I just finished 6 mos of snow birding and have set up my dish 1000.2 in dozens of places but it is still hit or miss and I'm frustrated. I use a tripod from TV4RV and it is great for a quick level base. Then I use Dishpointer to get the numbers (el, az and skew) for my exact location. Finally I use Satfinder Lite to show me where satellites 110, 119 and 129 are in the sky. I set the skew to zero (90 degrees) and try to lock onto 119. Sometimes it is a snap but recently I've been having to point the dish more toward 110 to get all three satellites to give me a useable signal. I read that you can cover the feed horns for 110 and 129 with tin foil. Is this a good trick? If not any other ideas as to why things are so difficult some times? Thanks
Dish set up for RVing
- Thread starter Gary Shaw
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I try to lock in 119 then find 129 when camping, but having both Dish & DIRECTV, find it easier to find the later satellites, so I take my DIRECTV receiver instead... I haven't tried the foil trick, (usually forget about).
I am using a Dish VIP 722 DVR. I had a Carryout but discovered I could only record from one satellite at a time so I switched to the Dish 1000.2 with the three feed horns.
My biggest problem seems to be finding the right direction. I use a lensatic compass, the compass app on the iPhone, the direction info on the other apps and it seems like every one gives a different pointing direction. This seems to happen whether or not I'm next to a metal source.
My biggest problem seems to be finding the right direction. I use a lensatic compass, the compass app on the iPhone, the direction info on the other apps and it seems like every one gives a different pointing direction. This seems to happen whether or not I'm next to a metal source.
I have used the tinfoil trick, and it works pretty good for me. Like you, I switched from the older dish to the 1000.2 and had issues making it work. You procedures were pretty much how I did mine. My real solution was when we got the new 5th wheel, we ordered with a Trav'ler as part of the sale. Now ... just push a button and be watching in only a few minutes.
Since you have the TV4RV.com tripod, you have the vertical mast problem solved. Set the Skew on the dish before you mount it to the tripod. I have never had to change the Skew after hitting Sat 119.
The problem with aiming the Azimuth is what you are aligning to. The dish arm is nowhere near where you are aiming. The satellite signal path is 15 degrees above the centerline of the dish. As the dish is rotated with the Skew setting, the satellite signal path moves to the right and downward. The most accurate aiming point on the dish for the Azimuth compass setting is the vertical mounting pieces on the back. You are using a compass which can be affected by the Deviation impact of the dish depending how close to it you are. I generally add 10 degrees to my target setting on the compass I use (Align-A-Site) to compensate for the Deviation. It is a starting point as Deviation can be as high at 20+ degrees and sometimes negative, depending where you are in the US.
The tinfoil trick is a matter of a lot of luck. There is a multi-switch in the DPP1000.2 dish head which means any of the output cables can be electrically connected to any of the three LNBFs. The most typical default connection is Sat 110. Sat 129 is almost never the default as it takes a DESQ signal to select it. You want Sat 119 selected. So you can make sure that all the tuners in the receiver are set to Sat 119 and a higher number (11+) transponder, or use a meter that generates a 22KHz tone.
The problem with aiming the Azimuth is what you are aligning to. The dish arm is nowhere near where you are aiming. The satellite signal path is 15 degrees above the centerline of the dish. As the dish is rotated with the Skew setting, the satellite signal path moves to the right and downward. The most accurate aiming point on the dish for the Azimuth compass setting is the vertical mounting pieces on the back. You are using a compass which can be affected by the Deviation impact of the dish depending how close to it you are. I generally add 10 degrees to my target setting on the compass I use (Align-A-Site) to compensate for the Deviation. It is a starting point as Deviation can be as high at 20+ degrees and sometimes negative, depending where you are in the US.
The tinfoil trick is a matter of a lot of luck. There is a multi-switch in the DPP1000.2 dish head which means any of the output cables can be electrically connected to any of the three LNBFs. The most typical default connection is Sat 110. Sat 129 is almost never the default as it takes a DESQ signal to select it. You want Sat 119 selected. So you can make sure that all the tuners in the receiver are set to Sat 119 and a higher number (11+) transponder, or use a meter that generates a 22KHz tone.
My usual routine for aiming my 1000.4 when setting up at a new campground is to pull up the site location on dishpointer.com to see which arc will have the best view so I'll know which LNBF to use. After I get the tripod set up and leveled, and the dish mounted with the skew and rough elevation set and my SF-500 sat meter inline, I slowly swing the dish towards the direction I saw on dishpointer.com with the meter set on the 129 bird until it locks on. I've found swinging in from the left usually works better for me. Once 129 has a lock, I start peaking the elevation and azimuth, switching to 110 and 119 as I go. Aiming for the eastern arc is similar, although I only peak on 61.5 and 72.7 there. Setting up usually takes no more than 15 minutes from start to finish, plus the check switch time if I swapped LNBF's from the last time.
