• I've just installed my dish, how do I get a signal?
• I've installed my dish, but I can't get any signal reading.
• Should I install the satellite myself or pay someone to do it for me?

There are a couple things to consider when setting up a dish. You should have already chosen a place that is free from obstacles and has a free line of sight. You'll need to point your dish in the general south direction, so keep that in mind when choosing a location. Once you've got your location picked out, install the dish mount to the surface (the manual will help you out there).

Once you've setup with actual dish, you now need to connect with cable. You should have already gotten an RG-6 cable. RG-59, which is more common, will work, but you will get a degraded signal after time, and depending on the length of your cable, you may not get a signal at all. Also, keep in mind, that the cable should be no more than 100 feet. You will need to find the best way to run the cable in the house.

Depending on how your house is setup, and where the dish is located, you have a couple options for pointing the dish. You can bring a small TV outside with the receiver and check the signal like that, you can have someone yell from inside the house (this is complicated, and can take a while), or possibly the easiest way, is to use a cell phone and talk to someone inside the house. Once you've got that figured out, you need to start the actual pointing of the dish. In your manual you can find the right elevation (this is the vertical adjustment) and azimuth for your location. For DirecTV, you can find this, by entering your ZIP code in the menu.

The actual only important one is the elevation. You will notice the elevation reading on the dish base. You should set this a few degrees lower than what is in the manual. Now using a compass, point the dish in the general south direction. Slowly move the dish from left to right along the southern horizon. If you don't get any signal, increase the elevation by 1 or 2 degrees. If you use this method properly, you should be able to point your dish in about 5 minutes. Don't forget to secure all bolts securely, once you've got it in the right position.

Keep in that that you don't need to have a 100% signal reading. Chances are you won't ever get 100%. Usually anything above 65% works, but keep in mind that the lower the signal, the more susceptible it is to interference such as snow or rain.

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by EveryName
last modified: 2004-04-06 15:27:33

This is a common problem. If this is your first time installing a dish before, you should have a look at »/faq/8763 first.

If you are sure that it's not a position problem, there are a couple things you should check.

•The first is the cable. If the cable isn't RG-6, it might not work, even if it worked in the past. RG-59 cables get degraded and can eventually stop working. Check that the cable length isn't too long. It shouldn't be over 100 feet. Another very common, but overlooked problems is pressure or sharp bends in the cable. Too much pressure or a sharp bend in the cable can cut off the signal completely. You should run along the cable, from outside, into the house, checking to make sure there is no excess pressure on it.

•Secondly, you should check the LNBF. If it's a dual LNBF, switch the cable from one connection to the other. Sometimes, one works and the other doesn't. If you can get one connection working, but not the other, and you only have one receiver, you can still use it. If you notice a lot of corrosion around the connections on the LNBF, you might want to consider cleaning it. Also make sure the cable at the end isn't damaged.

•Thirdly if you have a multiswitch, you should disconnect it, and connect the LNBF directly into a receiver. If you can't get a signal, you can eliminate the multiswitch as the problem.

•If after this, you still can't get a signal, you should try replacing the LNBF. You can get them fairly cheap at local electronic stores. After a couple years, they can die off. Even brand new LNBFs can be faulty.

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by EveryName
last modified: 2004-04-06 15:27:43

That's up to you. Everyone's situation will be different, but with the right tools it can be fairly simple. You should consider if you're going to have to drill any holes in the wall for example. You should also consider how safe the surface you will be installing it on is. If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, then you shouldn't hesitate to call someone to do it for you.

If your system you bought came with free installation, you should take advantage of that.

If you're doing a self-install, here is an FAQ to help you get a signal; »Satellite TV »I've just installed my dish, how do I get a signal?

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by EveryName
last modified: 2004-04-06 15:27:53