Instructions for setting up satellite TV?

We have the Dish Hopper, and the big 3 LNB antenna. I use Dishpointer on my Droid phone, plus I have a cheat sheet with all of the azimuth, elevations and skews by zip code for the U.S.

I have the El Cheapo tweaker meter that is of marginal value, but does help. Some days it's fairly easy, dial in the settings, peak the value for the sat signal and you look like a hero.

Other days, not so much. The steel lag bolts in a picnic table can really mess up a compass that's being used for azimuth.

It's a skill that's much easier learned by having someone show you the steps.

My suggestion is to get your dish, a tripod and coax and an inline signal meter. Find an open area for your first attempt and find a neighbor who has their dish mounted similarly and ask for their help.
I haven't found anyone yet that didn't like to impress a newbie about something that they know about. They will be glad to walk your through the process. Hands on with an instructor will make it a snap to learn the process and like riding the bike, you never forget. Trust me.

GordonThree wrote:
my quad LNB dish is huge compared to those mini 18 inchers

Bigger is better. Less signal loss during rain.

Bruce

donn0128 wrote:
That plastic pipe mount is simply too light for a direct hd dish. Those things weigh a lot.

I just noticed how ancient that posting is, 2007 is forever in technology terms.

that's one thing that is holding me back from taking my hopper, my quad LNB dish is huge compared to those mini 18 inchers

That plastic pipe mount is simply too light for a direct hd dish. Those things weigh a lot.

If you buy your equipment from www.tv4rv.com, it won't be as complicated as others make it sound. I haven't needed a signal meter yet and I get on the 101 just using a compass and a level.

Bruce

I have not tried this myself ... on the fence about taking my Hopper along for the ride or not, but this method looks really interesting:

http://rvtravel.com/blog/rvnow/2007/06/rvers-turn-satellite-tv-upside-down.html

Ill tell you what i do.
Dishpointer to locate a clear view and setup the tripod.
Aligh a site to get the antenna in the right orientation.
Birdog sat meter to fine tune the antenna.
I happen to have an align a site andmit is a great tool. Using that you do not need to level the tripod. Without it the tripod needs to be absolutely level. It also gives me the three angles via bubble levels qnd compass to get me really close.
The birdog sat meter is the same tool that direct inststallers use. The nice thing about using it is it rejects all but the satellite you want, which is 101 for Directv.
To connect the antenna to the receiver you need either a SWM system or two coax cables from the antenna to each receiver to get HD/DVR. If you dont have a dvr tyen a single csble is sufficient. What receiver are you using?

Again, my setup i am using a swm antenna on the roof and 4 wire from the ground antenna to my two HD/DVR.

I would highly recomend that you practice at home before you leave. Basically you should try to duplicate whst you have at home. SWM is the easiest because you only need one coax from the antenna.