass
• level
• screw driver
• adjustable wrench
• 1 bag of concrete mix
• caulking and caulking gun

1. The first step to setting up your satellite dish is to find a good location. You will need an un-obstructed view of the southern sky.

2. The second thing you need to do is to decide if you will be mounting the dish on a pole or on the roof. I recommend mounting it on a pole because mounting in on a roof can cause leaks if it is done incorrectly.

3. Next you will need to bury the pole. You will need a pole that is approximately 2" in diameter and at least 5' long. You will need to dig a hole about 5" in diameter and about 18" deep. Place the pole in the center of the hole and pour concrete around it while making sure the pole is plumb. It is very important that the pole is plumb or level.

4. If you are mounting the dish to a roof you should have a pole that is adjustable. You will need to make sure that it is plumb as well. If attaching to roof I suggest that you mount the dish on an overhang if possible to avoid any leaks directly into house. You need to attach it to the roof with 4 1/4" screws at least 2" long. These screws need to be installed directly to rafter if possible. Tighten screws as tight as possible and then caulk around screws and the base plate with a 1/4" bead of water proof caulking, preferably silicone.

5. Next you will need to assemble the dish according to the instructions that come with the dish which should be fairly simple. After assembly mount the dish on the pole but do not tighten screws that attach the dish to the pole. Next you will need to run your cables.

6. You will need to run one cable from the dish to the receiver and one from the receiver to the tv. You will have to decide the best way to run your cables as there are endless options in this area with the exception of the ground cable. You must ground the dish according to the manufactures recommendations.

7. Once you have your cables run and attached plug the receiver in to a wall outlet and turn on the receiver and the tv. You will have to figure out which channel to tune the tv to see the receiver output. Next you will probably need the users manual to figure out how to get to the setup menu on the receiver.

8. Once you are in the setup menu you should be able to input your zip code and the receiver will tell you the elevation and the azimuth you need to set the dish up. Now that you have that information go back out to your dish and get ready to tune in the dish.

9. Check the dish pole again to make sure that it is plumb and if it is a roof mount make sure all of the bolts are tight on the base of the pole. Next you will need to set the dish to the elevation that you got from your receiver, there should be a elevation scale on the side of the dish, adjust to the elevation desired and tighten the bolts that hold the elevation in place. Next you will need to use a compass to line up the azmuith to the info you received from the receiver. I suggest standing about six feet behind the dish if possible to do this and use the arm that hold the LMB to aim with. Tighten the bolts on the mast but leave them loose enough so you can fine tune the dish.

10. For fine tuning I recommend a sat finder and you can get one of these pretty cheap of eBay. If you do not have a sat finder you will need to get someone to help you. Have your helper watch the signal strength while you make very minor adjustments to the settings on the dish. You should fine tune the azimuth first by turning the dish from left to right and right to left until you find the best signal strength on the receiver. You will need to repeat the same process for the elevation. Keep fine tuning until you get at least a signal strength of around 85. I prefer something in the 90s but sometimes that is hard to achieve.

Tips & Warnings

• A sat finder will save you a lot of tweaking and will make setup a breeze
• If installing on a roof be sure to use proper tools to gain access to roof and if possible use a safety harness to prevent falls.
• Make sure the dish is properly grounded per manufactures specifications because an ungrounded dish can be very dangers as well as ruin all of you equipment.

[fcornelius]

on 10/8/2009 Great article on how to set up a dish satellite.