HD Line of Sight and Trees

[iosion]

I have been reading much about LOS, HD and trees.

I have an installer coming out Saturday for a 5LNB HD DVR install (new customer) and we have some trees for sure.

I live in New England so we are still without leaves. LOS is obviously OK but will NOT be once the leaves are in. Installer may be able to install at ground level and get LOS under the primary leaf fill area, but not sure.

I own the property and will be taking all the trees in question down, but not until later in the summer when the property is (finally) dry enough to log.

Any and all advice, similar experiences etc. are most welcome.

I plan to get a compass tonight and take some photos from different areas to post in this thread tomorrow.

Thanks!

[Scoot3r]

I have a similar situation in PA.

I used a pole mounted dish on the ground at the far edge of my property so that I could get LOS over the trees....

But with the 5LNB you need a fairly wide range of view in order to see all the sats, and I couldn't get that from one location with all the leaves grown in.

I ended up using a multi-dish solution so that I could grab two of the sats from one pole-mounted dish and the other 3 from another in a different location. I used 2 slimline dishes + a WB68 multiswitch + a powered signal locker. If you search on here for "multi-dish solutions" you should see some possibilities highlighted in more detail. I did the install myself -- I'm not sure if a standard installer would do this for you. My guess is they wouldn't do it free of charge.

Anyway -- That worked for me.

[carl6]

Go to www.dishpointer.com and check the line of sight to each of the following orbital positions: 99, 101, 103, 110 and 119. The dish will be physically pointed at 101, but it's shape recevies signals from all of those orbital positions.

That should give you a very good idea of whether or not you will be able to see any/all of the orbital slots.

Carl

[iosion]

Cool site. Showed me where to look from my spot (s, sw) but the green marker for "Max Height of Obstacle" makes no sense to me at all.

[carl6]

You can click and drag the green marker. Put it on whatever obstacle you are interested in (for example a tree). It will tell you the distance (d=xxx) and height (h=xxx) of the line of sight at that point.

For example, from my dish location at my house, if I place the green dot directly over a tree in my neighbors yard it shows d=29.0m, h=17.7m. That means the tree is 29 meters away from my dish, and the line of sight line is 17.7 meters high at that point. That's 57.5 feet elevation, so as long as the tree is less than 57.5 feet tall, I can see over it.

Carl

[iosion]

...so as long as the tree is less than 57.5 feet tall, I can see over it.

Thanks Carl, that is helpful.

Any good ideas on how to tell how tall a certain tree is?

[Bill Broderick]

If you end up having a problem finding a single location from which you can see all 5 satellites, keep in mind that there are some multi-dish solutions available. See here (http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1079192&postcount=164) for diagrams of those options.

[eakes]

To get a quick height of a tree: Take two straight pieces of metal or wood attach them together at one end and using a protractor set their included angle at 45 degrees. Standing at some distant from the tree hold one edge of your angle device horizontal, sight along the inclined edge, move in relation to the tree until your sighting over the incline lines up with the top of the tree. Once that point is reached measure the distance from where you are to the tree - that will be the height of the tree.

[iosion]

Installer came Saturday. Took one look and NO HD. I was not surprised. Had the SD installed and need to take down about 4 trees that I was planning to take down anyhow, dig a trench for the post where the current sat is (and was from previous owner) to the north about 10 feet for a better look over the house. From that position and with the trees down he said I will have no problem seeing all 5 sats.

So... now on to researching which HTPC build to do so I can maximize the quality of the SD and the HD when it arrives!

[Luke_Y]

Hmm, I am expecting to upgrade to the new dish/equipment soon so I went to dish pointer and checked all the sat locations in relation to where my dish is currently located.

The dish pointer site makes it look as though I would/should have trouble with the neighbor’s house height particularly with the 119.

I have HD now and have no signal strength issues, I have read several times that if I can see all the sats now no problem, I should have no issues with the new equipment in the same location.

So what do you think? Can the site be a bit misleading? The reason I ask is that I was going to save $80 or so and redo my ground pole myself (same location-its just not quite as sturdy as I’d prefer) in preparation before the install. I don't want to do that and have pointing issues...

[veryoldschool]

If you are getting good levels from the three SATs now, then with the 5LNB, you will have the same from the same location. The new SATs [99 & 103] are two degrees on each side of 101.

[CapeCodder]

You can click and drag the green marker. Put it on whatever obstacle you are interested in (for example a tree). It will tell you the distance (d=xxx) and height (h=xxx) of the line of sight at that point.

For example, from my dish location at my house, if I place the green dot directly over a tree in my neighbors yard it shows d=29.0m, h=17.7m. That means the tree is 29 meters away from my dish, and the line of sight line is 17.7 meters high at that point. That's 57.5 feet elevation, so as long as the tree is less than 57.5 feet tall, I can see over it.

Carl

Remember that the measurements are from ground level. So, if you mount your dish on the top of your house, say 25' off the ground, then you add 25' of elevation. Said another way, if your tree is 50' high and your house gives you 25' extra elevation, you only need clearance for the 25' remaining from the top of your house to the top of your tree.