TV to lug up to the roof

[thisBUDsforyou]

OK I'm totally new to this, have installed OTA terrestrial antennas with rotators but never anything satellite, and here's what I'm thinking. My Fortec Mercury II receiver and a 36" inch dish and LNB are on order and when they come I have a feeling the dish is going to end up installed on the roof because I'm going to need the extra 15' or so of height to see over the neighbor's trees.

Since I don't have a meter other than what will be in the box I'm gonna have to lug the box and a TV up onto the roof. So I'm looking on Craigslist for a cheap used smallish TV since I don't picture myself on a ladder with a 27 incher. I just called a lady with a 15" model for sale for $15 and asked her about the inputs in the back. Turns out it just has antenna in (threaded F connector), no red white yellow RCA jacks for audio/video in. I'm guessing that's no good, in order to get picture from the MercII I need RCA jacks or S video in.

Thanks in advance for some knowledgeable FTA person helping out the newbie.

 

[Mr Tony]

the MercII can take a coax...hell my Pansat 9200 HD reciever can take a coax (Rf out)
some older smaller TV's take a headphone type plug for an external antenna but radio shack has those adapters

 

[jayelem]

Maybe you should start off on the ground and work yourself up to the roof , especially if this is gonna be your first time , of course I don't know if your roof is pitched and requires caution.

This is nothing like an OTA antena with rotator , if your receiver is configured correctly and you can get a couple of Satellites scanned beforehand then you will probably have quicker results , I'm worried that you'll be on a ladder for an extremely long time getting tired and frustrated because you overlooked something you may have figured out in a more ideal location.

As to the TV , try Walgreens , it should cost around$20 or less.
I bought a small 9 inch B&W TV for $15 and it had RCA inputs

 

[thisBUDsforyou]

the MercII can take a coax...hell my Pansat 9200 HD reciever can take a coax (Rf out)
some older smaller TV's take a headphone type plug for an external antenna but radio shack has those adapters

I thought RF out was just a pass through of the LNB in as opposed to anything that a TV could turn into a picture.

 

[qwert1515]

I thought RF out was just a pass through of the LNB in as opposed to anything that a TV could turn into a picture.

RF Out is the same thing you see on the RCA or S-Video cables, modulated onto RF channel 3 or 4 (With so receivers you can set this).

IF loop or IF Out is the pass through of the LNB.

 

[linuxman]

I use my kids Mini-DVD player. It has video and audio inputs, 7" LCD color screen and the battery will last 3 or 4 hours just displaying the satellite receiver screens.

Course they get a little crabby about it sometimes, but what the heck!

 

[thisBUDsforyou]

Maybe you should start off on the ground and work yourself up to the roof , especially if this is gonna be your first time , of course I don't know if your roof is pitched and requires caution.

Good idea. I was thinking of initially bolting the dish to a small piece of plywood and setting that up on sawhorses to move around the yard to find out where I can see the birds from, sort of like Iceberg's setup on his deck only portable.

As to the TV , try Walgreens , it should cost around$20 or less.
I bought a small 9 inch B&W TV for $15 and it had RCA inputs

I'll have to do some shopping - seems like a lot of the real small TV's don't have the RCA jacks for audio/video in.

 

[i4tas]

As for the small TV this is what i do now...

3 inch radio shack TV

keep box downstairs by big Tv and hook up my UHF transmitter to it. Now i am broadcasting my pansat screen and audio on channel 34 and can receive it within a 100ft radius. the radio shack tiny TV picks it up and works like the best signal meter. No wires, tv is on batteries, also no lag at all... signal appears the minute i move that dish.

I use to use the wire setup, but wireless is soooo easy!

 

[qwert1515]

As for the small TV this is what i do now...

3 inch radio shack TV

keep box downstairs by big Tv and hook up my UHF transmitter to it. Now i am broadcasting my pansat screen and audio on channel 34 and can receive it within a 100ft radius. the radio shack tiny TV picks it up and works like the best signal meter. No wires, tv is on batteries, also no lag at all... signal appears the minute i move that dish.

I use to use the wire setup, but wireless is soooo easy!

What is the UHF transmitter you are using?

 

[thisBUDsforyou]

RF Out is the same thing you see on the RCA or S-Video cables, modulated onto RF channel 3 or 4 (With so receivers you can set this).

IF loop or IF Out is the pass through of the LNB.

I checked the users guide for the MercII and it has both IF out and TV out to coax. Thank you!

 

[i4tas]

What is the UHF transmitter you are using?

I bought from this seller on ebay. Reasonable price... works well for various projects and small.

Wireless UHF Audio Video Transmitter Sender 4 Cable TV - (eBay item 170178865103 end time Dec-22-07 09:06:21 PST)

 

[qwert1515]

I bought from this seller on ebay. Reasonable price... works well for various projects and small.

Wireless UHF Audio Video Transmitter Sender 4 Cable TV - (eBay item 170178865103 end time Dec-22-07 09:06:21 PST)

Thanks, I will have to consider getting one, currently I am using a 100ft coaxial cable to realign my FTA dish and OTA antenna.

 

[msadvertising]

OK I'm totally new to this, have installed OTA terrestrial antennas with rotators

If, after you find the sat signal, the dish placement on your roof will also give you line of sight to your OTA towers, you can piggy-back your antenna and rotor on a attachment pole to your sat pole and multi-plex all of the signals and power/direction to your rotor up/down the one new RG-6 cable you'll run to your dish.

 

[nags]

I use my kids Mini-DVD player. It has video and audio inputs, 7" LCD color screen and the battery will last 3 or 4 hours just displaying the satellite receiver screens.

Course they get a little crabby about it sometimes, but what the heck!

I think most of you missed this tip. It is easily the best way to go. DVD players are no bigger than your FTA receiver and gives you everything you need as far as picture and sound.

You can also use it for something other than pointing a dish!

 

[schlever]

I think most of you missed this tip. It is easily the best way to go. DVD players are no bigger than your FTA receiver and gives you everything you need as far as picture and sound.

You can also use it for something other than pointing a dish!

Thats what I use. I put everything into a small rubbermaid container with some holes cut out on the side so the remotes work ($4 for the rubbermaid is cheaper than $30 for the UHF solution) When I just had the Digiwave I found the color screen on my DVD player really helped to peak the signal rather than my 5" B&W tv.

 

[Anole]

let's get serious

Not to take away from all these good ideas, but . . .

Linuxman has a big flat roof to work on, that's five times bigger than my whole house!
If he wanted , he could take his 27" TV up there! - . . . and his Laz-E-Boy chair!
Plus, he's been through the alignment of motorized dishes to where he could do it in his sleep, and most probably does dream about 'em!

For his avatar, another one of our members shows a motorized Primestar bolted to the peak of his roof.
That guy's both crazy, and very experienced at installing and aligning dishes!
He just makes it look easy! -

I admire the enthusiasm of folks going out and getting a motorized dish just based on what they've read.
Installing it on a roof can be frustrating without some experience.
To get the install correct, you have to master so many things at once.
If any one of the dozens of little gotchas are wrong , you get no picture... and wonder why?

The Conservative Approach to FTA Motor Install:

1). learn the configuration options on this new FTA receiver.
read the manual - ask questions - this terminology is new.
(optional):
If you have Dish, ya might plug it into the wiring for that and get your feet wet.
The Mercury II isn't supported by the hack crowd, so the most you'll get is NASA, Angel, and a few barker channels, but you'll learn how the receiver works.

2). install your dish without motor, at ground level, to get a feel for it
Aligning a dish is tricky.
But now that you're familiar with your receiver, you can concentrate on finding a signal.
This will also give you a shake-down run with your cable, grounding blocks, and other general hardware.

Some years back, when Radio Shack and Walmart both sold self-install kits and Dish receivers, I helped a buddy put up his little dish.
We bolted it to a free-standing ladder in his back yard, just to have something to work with.
Even thought he's a machinist and used to working with delicate and touchy tools, he was amazed at how critical the alignment was.
(I made him do it all so he'd have hand's-on experience)
FTA alignment is more precise than Dish aiming.

3). I would suggest ya take a few days and aim the fixed dish at several satellites, getting more familiar with your receiver and the programming available.

4). for your first motor installation, a ground level site (or go over and use Linuxman's flat roof) would be a good place to get your feet wet.
Read and understand your motor's manual. Make sure you know what it's saying.
Look on Sadoun's site for motor install info - it's well documented there.
Get the PDF manual for STAB motors, and look at the pictures late in the book for how to correct inaccuracies of tracking.
(re-read this section again, and understand it!)
You don't have to have a ground location that sees the entire arc.
Any install-experience will be worth its weight in gold when you are up on your roof for that final round. -

FTA installs aren't really hard to do. They're just tricky to learn... the first time.
No one wants you to get frustrated and throw the stuff out the back door.
There's probably one user a months who shows up here on the forum asking for help after going it alone and failing.
The members here walk 'em through it and they succeed. You will, too.
. . . and without even raising your blood pressure! -

 

[Tron]

Linuxman has a big flat roof to work on, that's five times bigger than my whole house!
If he wanted , he could take his 27" TV up there! - . . . and his Laz-E-Boy chair!

Here here! I propose a toast to Linuxman's spacious flat roof! Someday... maybe someday... I too will gaze out at such a vast expanse, but not at this house

Linuxman, we all really like your roof

 

[MotleyFool]

I was at the Sears Appliance center the last day of Oct when they received an e-mail from corporate saying get rid of all analog only teevee with 80% off. They had a 15" Sharp Aquos LCD sitting on the shelf and I asked them about it. Since it wasn't HDTV they assumed it wasn't digital capable. I got it for US$45.

 

[Mr Tony]

Linuxman, we all really like your roof

agreed :up