sorry,couldn't put it together with the search function. I just got the 4 room setup for the house and have a spare antenna. I plan on using one reciever in the RV, can someone point me to the alignment process, starting with shuting the ignition on the RV.
thanks in advance
henry
Henry, Karin and the kids
2005 Allegro Bus 40 TSP Triple slide Cummins ISL400, all the goodies!
currently toadless, but eyeing a wrangler unlimited
Assuming no trees are in the way, the following has always worked for me with minimum setup time ....
- buy yourself a signal strength meter
- connect the meter at the dish
- aim the dish at Texas
- adjust the up-down til you have strongest signal
- swing dish to the south-east
- slowly move back to the west
- stop on 3rd lobe, check if you have picture
- if not, go to fourth lobe, should have picture
The 1st thing is buy the meter. It makes it a lot quicker. You need to know the Zip code or Lat. and Longitude of the area you setup in. Read the instructions on the meter, its more than just plug in and go. Find north and your reciver will show you, on setup, which way to point the dish if you buy a mount for it . I always pick up 3 strong satellites about 10 degrees apart so if 1 will not give you a picture try again. A great help if you boondock will be a $100 GPS. Dogs way will also work and you could stick a pole in a can to mount the dish and save money.
Bent Arrow
99 PACE ARROW 35'
Chevy 4x4
4 Wheel Pop-Up
S10 Blazer ZR-2
gee, I just check the set up screen with the zip code for elev. and direction, set the elev. according to numbers on dish, set direction using a good compass, and tweak it.
Obviously you need a clear sky to shoot at.
the secret is to move it very slowly. Verry Verrrry slowly. a fraction of an inch at a time.
When I first tried to set up mine, i was swinging it around like a drunken sailor, called the co and she said to move it 1/4 inch and wait a few seconds.
The way we set up our direct dish is to make sure the pole the dish is mounted to is level. Hook up all of the wires turn on the receiver and go to the set up menu. Under point dish it will ask for the zip code of the area you are in. Enter zip code and it will then tell you what settings to set your dish. by now there will be a beeping sound coming from the television. I leave a walkie talkie next to the TV with the microphone turned on and go out to the dish with another walkie talkie and listen to the beep. I turn the dish positioning it as close as possible with my compass and then start to turn it ever so slowly listening to the beeps. As the beeps become faster the better the signal you are receiving. Anything over 70% is fine. This whole process takes me about ten minutes. Once in awhile I have to move the dish and stand around to find a clearing in the trees but not very often.
2003 F350 Lariat SC long box 6.0 power stroke 5 speed trans. 4X4
2004 362BBS Cedar Creek
The key to quickly acquiring the signal is a level tripod. That is probably the most difficult aspect of the process…especially with a Wiengard tripod because the legs aren’t really adjustable. Then comes the problem of securing the tripod to the ground while maintaining the level condition. If the tripod is not level, all the elevation and azimuth settings will be way off and you’ll be lucky to find the bird.
To resolve these leveling issues, I have several pieces of builder’s shims typically used in door and window installation. I place the shims under the tripod leg(s) as needed and eyeball the bubble level. For securing the tripod, I cut a piece of ¾” MDO plywood…6” wide by 36” long. I drilled and counter-bored a hole in the center of the board to install a 3/8” eyebolt. This assembly is placed on the ground below the tripod and the bungee cord is attached to the eyebolt. A couple of small sandbags…about 5 lbs each, are then laid across the outrigger portions of the plywood. The tripod is now solid as a rock. This works really well when the only place to park the tripod is on pavement.
In my Satellite tool box I carry a 7/16” combination wrench and a compass. After finding the settings for the location, I adjust the elevation and then balance the compass on the top of the dish’s LNB. Small adjustments of no more than 3 degrees are then made to acquire the signal. If I can’t find the signal after 15 degrees of adjustment, I reverse to the other side of the compass needle and try again. Only after these adjustments fail to acquire the signal do I make a 3 degree adjustment to the elevation and repeat the process.
If traveling alone, I wrap a rubber band around one of our FRS radios and place it next to the tv speaker…listening to the beeps from the receiver’s signal meter. My wife provides the signal info when we travel together.
Finally, I have found that when all else fails to acquire the signal, changing the transponder setting on the receiver will frequently resolve the problem. There have been times where I can only attain a 40 or 50 signal strength on transponder 9, but will get 75 or 80 on transponder 11. Sometimes you gotta play with it.
I was amazed when I was able to establish a signal of 80 at this heavily wooded campsite in northern Idaho.
Washboy if you balance the compass on the LNB you are getting false readings on your compass. The compass is affected by the metal and signal passing through the wire to the LNB. Always place your compass far enough away from any metal/electric current to avoid attracting the compass needle. I find that putting the compass 6-7 feet in front of the dish, on the ground, makes aiming the dish a lot easier. One other hint: after getting the signal you want, mark the position and direction so that if the wind, dog, or whatever jostles your dish you can re-aquire the signal just by looking at your referance points.
Chevy 2500 Duramax, 30ft Prowler 5th Wheel, 18ft Bass Boat, 2 big dogs, If it is true the good die young, I have all the time in the world.
There is a product used by the satalite companies call "Dish Buddy" it is a digital meter, not the analog type, works very well. Will take only minutes to setup provided you are not blocked by tree's or other.
Moonshine
2004 Gulf Stream Conquest #1 in Fun!!
My Wife Terri, I and our two Gold Retreivers Mia and Ty
Since this is close to the subject..... Are you or can you use the dish for the rv that you use at home? In other words 'do I have to have the winegard dish?
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