Dish had to be on the north side of our house?

[Joseph Giorgianni]

Hi,

We live in upstate New York state and I signed up for DirecTV last weekend. We live in a two story colonial and the back of the house faces within a few degrees of south. There are some trees but it seemed we would have a clear view.

When the installer came yesterday he said the dish would have to go on the north side of the house, the lower left front corner. That is just about surrounded by tall trees. I asked if there wasn't anywhere it could go on the back roof and he said no so I told him not to do the install.

I didn't want the dish on the north side of the house as that faces the road.

I was going to call DirecTV. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[aaronwt6]

Speaking from an installers point of view, I'd say the trees on the south side of the house were probably too close to overcome. But placing the dish on the other side, he was probably using the clearing created by the house to help overcome the obsticles. Really hard to say without seeing it in person though. I mean there's a chance he was being lazy and just trying to avoid additional work but typically thats not the case. All you can do is get someone else out for a 2nd opinion.

 

[Pepper]

Check dishpointer.com, you can have a map that shows your house and all the obstacles around it. Position a dish location, select what satellite it would point at, and it will tell you how tall something has to be to get in the way by dragging the obstacle pointer around.

 

[raoul5788]

to Satelliteguys Joseph!

Like Pepper suggested, check Satellite Finder / Dish Alignment Calculator with Google Maps | DishPointer.com. If you have a smartphone and want to pay for the app, they have one that shows exactly where in the sky the sats are that you need to see. It's $20 IIRC, but well worth it I think. BTW, the dish couldn't be on the north side of the house and see the satellites unless it was right on the nw corner.

 

[Joseph Giorgianni]

Thanks. It turns out the dish would be pointed northwest rather than southwest as I thought. Here is a screen shot. The dish location is on the north side where the installer said it has to go. It seems like the south side below the peak of the roof along the same line would work. I might call DirecTV and have them come back and indicate to me what tree is blocking it. I could probably have it taken down.

 

[Joseph Giorgianni]

Just got a call from DirecTV. Apparently they have a department that handles difficult installations. We're moving forward.

 

[raoul5788]

Where you placed the dish on your house is the east side, not the north. Also, you are using 91 for the azimuth. There is a drop down menu for the other satellites. Use the 110 setting to get an idea of where the dish needs to point if you are getting an sd install. Use the 101 for hd. If your sd locals are on the 119 satellite, use that heading to find out how far west you need to see.

 

[UTMTech]

Just got a call from DirecTV. Apparently they have a department that handles difficult installations. We're moving forward.

In other words they're sending an fsm.

Sent from my fingers.

 

[Joseph Giorgianni]

I checked my house with a compass. The front of our house is 6 degreess off north.

 

[harshness]

North is up in the picture. We speak of the dish as pointing southwest.

The trees to the south are likely to be problematic (if not now, probably later) and that's not something an advanced tech can fix (it is a job for an arborist).

The elevation is the key metric here and in up-state New York, it is fairly shallow so tall trees are a big issue. The actual elevation will be lower than the figures you have because the satellites are further west. Curvature of the Earth plays big in this.

 

[Joe Diamond]

Hi,

We live in upstate New York state and I signed up for DirecTV last weekend. We live in a two story colonial and the back of the house faces within a few degrees of south. There are some trees but it seemed we would have a clear view.

When the installer came yesterday he said the dish would have to go on the north side of the house, the lower left front corner. That is just about surrounded by tall trees. I asked if there wasn't anywhere it could go on the back roof and he said no so I told him not to do the install.

I didn't want the dish on the north side of the house as that faces the road.

I was going to call DirecTV. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

As an installer I wouldn't go back and screw with it anymore. I would sketch a site survey showing the trees and the proposed dish location and move on. Enjoy cable.

Joe

 

[Joseph Giorgianni]

This time I'll make it a point to meet the installer at my house and talk about it rather than on the phone. If any trees are an issue we're in the boondocks of upstate New York and have lots of lumberjacks. I'll get those trees down pretty quick.

Thanks everyone for your comments and help.

 

[harshness]

This time I'll make it a point to meet the installer at my house and talk about it rather than on the phone.

Unfortunately, unless you get an in-house installer, installers aren't payed to consult. They get paid only for completed installations so as Joe the installer points out, subcontractors will probably walk away.

 

[raoul5788]

Unfortunately, unless you get an in-house installer, installers aren't payed to consult. They get paid only for completed installations so as Joe the installer points out, subcontractors will probably walk away.

That's why I suggested using the dishpointer app for a smart phone. That way, if there is a good los on his property, he can show it to the installer.

 

[harshness]

That's why I suggested using the dishpointer app for a smart phone.

This makes some optimistic assumptions about the OP's telephony capabilities. An installer worth their weight in pigeon droppings should have a much more trustworthy solution (inclinometer). Experience in the region doesn't hurt either.

 

[raoul5788]

This makes some optimistic assumptions about the OP's telephony capabilities. An installer worth their weight in pigeon droppings should have a much more trustworthy solution (inclinometer). Experience in the region doesn't hurt either.

Have you used the smartphone app from dishpointer? I'm guessing no. It's just as accurate as an inclinometer. In fact, it's better since it shows all of the sats on one screen.

 

[Joe Diamond]

This time I'll make it a point to meet the installer at my house and talk about it rather than on the phone. If any trees are an issue we're in the boondocks of upstate New York and have lots of lumberjacks. I'll get those trees down pretty quick.

Thanks everyone for your comments and help.

This could be fun,

Lumberjacks are the bull guys....hit your house with a tree.......no biggie. For that matter, dish on front of house = no biggie because you are in the boonies. Anyhow, since you are way out there, know that if you own a shotgun you have a tree pruner and can clear a hole in some tree limbs with a 12ga & a box of BB load. Also know that any dish solution that requires going on a roof may be unservicable if there is snow or ice on the roof. Try for a pole mount or a low application on the building for snow reasons.

Report how this ends please,

Joe..........funny face for this one =

 

[Joe Diamond]

Have you used the smartphone app from dishpointer? I'm guessing no. It's just as accurate as an inclinometer. In fact, it's better since it shows all of the sats on one screen.

Chip,

That app is better than a clinometer / compass! It also shows background LOS problems. So you see the sats and the trees,buildings and hills that block the signal. I thought the laser pointers were great but the picture is worth...about twenty minutes of BS with a cx who will not hear. Especially when it often turns out the cx does not own the ground where the blockage lies.

Joe

 

[Jimbo]

I think if I were the OP, I would open the Yellow/White pages and see if there's a "Local Installation Company" ... they are much easier to work with seeing they are Local and you can talk with the same people if needed again.

Sent from my Samsung Epic using SatelliteGuys

 

[harshness]

Have you used the smartphone app from dishpointer?

I don't own a smart phone and I've never seen one that had the DishPointer application installed on it. I have little doubt that it is a great tool, but the support equipment is a lot expensive if you don't already have such a phone (or an iPod Touch -- I don't have one of those either).