Satellite Dish Installation

Satellite television has reached every home today due to the ease of use and convenience of a satellite antenna. The clarity of picture and the range of channels offered by satellite antennas is phenomenal. One can easily enjoy watching a range of channels broadcasted from all around the world. All it takes is getting a satellite dish installed. In this article, I talk about satellite dish installation procedure.

There was a time when the broadcast signal for a TV antenna was received through satellite dishes to only a few distributors, and the signal was relayed into homes through cables. However, the arrival of compact satellite dishes changed it all and consumers have a direct broadband satellite signal in their homes which gives impeccable clarity of picture.

Working of a Satellite Dish Antenna
Before we talk about the installation of a satellite antenna, let us understand its working. The parabolic shape of a dish antenna is designed to capture incoming satellite signals (electromagnetic waves) and focus it to a central focal point, where it is concentrated and fed to a 'feedhorn'. This feedhorn is a waveguide (a device that directs electromagnetic waves) shaped in the form of a cylindrical structure usually, and positioned at or near the focal point of parabolic dish antenna with the use of brackets. This waveguide directs the incoming signal to a LNB (Low Noise Block Down Converter), which is a transducer that converts electromagnetic waves into electric signals. It also shifts the frequency from the frequency of C-band (500 MHz - 1000 MHz) or K_u band (12GHz - 18 GHz) to the L-band (1 GHz - 2 GHz) frequencies.

In most home use satellite dishes, the feedhorn and the LNB are integrated into one device called LNBF. The gain or power of signal received is dependent on the perfection of the dish shaping and the waveguide matching. Normal home use parabolic antennas are around 43 cm - 80 cm in diameter and are positioned for reception of incoming Ku Band reception.

Satellite Dish Antenna Installation
With that introduction to the working of a satellite dish antenna, let us now have a look at the procedure for satellite dish installation. First part of installation is of course gathering the required equipment and tools for installation. You will need the following things:

• Whole Satellite System Kit
• RG-6 Coaxial Cable
• Magnetic Compass
• Magnetic Level (6")
• Meter for Satellite Signal
• Drilling machine & Half Inch nut driver bit, 3/8 inch drill bit
• 7/16" Wrench
• About six 2-inch lag bolts
• Black Tape
• Screw Clips

This list of installation tools and materials takes into consideration that you are installing a standard direct home broadcasting dish antenna.

There are two main parts of satellite dish installation. First is fixing the mast of the dish antenna and second is fixing the dish on the mast and orienting it in the exact direction to get the maximum signal strength. The rest of the part is just connecting your dish antenna to your TV, using a coaxial cable.

So here we go. First you need to find a location to place your dish antenna. Place it in a position from where it can have a direct line of sight view of the south western sky. This direction will vary and will be decided by your location. Make sure that there is a clear line of sight in whichever direction the satellite signal comes from. For reference, you can have a look at where your neighbor has pointed his antenna.

Begin with fixing satellite dish mast or mounting pole. It is essential that you fix it firmly and see to it that the mast is plumb in every direction. This can be done using the magnetic level. It has to be exactly perpendicular to the surface on which you are fixing it. Using bolts, you can fix the mast at desired location on exterior wall in a balcony. It is very important that it is plumb in all directions and the bolts are tightened firmly. This is the most important part of a satellite dish installation which you shouldn't forget.

Now mount the dish antenna on the mast but don't tighten the bolts until you have oriented the dish in the exactly right direction. Fit the LNBF to the dish with the help of screws provided in the kit. Then connect the coaxial cable to the LNBF and connect the other end to the input terminal of your TV set. You may need to drill a hole in the house wall, using the 3/8" drill bit to pass and connect the coaxial cable to the TV. Make sure that you connect the cable to the right input terminal designed for satellite feed. Then you can adjust the orientation (elevation, vertical, as well as horizontal angle) as mentioned in the satellite dish manual. While adjusting the direction, you can either use a satellite signal meter or look at your TV for signal strength and quality. First loosen the horizontal adjustment nuts of the dish and adjust it until you get optimal signal strength. Then tighten the horizontal adjustment nuts and loosen the vertical adjustment nuts to adjust vertical direction. Once you get the right signal strength and good picture quality, fix the nuts, to freeze that antenna orientation forever. It is a good idea to affix the coaxial cable to the mast by using clips.

Installing a grounding block for your antenna is essential to prevent damage from a lightning strike. Then follow the dish antenna manual instructions to adjust your TV settings to tune all the channels. With everything in place and fixed, you are free to enjoy satellite TV!

Hope this article has given you a clear idea of satellite dish installation procedure. The whole satellite dish installation kit comes with an instruction manual that has all the installation details. This article, combined with the installation manual instructions, should help you to easily install the dish antenna in place!