Installation Questions

[PoitNarf]

The cable he'd use, RG-6 coaxial cable, is only as water proof as the connectors used to terminate the cable. I'm pretty sure most installers these days use water proof compression connectors, so you should be ok with that.

Do you really want a bunch of cables going from the dish in the lawn to your house just laying around? Mowing the lawn would certainly put the cables at risk, plus it would probably look awful. If this really is only going to be temporary and you REALLY don't want your lawn dug up, I suppose you could get some conduit pipe and run the coaxial cables through it with the conduit pipe above the ground. This may look nicer than just wires strewn across the lawn. It really is best to bury the lines though in my opinion.

 

[NateCohen]

Well, we're moving in about 2-3 months, but we want to get the DirecTV now, because there's a offer of $16/month, and that offer ends tomorrow. So, if they were to dig up the ground, how bad would they have to dig it up? I will get a picture of my front lawn and show you how much they would have to dig, it's a lot, that's why I'm having a problem with them digging.

 

[NateCohen]

Okay this picture right here is showing my house, and all the trees behind it.

http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/3540/dsc00074ou2.jpg

This picture shows where the installer was going to install the satellite dish, but I didn't want him to dig up all the ground.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/3471/dsc00075qs4.jpg

 

[PoitNarf]

Are either of those pictures taken in the direction the dish would be pointed in? What do the trees look like that are specifically in the way of the dish?

In terms of how much they'd have to dig up the ground it all depends on how well you'd want the cables buried. Best case scenario is they run conduit pipe from the dish to the house and run the lines through that, but that will require a larger trench. If you want a smaller trench you may get away with just burying the lines without the conduit pipe. It's a nice looking lawn and I can understand your unwillingness to mess it up, especially if you're going to have people looking at the house soon.

 

[NateCohen]

Thanks for understanding the situation. I will take pictures with my phone of what direction the satellite will be point towards. I will be back soon with some more pictures.

 

[NateCohen]

Here's where the dish would be pointed if he put it where he suggested.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3108/dsc00077nc7.jpg

Now this is a view from where it would look if it was on my roof.

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/3381/dsc00080yl2.jpg

Now I don't understand why it wouldn't work there, he was talking about the angle of the dish or something, but isn't there a way to change the angle of the dish? I didn't think much about it, but now looking at that second picture, it looks like I could get a signal if my dish was placed there. Maybe he was being lazy and didn't feel like installing it? He came to my house much earlier then he was supposed to, maybe he was just trying to get off early, but from that second picture, I don't see why I couldn't get a signal from there.

What do you guys think?

 

[raoul5788]

Here's where the dish would be pointed if he put it where he suggested.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3108/dsc00077nc7.jpg

Now this is a view from where it would look if it was on my roof.

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/3381/dsc00080yl2.jpg

Now I don't understand why it wouldn't work there, he was talking about the angle of the dish or something, but isn't there a way to change the angle of the dish? I didn't think much about it, but now looking at that second picture, it looks like I could get a signal if my dish was placed there. Maybe he was being lazy and didn't feel like installing it? He came to my house much earlier then he was supposed to, maybe he was just trying to get off early, but from that second picture, I don't see why I couldn't get a signal from there.

What do you guys think?

I think you are getting WAY too worked up about having to bury the cable in your yard. You wouldn't even be able to tell where the cable is in a couple of weeks. A pole mount is the best way to go with an AT9.

 

[NateCohen]

I don't think you understand. It's a $400,00 house, and don't want people to know we dug up our lawn to get a satellite signal. Also, I don't want to dig up the lawn if there's another solution, like the second picture where I think the dish could be too. Don't tell me I am getting too worked up, this isn't your home, it's mine, and don't want my lawn all dug up.

 

[PoitNarf]

What elevation angle would the dish need to be at for your location? If you don't know just post your zip code and someone here should be able to figure it out. Hard to tell if the shot from your roof is good enough. If the angle is large enough than you may be in luck, but again it's pretty hard to tell from the picture. Keep in mind the further south you are in the country the more straight up you would point the dish, so trees become less of an issue. Where I am, I need an elevation of about 30 degrees to hit the sats. How tall are the trees? How far away from the house are they?

 

[NateCohen]

Well, the supervisor just came, and told me the only way to do it is if I were to bury the cable. He showed me an example how he dug up the grass and put the wire under. I have to admit, you couldn't notice it at all. But what worries me, will the grass grow back to normal? What he did was dig up a lump of grass, and put the wire in. I'm wondering if the grass will ever grow back normal the way he dug it up.

I will take one more picture of the shoveling he did, I know you people aren't gardners, but maybe you can give me an idea as if the dirt will go back to normal after the grass grows again.

 

[NateCohen]

Okay, got the picture.

http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/9039/dsc00082vw4.jpg

See how it goes up? If the grass grows back normal without dying, I don't see no reason why not to do this.

 

[PoitNarf]

As long as you dig deep enough under the roots of the grass it will be fine. When the grass is put back in place the roots will stitch the lawn back together on their own. It is similar to when you're laying rolls of sod down.

 

[NateCohen]

Okay, thanks PoitNarf, I'm sorry I have given everyone a lot of troubles, but I hope you understand why I am doing this. I don't want to ruin the apperance of my house when we're selling it. I hope it's not too noticeable, because I am going to tell my mom to go ahead and do this since it will grow back.

Does anyone know how long it takes the roots to grow back?

 

[PoitNarf]

From seed to full grass usually takes 3 or 4 weeks as long as it's well watered. If they just flip the grass over put the cable under and then put the grass back the grass will live as long as they dig beneath the root system.

 

[IndyTech]

No Comment.

 

[stickboy75]

What the F***!?

If you are selling the house, live without D* for 2 months.... ??? Are far as the digging goes, low voltage wiring only has to be 6 inches down, SOOOOOO, use a spade shovel and make a trench, not to hard....