Hi All,

If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
competent DIYer. Any hints or tips ? Is alignment a problem ?

TIA

On Mon, 9 Jun 2008 16:09:41 +0100, Jethro wrote:

> If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
> competent DIYer. Any hints or tips ? Is alignment a problem ?

POP. Plenty of information on the web if you google.

A cheap (£10 or so, get one with a tone) meter makes alignment very easy.
But the boxes have signal meters built in but they tend to be slugged and
of course you'll need to be able to see the screen as you tweak...

Rough alignment can be done knowing your latitude and the position of the
sun at about 1120 BST.

In article <n4OdnbI6ZYsp2tDVnZ2dnUVZ8qqlnZ2d>, Jethro
<jethro_uk> scribeth thus
>Hi All,
>
>If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
>competent DIYer.

Yes..

> Any hints or tips ?

Take your time and make a good job of it;!..

>Is alignment a problem ?

Not normally .. if the receiver you have has an alignment meter built in
most, all Sky boxes do. If yours doesn't then perhaps you could borrow
one or you can get freesat on a ex Sky Skybox...

"Jethro" <jethro_uk> wrote in message
news:nz2d
> Hi All,
>
> If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
> competent DIYer.

Yes.

> Any hints or tips ?

Install a quad LNB. You'll need one when you decide you need a second
receiver (or a PVR) at a later date.
http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page2.htm is a good site with lots of useful
info.

> Is alignment a problem ?

No. So long as you use common sense. A sat finder meter (cheapo is fine)
helps; but Freesat box will have a built in signal meter so long as you can
view a TV while adjusting the dish.

Adjust azimuth/elevation for maximum "signal strength". Rotate LNB for
maximum "signal quality".

D

Jethro presented the following explanation :
> Hi All,
>
> If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
> competent DIYer. Any hints or tips ? Is alignment a problem ?

Perfectly easy, providing you get it onto a suitable wall to enable it
to 'see' the sat(s) you want to receive. Height makes no difference
providing it has sight of the sat, even ground mounting will work -
despite Sky installers seeming to mount them as high as possible. My
dish is 6 feet up from the ground and quite well hidden.

"Jethro" wrote

> Hi All,
>
> If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
> competent DIYer. Any hints or tips ? Is alignment a problem ?
>
> TIA

A bit finnicky without test gear, but not impossible - I did Sky version.
Best to set up the dish at ground level, look at others (if available) for
direction.
I established the direction and did a quick hook up at ground level first to
approximately fix the bracket orientation/angle.
If free sat issue a signal strength, use that to adjust the dish parameters.
Then clag it on the wall and repeat the adjusting process more accurately.
Dishes are far more particular about the direction setup than analogue TV so
be prepared to do lots of tweaking.

Failing all that, fix it all up and get a mate round with a signal strength
meter to adjust the dish direction.

HTH

Phil

In article <mn.4bf07d86d76d2041.86812>,
Harry Bloomfield <harry.m1byt> wrote:

>Perfectly easy, providing you get it onto a suitable wall to enable it
>to 'see' the sat(s) you want to receive. Height makes no difference
>providing it has sight of the sat, even ground mounting will work -
>despite Sky installers seeming to mount them as high as possible.


It's nearer the sat so it must be a stronger signal innit?

(years ago I got told this by a sky installer - so it must be true eh?)

Darren (and yes, I guess *technically* what he said wasn't incorrect...)

Dave Liquorice wrote:
> On Mon, 9 Jun 2008 16:09:41 +0100, Jethro wrote:
>
>> If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
>> competent DIYer. Any hints or tips ? Is alignment a problem ?
>
> POP. Plenty of information on the web if you google.
>
> A cheap (£10 or so, get one with a tone) meter makes alignment very easy.
> But the boxes have signal meters built in but they tend to be slugged and
> of course you'll need to be able to see the screen as you tweak...
>
> Rough alignment can be done knowing your latitude and the position of the
> sun at about 1120 BST.
>
If it is impossible to get a TV that you can see from the dish, try
this. Set up the dish on the south side of your building near a window,
a portable workbench is ideal for this. Now adjust the dish until you
get a picture, starting from South, or if a neighbour has a dish align
it roughly with that. Now get the best picture you can. Don't forget
that the adjustment is "up and down" as well as "North and South". Next
measure the direction with a compass. Then make a simple device with
card, string and a weight and mark its elevation. Move the dish to its
final resting place, set it up according to the measurements taken then
using a friend or (at a push) your wife adjust finely for best
reception. That is how I did it and it worked.

In article <n4OdnbI6ZYsp2tDVnZ2dnUVZ8qqlnZ2d>,
Jethro <jethro_uk> wrote:
> f I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
> competent DIYer. Any hints or tips ? Is alignment a problem ?

I bought a complete kit for satellite reception - not Freesat - from Lidl
and it included a satellite finder. Gives an audible tone to a ear piece
which changes as you move the dish. Made the initial alignment by just
looking at other ones in the area. I also fitted a rotator which makes
alignment much more critical. Took several goes to get it just right. But
I wasn't working up a ladder.

Jethro wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
> competent DIYer. Any hints or tips ? Is alignment a problem ?

Don't use a shotgun to make holes for the cable entry...

In message <n4OdnbI6ZYsp2tDVnZ2dnUVZ8qqlnZ2d>, Jethro
<jethro_uk> wrote
>Hi All,
>
>If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
>competent DIYer. Any hints or tips ? Is alignment a problem ?
>

I've recently fitted one myself. With no previous experience and with a
bit of background reading and a cheap alignment meter it was no problem.
Alignment took me around 15 minutes.

Freesat comes from the same satellite as Sky so any information about
installing Sky is valid.

I live in the South East and purchased a cheap minidish and LNB from
Ebay (£20 incl postage) but if you live further North you may want a
slightly larger dish. The meter was around £10 incl. postage .

If you want a Freesat PVR in the future install a dual or quad LNB
rather than a single LNB.

Use CT100 or equivalent cable
[url down]

I used a (satellite) aerial photo of my house with an overlay of the
satellite direction to initially position the dish. Link to map with
overlay (plus how to use a cheap meter):
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/satmeter.htm

Fitting F connectors plus weather proofing with self amalgamating tape
link:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/fconn.htm
(Don't cover the cable in grease)

On Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:58:10 +0100, Adrian C <email>
wrote:

>Jethro wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
>> competent DIYer. Any hints or tips ? Is alignment a problem ?
>
>Don't use a shotgun to make holes for the cable entry...

Or a Shogun ...

8-|

Derek

On Mon, 9 Jun 2008 16:09:41 +0100 someone who may be "Jethro"
<jethro_uk> wrote this:-

>If I wanted to get Freesat, is installing the dish a task for a fairly
>competent DIYer. Any hints or tips ? Is alignment a problem ?

To add to what the others have said.

The main choice you face is buying a Sky style dish or not. The Sky
style dishes do not take some standard bits and bobs without
adapters, but if you buy everything in one go this is no great
problem. If you want to fiddle later on you may want to get a
non-Sky dish.

<http://www.sateuropa.co.uk/overview.asp?catid=12&subcat=2> has a
range of dishes. Don't be put off by the price of the first one,
there is a range of prices on this and subsequent pages.

If you are in the south then a small dish, typically a "43cm" size,
will be enough (though it may suffer signal degradation in heavy
rain and for all weather performance a little larger may be useful).
The further north/west you are the larger dish is necessary. A
"60cm" for example by NE England and at least an "80cm" in northern
(mainland) Scotland. There are maps of recommended dish sizes
available on the Interweb thingy.

You need to point the dish at what is generally called the Astra 2
satellite, 28 degrees east. Actually it is a cluster of satellites
on slightly different bearings with slightly different footprints.
The same satellite as for Sky.

Some swear that the satellite cable should be bought in as a flying
cable, terminated in the plug which goes into the box. Personally I
prefer satellite sockets, despite the slight losses these introduce.

Lastly consider whether you want a HD or SD box. There is something
to be said for getting a SD box now. When the HD PVR arrives one of
these can be bought and the SD box relegated to secondary use.

It's fairly easy if you're ok on a ladder.

Get a quad LNB for a little future proofing (and a 60cm dish to reduce
the chance of signal breakup in bad weather).

Make sure you put everything together at ground level with U-bracket
bolts only just tight and with various bits at roughly appropriate angles.

Drill into brick and not mortar.

Run decent coaxial. Two to the room in which you are likely to put a PVR.

Get a cheap satellite meter to help with alignment (~£7 on Ebay, £5 for
mine - used only once!).

Plug the coaxial into the Freesat box (box turned off!!).

Turn TV and Freesat box on in a position where you can see the Freesat
signal strength display.

Move the dish side to side until the meter shows a reading and you can
hear a tone. You know when you've got the correct satellite when both
signal strength and signal quality rise. If only strength rises, you've
got the wrong satellite.

Once you're on the correct satellite move the dish side to side very
slightly until you get the maximum meter reading (you might have to turn
the gain down on the meter a few times as it maxes out).

Now move the dish up and down until, again, you get maximum strength.

Now rotate the LNB until, again, you get maximum signal strength.

http://www.dishpointer.com/ will give you the angles you need and will
help with finding the correct direction in which to point the dish as it
gives you a 'line on the ground' for which to aim if there are no other
dishes visible.

http://www.satcure.co.uk/ for more information and bits and pieces.

HTH

On Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:58:10 +0100, Adrian C wrote:

> Don't use a shotgun to make holes for the cable entry...

Wasn't it a rifle and for the bracket mounting bolts?