Sky Dish Alignment

[ShinyF1]

I have a Sky dish installed 'relatively' discretely on my roof [see bottom left of roofslope], but looks across a gable towards the satellite which compromises the signal quality, particularly on the secondary SKY+ feed [see pic - hope you can picture the scene]. To help with orientation the house faces south west, ie you are looking north east at it, so if my geometry is correct the dish looks south east?

View attachment 8471

Can anyone help as to how do I best go about aligning it so that I get the best possible signal or is it a case of GSI [get someone in]? I have scaffolding on the front of my house so access is not an issue. I want to keep a discrete installation...

 

[andy_k]

Maplins sell a kit for this very job

click here

 

[television]

Your dish should point 28 degrees East of south with an angle of almost vertical just tilting up a touch. You have to allow 5 degrees for magnet North.

A good plan is to look at one in the road and you can see this elevation.

On the sky remote press services then 4 then 6 signal strength. you can turn the dish a couple of degrees at a time till the clock comes up at the bottom of the screen and at this point the signal strength meter should be working, if you get a good strength signal but no Quality signal you are on the wrong Astra satellite (19 degrees east of west) and 9 degrees out and you need to go more east.

When you have locked on then do the elevation adjustment for Max signal

I use a meter for all this. Do remember that this is digital and has a gate so you must wait between movements for the signal strength to up date

 

[grober]

Try these sites http://www.lyngsat.com/28east.html AND http://www.satcure.co.uk/tech/dishes.htm AND http://www.satsig.net/maps/satellite-tv-dish-pointing-uk-ireland.htm
You really don't want anything in your LINE OF SIGHT between your dish and the satellite so I would suggest a bracket/mount which will give you this. You can get transparent dishes which don't look so obvious http://www.satellitesuperstore.com/bbc.htm If you are prepared to fiddle about a bit you might get a slightly better signal by changing the polarisation slightly (degrees it slants from the vertical) of the LNB (the detector at the end of the dish arm) Note/mark the ANGLE its set at first before moving it!

 

[karlefr]

Well, if it looks against a gable it doesn't look to the satellite, does it?
It is called a satellite dish not a gable dish!
You have to place it where there is no disruption towards the satellite.
That's all!

 

[ShinyF1]

Well, if it looks against a gable it doesn't look to the satellite, does it?
It is called a satellite dish not a gable dish!
You have to place it where there is no disruption towards the satellite.
That's all!

....except that's where the Sky engineer put it [4 years ago]

It also does a wonderful job of being totally useless during heavy rain. I am also curious as to why the secondary Sky+ signal shows a different signal strength to the main one...

 

[television]

....except that's where the Sky engineer put it [4 years ago]

It also does a wonderful job of being totally useless during heavy rain. I am also curious as to why the secondary Sky+ signal shows a different signal strength to the main one...

If it is useless in the rain, then the alignment is a touch out, I have never done an installation where this happens.

No two boxes show the same signal strength, the important one in the rain is signal quality

 

[HughJarse]

MIne points across a gable too - works fine apart from in heavy rain.
The maplins finders work but are hard work and a pain in the A.....

 

[television]

I could let you borrow mine, but it cant be away for long

 

[television]

Just as a reference an off set dish (sky) works like a dipped headlamp and comes down to a much steeper angle than that of a 45 degree roof