How difficult is it to setup FTA dish and catch a satellite?

[hyedipin]

If I just buy antenna dish, receiver, etc.. would it be possible for me to setup or is it really PITA to get that aligned and get some signal FTA channels?
Thanks.

[FTA Michael]

My rule of thumb is that it's about as hard as replacing a light switch on your wall. (Other posters might have better gauges for how easy/difficulty it is.) If you're absolutely hopeless about anything physical, then you're better off paying some local satellite installer to set it up for you. But if you have used a wrench or a screwdriver, then you probably have the aptitude to set it up.

My step-by-step instructions are here: http://www.ftalist.com/started.htm The absolute, number one rule is to make sure that the mounting pole is perfectly plumb (pointing straight up). If you do that, the rest is pretty easy. If you don't, the rest is terribly difficult.

Good luck!

[hyedipin]

I am OK with mechanical/physical stuff, and if there are instructions around, I am OK with technical stuff as well if there is a psudocode to follow. :) The only thing I am concerned about is the alignment and sturdy mounting.

I was planning on mounting it on the roof floor (it is level like a terrace) and there is a small poll-like metal which is straight up but it is thin therefore may move a little with heavy wind.

[BattleZone]

The other issue is knowing what kind of satellite you are trying to pick up, and making sure you have the proper dish and LNB. Almost no FTA programming is found on DBS-class satellites (the small ones used by DirecTV/Dish), so usually you'll need a 30" or larger dish and the right type of LNB (band and polarity) for the sat you're trying to find.

[hyedipin]

Thank You IIP.
I was thinking about getting one of these:
http://www.gosatellite.com/sonicview-360-premier-fta-satellite-system-1-p/sv360-premier-3.htm
http://www.gosatellite.com/conaxsat-nano-fta-satellite-system-1-p/conaxsat-nano-fta-system-3.htm

I was searching for FTA sets and came across this. It also said that it was enough to catch the sat I wanted to receive.

My only concern is if the dish has to be dead accurate? Or if it works like regular antenna, trial and error? Can I keep the TV on and keep moving the antenna until I get a signal or would I have to move a little, go down search, then go back up move a little, then search again...

[FTA Michael]

My only concern is if the dish has to be dead accurate? Or if it works like regular antenna, trial and error? Can I keep the TV on and keep moving the antenna until I get a signal or would I have to move a little, go down search, then go back up move a little, then search again...From those instructions of mine that I pointed to a few posts ago:

"Use your receiver to check signal strength, and more importantly, signal quality. Use frequency and signal rate settings that match a channel that you know is there. Move your dish left and right until you determine the direction with the strongest signal quality. Then move it up and down until you find the perfect angle. Once it's just right, tighten the dish in place."

What it means is that you can maximize your signal quality, which will help resist rain fade and the variability of the satellite signal. But if the positioning is less than perfect, it's often okay to watch; digital TV is a pass/fail proposition.

[hyedipin]

Thank You. I checked the dishpointer google maps, there is an apartment building right in the way of where I should be pointing the dish. It says max 41ft height, and I assume this 41' is considering position of dish 0', and not from the ground up.

I have to find a way to figure out how tall this building is (from the level of my roof), otherwise the whole plan is just ruined.

[FTA Michael]

I have to find a way to figure out how tall this building is (from the level of my roof), otherwise the whole plan is just ruined.Trigonometry.

Put a yardstick in the ground. Measure its shadow at the same time you measure the building's shadow. (Easiest is to notice/mark the edge of the building's shadow at the moment you measure the yardstick's shadow, then walk off/measure the building's shadow's distance later.)

Building's height = (Building's shadow * yardstick's height) / yardstick's shadow.

Ditto for finding the height of a particular spot on your roof.

[hyedipin]

Thanks Michael! :) I knew there was a way to figure it out. I was thinking about measuring the distance from the spot I plan to mount the dish to the building, and then estimating the height of the building in comparison to the distance.

[Jon Ellis]

For me it's been a lot more complicated than installing a light switch. I've installed DISH and DirecTV several times each and FTA (with a motorized dish) was about a hundred times more complicated. The aiming is much more exact. The first time, it took several days of work to get anything. The second time, after I moved last year, it was even worse and I ended up doing it the "wrong" way just to get G18 to come in for the winter. Maybe I'll go out and amuse the neighbors some more once the snow melts.

[FTA Michael]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Adding a motorized dish adds a layer of complication, but the OP didn't mention a motor. I went without a motor for about half a year, and the process of repointing my static dish to the satellite du jour so many times made me so familiar with the process that somehow the motor was easy to install when I finally got one.

If you have the correct offset for your lattitude and you line up your true south satellite, adding a motor doesn't have to be hard. Good luck this spring.

[Davenlr]

I found the motorized dish was about as difficult as a prime focus dish. Some pointers for this spring...and this info may be "wrong" but works for me...

1: Dont waste your time trying on an unplumb mount. Use an inclimometer to set pole on west and south sides to exactly 90.

2. Preset the declination (on ku systems its the dish elevation adjustment) and leave it alone.

3: Mount, wire, and test the motor. Then attach the dish.

4: Repeat step 1

5: Using receiver, tell motor to Goto 0.

6: Using lyngsat or other list, find a transponder as close to due south of you as possible, and program it in receiver. If sat isnt exactly due south, use usrls to move dish to sat. Set to signal meter.

7. Set dish motor elevation to your latitude (or use instructions with motor if different). Rotate motor til you pick up signal. Very slowly. May need to bump motor elevation 1 or 2 degrees up or down. When you find transponder, lock motor on pole.

8: Peak transponder signal quality using motor elevation adjustment.

9: Program transponder using westmost or eastmost satellite, and tell receiver to "goto satellite" using usrls. As it moves, pay attention to signal, as it might pass by sat slightly or not quite make it. If so, rotate motor az on pole slightly to lock transponder in.

Should now get all sats in the arc. It takes some receivers a few seconds to "lock" so when adjusting, go slow, and give receiver time to respond. Make sure lnbf skew is set to 0.

Item #1 is the most likely cause of problems.
To avoid wild goose hunts, verify, if possible, the transponders you are using to set your dish are actually on. I TRY to use national 24/7 transponders when possible. If you are aiming a C/KU system, use KU to aim dish.

Anyone feel free to make corrections or add your own tips.

[sadoun]

Here is a brief video on installing a motorized system:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qzr4M3yYOI

[hyedipin]

I just wanted to chime in and let you guys know how I finally calculated the height of the apartment building. (Also check following links: http://www.exploratorium.edu/math_explorer/howHigh_makeInclino.html and http://www.satlex.us/en/azel_calc.html)

I took a stick and measured it against the building, and then I went back like 100 feet and took a picture of the building, noting the length/height of the stick. And then I calculated amount of "Stick length" it is in the picture and figured out that it is still within the safe height according to dishpointer. It worked. :)

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9594/heightdetermination.jpg
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9594/heightdetermination.jpg