Tarantino

It's my first time, I'm planning to do it myself tomorrow. Any tips? Anything I should know?

Thanks!

PlumPeach

My advice would be to check out DBS Forums. This site will give you a lot of how-to information on satellite dishes. I've never installed one myself. I was going to, but I got in on the Blockbuster Directv deal a couple of years ago and it came with free installation.

Boot

I've installed the same dish in two different locations. There's really nothing to it at all. You will need another person with you to help you fine tune it. Find the best location with as clear a view of the southern sky as possible (you'll need a compass) and mount your dish. Next, run a cable temporarily directly from the dish to the box, which should already be hooked up to your TV. Now go to the tuning option on your box and have a friend watch it while you move the dish head up and down, back and forth, looking for the strongest signal you can get. When you find the location, clamp down the dish head. Now run the cable permanently, install a ground cable (you can get a grounding rod and some copper wire at any home improvement store), and you're done!

eedoon

Well, I haven't done it by myself but I saw how people installs it. It was a 12 feet satellite dish, and it took three or four people to get it done. One hell of a work. Good luck, dude.

Boot

Well, I was assuming this was a DTV or Dish receiver. Is that not right? Those type are simple to install. The older style, bigger dishes I can't speak of.

Frank S

As someone who sells and installs Dish Network systems the biggest suggestion I would give you is to be sure the mast (the pole you mount the dish on) is plumb or you will have all kinds of problems getting a good signal. This is the biggest mistake consumers make when they do it themselves. In case your not aware, to plumb the mast you need a level to check that the 4 sides (at the top of the pole) are level before you mount the dish on it.

Good luck and just take your time.

Rustynuts

My tip is to do yourself a favor and look for some Belden 1694A coax and not the crap they give you. This is one of the best cables for exterior use and is made for digital signals. Also I invested in some Canare crimp on F connectors, but you will need to buy some special crimp tools. You don't have to use Canare brand tools, but the dies have to be the right size. I also treated the connections with Caig Pro-gold and you should get some weatherproof heatshrink as well. Finally, I treated the dish itself with some silicone spray, as it will help shed water, snow, and/or ice.

Here's a link on doing the connectors. It shows RCA's, but the F's are the same procedure.
http://www.bus.ucf.edu/cwhite/theater/DIYCable.htm

Tarantino

Well, I did it. Yes, it was a Dish Network dish. It took a little bit to get a good signal, but overall it was a fairly simple process. Thanks for the help.

broadwayblue

i've installed directv dishes at about a dozen locations. i've always been successful...sometimes more quickly than others. the signal seeker on the sony models does help (led flashes very quickly when you lock on to the signal.)

fargus

1. Be careful not to fall off the roof.

2. Don't use a crimper that makes a hexagonal crimp. This crimp type actually acts as a bandpass filter in the higher frequencies and can degrade your signal. We use what's called a "Snap&Seal" connector (from Thomas & Betts). And as Rustynuts said, use a good quality RG6 coax.

3. See #1.

Wolf Husky

Frank S, where are you located? I worked for DNSC-Fort Collins a few years back. They took away all our incentives, so I left. Was nice to make $50K a year installing Dish Network systems.

For future readers of this thread, THIS IS NOT HOW TO DO IT!!!

(This is for DISH.. I haven't a clue about DirecTV)

As Frank said, PLUMB YOUR MAST~! PLUMB YOUR MAST~!

Set your SKEW (should be right on)
Set your ELEVATION (can be a few degrees off)
Swing your dish all the way to the right then slowly move it left. The first strong signal you find should be your 119 satellite. Verify that it is the 119 with your compass. Verify that you found it using the appropriate "eye" in the LNB by putting your hand over the "eye" on the 119 side (yoke is labelled). Fine tune your left and right to get strongest signal. Tighten down screws. Loosen elevation and adjust to get the strongest signal. You shouldn't usually have to mess with SKEW.

Give me a plumb mast and a cordless drill and I can lock a dish down onto both satellites in about 2-1/2 minutes with a signal around 115.

Sloth911

why are you installing the dish yourself? i just got dish network this monday, and the dish was installed for free... and they need to come and isntall a 2nd dish to get all the channles, so they are coming to install that one for free too next week

Wolf Husky

He could already be a Dish customer. Dish allows people to move and get another free install, but there are terms and conditions for that. If you don't want to agree to the terms, they charge about $80 to install.

or

He may not want to subscribe to Dish ... shame, shame! hehehe

or

He may have an install that Dish won't cover for free, such as required trenching, pole install, an install on stucco or slate roofing, etc.



Jason,

unless you are a spanish speaker, you probably don't need the 2nd dish for the additional channels. I know it's different in every area, but in the Denver area, all you get are about 10 spanish channels of channels we already have, plus local PBS. You already get national PBS on your programming. Personally, I wouldn't put a 2nd dish up on my house.... more holes, more chances for water to get in the walls and start rotting things away, more of a chance to have the wind (a real issue here... Windy city my @$$~~ how about 50mph winds, not including gusts.. a good portion of the year!) pull the dish off and toss it on the car. Seriously, you probably don't need it. If anything, ask for the dish, LNB, and (2) SW-21 switches... and sell them on eBay.