Direct TV HD satellite set up

I just went through this a few days ago.
Connected the dish directly to the receiver and never got a signal. Found out that I needed a Power Inserter in-line with the coax. Bought one and installed it and got a 96% signal strength. Working great.

I use the meter on my DirecTV receiver and a baby monitor. Point the camera at the TV screen and have the remote with me out at the dish. Works great.

Oh, the DirecTV Genie HR44 has the beep sound back.

Look at Birdog meters on Ebay or Align-A-Site from there web site. Both will do what you want much easier than the cheap ten dollar beepers. Not cheap but either are worth it IMHO

I set up a Slimline HD dish a dozen times per year. 5-10 minutes.
No meter just the one the sat box has.

You need to make sure your dish is perfectly level. Make sure the tilt is set to your zip. It's in the sat box too.

What REALLY helps is the Dishpointer app for your smart phone. Point your phone at the southern sky and it superimposes the sats on your screen.
Invaluable for finding holes in trees.

Peak sat 101 and the others will fall into place.

dntndbrown wrote:
I'm told that I'm going to need a meter in order to set the HD dish up.

Not at all. You can, and many do, but I found a much easier way.

Your HD receiver has a built-in meter, just as the SDs do. Problem is, there are no beeps which you can hear from outside the coach. To be able to see the screen from outside, I use a Swift Hitch camera (Amazon et al). I set the receiver menu to show the 'Signal meters'.

I hope your tripod is a good one, you'll need it. You must get the antenna mast as plumb as possible. I use a standard magnetic compass for azimuth, usually obtained from the receiver zip code or coordinates.

It won't be easy at first, but after the first 10 times you'll be a pro.