If you live in a rented apartment, your DISH installation is limited by the whether the landlord will let you put it up, and whether you have a line-of-sight view of the satellite. These suggestions are for you. This might also help those condo owners who don't want to confront the management. Let's assume the landlord does not allow attaching a DISH to the outside of the building with lag bolts and does not want anything on the roof. You can set up the DISH on a little portable tripod stand.
Although various products and dealers are mentioned below, they are not the only products that will do the job, I can't vouch for quality, and there are lots of other dealers local and on the Internet who carry them.
Note: Some of these suggestions were plagiarized from others on the Internet.
Topics:
A basic system consists of
If the DISH is portable, next to the building, and much lower than the roof, you don't need a ground or ground rod.
If you live in the 48 contiguous states and have a clear line-of-sight to the satellites, maybe you are in luck.
What they will give you, for your zipcode, is the azimuth. This is the actual compass reading you need, the "magnetic" bearing, which is the direction in degrees. (This is not the so-called "True" bearing, which you do not need.) They will also give you the satellite's incline (elevation), in degrees, which is how high the satellite is above the horizon.
Virus alert: Speaking of downloading programs - don't download from anywhere a program called DSS.EXE promising free satellite TV. It contains a virus.
A new FCC regulation preempts any Home Owner's Association's, condo CC&R, and zoning laws that restrict small dishes on your property or "Exclusive Use Area". You don't need permission; just install it now. Then notify them, if you like, referencing the FCC ruling. Read http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Orders/1996_TXT/fcc96328.txt and http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Factsheets/otafacts.html. The SBCA (Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association) 703-549-6990, and at http://www.sbca.com supports these rights. Also, in California the Davis-Stirling act says that HOAs cannot impose unreasonable restrictions on the installation of your dish on a common area structure. Your state may not be so liberal.
Unfortunately, renters still have to deal with the landlord first.
In my opinion, you don't need the "Installation Kit". There are no special magic parts; they are all common items available at hardware stores and radio/TV parts stores. The DISH manual explains how to install everything and what parts are required. This is the "Optional Installation Kit"
Figure out which parts you really need and get them locally. For the basic system, this is what you need (everybody is different):
You can also get this locally at a radio/TV part or hardware store. For example, Belden 9114 or 1189A QUAD Shield RG6U. RG-6U is $0.16/ft at Home Depot. Crimping tool at Radio Shack $14. Connectors: One type is AUGAT Snap-N-Seal SN6. Be sure to include nut w/recessed o-ring. You need the AUGAT special crimp tool to crimp and seal the connector.
The surge protector (surge suppressor) is not necessary to the operation of the dish, but you might want it if you can't afford to replace your equipment after surge damage. Your DISH receiver, just like your computer, can be damaged by thunderstorms (rain or snow) anywhere in your area, which create static pulses on the phone line, power plug, and dish coax. This also protects you from power over-voltage and under-voltage. Do not attempt to run the satellite connection through a surge protector designed for TV antenna or Cable.
Warning: EchoStar's warranty does not cover you for surge damage, and they will ask you to prove it wasn't surge.
You need one that can handle AC power, telephone, TV or Cable, and satellite dish antenna coax, or a single surge protector for each purpose. Prices vary, as does quality. You can get these cheap locally e.g. radio/TV part store, computer store, etc. but I don't know about quality. Make sure it is specifically rated for use with satellite dish frequencies (1450Mhz), not just TV or cable.
HiTech Industries, among others, strongly recommends the Panamax brand Powermax DBS + Surge Protector, $89. It's specifically made for DBS systems. It has four AC outlets, three sets (in and out) of coax connectors labeled Antenna, Satellite, and Additional TV, and one set of Telephone connectors. It comes with the 3-year DBS warranty, so if your DISH gets fried, they cover you.
An alternative product is at http://www.brickwall.com/.
After aiming your DISH and activating your system, use little pieces of duct tape to mark the three locations on the floor or patio where the tripod stands. That way when it gets bumped or moved, you can easily set it back in the same exact spot that works.
You don't have to put holes in the roof. There are two simple inexpensive roof DISH mounting methods. Since these are not an option for most apartment renters, they are described in my page on House and Condo Installation.
To avoid drilling a hole in the outside wall, there are devices that pass the coax signals around or through a window.
No. (Well, yes, but they would both get the same DISH channel.) For each independently tunable TV or VCR you need a separate DISH receiver. You also need the dual LNBF in the DISH and two coaxes from the DISH to the receivers in the house.
Yes, if the distance is short and there are no splitters, amplifiers, etc. For a small apartment, where the coax is only 10 to 30 feet, RG-59 will be good enough. RG-59 has lots more signal loss per foot then RG-6. For example, at 800 MHz the loss in decibels per 100 feet is 7.35 in RG-59, 5.79 in RG-6, and 3.76 in RG-11. For DBS at 1450 MHz there is an even bigger difference (I don't have those numbers). The more loss you have, the more susceptible to rain fade outages, but there is no reduction in picture or sound quality.
If you don't mind the appearance, you can tack it to the baseboard or woodwork between the receiver and the door or window where it comes in. It is easily removed when you move out. For a small apartment, where the coax is only 10 to 30 feet, RG-59 will be good enough, and is readily available in off-white, black, and probably other colors.
If you absolutely cannot run coax from the DISH receiver to your TV set, consider these devices. Although a lot more expensive than coax, they will transmit the video and audio (some of them stereo) output of the DISH receiver through the air or the electrical wiring up to 300 feet to your TV set. To control the receiver from that distance the remote must be UHF.
So that you don't need to run a telephone wire to your DISH receiver, DISH Network has a Wireless Phone Extender for about $99.99. It connects your telephone line to your power lines, so that you can plug the DISH receiver telephone connection (or a telephone) into a wall power socket instead of a telephone plug. Where the receiver is not near a telephone jack, this allows the receiver to call EchoStar in the middle of the night and tell them what PPV movies you have watched. Alternatively, forget the telephone line, and after you have watched several PPV movies, lug the receiver to a telephone line, plug it in, turn it on, and leave it there. The next day, haul it back where it belongs. Or, hey, just don't watch PPV.
You can paint the inside of the DISH flat black to melt the snow a little better. Or soot gray to match your building. Don't get any paint on the LNBF! Use masking tape! A flat/matte finish paint won't harm the dish. Don't use a glossy finish because when sunlight comes from behind the satellite, its reflection might overheat the LNBF. You can paint the dish back, arm, mast, foot, coax, etc. any way you want.
If you want PrimeTime 24 networks, but didn't lie or qualify under SHVA, or lost a network by challenge, or you want to see local news, you need an antenna. If indoor rabbit ears are not good enough, you might want one that attaches to the DISH. You can either bring a separate coax in for the antenna, or you can use a diplexor to make it share the DISH coax. Here are some I have seen on the Net. These are omnidirectional antennas with low gain, so are only useful in areas of strong signals where there are minimal reflections (ghosts) from mountains and buildings. If that is the problem, you will need a basic cable subscription or the EchoStar local channel service with a second DISH.
The DISH receiver generates an unusual amount of heat and must vent it out the top. Stacking a VCR or other equipment on top of the DISH receiver will probably overheat both of them. Two inches of separation between would be best. At minimum, get four or eight of those big stick-on feet at a local electronics store to raise the VCR up away from the receiver.
To take a IR/UHF remote control apart remove the two screws in the battery compartment, then carefully pry the two halves apart at the skinny end first, then walk up the side of the remote while continuing to pry.
The four non-brand-name AAA batteries supplied with my remote control were too weak to control my TV after one day of use. Even worse, someone reported that his batteries supplied with the remote leaked acid. Replace yours with a reliable brand right away, before you program the remote. When the batteries die, you will have to reprogram the remote.
Note: The four batteries are connected as two sets of two batteries each. One set of batteries powers one section of the remote and the other set powers another section. If one set of batteries is low or unseated the LED's may appear to be functional (giving the appearance that the remote is working) while the UHF and/or IR portion does not control the receiver.
I you are not able to program the remote with a code that will control your brand and model of VCR, call DISH. They will help you, and for some VCR's can give you a better remote.
Someone reported fixing a hum problem by insulating, with tape, the DISH mount from the roof vent pipe on which it was clamped. I am speculating that this may have been because the pipe is grounded at a point other than the electrical service ground rod. In general this problem may arise if the DISH ground is not bonded to the house service ground.
Some folks report a problem with hum in a stereo or surround system connected to a TV, which is connected to either cable or the RF output from a satellite receiver. Here is a fix for one type of hum problem: Connect the coax from your satellite receiver or cable into a coax-to-twin-lead adapter (matching transformer or converter) for connecting 75-ohm coax to twin-lead. Then connect with a very short twin-lead to a second identical converter. Then from the coax end of the second converter run a coax to the TV system. These transformers do not have a direct electrical connection and no 60 Hz hum goes through. Cost for two devices is about $3.
If you decide not to do it yourself, hire someone you trust with antenna installation skills. It is NOT required to have a master's degree in Satellite DISHology and a Certificate of Installational Wonderfulness from EchoStar. Check the local yellow pages under "satellite", but be careful and check them out because there are lots of incompetents. Better a smart electrician, smart carpenter or smart brother-in-law than a careless bozo with lots of "experience". It typically costs about $100. They will not need the "Installation Kit" either because they have the parts or can get them locally. If you can't find someone you can trust to know what they are doing, the DISH Installations Network, or Echonet, Installation hotline is 800-799-7175. They can do an installation in most areas, with a 90-day warranty, for $199 plus tax for a basic system, $59.99 for each auxiliary receiver, and they usually schedule to come out within 3 days.
Changes last made on: April 28, 1999 7:26 AM Page created by: carl_alsing@bigfoot.com
Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999 Carl J. Alsing