Big Pole

[sprprsnmn]

The Dish installer came out to my house today and said that I cannot get HD because I don't have a clear view of 129. He said he thought that I could get SD fairly well, but that there were too many trees in my neighbor's yard to get a good signal on 129.

My question is, can I put a dish on a pole, and if so, how high can I put it? I only need to go a few feet higher than eye level to be over the tree at 45 deg. My other neighbor has Dish, so I figure that they are seeing over the tree just fine.

 

[Van]

Well you can put in any hieght pole you want but after a certain point it needs to have support such as guy wires or atached with a bracket to a structure towards the top of the structure.

Antenna towers are the best for height, all are cemented into the ground or should be and most are atached by a bracket to house or use guy wires if they are away from a structure. Generaly towers are at the least 5ft above the roof line to as much as is needed to get the user adequate signal.

New towers arent cheap, however you can probably find someone in your area that has one they want to get rid of, put an add in the paper and wait. Towers come in segments usually 5ft in length and bolt together. You will need to dig out the base, its up to you if you break off the old cement or use it and fill in dirt around it when you put it at your place.

 

[Van]

Oh yea, if you can tell us where your at and post some pics of your yard looking at the neighbors tree's that would help, the more pics providing reference the better.

 

[harshness]

The height you need depends on two major factors:

1. Where you live and hence, the elevation of the satellite above "level".
2. Where the trees are now and where they will be in a few years.

40 degrees isn't enough for most areas East of The Rockies. Los Angeles is a little under 49 degrees elevation and Milwaukee is 25-1/2 degrees.

 

[mike1973]

Must....fight...childish comments....title of this thread....Arrgghhh, it hurts...

Happy Saturday!

 

[sprprsnmn]

I'm at 32° 23' N , 93° 46'W (according to google). Here's some pics of the offending trees and the neighbor's dish.

I think the neighbor's dish is a Dish 500.

I got the 45° figure from the installer, who set his inclinometer to 45° as he walked the yard.

 

[Roadwarrior]

It's hard to tell from those pics, but those trees do like they could be a problem for the 1000.2. And you have to remember, your house is not your neighbors house. Even if you were to somehow bend space time and both exist in the exact same place at once, your neighbor just has SD(which the installer even told you that you could get too). you need to be able to hit 3 satellites from one location. The 129(for most of your HD) is going to be lower then the others.

I'm sure with a bit of effort and time the installer might have been able to rig something up, but most of them don't have time to waste and have to make a (basically) on the spot decision, based on experience. He needs to be able to garuantee that LOS for a long while.
(somebody the other day mentioned that the install should be able to last 15 years!)

Sometimes they can't go in. You might call a retailer, I'm sure they'd be happy to stick a BIG POLE on your house for the right price.

 

[sprprsnmn]

What if I put it on my roof? The Dish installer said he wasn't allowed to do roof installs, but could I do it myself?

 

[Jim5506]

If he can't put a 1000.2 on the roof, he could put 2 D500's up there and serve the same purpose.

 

[sprprsnmn]

He said something about not being allowed to install any dishes on the roof, b/c it might rip off in the wind.

 

[papalittle]

find a different installer who will put it on a roof.

 

[rcdallas]

Agreed, find a different installer.

Some things I wont do, others will do. Some others wont do, I'll do.

 

[farmsatguy]

The two dish solution may be the best bet right now. A 500 pointed at 119/110 with a DP Plus Twin and the 2nd dish pointed at 61.5 with a DP Dual. Feed the 61.5 into the IN port of the DPP twin & you've got everything. 61.5 has a very high elevation and, at the moment, with the exception of some HD locals, all HD is on both satellites. That may eventually change, but it should serve the purpose for the near future. You'll have to check if HD locals are available in your area and if so, what satellite.

 

[dishcomm]

I'm at 32° 23' N , 93° 46'W (according to google). Here's some pics of the offending trees and the neighbor's dish.

I think the neighbor's dish is a Dish 500.

I got the 45° figure from the installer, who set his inclinometer to 45° as he walked the yard.

what's your zip?....I am at 35north, 81 west and the 129 is at 250 Azimuth, 24 degrees of EL...I highly doubt that 12 deg west and three deg south is going to make up 21 degrees of elevation...I took your Lat/lon and guessed you are somewhere near Bossier City ,LA..Took that zip (71111) and looked up the 119( I cannot isolate the 129 on my receiver)...The 119 is 217 deg AZ and 43 degrees EL.....The 129 is 10 degrees longitude west of the 119 and in these parts 9 degrees lower in the sky....Making adjustments to the best of my ability, the 129 is probably around 33-36 degrees of elevation in you neck of the woods...no way is it 45 degrees....How is your view of the 61.5?..the AZ is about 126 and the EL is about 39....A two dish solution may be your best bet ..Better than to spend a fortune on masts, concrete, guy wires and other headaches

 

[dishcomm]

What if I put it on my roof? The Dish installer said he wasn't allowed to do roof installs, but could I do it myself?

Not allowed on roofs?!!! What a crock..If the pitch is ok, I'll walk all over a roof....anything up to an 8/12 is fine..We have one guy who is nuts..he dons the old roffers harness and goes on anything..I am sure he has a screw looose but God bless him....Anyway, the point is the guy that said he can't go on roofs is full of mierda(that's Spanish for poo poo LOL!!).....BTW, was the guy a Dish network insatller of a sub?..Actually it doesn't matter....If I can't get out on your roof, I will make arangements with my employer to get one of our more bravest techs to do it.We do our best to serve our customers.

 

[digiblur]

I'm at 32° 23' N , 93° 46'W (according to google). Here's some pics of the offending trees and the neighbor's dish.

I think the neighbor's dish is a Dish 500.

I got the 45° figure from the installer, who set his inclinometer to 45° as he walked the yard.

I love the "pole" that Dish500 is on LOL!

How's 61.5 from your location? Should be a lot easier to hit according to your coords.

 

[Scott6760]

He said something about not being allowed to install any dishes on the roof, b/c it might rip off in the wind.

Sounds like you need to get another installer for a second opinion. You could also try for 61.5. If your local HD's are only on 129 you could still get them with an OTA antenna and get your DishHD package off 61.5


P.S. I wouldn't use your neighbors dish as a basis of comparison for anything considering the fact that it's mounted to a TREE!!! I guess he must be a pro at realigning that thing.

EDIT - I guess I should have read page 2 before I replied.

 

[Casualguy]

Is your neighbor's dish attached to the tree ? Just oddly curious

 

[sprprsnmn]

Is your neighbor's dish attached to the tree ? Just oddly curious

Oh yeah. It's screwed right into the tree. It works for him.

I've asked for a 2nd opinion. The new installer is coming out this afternoon, so I'll make sure to ask him about 61.5. I think (just from eyeballing it) that I should have a shot a 61.5. I don't have an inclinometer, but I think that should be okay. My locals aren't in HD, and they are on 110 anyways.

 

[rcdallas]

What's wrong with tree mounts? I admit I've done one or two.

My sister's dish is mounted to a utility pole. Works good.