Dish to DIRECTV but small view of the sky

[ejerommel]

I live in Charlottesville, VA, and have had Dish Network for SD for a dozen years. I live in a forest with a limited view of the sky. I can only see Dish's western arc 110 and 119 and 119 is iffy but working. Charlottesville's locals are on Dish's 129 (which I cannot see at all) along with most / all of Dish's HD content so I cannot get locals or Dish HD. Dish's eastern arc satellites are out of the question. Due to the hilly forest I cannot get any channels over the air. There is no cable TV available.

What is the best way for a bumbling amateur like me to discover if my little hole in the forest canopy will allow me to see DIRECTV's 99/101?

Does DIRECTV provide most of its programming on 99/101, including HD?

I know DIRECTV does not carry Charlottesville's locals and has no plans to do so.

EJ

 

[schneid]

If you have a smartphone, install DishPointer. A device called Align-a-Site is also helpful. I just got my SL3 working in a stand of giant redwoods in Trinidad, CA through a a very small hole.

 

[RLDreams]

If you have an android or Iphone install Satellite AR app and check exactly where the sats are. Where my old Directv dish was I had no line of sight for the 99 . I used that app to find out where the new dish had to be located and when the installer got here I only had to trim 1 branch which I thought was questionable using the app.

 

[ejerommel]

Thanks for the tips. I downloaded DishPointer Augmented Reality on my iPhone 4. I did not find the Satellite AR application but perhaps they are one and the same. My hole through the trees is so small and DishPointer AR is so unsteady that I am still not certain if I can see the Directv 99/100/101 satellites. I think I can but I am still unsure. I was able to see that Dish's 110 is clear (barely) and 119 is just covered by a short tree that may have a date with my ax. 129 is right out. EJ

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks for the tips. I downloaded DishPointer Augmented Reality on my iPhone 4. I did not find the Satellite AR application but perhaps they are one and the same. My hole through the trees is so small and DishPointer AR is so unsteady that I am still not certain if I can see the Directv 99/100/101 satellites. I think I can but I am still unsure. I was able to see that Dish's 110 is clear (barely) and 119 is just covered by a short tree that may have a date with my ax. 129 is right out. EJ

The D* Sats will be slightly to your East of the ones your currently using, does it look any better that direction ?

 

[twizt3dsist3r]

110 is not needed for anything, if you dont have locals, you shouldnt need 119 for anything at all, sd would come over the 18"dish which points and 101 and 101 only, the SL3 is the HD dish that would probably (possibly) be used, and it would point to 99/101/103 in that order from left to right, and its been several years since i was in the field, but i believe they are all within 2degrees of eachother, 99 slightly higher and 103 slightly lower than 101

 

[NGeorge]

D's core SD is on 101, with HD split between 99* and 103*, Spanish on 119 and other international at 95. E*'s SD core & spanish for western arc is split between 110 and 119, with HD on 129 (and other international at 118*)...

You really only need 99, 101 and 103 unless you need Spanish (119), International (95) or you are one of the few remaining local markets that are SD only and have locals on 119 w/ the Spanish (there are only a few left IIRC) -- D's 110* is currently unused, and if/when it is, I'm 99% sure it will be for more Spanish or more international. Luckily the entire window is for core & HD services on D* is 5* wide vs. 20* for Dish (if you count 129 where ther HD is). Of course if you can't see get a clear shot to 99*, you're stuck on E*...

I'd look around your property and see if you can get the shot--if you have a clearing to the west (which is sounds like you may), see if you can place the dish on a pole away from the house toward the west (everyone says you don't want to go more than 200 feet, but my parents have their dish almost 500 feet from the house with VERY good cable and no amplifiers and I upgraded them to HD peaked their KA (hd) signals to the mid and high 80's--in other words perfectly fine)

Just a word of warning: when you are dealing with trees, you'll want to do this yourself--I once moved to a place with VERY dense trees, and found a view from the roof with a view from about 95 to 105*. It took 2 visits from (very rude) techs and finally a supervisor to get D* to do the install (I would have done it myself but since I had recently had a house fire I needed my dish & all my DVR's replaced and D* would only do this for no charge if they installed it) -- the techs wouldn't even attempt the install and kept trying to say the trees were in the way. The supervisor looked where I pointed, said "yeah it looks a tight fit, but I'll see if we can keep you as a customer" -- and DUH it worked perfectly fine (there was previously an E* dish elsewhere on the roof that worked fine that looked like it had an even tighter shot to 110 & 119 and apparently those installers had no issues). The D* installers basically won't even try if they don't see a clear shot that is at least 30* or wider since they are subcontractors and would rather basically turn down business if there is any chance in their mind at all that it might not work (and thus they won't get paid by D*) --

Also as an aside, I don't believe the installers are what they once were either... my parents live in a forest and we were told we would NEVER get good TV (I had 1 snowy channel growing up and no cable available) until I was 14 in 1998 and did some research online and convinced them that we needed to at least try D* (they had tried Primestar once upon a time, but it was a no-go and knowing what I know now it was because their satellite was at 85* and just too low)--the D* installer who came out was ultra cool, and found that spot 500 feet away from the house--it was a little over 900 bucks for the custom install w/ cable and pole etc., but my parents gladly paid it since he promised we'd FINALLY have good TV or the money back. I still remember the shriek my mom let out when the picture came on (it was an Austin Powers preview) and it was crystal clear; she was damn near crying--I credit that installer for getting me interested in this stuff, and becoming the satellite dork that I am. The installers today would have just took one look and said NO WAY. I currently am living in another wooded place with NO line of site to any satellite so have had to take a temporary detour to Comcast (the Tivo Premiere makes it bearable) but was a nearly 10 year D* customer myself and look forward to reactiving my equipment as soon as I move from here in the next year or so.

SO--my gut feeling is that there is SOMEWHERE on your property that you can get a signal since you can see 110*--but it's just finding it and convincing the installer it will work (or you do it yourself).

--Nat

 

[raoul5788]

D's core SD is on 101, with HD split between 99* and 103*, Spanish on 119 and other international at 95. E*'s SD core & spanish for western arc is split between 110 and 119, with HD on 129 (and other international at 118*)...

You really only need 99, 101 and 103 unless you need Spanish (119), International (95) or you are one of the few remaining local markets that are SD only and have locals on 119 w/ the Spanish (there are only a few left IIRC) -- D's 110* is currently unused, and if/when it is, I'm 99% sure it will be for more Spanish or more international.
--Nat

I'm not sure of the exact number, but there are dozens of local sd markets on 119.

 

[ejerommel]

The D* Sats will be slightly to your East of the ones your currently using, does it look any better that direction ?

My small slice of sky looks to start at 99 and end at 119, with both edges up against trees. If Directv can pull in 101 I may be able to get all the Directv channels versus my current Dish which sees 110 and mostly 119 but cannot see 129.

 

[raoul5788]

My small slice of sky looks to start at 99 and end at 119, with both edges up against trees. If Directv can pull in 101 I may be able to get all the Directv channels versus my current Dish which sees 110 and mostly 119 but cannot see 129.

Can you move your dish to the west? That will give you a wider look at 99 and still have room to 103.

 

[Jimbo]

Can you move your dish to the west? That will give you a wider look at 99 and still have room to 103.

If they get the 99, they will definitely get the 101.

 

[raoul5788]

If they get the 99, they will definitely get the 101.

Yes, but if he can move the dish a little to the west, it will give him a cushion from moving limbs to the east that might block 99 occasionally.

 

[ejerommel]

Just a word of warning: when you are dealing with trees, you'll want to do this yourself--I once moved to a place with VERY dense trees, and found a view from the roof with a view from about 95 to 105*. It took 2 visits from (very rude) techs and finally a supervisor to get D* to do the install (I would have done it myself but since I had recently had a house fire I needed my dish & all my DVR's replaced and D* would only do this for no charge if they installed it) -- the techs wouldn't even attempt the install and kept trying to say the trees were in the way. The supervisor looked where I pointed, said "yeah it looks a tight fit, but I'll see if we can keep you as a customer" -- and DUH it worked perfectly fine (there was previously an E* dish elsewhere on the roof that worked fine that looked like it had an even tighter shot to 110 & 119 and apparently those installers had no issues). The D* installers basically won't even try if they don't see a clear shot that is at least 30* or wider since they are subcontractors and would rather basically turn down business if there is any chance in their mind at all that it might not work (and thus they won't get paid by D*) -- SO--my gut feeling is that there is SOMEWHERE on your property that you can get a signal since you can see 110*--but it's just finding it and convincing the installer it will work (or you do it yourself). --Nat

The Directv installers came out and insisted they could not see the Directv 99/100/101 satellites anywhere in my little window to the western sky. They took several photographs and said they would submit to a "supervisor." Is this "supervisor" an actual Directv employee? Will I get a call and another chance to get Directv? I am willing to do the dish install myself but I would need some kind of tool(s) to know what location (if any) can actually see 99/100/101. I have the smartphone application DishPointer AR on my iPhone 4 but it is too inaccurate for me to be sure. I want something that would verify sufficient signal strength. EJ

 

[vegassatellite]

EJ, I think I can be of some help. As a former installer, I helped several people get that line of sight that was unobtainable for many technicians when I lived in NW Georgia. In fact, one customer I installed, we did three separate dishes to get him working. He only had an opening large enough to pick up one satellite. By placing a separate dish for 110, for 119, and for 129, I got him DISH HD. Getting Directv HD should be possible as the spread for 99 to 103 is only 4 degrees and you sound like you are using a DISH 500 for 110/119, which is a 9 degree spread.

Are you able to build a simple wood bench such as a shooting bench? If so, do that where your iphone app shows the most likely line of sight. On your bench, you will want to set up some wood that you can pivot and aim with a protractor to ensure you are at the right angle. If you already have a shooting bench, use a miter saw to cut some wood blocks as follows. One wood block will need to be cut to 41 degrees. Label this block 99SAT. Cut another to 40 degrees and label it 101SAT. Cut a third block to 39 degrees and label it 103sat. You will want to sandwich these three blocks together with 101SAT in the middle, 99SAT on the left and 103SAT on the right. Make sure your bench is level all the way around, North to South, East to West. Get a compass and find 223.6 degrees and line up the 101SAT block to that and clamp it down to the bench. Sight up the blocks and see if anything is in the way such as trees. If so, can you get higher (no more than 8 feet up off the ground), can you move a little left, or right, lower perhaps, etc....

If you have a rifle with scope, you can scope up each block and see if you see sky or trees. PM me if you still have trouble.

 

[raoul5788]

He has the Dishpointer app, which is as accurate as any method of determining los.

 

[vegassatellite]

He has the Dishpointer app, which is as accurate as any method of determining los.

That's debatable. I've gotten different results from my Dishpointer app than from my Suunto inclinometer. FYI, the Suunto was right. When I did installs (only quit recently to be a real estate agent), I used the DP app to show customers the LOS but used my Suunto to be absolutely sure.

 

[stardust3]

He has the Dishpointer app, which is as accurate as any method of determining los.

Yes but he mentioned it was real unsteady. I agree with it being accurate & use it all the time, also I've compared it to a suunto many times & the app has been spot on. I have noticed the movement from time to time(android), being real still/steady helps a lot. Also he could just start cutting trees until the unsteadiness showed a clear view regardless.

 

[raoul5788]

That's debatable. I've gotten different results from my Dishpointer app than from my Suunto inclinometer. FYI, the Suunto was right. When I did installs (only quit recently to be a real estate agent), I used the DP app to show customers the LOS but used my Suunto to be absolutely sure.

I'm guessing the phone you were using needed to be "reset" using the figure eight motion.

 

[stardust3]

That's debatable. I've gotten different results from my Dishpointer app than from my Suunto inclinometer. FYI, the Suunto was right. When I did installs (only quit recently to be a real estate agent), I used the DP app to show customers the LOS but used my Suunto to be absolutely sure.

I wonder if the app varies from device/iphone/android? I have had good results.

 

[stardust3]

I'm guessing the phone you were using needed to be "reset" using the figure eight motion.

Never heard of that. Is that some sort of calibration?