Need a satellite post/pole. What's best to use?

[JonUrban]

I have a Dish 500 and now a DTV 3 LNB Dish that, because of forest, cannot be mounted on my house. Consequently, they are out about 50 feet from my house, mounted on an 8 Ft pressure treated 6x6 beam that I put in the ground a few years ago when I first got E*.

I just installed the D* last week, and had to mount it lower on the beam, and am sure that when the leaves appear, I will lose signal, so I need to mount this dish higher in a month or so.

Once my Dish Network pre-pay expires in August, I may or may not cancel Dish - but I would really like to get these dished mounted on a real pole/post.

What do people/installers use when they need to put a Dish out in the yard, away from the house?

THANKS

 

[charper1]

sch40 steel

 

[dfergie]

Galvanized unless you paint it...

 

[wobbie]

How high up. When I use a pole I get inline post, like the ones you use for chain lenght fence. You can get various lenghts too, but I generalll use the 6 footers.

 

[MrMylesG]

Satellite post

I was able to get my hands on a parking meter post from the local parking meter department. I installed it with concrete and it is perfectly plumb and has not budged since I set it up a couple of years ago. It also is galvanized so it has not rusted.

I have a motorized 1m dish on it and it is rock steady.

 

[Mike500]

Best material out there is stainless steel pipe. Five years on the Atlantic coast, and it is still like new.

 

[charper1]

Galvanized is the zinc coating on the material and is a must for corrosion protection, but has ZERO to do with strength or safety.

The type & thickness of the pole's material is the biggest key here so make sure it is at least schedule 40 steel, especially if you go more than 6' high with one typical dish (24" and smaller), or any height if mounting more than one typical dish. Also make sure to use high-tensile (high-load) concrete.

Also make sure to go into the ground the correct depth for your installed height. I would go 3.5' into the ground for a 8' post. You can find decent guides on this ratio.

Chain link posts are minimal with one 18" dish, but if you HAVE to go to a fence company make sure to get the END posts, or just ask for the Sch40 galvanized steel pipe in the OD you need; 1.5" up to 3". Sch80 will have a thicker wall so if that is the same price per foot, it will be even stronger.

 

[Parlyle]

I don't have any trouble with this..............

I found this post at Fleet and Farm store here in the Midwest. It's a composite material, 8" X 8" X 8'. Works great and it's made in Canada with ground up car parts, so the potential for surviving bad weather is good. I'ts called Xpotential Post. And I have it set 4 foot in the ground in cement, with a planter affair above ground. Good Luck
Lyle

 

[charper1]

Nice stone/brick work!!

 

[techdood]

yeah it's nice for techheads like us. but making a satellite dish a focal point for a flower bed isn't attractive to most. I'd use a false rock, or that thing that makes a satellite dish look like a potted plant.

as for the original post, galvanized pipe is the best bet,in my opinion. there are many various supports out there, if you dont want to do the concrete work. but working in some steel enforcements and concrete isn't difficult, but it might be alot to take in as a task. take your time, plan it out, you should do fine.

 

[Parlyle]

Understood......but

yeah it's nice for techheads like us. but making a satellite dish a focal point for a flower bed isn't attractive to most. I'd use a false rock, or that thing that makes a satellite dish look like a potted plant.

as for the original post, galvanized pipe is the best bet,in my opinion. there are many various supports out there, if you dont want to do the concrete work. but working in some steel enforcements and concrete isn't difficult, but it might be alot to take in as a task. take your time, plan it out, you should do fine.

I can understand that making a planter isn't the most asthetic things to have in your front yard, but, we have tons of kids passing the dish to get to the school bus. When I just had the post in the ground with nothing around it, the thought I had was that they could easily throw their coats on the dish or knock the thing to another galaxy. This way I can be assured that they can't screw the thing up. And I can mow the grass without getting hung up in the dish.
Lyle