moving to a pole mount in the yard...

[ncxcstud]

If I was to move my Slimline-5 DirecTV dish into my yard...what size/type of pole would I use? it seems that the fitting is some weird size and it is difficult to match up well...I've done it to my yard...but my dad wants to move his off the roof for some reason...and he'd like to do it himself... I just can't remember what size and type of pole I used...

Any help would be great y'all!

[JB292]

2" Outer Diameter

[ncxcstud]

yeah, I thought that is what we needed....and the guy at Home Depot told us that is what we had...too bad it was a 2" inner diameter...

So, if they measure the inside again...would it then be safe to get like a 1 5/8" inner diameter pole? That should at least get me close enough to tighten the clamps on the dish to the pole correct?

BTW - Thanks for the quick reply JB ;) I just moved to Alabama too! Huntsville to be exact...

[JB292]

No, Home Depot / Lowe's doesn't sell the correct pole. Supposedly you can get one at a muffler shop, or possibly flag down a DirecTV van, they're all over Huntsville. I'm just outside of Huntsville about 15 miles east on 72 east. Welcome to Alabama.

[boba]

Try a muffler shop for some 2" stainless steel that won't rust.

[raoul5788]

You can also get one from a fence company, although the poles are slightly smaller than 2". They do work, but you have to make sure to tighten the set screw a little more than usual. I have heard you can shim the pole with aluminum flashing.

[sunfire9us]

I recently ran into the same problem when it came to this. I went to a hardware store and thought I was getting a 2" pipe and by the time I got home and it was already in the concrete thats when I learned it was a inner 2" pipe!!! After learning this, I drilled holes into the pipe to match the two main holes that are on the dish's mast and put bolts/nuts thru it and thru the pipe. After that I got some u-bolts and used those to go thru the two top and bottom sets of holes to go around the pole for the extra support.In this way I could use the original mast to the dish and after that finish putting on the dish.

[Mertzen]

Make sure to flatten the bottom of the pipe or drill a hole and stick large bolt in that. That will prevent the pole from spinning.

[R0am3r]

No, Home Depot / Lowe's doesn't sell the correct pole. Supposedly you can get one at a muffler shop, or possibly flag down a DirecTV van, they're all over Huntsville. I'm just outside of Huntsville about 15 miles east on 72 east. Welcome to Alabama.

I am also thinking about moving my Slimline 3 to a pole and tried all the usual hardware stores with no luck. A quick call to a local independent D* installer and he quoted me a price of $20! I pick it up next week.

[ncxcstud]

Thanks for all the tips!

One more question.... The azimuth 'setting' is just the direction you point the dish in the sky correct? The Azimuth here is like 221 degrees...but there is nothing on the dish to adjust azimuth (with numbers and stuff.. I know about the the two bolts that loosen the left and right movement of the dish...)

[carl6]

Thanks for all the tips!

One more question.... The azimuth 'setting' is just the direction you point the dish in the sky correct? The Azimuth here is like 221 degrees...but there is nothing on the dish to adjust azimuth (with numbers and stuff.. I know about the the two bolts that loosen the left and right movement of the dish...)

Use a compass. Or, go to www.dishpointer.com and put in the correct dish model and it will graphically show you the azimuth. That gives you your starting point. Then adjust SLOWLY until you find, then maximize, your signal.