By: Stephen Drummonsy
Submitted: 2010-06-22 17:54:08 | Word Count: 654
Mounting your own satellite dish? Are you insane? Working at heights, probably without the correct equipment and a ropey old ladder? Sounds like a receipe for disaster. But, if you really must. If you're somehow driven to install your own satellite system, read on. At least I wiil explain how to install it correctly! 10 nice and easy steps.
The equipment you'll need:- A satellite system and decoder - of course, RG6 Coax Cable, a good ladder, a satellite signal meter, a compass, a level, an adjustable wrench, a drill, maybe a cordless drill and screwdriver, nut driver bit for the drill, lag bolts, cable ties, screw clips.
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STEP 1
Look at the direction of your neighbour's satellite dish. It will give you a good idea which way your dish should be facing to pick up the Astra satellite. Generally, in the UK, this angle varies from 20 degrees in the North to 30 degrees in the South. Make sure you have a clear line of sight. Any branches or telephone poles will affect the reception to your satellite dish.
STEP 2
Your satellite dish should come with a mast. Attach the mast to something solid using the bolts. e.g. a chimney or a wall. Use your spirit level to make sure that the mast is level.
STEP 3
Place the dish itself onto the mast but don't fully tighten the bolts at the moment. This comes later when you’ve aligned it correctly.
STEP 4
Run RG6 coaxial cable through the dish and out to the LNBF (Low Noise Block downconverter Feedhorn – but you don't need to know that!). Now connect the cable to the LNBF & attach the LNBF to the dish. Don't over tighten the screws at this stage.
STEP 5
If you have a satellite signal meter, now is the time to get it out. They're not massively expensive anymore and you can buy them in Curry's. Now, connect the other end of the coaxial cable to your meter. Turn the meter on and when you locate a satellite, your meter will light up or make a sound to let you know you've locked on. If you don't hear or see anything from the meter, turn your dish left, right, up and down to find it.
STEP 6
If you don't have a meter (or you're too tight to buy one!) you can use your TV to see the signal strength. You'll need to get someone to shout up with the readings.
STEP 7
Once you have the strongest signal, tighten up all the bolts and screws on the dish. The smart guy or girl leaves the meter on while they do this to make sure it hasn't moved.
STEP 8
Now you can run the coaxial cable from the dish to your satellite receiver. You may find you need to drop the cable down the front or rear of the house and then drill a small hole in the wall to run the cable through. Use the cable ties and screw clips to make sure that you have a nice tidy finish, hiding as much cable as possible.
STEP 9
Once the cable has popped in through the other side to the room with the receiver, simply attach it to the 'Satellite in' port. Connect the satellite receiver to your TV and follow the on screen instructions to tune it in.
STEP 10
You're finished. Relax and start scrolling through the hundreds of channels now appearing in your front room.
Author Resource:-
I have spent years learning how to install a satellite dish the correct way. Now I am going to pass on my knowledge to the masses. So please read on and I will explain how to do it in ten easy stages.
