Portable Full Size Dish Setup

[Uechikid]

We have Dish in the House and have the hopper 3. I bought a portable full size dish for our TT to use with the hopper. I had it sort of working once but when I tried to dial it in it got worse. Now, I can’t get the dish setup and working at all. I have spent roughly 12 hours on two day trying. That doesn’t Include all the videos I’ve watched and read, read and reread the manual that came with the dish. I am an accomplished do it yourselfer but this one has me beat. I’m spent. I want to higher someone to teach me how to set it up but I can’t find any leads anywhere.

[egwilly]

Which satellites are you trying to capture? The hopper 3 requires the DISH Network DPH Dish Pro Hybrid Western Arc triple LNB. It supports western arc installations. It receives programming from the 110-, 119- and 129-degree orbitals. For use with Hopper 3 or Wally installs only. There is a eastern arc system as well depending on where you are in the US.

Then after you set the tripod exactly plumb, then set the azimuth and elevation. I use a phone app that shows me where the sats are. Once you do this a few times you get really good a locking onto the birds.

[TXiceman]

Before you start trying to aim a Dish antenna, you MUST have the mounting post absolutely plumb and vertical. If it is not vertical, when you swing the dish on the post, the elevation and skew will change relative to vertical.

Ken

[TechWriter]

I don't know what you all bought, but you'll need a quality tripod like this one.

However, after a decade of aiming dishes, I've found a quality sat meter indispensable. I use a Super Buddy meter. You can pick up a used Super Buddy for a few hundred bucks.

[taylorbob1]

Like what was previously said...
You cannot use your Hopper3 with a portable Dome dish.
You must purchase a Wally, add it to your home account for $7/mo.
Then there’s the issue of using a DVR with your Wally. You’ll need to purchase a hard drive & pay connection fee.

And as stated above...you must be level. Period!

All of that said...DISH in an RV is finicky.
Sometimes it works great, other times with a clear blue unobstructed southern sky, it struggles to come on.

I currently have a Winegard G3 permanently mounted on my roof.
If I did it over again I’d opt for the $1500 Traveler so I could use my Hopper3 and the satellite connection would be much easier/quicker.

[Uechikid]

Originally Posted by egwilly

Which satellites are you trying to capture? The hopper 3 requires the DISH Network DPH Dish Pro Hybrid Western Arc triple LNB. It supports western arc installations. It receives programming from the 110-, 119- and 129-degree orbitals. For use with Hopper 3 or Wally installs only. There is a eastern arc system as well depending on where you are in the US.

Then after you set the tripod exactly plumb, then set the azimuth and elevation. I use a phone app that shows me where the sats are. Once you do this a few times you get really good a locking onto the birds.

I am looking for the western arc 110, 119 & 129. The dish I bought is a 1000.2. Bought it from satellite oasis. They claim it works with all Dish receivers.
When getting the post that the dish is mounted to plumb, is the bubble level on the top adequate or should I use a level on the pipe itself?
Oh, and yes, I have a solo node.

[Bob_C]

Bubble should be fine.....

[vsheetz]

Way back when I used a manual antenna with Dish Network. Sometimes it setup easily. Other times it was a huge hassle. Moved to an automatic antenna.

[YC1]

Are you using a phone app that allows you to actually look up at the sky? One twig in the way can ruin your day.

[LHCDryHeat]

I too tried the 1000.2 from S/Oasis. Seemed like a good idea to have a larger dish and to receive all 3 western sats at once. Howsumever the quality of the tripod and lack of rigidity had me pulling out what little hair I have!
Suggestions: get Satcatcher app to actually see the 119 sat, also has a good pumb bob to get your mount vertical with the smart phone. Go to dishpointer.com to get the angles for your lat-long. The list by zip code are rough numbers.
So I had mine with 30 lbs of lead hanging on the tripod and a gust still blew it over! After that I could not get a lock on 119 so I'm waiting on a refund. I think the LNB went south. Now I'm looking at a Pathway X-1 or Playmaker PL 7000. $440 and $250 resp. Already have the Wally.

[chuckbear]

I have done this a hundred times at least. Go to satfinder on your computer and get your setup parameters. Next and most important, the tripod must be near perfectly level. Set the angle and skew with the dish laying on the ground. Gently put the dish on the tripod and using a compass, point it in the direction of the satellites. Using your receiver, slowly make small adjustments starting with the direction until your receiver gets to about 45 to 50%. This is the best you are going to get. Once you are at that point, go to your receiver menu and do an installation test. Go to settings, Diagnostics, Dish, and find the button in the top right-hand corner. Once it finishes, you should see checkmarks on all the sats. Watch TV. Chuck

[Waiter21]

I used a 1000.2 Dish for years. After a little practice, I could set it up in less than 5 minutes.

Here is a short article that gives the detail:

http://www.1999southwind.com/using-o...e-on-the-road/

Basics:

1. Mast MUST be level. This is more critical in the eastern US than the western US.
2. Adjust antennas Elevation and Skew for the zip code your located.
3. On the antenna, block the two outside LNBs with aluminum foil or anything so they cannot see a signal. ( I had a couple small cat foot cans that I used) Only the center LNB should see the sky.
4. On the receivers aiming page, select Sat 119.
5. I used an inexpensive squawk meter at the antenna, point the antenna toward the Azimuth that's specified for the zip code.
6. move the antenna back and forth a few degrees and listen for the squawk meter. Peak for max signal.
7. Verify on the receivers pointing screen that its receiving 119.
8. Tighten everything up, remove the squawk meter, remove the covers from the outside LNBs.
   
   NOTE - I changed to Orby last year. I use the same tripod, but it has a different dish and LNB. Basically the exact same procedure
   
   http://www.1999southwind.com/using-o...e-on-the-road/

..

[Uechikid]

Thanks for all the replies.
I called Dish for tech support and the phone support was little to no help. However, they did send a tech to the house. He checked my equipment and had the dish aligned with his really expensive meter in about 10 minutes, maybe less. We discussed how to set it up on the road, and he said, short of having a meter, he couldn't be of much help. After he left my wife asked if I could send the dish back. I thought I was passed the return window, but when I checked online I still had a few days. Went through the process online and bam, a return label popped up. Got it boxed up yesterday and tomorrow it's going back.
Now we are looking at the more expensive option, the dishes that find the satellites automatically.
We are leaning towards the Winegard Pathway X2 bundle on Amazon. It's way more than I want to spend but, it should help to provide home away from home when we start reaching out across the country.

[Bigd9]

Originally Posted by Uechikid

Thanks for all the replies.
I called Dish for tech support and the phone support was little to no help. However, they did send a tech to the house. He checked my equipment and had the dish aligned with his really expensive meter in about 10 minutes, maybe less. We discussed how to set it up on the road, and he said, short of having a meter, he couldn't be of much help. After he left my wife asked if I could send the dish back. I thought I was passed the return window, but when I checked online I still had a few days. Went through the process online and bam, a return label popped up. Got it boxed up yesterday and tomorrow it's going back.
Now we are looking at the more expensive option, the dishes that find the satellites automatically.
We are leaning towards the Winegard Pathway X2 bundle on Amazon. It's way more than I want to spend but, it should help to provide home away from home when we start reaching out across the country.

We have been using the Winegard Pathway X2 for years now and I love it. Most of the time it is so easy to set up, but like has been said, one twig between the dish and the small trash can sized satellites circling 22,000 miles away can really cause problems. I use a phone app that shows me the ski and I move the dish so it will be in the open. There have been times I have had the dish over 150 feet away from the RV. Once I had to run the cable through a storm pipe under a road so I could have the dish on the opposite side of the road to be able to see the 'birds'.

The X2 can also see the Eastern satellites as well as the Western ones.