Portable Dish set-up and pointing problems

[smartguy]

OK, first of all, I know nothing about this stuff. I have Dish Network. I have the Turbo HD DP Plus dish on a tripod. I also have a signal finder from Radio Shack. Now, I can use my compass to set the direction the the receiver tells me. I plug in the signal finder and adjust the dish for a strong signal and then I'm up and running. This happens only 50 percent of the time. Sometimes I can't get it to work at all. I have a clear view of the sky and I know the direction and the signal finder is working but I can't get a good enough signal to make it work. A few times, I can only get one satellite and usually quit in frustration.
Do any of you know of an idiot proof way to get the satellite signal? I would also like to know what all this skew is. I looked it up and they say its the turning of the dish, like a steering wheel, to the desired position. I see the skew of 85 but I don't know which way to turn it, left or right.
I know that the answers may have been posted over the years but I have not seen them. I am needing help and would appreciate any input or web link and would help a moron like me!
Thanks to all!!!!

[Muddypaws]

ANY magnetic field can and will throw your compass off. If you put the compass near the LNBs there is enough of a field to throw it off by 5-10 degrees. (learned this the hard way)

RV Pedestal? BIG magnetic field. Power lines? HUGE magnetic field. Get to close to your charger/inverter? ........

What I do is first look for other dishes, that gives me a general direction. Then I set my compass down on the ground and draw a line to about where the dish needs to point. The elevation marks on the dish are useless but unless you've traveled lots of miles from where you set it up last it won't have changed much. Usually I get some sort of signal at this point and only have to do some fine tuning.

The last time I set up my manual dish I did the whole process in just over 5 minutes, but I didn't have to mess with skew. That includes the time it took to assemble the stand.

SKEW: in all of North America it's clockwise rotation (looking from the rear) of the dish to line up multiple satellites with 2 or more LNBs. Presumably south of the equator it's counter-clockwise.

[tncruiser]

i experienced similar problems it was an easy fix spend 339 on a tailgater then 7 $$ a month for rv service which can be turned off and on and prorated (at least thats what dish says just plug it in and chose your location ,grab your favourite beverage and by the time you get the cap off you will be watching tv
brianj

[VestaDave]

Just get a tailgater. If you don't, and want to continue with portable manual antenna you can expect to have some difficulty successfully setting it up ongoing. The last post offers some good advice. Remember, you are always trying to find sat 119 so covering the two remaining LNBs with foil can be helpful. I know that when you are successful in getting the manual rig going its a real good feeling. Good luck.

[450Donn]

Idiot proof? Yes, get a digital signal locator as used by a professional. Or get an Align-A-Site. Once you have it setup properly it will show you where there is a clear signal in the direction you need. Then it is a simple matter of attaching it to the antenna and dial the antenna to the correct compass setting and bubbles level and you will be good to go.

[Wayne M]

The professional alignment tool is the Birddog Ultra Satellite finder. They are so neat, but you will not like the price when you search on it.

Here's a story: Set the tripod and triple LNB in an adjacent site "tracks" and literally spent hours trying to align it to all 3 satellites. Literally hours - to no avail. I finally went in side, sat down to have a cool one and then decided that because it was getting dark I had better move it in case they had to use that site (They were staggering sites). I pulled up the stakes holding the tripod, picked the whole kit and caboodle up and moved it behind my MH. Put the stakes in the ground to hold the system in case a gust of wind came up.

Went inside - had all three satellites.

I finally gave up on the next outing and purchased a Carryout.

[schneid]

I do DirecTV HD. My drill is:

Do a site survey. Check your bearing to the bird from several spots, look at other dishes, print out the dishpointer.com settings and map. Use a smartphone app. This will help avoid any magnetic deviation as mentioned above.

I use a TV4RV.com tripod. I get it as plumb/level as possible and then use a compass to align it to the bird. I them mount my dish with Elevation and Tilt/Skew preset. I have an Align-a-Site that I use to confirm my shot. In trees it is the primary gizmo used. At this point I will have signal.

Note on Tilt/Skew: If you are east of the bird twist right (clockwise), west turn left (counter-clockwise). You might have to do some math and need some spatial appreciation. 90º is straight up, a right-angle to the deck. If you want -20º (from 90º) that's 70º, a right turn. If you want 115, that's a left turn +25º (from 90º).

I then connect a Satlook Lite (from perfect10.tv) to verify signal and tweak if necessary.

Get beer, watch TV. Not! I have to move on to something else that ain't working.

[vsheetz]

Satellite Finder / Dish Alignment Calculator with Google Maps | DishPointer.com

[Dadeaux]

The skew is the relationship of one satellite to another. If your dish was assembled by a professional, you should not have to worry about the skew. If you are concerned, stop at any Dish network installation shop and they can assist you.
The Azimuth is the direction i.e. north, south etc. The Elevation is the tilt of the dish.
You can learn the Azimuth and Elevation for each location from the setup menu in your receiver or several web sites.
This is the best setup procedure that I have learned over many years dealing with dish antennas.
· Set your tripod in an area that gives you a clear path to the desired satellite.
· Make sure it is plumb.
· Set the tilt (Elevation) to the desired degree.
· Slowly turn dish to direction (Azimuth) of satellite. Stop for several seconds at minor increments to give your receiver ample time to receive, process and display signal.

Your receiver has a tonal aid to help in the fine tuning. In the setup portion of your receiver a bar graph is displayed showing the level of signal. It is also accompanied by a tone that changes frequency as you get closer to the proper alignment. Open a window and turn up the volume of your TV and use the tone as an aiming aid.

There is a very good, and free, dish aiming application down loadable to an Android or IPhone if you use either.

Good luck and feel free to contact me by PM if you like.

[Chandler Bing]

We felt like idiots too. Took forever to fine the sat. maybe never sometimes. Gave up and got the the carryout that finds it automatically. wonderful!!!!!!

[zzjea]

Originally Posted by smartguy

OK, first of all, I know nothing about this stuff. I have Dish Network. I have the Turbo HD DP Plus dish on a tripod. I also have a signal finder from Radio Shack. Now, I can use my compass to set the direction the the receiver tells me. I plug in the signal finder and adjust the dish for a strong signal and then I'm up and running. This happens only 50 percent of the time. Sometimes I can't get it to work at all. I have a clear view of the sky and I know the direction and the signal finder is working but I can't get a good enough signal to make it work. A few times, I can only get one satellite and usually quit in frustration.
Do any of you know of an idiot proof way to get the satellite signal? I would also like to know what all this skew is. I looked it up and they say its the turning of the dish, like a steering wheel, to the desired position. I see the skew of 85 but I don't know which way to turn it, left or right.
I know that the answers may have been posted over the years but I have not seen them. I am needing help and would appreciate any input or web link and would help a moron like me!
Thanks to all!!!!

I also have Dish and have had all the issues you mention and more. After several different attempts and $$ spent on various equipment, my best solution has been the following:

1. An engineer's tripod from TV4RV.com (a must to get the dish properly stabilized and vertical). This is CRITICAL. If the base of the antenna is not vertical with a clear line-of-site to the satellites, you will be frustrated and worse.

2. In my case, a WA4 antenna (western arc 4 parabolic dish antenna from Dish). The old dish antenna is 10 times harder to get satellites than the new WA4. The new one is larger and I have had great success since I bought one (it was a used one at that).

3. I don't even bother with the signal finder anymore, I use the Dish receiver's signal (graph and tone) to find and maximize the signals.

4. Find the Zip Code where you are located at a campsite and put it into your Dish receiver when choosing "Point Dish" (Menu, 6,1,1). This will give you the coordinates for 119 and when you find 119 with a stong signal, you will find 110 and 129 with minor azimuth adjustments.

5. Preset the Dish for skew by just loosening the 4 bolts that hold the dish to the arm and rotate the dish to the SKEW number from your Zip Code readout then tighten the nuts.

6. Set the elevation on the arm by just loosening the nuts for it and set based on Zip Code readout and tighten.

7. Put Dish on tripod and hand tighten so you can just turn the arm and aim at Azimuth from Zip Code readout (azimuth is the 'compass' reading as you rotate the arm on the base of the tripod).

8. If you have all the cable hooked up correctly from the antenna to the receiver, and the receiver and TV set up for acquiring the signal, you should be able to make minor azimuth adjustments (clockwise/counter-clockwise) to get 119 in strong (in most cases that means at least a 35-40 strength signal). I get over 60 most of the time.

9. You MUST have a clear line-of-sight to the satellites. If you are trying to peek thru a hole in the trees, it will be very difficult to get it just right if at all. Since we like to have TV available when we camp, I will look for a site that has the most southern exposure as possible and then use up to 100' of cable to find a hole in the trees. If you are in a beautiful spot and there are just too many trees, then accept it and just enjoy the surroundings. If it's that beautiful, then to heck with the TV. Usually I can find a signal, but it is often time-consuming and frustrating.

10. In order to view the Dish "Point Dish" screen while I am adjusting the dish on the tripod away from the MH, I also use a wireless HDMI transmitter/receiver and a smaller LCD TV outside so I can see exactly what affect the changes I am making are having on the signal strength. This also saves the DW from having to holler at me when the signal gets better or worse (that alone was worth the cost of the wireless HDMI).

Hope this helps. If you are serious about having HDTV while camping, then these steps and costs will be worth it.

The Tailgater is another solution, but you also have to have a separate account and extra charges for it. I use my VIP211K and just take it with me while camping and have no extra charges than the ones at home. If you really want idiot-proof, then as long as you have line-of-sight, Tailgater should work well.

John

[VestaDave]

Originally Posted by zzjea

I also have Dish and have had all the issues you mention and more. After several different attempts and $$ spent on various equipment, my best solution has been the following:

1. An engineer's tripod from TV4RV.com (a must to get the dish properly stabilized and vertical). This is CRITICAL. If the base of the antenna is not vertical with a clear line-of-site to the satellites, you will be frustrated and worse.

2. In my case, a WA4 antenna (western arc 4 parabolic dish antenna from Dish). The old dish antenna is 10 times harder to get satellites than the new WA4. The new one is larger and I have had great success since I bought one (it was a used one at that).

3. I don't even bother with the signal finder anymore, I use the Dish receiver's signal (graph and tone) to find and maximize the signals.

4. Find the Zip Code where you are located at a campsite and put it into your Dish receiver when choosing "Point Dish" (Menu, 6,1,1). This will give you the coordinates for 119 and when you find 119 with a stong signal, you will find 110 and 129 with minor azimuth adjustments.

5. Preset the Dish for skew by just loosening the 4 bolts that hold the dish to the arm and rotate the dish to the SKEW number from your Zip Code readout then tighten the nuts.

6. Set the elevation on the arm by just loosening the nuts for it and set based on Zip Code readout and tighten.

7. Put Dish on tripod and hand tighten so you can just turn the arm and aim at Azimuth from Zip Code readout (azimuth is the 'compass' reading as you rotate the arm on the base of the tripod).

8. If you have all the cable hooked up correctly from the antenna to the receiver, and the receiver and TV set up for acquiring the signal, you should be able to make minor azimuth adjustments (clockwise/counter-clockwise) to get 119 in strong (in most cases that means at least a 35-40 strength signal). I get over 60 most of the time.

9. You MUST have a clear line-of-sight to the satellites. If you are trying to peek thru a hole in the trees, it will be very difficult to get it just right if at all. Since we like to have TV available when we camp, I will look for a site that has the most southern exposure as possible and then use up to 100' of cable to find a hole in the trees. If you are in a beautiful spot and there are just too many trees, then accept it and just enjoy the surroundings. If it's that beautiful, then to heck with the TV. Usually I can find a signal, but it is often time-consuming and frustrating.

10. In order to view the Dish "Point Dish" screen while I am adjusting the dish on the tripod away from the MH, I also use a wireless HDMI transmitter/receiver and a smaller LCD TV outside so I can see exactly what affect the changes I am making are having on the signal strength. This also saves the DW from having to holler at me when the signal gets better or worse (that alone was worth the cost of the wireless HDMI).

Hope this helps. If you are serious about having HDTV while camping, then these steps and costs will be worth it.

The Tailgater is another solution, but you also have to have a separate account and extra charges for it. I use my VIP211K and just take it with me while camping and have no extra charges than the ones at home. If you really want idiot-proof, then as long as you have line-of-sight, Tailgater should work well.

John

The comment that you need a separate account with Dish to use the Tailgater is incorrect. The type of antenna you use has nothing to do with your account. What is true is that you can only use the Tailgater with the 211k receiver. There is no extra charge to use the tailgater.

[FreshAir]

I might add this. If your using an HD dish, 3 LNB's, cover the two outside LNB's with aluminum foil and then search for sat 119,like previously posted. You want the center LNB to see the 119 sat. Now if your dish is absolutely plumb and level and skew is set properly, remove the tin foil and you'll be aligned for all the satellites. I live in the west and skew of 98 for Utah and 104 for the Phoenix area is good, however I set it to 100 and it works fine for both areas.

With the dish being PLUNB and LEVEL and correct skew you'll be surprised how fast you can set it up with a little practice. It's as easy as setting up a one sat. dish and easier than doing the 2 combined LNB Dish 500. Use the tin foil.
I use a compas and a cheep in line signal meter. You need to get used to setting up your receiver with the 611 procedure mentioned previously. Good luck.

[zzjea]

Originally Posted by VestaDave

The comment that you need a separate account with Dish to use the Tailgater is incorrect. The type of antenna you use has nothing to do with your account. What is true is that you can only use the Tailgater with the 211k receiver. There is no extra charge to use the tailgater.

I was thinking of the additional RV account so you can turn it on or off monthly, not the antenna itself. This is often used by RVers who have a SB house and a regular Dish account at their home and a temporary account for travels.