Setting up a Big Dish

[stone1150]

The best way to enjoy the fta receiver to it's fullest is to have a c/Ku dish setup if you have the room. One should not be intimidated at the size of the dish. Just by taking your time and doing things properly you can be enjoying the benefits of both c and ku bands. In the world of the big dish, bigger is better. However that said one can get by with as little as 6 feet. 7-8 feet is considered the norm, while larger will expand the transponders that can be received when it comes to the weaker transponders. I ran an 8 footer for a few years only to size up to a 10 foot. The price was right, (free for taking down,) and it only cost me a new pole and some concrete mix from my local hardware store.

This series of posts should hopefully show you how it can be done. Let's first start by selecting the placement of your dish.

Your dish should be back enough from any trees that might be in the way. That said this will affect the lower sats as opposed to the higher ones because of the look angles.

As you can see by the pix, I have a couple of trees to get around. The ones to the south are 150 feet plus and belong to my neighbor. The trees to the west are mine but the dish sets back from them far enough that I can see AMC-7 without any trouble even with the leaves full on.

I used google earth to aid in the placement of my dish. You also can use a protracter by sighting along the angle needed to see the sat.

Once this is done to your satisfaction, grab a shovel and beer. It's time to dig!