Dish Installation

Determining the
Elevation and Azimuth:
 
 

Compass: Rotate the Compass until the painted tip of its needle is on the  Zero or (N) mark on compass face for proper orientation. The EAST will be at the 90 degrees, the SOUTH will be at 180 degrees and the WEST at 270 Degrees.
Azimuth (Magnetic): Move the dish Left and Right until the LNB arm is pointing to the magnetic azimuth value for your location.
Elevation: Move the Dish up and down and set the elevation indicator on the value of the elevation value for your location.
Elevation Indicator: Be sure to locate the Elevation indicator ( or equivalent , depending on your dish) . Use this indicator to set the correct elevation of your location.

The satellites are "parked" approximately
22,300 miles above the equator. In reality, the
satellites travel from west to
east, but to us on Earth they appear stationary because
they match the exact
speed of the Earth's rotation. (This is a geostationary
orbit.) If you stand up
now, turn towards the southern hemisphere, and tilt your
head up to the heavens,
you'll be looking in the general direction of our
satellite

Now that you have your
azimuth and elevation coordinates, what do you do with
them?
 

First, survey the site to ensure an
unobstructed view in the direction of the satellite. To
receive broadcast
signals, your satellite dish needs to be positioned
correctly. Mount your
satellite dish so that the base fits flush with the
mounting surface (level if
mounted on a flat beam or roof, or on an angle to match
the pitch of your roof
line). When you have securely mounted your satellite
dish, adjust your dish so
that the dish mast is plumb, that is, exactly
perpendicular to level - this is
best achieved using a carpenter's level. With your dish
now mounted and properly
set, you are now ready to aim your dish toward the
satellites.

To set the dish to point up to the
satellites, you'll first need to set the elevation. Then
you'll point the dish
in the proper left-to-right position, to set the
azimuth. You'll need to refer
to the installation manual for your system for detailed
instructions, but here's
the short course.

Setting the Elevation
(UP), (DOWN):

You can set the proper elevation after the
dish is securely mounted. First, loosen the nuts
securing the two elevation
bolts so that the dish easily moves up and down. Line up
the elevation indicator
with the tick mark corresponding to your elevation
number. Then tighten the
bolts. You may need to readjust the elevation up or down
slightly to get the
best signal. See figure on top.

Setting the Azimuth
(LEFT), (RIGHT):

Loosen the azimuth nuts on the LNB arm enough
that the dish can be turned smoothly with little
pressure. Set the azimuth by
moving the dish left and right. Point the dish in the
general direction of the
satellite, in the southern hemisphere. By using a
compass you can better
pinpoint the direction with your azimuth number to
correspond with the degrees
on your compass. See figure on top.

Setting the LNBF
Polarization Tilt (Skew):

 

The LNBF and/or its bracket (s) are 
marked in degrees to indicate the polarization
tilt or the (SKEW). The
proper skew varies with location but within plus
or minus 30 degrees in
the USA except for Hawaii where the skew is
minus 65 degrees.
 

 

The 30 degrees equals 5 Minutes on the
minutes scale of a regular clock. The 30 degrees
also equals One Hour on the
hours scale of a regular clock. The feed cable at
the bottom of the LNBF is
usually used to indicate the 6 O'clock mark when it
is vertical.

 

Generally the skew is zero if you are in
Huston, Texas. At the West States like California 
the skew could be as
minus 30 degrees ( Clockwise rotation which equals
to 7 O'Oclock of the feed
cable when looking toward the Dish). In Maine the
skew could be up to plus
30 degrees ( Counter Clockwise rotation or 5 O'clock
if looking to the
Dish). Looking at the Satellite(reversing the
looking direction) the skew
for California will be 5 O'clock and for Maine it
will be 7 O'clock.
 

During the final tune up phase, the
LNBF
should be rotated in both directions to optimize the
signals and/or the quality
levels.

 

Acquiring the
Signal:

Depending on your kind of digital receiver you
will be
able to see either the received signal level only or to
see both the signal
strength and the quality meter also. Please go to this
link for details :
 

Now your dish will be in position to lock in
on the satellite signal. You’ll need to 1) have your
digital receiver connected
to your television, with both turned on, and 2) have
your antenna LNB to
receiver cables connected, and 3) be viewing your Setup
Antenna/Signal Strength
display from your digital receiver's on-screen menu to
measure the signal
strength accurately.  To view the signal strength and
quality (Satcruiser
receivers Telstar 5 for example) press Menu,
Installation, TP Configuration,
select Telstar 5 and frequency 12152 or frequency 11898.
For the Starcrusier
Receivers Please go to this link for details:
 

Ask a helper to watch the Signal Strength
screen for indications you are receiving the signal, the
upper meter is the
signal strength, the lower meter is the signal quality.
Please note that you
will receive the signal ONLY when there is a signal on
the lower meter (signal
quality). Stand behind the dish, and holding its outer
edges, slowly turn it a
little to the right to adjust the azimuth. Pause a few
seconds, giving the
receiver enough time to lock in on the satellite signal.
Continue turning the
dish in this way until you have acquired the signal or
until you have rotated
the dish approximately 15 degrees from the starting
point.

If you haven’t detected a signal yet, return
to the starting point and move the dish to the left
again. If you don’t acquire
the signal after rotating the dish approximately 15
degrees to either side of
the calculated azimuth angle, loosen the elevation bolts
and tilt the dish
upward so the elevation indicator moves halfway from the
current tick mark to
the next mark. Then tighten the elevation bolts.

If necessary, continue changing the elevation
in half-tick-mark increments until you receive the
signal. After tilting the
dish upwards three tick marks beyond the original tick
mark, return it to the
original tick mark and then tilt it down a half tick
mark. Keep repeating this
until you receive the signal.

Polarity can play an important role in
whether you are able to receive the digital signal at
all. Digital signals are
not as forgiving as analog signals, it is either you
receive it or you do not.
For the SatCruiser Receiver only , If the signal
meter shows a high signal
(over 85% ), and you are still unable to receive the
digital signal, then
adjusting the SKEW will almost always help. For the
Starcruiser Receiver
adjusting the SKEW will maximize the signal level.
 

If the Signal still
eludes you, check:

Check to make sure that the mount is 100%
level. The portion that the dish mounts on must be
straight up to the sky level.
Otherwise you will not be able to find the signal
 

That nothing--a tree, for
example--obstructs the signal that the cables are
connected properly to the
receiver.

That you have the correct azimuth and
elevation coordinates

Fine Tuning:

Now that you have received the satellite
signal, it is important to fine tune the dish pointing
to make sure you have the
maximum possible signal strength. Maximizing the signal
is important, in that,
it reduces "rain fade" during inclement weather. Loosen
the elevation bolts,
then gently continue turning the dish a little in the
same direction you were
turning it when you began to receive the satellite
signal. Pause for a few
seconds each time after moving the dish. Turn the dish
in this way until the
signal quality strength reaches its highest reading and
then begins to fall.
Then slowly turn the dish the opposite way until you
again receive the highest
reading on the Signal Strength screen. Important: The
Signal Strength reading
does not need to be "100." Lock in on the highest
possible signal. Tighten
the azimuth bolts.

Loosen the elevation bolts. Slowly tilt the
dish up and down to improve the Signal Strength reading.
When you are satisfied
that you have the strongest signal, tighten the
elevation bolts.