FTA products could be much easier to install...

[bill190]

I wonder if some manufacturers ever try to use/install the products they manufacture?

Products can be manufactured to precise accurate specifications.

And if there was ever anything which requires precision in aiming, it is a satellite dish. With G10, adjusting your dish up/down or left/right to the borders of this ---> O can mean poor or no reception of some channels. You need to point your dish to the center of this O.

Very fine adjustments are needed. Pretty much essential to have a threaded screw or turnbuckle to adjust fine dish elevation and an accurate elevation scale.

I see a lot of people following installation instructions and getting frustrated because they can't get any satellites.

Seems to me this is an area the manufacturers would want to work on and improve. It would mean more sales. They could have products which meet certain specifications and have an "Easy dish installation seal of approval" (or whatever). Products such as...

-Dishes with highly accurate elevation scales and precision adjustment screws.
-Positioners with highly accurate elevation scales and precision adjustment screws.
-Receivers which also include a third signal level bar which would indicate any satellite signal like a coax attached signal meter.
-Receivers which include dish pointing software.

Then the receiver could have a step by step installation screens which could also help by moving the dish back and forth automatically during installation, then telling you what to do to get more satellites in the arc.

Example: Help you find the first south satellite...
1. enter your zip code.
2. Set dish to xx elevation, set positioner to xx elevation, point dish xx direction.
(then dish moves back and forth - no sat found.)
3. Receiver tells you to turn positioner screw 1/2 turn clockwise.
(then dish moves back and forth - no sat found.)
Etc.

Receiver has you keep turning screw a certain amount and then tries to find sat. Goes so many screw turns a certain direction, then has you go back to beginning and try opposite direction.

Then after south sat found, moves dish back and forth and sees how many sats found in arc. Then gives step by step instructions (along with moving dish back and forth automatically after each adjustment) to help you adjust dish to arc.

Another idea would be a very easy to install positioner/dish combo which has a motor not only to move east/west, but two additional motors; one to adjust dish elevation and another to adjust the arc. Then the positioner could automatically adjust the arc for you. All you would need to do is point the dish south, then rotate the positioner on the pole a little east or west as told to do by the positioner/receiver. (Also include accurate marking stickers to apply to mounting pole - i.e. positioner would tell you to rotate positioner on pole 1 mark east or west, then try to self-adjust to arc again.)

 

[RVD420]

FTA dishes are pretty easy to install.

The only real issue is some dishes (fortec to name one) has a bad elevation scale.

 

[SatinKzo]

I agree with RVD420. I know it can be daunting when you first do it, but honestly, it is pretty easy to do.

The receivers would have to take into account quite a bit to do it all for you and that would in turn drive up prices.

Here is what I used to setup my first FTA system (only did DBS stuff before)
A simple compass
Simple search on internet to find my magnetic Declination
5 inch portable TV
FTA receiver
Patience.
(oh yeah, I did alot of reading before hand)
Took me total of 4 hours to assemble, mount and position and fine tune everything. FTA stuff is not really meant for the mass consumer base. It's a hobby and as any hobbyist will tell you, it's more fun to tinker than to actually play most time. At least for me it is.

 

[Mr Tony]

When i aimed my 1st FTA dish I had a reciever that didnt have blind scan. You programmed in the transponder info, hit OK and it searched for channels. No channels you moved the dish and repeated. you couldnt just program in an active TP like most receivers do and just move the dish until you had a signal. this receiver you needed a channel logged first before you could do that.
(Viacast 2000...the review is in the review area...very old receiver)

Thank goodness I aimed at my TS satellite first when trying

 

[mastermesh]

All FTA manufacturers should put a big notice somewhere on their manuals that say, "If these manuals are confusing, you may want to visit the forums at satelliteguys.us."

Visiting here's what got me and lots of others a ton of install help.

 

[Wescopc]

I have found the use of a inclinometer very helpful - once I knew what the reading should be.
If the dish manuals would give an illustration and the simple math needed, one could put a magnetic inclinometer on the LNBF support arm and set the initial elevation very quickly.
Bob

 

[mbarnes]

You get what you pay for. I have used a number of dishes with the fine screw adjustments you speak of. They are really great for that fine tuning issue. You don't even want to think about the cost of those puppies. Those type of adjustments are typically found on uplink dishes, where aiming is much more critical. They are also mostly found on az-el mounts, not the polar mounts typically used for FTA, etc.

However, if you are mechanically inclined, it really isn't that big of deal to arrange some long bolts or threaded rod for your own fine adjustments. Just remember, "If the women don't find you handsome, they better find you handy".