View Full Version : Dish appears blocked
Hello,
I am new to Directv. We just had it installed a week ago Friday. I am not happy with the installation for a number of reasons. The main reason is the positioning of the dish. I have attached a picture taken with the camera looking up at about 60 degrees straight at the back of the dish. To me it looks like 50% of the dish is blocked. Can this possibly be better than moving the dish up to the south roof? Is 20 feet of cable really that much of a problem?
I am waiting for a call back from the installer.
Thanks,
Jim
14494
It may look like it's blocked but it's probably not a problem. If it really was blocked you'd be getting 0's on the sats that where on the blocked portion. It all of your signals are fine I wouldn't worry about it.
Hello,
I am new to Directv. We just had it installed a week ago Friday. I am not happy with the installation for a number of reasons. The main reason is the positioning of the dish. I have attached a picture taken with the camera looking up at about 60 degrees straight at the back of the dish. To me it looks like 50% of the dish is blocked. Can this possibly be better than moving the dish up to the south roof? Is 20 feet of cable really that much of a problem?
I am waiting for a call back from the installer.
Thanks,
Jim
14494
The dish is actually looking quite a bit higher than is apparent to you. Signal is coming at you from a high angle, bouncing off the dish reflector, then into the LNBs. From picture, looks like the sats are up there in the clear blue sky, well above the trees.
madisonjar
07-07-08, 01:09 PM
thats just a old single LNB...what are your signal Strenghts? have you had channel dropouts? I think if all your channels are on, and signals are good, its fine as you are not really worried about multiple sats on that dish.
litzdog911
07-07-08, 01:10 PM
How are your signal readings on each transponder? If you're not having any reception issues, then you're probably just fine. Due to the dish geometry, the satellite is actually higher in the sky than the dish appears to be pointing.
jdspencer
07-07-08, 01:11 PM
Remember, the signal is coming from a higher angle than where the dish is physically pointing. This is due to the offset of the LNB to the dish.
The calculator says the Satellites are at 54.5 degrees. That's not higher in the sky.
thespaceghost
07-07-08, 01:24 PM
Once again, check your signal readings. If they are all in the 90's (with a couple exceptions), then you are ok. Your picture really can't help us to determine if the house is blocking it. A couple degrees to either side makes a huge difference.
Let me point out two things to you; 1) If you are getting full signal, the dish is in a great spot as the house blocks much of the wind. 2) If you move the dish, you now have extra holes in your roof. If you are getting full readings and you have a problem with the placement, then you should have never let the tech put it there. If you do have an obstruction problem, then yes, the tech should be slapped around a few times for doing a poor job.
mikep554
07-07-08, 01:37 PM
The ONLY thing that matters is the signal strength. What are your signal strengths on the various transponders? If they are most/all in the 90s, go get a cold one and watch some TV.
My dish is on a lower roof area, looking over the edge of a higher roof in it's line of sight. Frankly, I'm surprised it gets good signal, but I asked the installer to put it on the back of the house if possible. He got it there, and it gets great signal, so I'm happy as a clam.
There are also other aspects to consider with your current placement. Your dish may get a little bit of shielding from rain/snow/wind being where it is.
jdspencer
07-07-08, 01:52 PM
The calculator says the Satellites are at 54.5 degrees. That's not higher in the sky. If you take the perpendicular angle of the plane of the dish, it is pointed lower than the 54.5 degrees.
The calculator says the Satellites are at 54.5 degrees. That's not higher in the sky.
If I remember correctly, (IIRC, I had to look it up) the LNBs are angled 22 and a half degrees below the centerline of the dish, so signal bounce would be 45 degrees, and looking at sat 22 and a half degrees above the centerline of the dish. So your dish centerline would be pointing at 32 degrees above the horizon while receiving the sat at 54.5 degrees.
54.5 degrees is pretty high, higher than most in the US. Your round dish is only looking at one sat position at 101W. Hard to tell from your pic (tough to translate the siding to horizonal because of camara angle), but you may have an issue with that location when you upgrade to a 5 LNB dish for HD.
Bottom line right now, if you've got solid picture on the TV now, not breaking up when it rains or the wind blows, then trees are not an issue.
If you take the perpendicular angle of the plane of the dish, it is pointed lower than the 54.5 degrees.
I didn't go perpendicular to the plane of the dish. I eyeballed about 60 degrees. I suppose I could take a protractor out there and measure it.
We asked the installer to put it on the back of the house but he refused saying it was too high. If I had to do it again I would have just sent him packing. There were other problems with the install including the mess he left behind.
litzdog911
07-07-08, 04:41 PM
I didn't go perpendicular to the plane of the dish. I eyeballed about 60 degrees. I suppose I could take a protractor out there and measure it.
We asked the installer to put it on the back of the house but he refused saying it was too high. If I had to do it again I would have just sent him packing. There were other problems with the install including the mess he left behind.
But if your signal readings are fine, then you don't need to move the dish.
coolman302003
07-07-08, 04:42 PM
Hello,
I am new to Directv. We just had it installed a week ago Friday. I am not happy with the installation for a number of reasons. The main reason is the positioning of the dish. I have attached a picture taken with the camera looking up at about 60 degrees straight at the back of the dish. To me it looks like 50% of the dish is blocked. Can this possibly be better than moving the dish up to the south roof? Is 20 feet of cable really that much of a problem?
I am waiting for a call back from the installer.
Thanks,
Jim
14494
You should be glad you actually got your Directv installed and not be worried about it being blocked as it looks fine. I can't even get a system installed! Since the tech said it could not be really done or he just don't want to fool with it because its a 3 level house and a little more trouble then the normal.
RobertE
07-07-08, 04:50 PM
Looking at the pic, here's a few things that "jump" out to me.
If it were directly lower, it would most likely be blocked by the portion of the house on the left of your picture.
If it were lower, but moved to the right to clear the house (assuming there is enough room to move it right) then the dish would most likely be more visible from ground level.
To me it looks like it's very well sheltered from winds/weather.
I think the installer is getting a bum rap for the location of the dish.
Actually more to the right would have been less visible from the street. There's a tree in front to the right that would shield it.
BattleZone
07-07-08, 07:54 PM
http://www.bytelive.com/wiki/show_image.php?id=3
DBS dishes are 22.5 degree off-set.
How is this thing supposed to be grounded? There are only two cables coming off it and they both are coax cables. Shouldn't there be a separate ground wire?
BattleZone
07-08-08, 11:21 AM
Ideally, one of the coax cables should have a ground wire bonded to it. It should be attached to the dish on one side and to a ground block on the other. From the ground block, a 10 ga. solid copper wire should run to an approved ground source, such as your power meter.
Thanks. I don't think there's a ground cable anywhere.
Also, thanks for the diagram. That's pretty much what I had in my head.
A supervisor is going to take a look at it.
My installer is telling me he can't run a ground. Is it acceptable to not have a ground wire installed? I would think this would be unsafe in any case.
RobertE
07-09-08, 11:28 AM
In 99% of cases its possible to run a ground wire. It's possible that it may look like crap wrapped around the house to wherever the ground rod/service ground is, but is possible.
I did a little research. It's required by NEC regulations which have been adopted by local districts in Texas.
I did a little research. It's required by NEC regulations which have been adopted by local districts in Texas.
The dish cable must be grounded either at the outside entrance to the house or within about two feet of the entrance on the inside of the house. The purpose is to ground the shield of the coax in case of a hit by fire, falling tree, tornado, run away trash truck, etc. that damages the wiring enough to energize the coax with AC power. Ground should be 10 AWG copper which is large enough (30+ amps) to shunt most circuits in the house to ground (electric stoves and large hot tubs would be exceptions). The NEC's only purpose is to SAVE LIVES. Designers of electronic equipment often take advantage of the ground, i.e. they assume it's there and use it for the proper operation of the gear.
Besides a master electrician, no one knows the NEC better than your fire department and your homeowners insurance company.
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