First Time Satellite Setup

[dave10a]

Dish tailgater and wineguard Carryout are reasonable solutions and easy to set up. However, they do not have the signal to noise gain that a dish and tripod have because the actual size of the dish is several inches smaller. This means in some areas of the US the signal will be hard to get. Some areas in New England will have a problem. The Wineguard carryout will tune to the Eastern Arc Dish network satellite with dip switch setup-- this allows better signal in the North Eastern US. The dish and tripod is easy to setup if you set and lock the elevation and skew first and manually tune the azimuth with a signal meter after it is level. The dish and tripod also allows for more flexibility if one wants to use the Hopper setup and/or additional receivers for a second TV. It is also more cost effective.

 

[jdfishing]

Look for a knowledgeable neighbor willing to help you with the setup an prepare to be frustrated. Two important pieces of advice already mentioned: get the sat. app for your phone and do the initial setup directly into your box. Skip the RV connections until you know it works.

 

[Rob_Fla]

I did a Google search on "Accutek III Satellite Meter" and got no hits I recognized as info on buying the unit. Is it still available?

Sorry, spelled it wrong

Here is just one retailer

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=ACUTRACIII

Also I use the I Phone App called "Dish Pointer"

 

[JohnDar]

FYI, there was a news clip on TV last night that satelite TV subscriptions for most carriers were going up by roughly 5% due to them being charged more for the programming.

 

[danemayer]

I was on the phone with DirecTV yesterday getting some discounts renewed. They said my package pricing goes up $5 next month. So I would guess that if you have a $50 package, you're getting a 10% or $5 increase, and if you have $100 package, you're getting a 5% or $5 increase.

Forget percentages. You're paying $5 more.

I told them they should push back hard on content provider price increases, even if it means taking them off the network for a month or two as they play chicken.

 

[wdk450]

Sorry, spelled it wrong

Here is just one retailer

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=ACUTRACIII

Also I use the I Phone App called "Dish Pointer"

Thanks for the link, but it is listed there as "Discontinued" and there is no price posted.

 

[danemayer]

Thanks for the link, but it is listed there as "Discontinued" and there is no price posted.

Here's a source that has several meters under $200. If you have Directv SWM, make sure the meter you get is compatible with SWM.

 

[dave10a]

Dish Pointer seems to be a good application for both Andriod and Apple smart phones that have a camera, internal accelerometers, compass and a gps chip. There are also some freebees software out there that may work as well, but may require some trial and error. As far as signal meters are concerned the $30 basic meter from Camping World is fine after you get use to it. Granted the expensive ones are great but are over kill, unless one is a professional installer that would use it frequently. To set up the dish for max signal requires nothing more than peaking the meter on a satellite like 119 or 72 and the others are picked up by default-- if the skew and elevation is preset properly-- as well as leveling the mast. Again set the elevation and skew and tighten the bolts then level the mast. Then with a cheap signal meter swing the dish in the azimuth (left to right) until the signal is maxed out. It is that simple. This assume you have a clear view of the sky and that where the smart phone software like dish pointer comes in. The cheap meter requires setting the gain knob to the highest setting near the full scale and as the signal is received from the satellite-- decrease the gain to keep the meter from full scale or saturating. Keep repeating that until the meter and gain knob are are max deflection. Walla you are set up

 

[JanAndBill]

SUCCESS!!!!! Even a blind pig finds an acorn every now and then. Hadn't bothered to setup until today, as we've had good cable access at the parks so far. Unfortunately where we are now there is no cable and tonight is the BCS game. That won't work. After hooking everything up via coach connections, I was getting nowhere. Finally went straight to the receiver, found the satellite and got the signal set. Then played musical chair connections in the coach till I got it to connect via the coax connections. Now that I know what goes where it won't be so much of a job next time. Forgot how much I enjoy HD