October 22, 2002 

By: Bob Buckham

satellite dish installation: Easy for any handyman

A satellite dish installation will typically be easier than putting together a BBQ.  You need to be comfortable working on a ladder.  The satellite dish installation self-install option can save you money. We'll discuss this more below.

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Before even thinking about buying a satellite-TV system, you need to determine if you have a suitable location for the satellite dish installation, which serves as the antenna that picks up the satellite signal. There must be a clear line of sight from the dish to the satellite, with nothing blocking the path — that includes trees, mountains, and buildings. And you can’t put the dish indoors behind a window since the satellite signal won’t go through glass.

For proper satellite dish installation you require a perfectly plumb pole and a well-anchored solid base. It is a good idea to fill the pole with concrete as well as pouring a concrete base; this will strengthen the installation and allow for more accurate reception of both C and Ku-Band signals.

After your satellite dish installation is complete and you have a lock on the signal, all you have to do is to keep adjusting the Azimuth and Elevation of the dish in tiny increments until you are absolutely certain that you have maximized the strength of the incoming signal. Normally the signal meter reading will fall between 110 and 120 on the scale once you have finished fine-tuning the alignment of the dish. You should try for the highest signal level you can receive as this gives you some margin of signal to lose during rain showers.