D* vs. E* Line of Sight Differences

[kahlon]

I live in Nashville (37205) and am trying to figure out the differences in the two companies satellite aiming points. I have alot of trees in my backyard which is where I need to aim.

I had a E* come today and they said no go. The main issue was b/c he was pointing the dish very low, he was saying one of the satellites was at 28 degrees. The dish aim says to setup at 38 degrees elevation. I understand the different satellites are in different locations so I believe he was telling me the truth.

My question is will D* be easier b/c the satellite aim point for it says to setup at over 45 degrees of elevation which is much better b/c it is obviously steeper so it can get over the trees.

I had D* a long time ago and I got SD but I did not have signal on some satellites in the spring/summer when there were leaves on the trees. This dish was on my roof. So I cannot put the dish on the roof and get the HD channels, but I am now willing to put the dish in my front yard now so I was wondering if I will have better luck w/ D* vs. E* (definite no LOS)?

By the basic aiming software the D* is about 10 degrees higher for the main satellites, but what about the other satellites?

 

[Pepper]

DirecTV uses satellites in the range 101W-119W. Dish uses 110W-129W in most cases.

 

[JimK2]

I live in Nashville (37205) and am trying to figure out the differences in the two companies satellite aiming points. I have alot of trees in my backyard which is where I need to aim.

I had a E* come today and they said no go. The main issue was b/c he was pointing the dish very low, he was saying one of the satellites was at 28 degrees. The dish aim says to setup at 38 degrees elevation. I understand the different satellites are in different locations so I believe he was telling me the truth.

My question is will D* be easier b/c the satellite aim point for it says to setup at over 45 degrees of elevation which is much better b/c it is obviously steeper so it can get over the trees.

I had D* a long time ago and I got SD but I did not have signal on some satellites in the spring/summer when there were leaves on the trees. This dish was on my roof. So I cannot put the dish on the roof and get the HD channels, but I am now willing to put the dish in my front yard now so I was wondering if I will have better luck w/ D* vs. E* (definite no LOS)?

By the basic aiming software the D* is about 10 degrees higher for the main satellites, but what about the other satellites?

This and googe earth might help you
DishPointer.com - Satellite Dish Pointer / Alignment Calculator with Google Maps

 

[kahlon]

I used Dishpointer and found this...

According to dishpointer.com, here is the aim points for the satellite.
Your Location Satellite Data Dish Setup Data Latitude: 36.112°
Longitude: -86.906°

Name: DirecTV 5 LNB (99, 101, 103, 110, 119W)​

Distance: 37381km
Elevation:45.5°
Azimuth (true): 203.1°
Azimuth (magn.): 206.2°
Dish skew: 71.5°

Also according to lyngsat.com, my HD locals are at Satellite 99. So I need to receive Satellite 99 and wherever the national SD and HD


So according to this the aim point is at 45 degrees. What is the lowest elevation for D* vs. lowest E*. My main issue is does D* aim higher than E*? Higher helps me get above the trees. E* already has told me no way for me to get a signal.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

The satellites to the west are lower. The furthest west Directv satellite is at 119. That will require an elevation of 36.2 degrees. Dish's 129 satellite would be at an elevation of 29.3 degrees. This data is from the Eman technoology website. The angles from dishpointer are for the main 101 satellite (99 will be close to this).

 

[kahlon]

Thanks Bob, that is exactly what I was looking for:
Sat 99 - could not find on eman tech website - this sat has my local HD channels, NEED THIS ONE
Sat 101 - 45.5 elevation - most SD channels seem to be here so I need to get this one, should be OK at this elevation
Sat 110 - 41.5 elevation - ESPN HD need to get this
Sat 119 - as Bob mentioned 36.2 elevation - mainly locals for other cities, seems like ESPN2HD. This Sat would be iffy.

Basically IF 99 is higher than the others, the only questionable one is 119. Can anyone confirm that this is only place ESPN2HD is? No other channels on this sat seem to match with this channel.

At a minimim, it clearly seems that D* is much higher than E*, which is good for me, especially if don't need 119 (???).

 

[raoul5788]

Thanks Bob, that is exactly what I was looking for:
Sat 99 - could not find on eman tech website - this sat has my local HD channels, NEED THIS ONE
Sat 101 - 45.5 elevation - most SD channels seem to be here so I need to get this one, should be OK at this elevation
Sat 110 - 41.5 elevation - ESPN HD need to get this
Sat 119 - as Bob mentioned 36.2 elevation - mainly locals for other cities, seems like ESPN2HD. This Sat would be iffy.

Basically IF 99 is higher than the others, the only questionable one is 119. Can anyone confirm that this is only place ESPN2HD is? No other channels on this sat seem to match with this channel.

At a minimim, it clearly seems that D* is much higher than E*, which is good for me, especially if don't need 119 (???).

You will not likely find anyone that will install a dish without a clear los to all of the satellites. You could do it yourself, of course. BTW, the mpeg2 hd channels like ESPN and ESPN2 will be moving to either the 99 or 103 slot sometime in the not too distant future.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

Thanks Bob, that is exactly what I was looking for:
Sat 99 - could not find on eman tech website - this sat has my local HD channels, NEED THIS ONE
Sat 101 - 45.5 elevation - most SD channels seem to be here so I need to get this one, should be OK at this elevation
Sat 110 - 41.5 elevation - ESPN HD need to get this
Sat 119 - as Bob mentioned 36.2 elevation - mainly locals for other cities, seems like ESPN2HD. This Sat would be iffy.

Basically IF 99 is higher than the others, the only questionable one is 119. Can anyone confirm that this is only place ESPN2HD is? No other channels on this sat seem to match with this channel.

At a minimim, it clearly seems that D* is much higher than E*, which is good for me, especially if don't need 119 (???).

99 is listed for a Galaxy satellite (Directv 10 is at the same location). The elevation is 46.2 degrees. The HD channels on 119 are ESPN2, HDNet, YES (regional sports) and some of the distant networks. As Raoul5788 said, all of these will be moving to 99 or 103, as will the HD channels on 110 (probably later this year).

Maybe some selective tree trimming would help for 119.

 

[kahlon]

Thanks for info on 119 content.

So, if (big IF), I can get them to install w/o 119 working, it does not seem like I need it at all (assuming ESPN2 moves in 2008). Then all the Sats are 41.5 or higher.

I estimated the trees are 135 foot tall max. I used my golf laser distance reader and got it to read 120 feet 'near' the top.

So at 41.5 degree angle I would need to be about 160 feet away from the tree. This is at least made me sure than Direct's LOS is easier for me to get than Dish which I know I can't get.