AT9 Self-Install with Photos

[cool1986]

First of all this is a pole mount on the ground with the tremendous benefit of allowing you to stand flat-footed on the ground to tune and tweak the dish. Works great!

This AT9 replaces a Phase III Triple LNB Elliptical dish that was mounted about 15’ up on a 25’ Rohn tower that has a Winegard HD antenna for local OTA digital and analog reception. DirecTV receivers are HR10-250 and R10 both with dual tuners and TiVo service. I do not have the MPEG 4 capable HR20 receiver yet (without TiVo) but just
installing the AT9 for future use when most channels on the DirecTV sats are MPEG 4
only and my current receivers become obsolete. I receive HD locals OTA so no real need
at this point for an HR20.

The hole is 9” diameter and 26” deep with the first 2” being gravel for drainage. This leaves 2’ of pole in the ground and 6’ above. It is a standard 8’ steel fence post 2 3/8” OD HDG (Hot Dip Galvanized) 13 gauge (.095 wall) by Allied Tube & Conduit. There is a 1/4” all-thread rod inserted horizontally about 8” up from the bottom to prevent any possible twisting within the concrete over the years.

The board is a pressure-treated ACQ 2 x 10 (actually measures 1 1/2 x 9 1/2) cut to 31” length. All lag bolts are stainless steel to help prevent corrosion from the chemicals in the pressure-treated board. The fence post brackets (2 above and 1 below the J-mount base plate) are Simpson “Strong Tie” brand and are very heavy duty. They each have one roll pin (tension pin) inserted to prevent any possible twisting on the pole over the years.

There is one short brace attached solely to help support the weight and leverage of the
rather heavy AT9 dish. The J-mount has 4 bolts (2 on each side) to align and secure the mast but the lower 2 bolts only serve as a pivot point and most of the weight and leverage of the dish is held by the upper 2 bolts. Not very good so that is why the short brace is used for added support. Note you can not clamp down the brace until after the mast is aligned to absolute plumb. Additional support to prevent “wind shake” of the dish is provide by 2 horizontal long braces anchored back to the Rohn tower.

Tuning and tweaking was accomplished with an AcuTrac22 Pro meter ($114.95 in my case) and was well worth the extra money. Took about an hour of tweaking. I am located in Plano, Texas (suburb of Dallas).

This is probably way more than 99% of you want to know… enjoy the photos and I'll be most happy to answer any questions.

Craig

 

[dodge]

AT9 Dish Install

Well Done!!!
Except whats the Deal with the ac2 lumber??? Why didnt you just mount the dish on top of the 2 3/8" fence post???

 

[raoul5788]

Well Done!!!
Except whats the Deal with the ac2 lumber??? Why didnt you just mount the dish on top of the 2 3/8" fence post???

Yup, nice install, looks real sturdy. I don't think the base will fit over a 2 3/8" post. When I first saw the picture I figured you must be in Texas, as there is virtually no skew angle.

 

[joedekock]

Fantastic install! I just had a Slimline installed on my garage roof, and next year, I am going to do my own pole mount when I re-shingle the house. This gave me a lot of insight on what to do!

 

[digiblur]

Well Done!!!
Except whats the Deal with the ac2 lumber??? Why didnt you just mount the dish on top of the 2 3/8" fence post???

That's what I was thinking. Everything looks awesome except for the bootleg board deal.

 

[cool1986]

Well Done!!!
Except whats the Deal with the ac2 lumber??? Why didnt you just mount the dish on top of the 2 3/8" fence post???

Hi Dodge,

Can't believe you're from Plano, Illinois and I'm from Plano, Texas! Anyway, excellent question. The mast clamp which is part of the dish itself is designed to fit on the 2" J-mount mast. The mast is actually 50 mm just a shade under 2" since the AT9 is manufactured overseas using foreign pipe standards.

Even if you fabricated some type of reducer from 2 3/8 down to 2 there would remain the possibility of the dish becoming out of plumb over the years and no way to re-plumb it.

Why? Because a direct mount would depend entirely on the accuracy of your original plumb. If the ground and concrete base ever shift slightly over the years there is no way to re-plumb your dish. But by employing the provided J-mount mast with the "EZALIGN" feature you can re-plumb anytime by twisting the mast until perfect plumb is attained. This is probably a minor issue for most but I'm rather particular.

That is why I used the "lumber". Thought about a large metal plate but way too expensive to buy a metal plate thick enough to be sturdy. The dish has a lot of weight and leverage. Make sense? Can you tell I'm a retired engineer-type person?

 

[grydlok]

Hi Dodge,

Can't believe you're from Plano, Illinois and I'm from Plano, Texas! Anyway, excellent question. The mast clamp which is part of the dish itself is designed to fit on the 2" J-mount mast. The mast is actually 50 mm just a shade under 2" since the AT9 is manufactured overseas using foreign pipe standards.

Even if you fabricated some type of reducer from 2 3/8 down to 2 there would remain the possibility of the dish becoming out of plumb over the years and no way to re-plumb it.

Why? Because a direct mount would depend entirely on the accuracy of your original plumb. If the ground and concrete base ever shift slightly over the years there is no way to re-plumb your dish. But by employing the provided J-mount mast with the "EZALIGN" feature you can re-plumb anytime by twisting the mast until perfect plumb is attained. This is probably a minor issue for most but I'm rather particular.

That is why I used the "lumber". Thought about a large metal plate but way too expensive to buy a metal plate thick enough to be sturdy. The dish has a lot of weight and leverage. Make sense? Can you tell I'm a retired engineer-type person?

Some how you missed the 100 or so thread on the 2"OD pole for the At9.

Oh yeah don't worry about the that dish lasting 2 years or longer, because it's going to fell the side LNB jumpers are 59 cable.

 

[dodge]

AT9 Dish

cool1986
Yeah I guy I work with his son used to live in Plano Texas. I buy all of My Honda Lawnmower parts from Plano power by you.

There is also availble a pipe adaptor that goes on top ot the pipe to mount the at-9 directly to the pole. As for those pole moving and flexing I have never had a problem and I am in the snow belt.

Hi Dodge,

Can't believe you're from Plano, Illinois and I'm from Plano, Texas! Anyway, excellent question. The mast clamp which is part of the dish itself is designed to fit on the 2" J-mount mast. The mast is actually 50 mm just a shade under 2" since the AT9 is manufactured overseas using foreign pipe standards.

Even if you fabricated some type of reducer from 2 3/8 down to 2 there would remain the possibility of the dish becoming out of plumb over the years and no way to re-plumb it.

Why? Because a direct mount would depend entirely on the accuracy of your original plumb. If the ground and concrete base ever shift slightly over the years there is no way to re-plumb your dish. But by employing the provided J-mount mast with the "EZALIGN" feature you can re-plumb anytime by twisting the mast until perfect plumb is attained. This is probably a minor issue for most but I'm rather particular.

That is why I used the "lumber". Thought about a large metal plate but way too expensive to buy a metal plate thick enough to be sturdy. The dish has a lot of weight and leverage. Make sense? Can you tell I'm a retired engineer-type person?

 

[urnote96]

Those jumpers are RG-179, and not pretaining to you but they do not hold up well in the cold wind way up here in NORTH DAKOTA

 

[Jimbo]

Those jumpers are RG-179, and not pretaining to you but they do not hold up well in the cold wind way up here in NORTH DAKOTA

Why can't they be replaced when nessasary ?
Should not be more than a 10 minute deal.

Jimbo

 

[Jimbo]

Hi Dodge,

Can't believe you're from Plano, Illinois and I'm from Plano, Texas! Anyway, excellent question. The mast clamp which is part of the dish itself is designed to fit on the 2" J-mount mast. The mast is actually 50 mm just a shade under 2" since the AT9 is manufactured overseas using foreign pipe standards.

Even if you fabricated some type of reducer from 2 3/8 down to 2 there would remain the possibility of the dish becoming out of plumb over the years and no way to re-plumb it.

Why? Because a direct mount would depend entirely on the accuracy of your original plumb. If the ground and concrete base ever shift slightly over the years there is no way to re-plumb your dish. But by employing the provided J-mount mast with the "EZALIGN" feature you can re-plumb anytime by twisting the mast until perfect plumb is attained. This is probably a minor issue for most but I'm rather particular.

That is why I used the "lumber". Thought about a large metal plate but way too expensive to buy a metal plate thick enough to be sturdy. The dish has a lot of weight and leverage. Make sense? Can you tell I'm a retired engineer-type person?

What happens when your wood gets weathered and warps ?
I placed mine on the top of the pole 2" galvinized fence post, of course slightly smaller than 2", placed a few screws in it to snug it up, addl. to the original set up.

Jimbo

 

[cool1986]

What happens when your wood gets weathered and warps ?
I placed mine on the top of the pole 2" galvinized fence post, of course slightly smaller than 2", placed a few screws in it to snug it up, addl. to the original set up.

Jimbo

Yes, you may be right. The board is pressure-treated ACQ and hopefully won't warp anytime soon. If it does, then a re-plumb by using the EZALIGN feature on the J-mount mast would be required. I keep an RF signal strength chart in Microsoft Excel of every transponder on the 101, 110, and 119 sats. If the strength drops off significantly or I start losing pictures then I know there is an alignment problem.

I'm still considering a swapout to a metal backing plate despite the expense and the effort required to re-mount the dish. The old wooden board could serve as a template for the exact location of bolt holes. Just an idea.

Also, I am told the new Slimline dish would drop right on to the existing 2" J-mount mast.

Craig

 

[urnote96]

Why can't they be replaced when nessasary ?
Should not be more than a 10 minute deal.

Jimbo

So go and reaplace the 110/119 lnb each time they go bad...what a waste...i just swapped it with a slimline so its all good

 

[grydlok]

Why can't they be replaced when nessasary ?
Should not be more than a 10 minute deal.

Jimbo

When the jumpers go they normally take the lnb out with them.

 

[Jimbo]

If I have to go up there and replace 2 6" jumpers once every 3 years, thats fine with me.
I can make up jumpers in about 5 minutes.

Who is it saying that these jumpers go bad like this anyway, this dish has only been out for 3-4 months now.

Also, by the time these go bad, D* will have several other dishes out, they seem to change them about every year.

Jimbo

 

[grydlok]

If I have to go up there and replace 2 6" jumpers once every 3 years, thats fine with me.
I can make up jumpers in about 5 minutes.

Who is it saying that these jumpers go bad like this anyway, this dish has only been out for 3-4 months now.

Also, by the time these go bad, D* will have several other dishes out, they seem to change them about every year.

Jimbo

that the reason why they had to make the change. If you do this every day you will see it almost every day. Most of the time it's somebody missing the 110 or 119 sat.