Newbie-First Post-What to expect from Dish Network Installers?

[Baltzer]

Hello Everyone,
I'm happy to have found this website; the members seem really friendly and helpful. I've never had a satellite dish and would like to sign up with Dish but have a few questions first. Is a dish installed on a pipe cemented in the ground considered to be part of a standard install? Also, I have a narrow opening in tall trees to see the necessary satellite or satellites. What equipment will the installer use to determine if my preferred dish location is OK? My concern is that if he just uses a handheld compass and "eyeballs" the elevation he'll have a rough idea but will err on the safe side without really knowing if my chosen spot would work or not. If I knew which satellites I need I could look up the co-ordinates and use a transit to know for sure ahead of time. Could I get some help from a DIRT team member on this?
B.

 

[Laddyboy]

First, if the installer can't get a signal, you aren't going to be charged for an installation. They will make sure everything works and you should too before signing the agreement at the end of the process. A pole mount is not standard for all installers. Usually they mount to eave or facia or sometimes roof overhangs, depending. If you have a block house, they sometimes mount to the wall. My house in Florida has a wall mount because it's block. If you want as pole mount, say so. It might be best to do so ahead of time to ensure the installer has pipe with him/her. There are two arcs. The eastern arc has sats at 61.5, 72 and 77W. The western arc has sats at 110, 119 and 129W. Generally, your installation depends on which arc your local channels are on. Some markets have their locals on both arcs so it doesn't matter. To see where your locals might be located, click on The List! link at the top of the page, then Subscription List, and then the sat position to locate where your locals are.

If you tell us your zip code we can find the info quickly for you.

 

[Baltzer]

Thanks for the quick response, Laddyboy. My location is NE PA, Zip 18470. I'd like to get AT200, HD, locals. My window to the sky is roughly SW. Will I have to see all three sats on the arc?
B.

 

[Baltzer]

Thanks, Laddyboy
I got it figured out. My locals are on both arcs. I might have to fire up the chainsaw, but I have hundreds of trees and a few less won't matter.
B.

 

[upsss]

Hello Everyone,
I'm happy to have found this website; the members seem really friendly and helpful. I've never had a satellite dish and would like to sign up with Dish but have a few questions first. Is a dish installed on a pipe cemented in the ground considered to be part of a standard install? Also, I have a narrow opening in tall trees to see the necessary satellite or satellites. What equipment will the installer use to determine if my preferred dish location is OK? My concern is that if he just uses a handheld compass and "eyeballs" the elevation he'll have a rough idea but will err on the safe side without really knowing if my chosen spot would work or not. If I knew which satellites I need I could look up the co-ordinates and use a transit to know for sure ahead of time. Could I get some help from a DIRT team member on this?
B.

Go to dishpointer.com and you should be able to find out if you have LOS to the satellites.

 

[TG2]

I would also look to have an OTA Antenna. Especially if you get a 722k or 922, you can get an OTA module (30 bucks or so) and get two additional tuners that would record locals ... thus if you end up having local and sat shows you want recorded, you could use the OTA MT2 module to record fox, abc, cbs stuff ... while using Satellite for non-locals at any given time.

TvFool.com shows your zip to be within 30 miles of primary affiliates, 30 miles at 338 degrees, and 12 miles at 138 degrees! ... you should check it out with your real address that way you'll have a good idea what extras you could get, having two extra tuners can come in handy when broadcast and cable networks are all vying for your TV attention..

 

[mikethedishguy]

If you want a quick idea of where the sats are look for unfiltered sunlight at between 11am and 2pm where that hits you should get signal for the 1K4 dish which should be installed. The "hole" in the trees that it needs is large. If you want a pole mount it is best to have a pole (standard round post about 11.00 at Home depot.) and a bag of cement ready just in case tech has none on the truck. Be clear about what you want.

 

[kenskibum]

Also if you happen to have an iPhone and you want to spend $9.99 you can get the Dish Pointer app. You just point the phone at the gap in the trees and can see the satellites superimposed over the camera view. It helped me find the only place on my property where I could get the Western arc. I had the pole in place before the installer came.

 

[Laddyboy]

I think your HD locals may only be on the eastern arc. The SD locals are on both. If you want HD service and locals, the eastern arc will be necessary. They are to the SE and not the SW in that case.

 

[Hall]

My locals are on both arcs.

Problem is, it's not likely to remain that way. Dish will likely move them to just one arc.

 

[Hall]

A pole mount is not standard for all installers.

I have a feeling this varies based on the region. Around here, I'm positive that pole-mounts are 100% "standard". They're soooo common around here there's no way they're the exception and require add'l costs. Many years ago, I had a pole-mount and a) it wasn't my decision and b) I wasn't charged. I left Dish for a couple of years and came back and the installer's first choice for location was a pole-mount in our front flower bed.... I told him no, of course, but most people seemingly do not (around here).

 

[RT-Cat]

You are correct. Best place for information. And you have received a great amount of info already. About the pole install. I picked a location close to my BUD(old style big C band dish)for the location. I did not know about the Eastern arc. When installer arrived, he could not hit the E arc, trees to close. Had to go to the other side of driveway and fence. If I had placed a pole, I would have lost a few bucks. He did not install pole at the time. In my(guess most)states they must call utilities locator called missdig before they can place pole. Placed a tempoary dish mounted on a cement block. Within a week permanent dish installed.

Welcome and enjoy.

RT.

 

[Baltzer]

Thanks for the input everyone. The eastern arc sats are high enough to see above the trees w/o cutting any down. OTA is not possible due to mountains in the way. Locals via sat are OK. Pole mount on the ground is necessary so I can keep the dish clear of snow. Snow is a BIG factor here. I just hope the bears don't think the dish is a funny-looking bird feeder. And I WILL put up my own pole and dig a trench beforehand. Maybe the installer will do a better job on the rest of the install. Just a few more questions:
1. What diameter pipe? Three feet inground and five feet above?
2. Pros and cons: Dish Network installer or a local independent? If I order from Dishstore I get an unknown, out-of-area installer but Dishstore supports SatelliteGuys. If I use a local installer and he does a crappy job I know where he lives. BTW, how do I know if the local installer is "authorized"?
3. I cobbled together a transit from some things laying round the house. It enabled me to see EXACTLY where the sats are in relationship to the trees. Do you think this info might be helpful to other members? If so, shere would I post it?

 

[jdad11]

I had Direct TV before and it was on a pole. After I've switched to Dish, the dish installer guy won't re-use my pole and won't remove the old Direct TV antenna.
He has to install on my roof. I got two dish antennas instead of one.

 

[Laddyboy]

It will be cheaper going through DishStore as there is likely a rebate in addition to the usual Dish promotions. Mine is only about 3 1/2 feet above ground. If you're going to trench yourself, get some plastic pipe and run your cables through it. It makes running new cables much easier as you don't have to do ay more digging, just fishing. The installer usually furnishes the pipe and does some trenching. There's usually a max they will trench before charging extra. It depends on whether the installer is an actual Dish Network one, a Dish subcontractor, or an independent local. I did my own digging and trenching because I wanted it run through the plastic conduit I laid. I think the pole is 1 5/8 OD. I'm not sure if that's the same size EA uses or not.

 

[delta_charlie]

Thanks for the input everyone. The eastern arc sats are high enough to see above the trees w/o cutting any down. OTA is not possible due to mountains in the way. Locals via sat are OK. Pole mount on the ground is necessary so I can keep the dish clear of snow. Snow is a BIG factor here. I just hope the bears don't think the dish is a funny-looking bird feeder. And I WILL put up my own pole and dig a trench beforehand. Maybe the installer will do a better job on the rest of the install. Just a few more questions:
1. What diameter pipe? Three feet inground and five feet above?
2. Pros and cons: Dish Network installer or a local independent? If I order from Dishstore I get an unknown, out-of-area installer but Dishstore supports SatelliteGuys. If I use a local installer and he does a crappy job I know where he lives. BTW, how do I know if the local installer is "authorized"?
3. I cobbled together a transit from some things laying round the house. It enabled me to see EXACTLY where the sats are in relationship to the trees. Do you think this info might be helpful to other members? If so, shere would I post it?

Hi, you might want to try and find a galvanized pipe instead of fence post if you need 5 feet above the ground. The pipe will be much stiffer. I think it is called SCH 40 pipe and you would need one that has an OD of 1 5/8 inch. Make sure you clamp something onto the bottom of the pipe where it will be in the cement to prevent the pipe from turning in the cement. An old foot from a normal wall mount works great for this. Make sure you use a level on two sides 90 degrees apart to make sure the pipe is perfectly plumb. I like to mix the cement before hand in a wheel barrow and pore it in the post hole. Makes the job much stronger and it is easier to set it to plumb. Go to dishpointer.com and check 61.5 and 77 west (you can move the spot around on the map by dragging with the mouse) . and make sure you place the pipe in a good spot. Hope this helps, DC

 

[Hall]

1. What diameter pipe? Three feet inground and five feet above?
2. Pros and cons: Dish Network installer or a local independent? If I order from Dishstore I get an unknown, out-of-area installer but Dishstore supports SatelliteGuys. If I use a local installer and he does a crappy job I know where he lives. BTW, how do I know if the local installer is "authorized"?

I'll let others answer the diameter question. You'll want it right though as the dish will mount directly on the pole. For the depth, going below the frost line is certainly safe. Is it 100% necessary ? Don't know...

2) If you order from DishStore and you are outside of his area (obviously you are), I believe he'll basically forward the order to Dish Network directly, who will most likely have their own crew do the work or their "authorized" 3rd-party crew do it. Go here, DISH Network - Find Your Local Retailer, to see their list of local retailers.

 

[kenskibum]

You don't want to use a wooden fence post as it will warp over time. I learned that the hard way. I didn't bother with conduit. They have special cable designed for underground that is made up of two coax cables and a ground wire. I'm just using one of the two cables, but the other one is there if I need to add receivers. It is orange and only needs to be 6" underground. In my case the installer just put it on the ground and I dug the trench and buried it later. I'm sure they all do it a little differently. When you order you might want to tell them you want the cable for underground use, as I don't know if they always have it on the truck. My run is about 75 feet.

 

[RT-Cat]

You don't want to use a wooden fence post as it will warp over time. I learned that the hard way.......

Agree 100%. But a friend of mine had direct put his on an old wooden post. That was 18 months ago. No problems. Same thing with Hughsnet. Wooden 4 X 6. 12 months and no problems. Some people have all the luck. I would not try it with my bad luck.

RT.