How to Aim a Dish 500 Satellite

Many new satellite television customers rely on professional technicians to install their Dish 500 satellites. While this can be convenient, it is entirely possible to achieve the aiming of the Dish 500 satellite yourself, on your own time, with only a friend to provide some assistance. As long as you have the Dish 500 satellite securely mounted and your Dish 500 satellite receiver, a hand-held level, and a wrench at the ready, correct aiming of the Dish 500 satellite can be achieved in relatively little time.

Things You'll Need

• Hand-held level
• Dish 500 satellite receiver
• AV cables
• Wrench

Instructions

1. Look around the mounting site for your Dish 500 satellite. Is the mounting area free of any debris? Are there any obstructions in the sky (trees, etc.) that may block the signal from the satellite above? Making sure the mounting site is legitimate and secure is the critical first step before successful Dish 500 satellite aiming can occur. As you mount the dish, use a hand-held level and make measurements along the dish's mast. Ensure the dish is level when mounted.

2. Point the Dish 500 satellite toward the southern sky in a general fashion initially. This need not be precise at this point.

3. Connect the Dish 500 satellite's receiver unit to your TV. This is accomplished via the use of the included AV cables. Standard AV cables have two sets of three prongs on either end, with each set colored red, white and yellow. Check the back of your TV and the back of the receiver unit. You will see color-matching connectors (red, white and yellow) on the receiver and the TV. Plug in your AV cables to these connectors, matching the colors up.

4. Power up the Dish 500 satellite receiver, and power on your TV. Once the system has booted up, a menu will appear. From this menu, select the "signal meter screen" option. Have a friend remain with this signal meter screen as you return to the Dish 500 satellite.

5. Aim the Dish 500 satellite by adjusting the elevation (the up/down orientation of the Dish 500 satellite). Locate the nuts near the elevation bolts on the Dish 500 satellite's mast (your Dish 500 satellite manual will have a diagram of the dish that will aid you in finding this exact location). Take a wrench and loosen these nuts. Then, make slight up/down adjustments to the Dish 500 satellite. After each adjustment, wait for a report back from your friend at the signal meter screen, which will provide feedback. Make further adjustments as necessary.

6. Aim the Dish 500 satellite by adjusting the azimuth (the left/right orientation of the Dish 500 satellite). Locate the LNB dish arm nuts (again, your Dish 500 satellite manual will provide you a visual map of the device's key nuts and bolts). Loosen the LNB dish arm nuts with your wrench. Then, make slight left/right adjustments, using guidance again from the signal meter screen's results. Once a signal meter reading of 70 to 80 is achieved, you have precisely aimed your Dish 500 satellite.

References

• Satellite Signals: Pointing a Satellite Dish

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish