Installation: An Introduction

Most DBS systems are designed for do-it-yourself installation for someone with basic mechanical skills and a few basic tools. Primestar requires dealer installation. Manuals supplied with DBS systems are generally very thorough and complete. This page also provides information which should be helpful both in planning for your DBS purchase and in doing your installation.

System manufacturers sell installation kits for around $70 that contain coaxial cable, lag bolts, a compass, and other material that may be helpful. The kit may be convenient, but you can probably buy this material separately as you need it. This will help keep your cost low. If you hire an installer, he will generally supply these materials and you do not need to buy the kit. We offer a free basic installation kit with all systems sold to new DSS or Dish Network customers.

Satellites are a very long distance away, and operate on battery power, so the signals received at the dish are very weak and will not travel through any solid material except perhaps a pane of glass or thin plastic sheet. In other words, the dish must have a clear shot at the satellite with no trees or other obstructions in the way. You must do a site survey before you buy a DBS system to be sure that it will work at your location. If you are unsure, call a local satellite dealer who will do it for a small fee or as part of the installation cost if you contract them for the work.

The satellites are located in a geostationary orbit which is 22,753 miles above the equator in the Clarke (named for Arthur C Clarke) belt. Therefore, for North America the satellites are toward the south. The DSS satellites are located at 101 degrees west longitude, which is south of Texas, the Dakotas, and states in between. The EchoStar satellite is located at 119 degrees which is south of California, Washington, and Oregon. The satellite used by Primestar is at 85 degrees, which is south of the Florida panhandle, Kentucky, and Michigan.

Note that in the Northeast, the angle of elevation is about 10 degrees lower for EchoStar than for DIRECTV, and this could be a deciding factor in determining which system can be used in many locations in this heavily wooded region. The satellites used by Primestar are even farther east and therefore have an even higher elevation in the east. Of course, the opposite is true, and the satellites located farther west have a higher elevation in the western states.

When actually setting up a dish, aiming must be precise. More than around three degrees off in either azimuth or elevation angle and there will be no signal at all. One or two degrees off may still produce a picture, but the signal may be easily lost during heavy wind or rain. DBS systems have built-in meter devices to assist in aiming the dish. The usual on-screen signal meters are accurate but difficult to use if, for example, the TV is in the house and the dish is on the roof. Setting up a portable TV set at the dish site is a big help. Professional installers use a portable signal meter to accurately set the dish.

Installation Procedure

Installing a DBS system is not all that difficult to do. The homeowners who get into trouble are those who just do not read or follow directions very carefully.

1. Determine coordinates to the satellite from your location - (See our "Dish Aiming" info)
2. Use a compass and inclinometer to determine where you can locate the dish and have a clear shot at the satellite - (See our "Site Survey" info)
3. Follow instructions that come with the dish !! (See our "Dish Installation" info) Open the dish box and identify all the parts. Mount the foot and adjust the mast to vertical. Set the dish bracket adjustment to your elevation angle marking and place the dish on the mast. Point the dish in the proper compass heading direction. Snug but do not tighten all adjusting bolts.
4. Wire up the receiver to the dish and TV set and turn everything on. By carefully following these directions, I have often turned on the system and immediately received a signal strong enough to get a perfect picture on the DirecTV promotional channel (ch. 100) If you DO NOT follow the instructions carefully, you may spend many hours looking for the satellite, and it is a very big sky out there....
5. To find or maximize the signal strength, put the built-in electronic signal meter on the TV screen and rotate the dish VERY SLOWLY back and forth. The signal meter, and the Sony LED as well, react slowly, so you can go right past the satellite if you move to fast. If no signal is obtained, increase or decrease the elevation angle setting one or two degrees and try again. Repeat until the signal is found and maximized. Lock down all adjusting bolts.
6. Call DIRECTV to activate programming. You will need your system or receiver model number, the receiver serial number, and your access card number, as well as your name, address, phone, and whether you want monthly billing or another payment method. If you are going to use the pay-per-view, sports packages, or have more than one receiver, you will need to connect a phone line to all receivers before ordering these services.

The Site Survey

The all important consideration for DBS at your location is where are the satellites, and is there anything in the way. If you know the direction to the satellite, and how high up it is from the ground, you know exactly where the satellite is and you can see if there is anything in the way.

You will need a compass and an angle finder. If you cannot find these among your tools or camping equipment, they should be available at local hardware, home improvement, or camping stores. You will need to be exactly where the dish is to be located when you do the survey. You may need to sit on the ground, climb a ladder, get on the roof, or do all of these before you find a suitable place for the dish.

The actual satellite direction, or "azimuth", to the DIRECTV and EchoStar satellites from various locations can be found in our "Dish Aiming" section, along with the angle of elevation to the satellites. Pick the closest city , or take an average from cities on either side of you. Hold the compass so that the needle lines up with N and S. The satellite is in the direction of the azimuth number. Hold the angle finder with the flat side horizontal and the pointer should read zero. Rotate until the pointer reads the angle of elevation, and sight along the flat surface in the proper direction as found by the compass, and you will be looking right at the satellite. Use a chair, box, or other object as a steady-rest to make these sightings easier. Remember that a compass can be thrown off by a car or other metal object.

Dish Aiming: Azimuth and Elevation of Satellites

Hold compass so the needle lines up with N and S. Satellite is in the direction of azimuth number. Elevation is angle from horizontal.

Dish Installation

A DBS dish can be mounted on the roof, wall, chimney, deck, a pole in the ground, or any other sturdy surface that you can fasten to. Read the directions and warnings that come with your particular system before you start. Dish location should be determined before you buy the dish to be sure that you have a suitable location you will be satisfied with and the dish will work properly. Refer to our "Site Survey" section for details.

A roof mount on a shingled (not-too-steep) roof over an attic is an easy job. Locate where the dish is to be mounted, go in the attic and drill a small pilot hole up through the roof on each side of the nearest rafter. Go back on the roof, seal the two holes with silicone sealant, and mount the dish foot over the holes with lag bolts screwed into the beam between the two pilot holes. Drill another hole beside the foot and run the coaxial cable into the attic. Seal all penetrations with silicone sealant.

A chimney mount is relatively easy if you use a mounting system designed for the dish. The dish mounting foot bolts directly to the chimney mount bracket.

A ground mount requires a steel pipe and a bag of ready mix cement. Water pipe or electric conduit, 1 1/4 nominal ID will work. Flatten bottom section of pipe or make an irregular cut so the pipe won't easily turn in the cement. Dig a small hole a couple of feet deep or below the frost line. Mount the pipe vertical and fill the hole with cement. Detailed instructions for these and other mounting methods come with the dish system.

Receiver and Wiring

A DBS receiver is usually installed at the main household TV set. The satellite receiver is where satellite channels are selected for TV viewing. In addition to the normal coaxial output, the receiver usually has audio-video and S-video outputs that can be connected directly to the TV, a VCR, and a stereo or surround sound system if you have one.

A new dedicated RG6 coaxial line must be run from the dish to the receiver. This line carries power (13-18 vdc) to the amplifier at the dish, and carries the high frequency transmission signal down to the receiver for processing into the audio and video signals. If a second receiver is installed in the house, a separate line must be run from the dish to that receiver also.

Ideally, you would like to be able to watch the satellite channel on all TV sets in the house. The coaxial output (ch. 3/4) from your receiver may be sent around the house distribution system, but most homes also have either a cable or a regular TV antenna for local channels that also has a signal on at least one of those channels. The solution is to convert the satellite channel to an unused UHF or cable channel and then combine signals so that all TV sets can tune to regular or cable channels, or to the satellite signal (on ch. 20 or ch. 60, for example). Good quality UHF converters are expensive, in the $150-$200 price range. Your TV set needs to have a working UHF tuner, and if there are separate UHF and VHF inputs, you will need a UHF/VHF splitter at the TV set.

Satellite channels can be recorded on a VCR. Run the signal from the receiver to the recorder either as channel 3/4 on a coaxial cable or an audio/video signal with RCA type cables.