Advice needed, Motorised Dish Installation.

[smelltheglove]

Hi there,

I plan on beginning to install a 1m motorised dish installation this coming weekend.

I have had a good read of the sticky at the top which has given me great help and encouragement that i might just be able to pull it off!

The following link is a picture of where i plan to install, i plan on installing it as close to the existing dish as possible

http://omg.wthax.org/7p6wZV.jpg

which brings me to my first question, will it be ok being close to that, or should i be aiming halfway between the existing one and the chimney stack.

I have t&k brackets, and a 1.5m 51mm diameter scaffold pole to mount the dish on, i have very strong bolts for fixing the t&k brackets to the wall. I do live on a windy site, and the dish is solid, so I am worried that it might take a bashing at times. Any advice on this?

Next question is as regards the bits that have come with my package, I am slowly piecing them together in anticipation of getting a good run at it come the weekend,

Am i correct in following the picture linked below:

http://www.seeviewo.org/seeview/downloads/sat8.JPG

My bits are slightly different, but I am assuming the above is correct for what I am trying to do.

Actually below is my bits and pieces, I think I may have the bit circled on incorrectly?

http://omg.wthax.org/4RRFrJ.png

Am i right in thinking i will be leaving that loose, and then adjusting it when up there to achieve the strongest signal when I am trying to find 1W as in the sticky.

I have a Vu+ Solo, currently installing the latest Black Hole image, and intend to use the methods outlined in the sticky.

Anything I am doing wrong or should be aware of,

In case it matters I am located in North East England, I have already worked out the lattitude and longtitude, and have an idea where i should be pointing it based on the dishpointer website.

Thanks for reading.

[ramjet]

Hi there,

I plan on beginning to install a 1m motorised dish installation this coming weekend.

I have had a good read of the sticky at the top which has given me great help and encouragement that i might just be able to pull it off!

The following link is a picture of where i plan to install, i plan on installing it as close to the existing dish as possible

http://omg.wthax.org/7p6wZV.jpg

which brings me to my first question, will it be ok being close to that, or should i be aiming halfway between the existing one and the chimney stack.

I have t&k brackets, and a 1.5m 51mm diameter scaffold pole to mount the dish on, i have very strong bolts for fixing the t&k brackets to the wall. I do live on a windy site, and the dish is solid, so I am worried that it might take a bashing at times. Any advice on this?

Next question is as regards the bits that have come with my package, I am slowly piecing them together in anticipation of getting a good run at it come the weekend,

Am i correct in following the picture linked below:

http://www.seeviewo.org/seeview/downloads/sat8.JPG

My bits are slightly different, but I am assuming the above is correct for what I am trying to do.

Actually below is my bits and pieces, I think I may have the bit circled on incorrectly?

http://omg.wthax.org/4RRFrJ.png

Am i right in thinking i will be leaving that loose, and then adjusting it when up there to achieve the strongest signal when I am trying to find 1W as in the sticky.

I have a Vu+ Solo, currently installing the latest Black Hole image, and intend to use the methods outlined in the sticky.

Anything I am doing wrong or should be aware of,

In case it matters I am located in North East England, I have already worked out the lattitude and longtitude, and have an idea where i should be pointing it based on the dishpointer website.

Thanks for reading.

you should probably be going to the left towards the chimney stack and higher so neither dish interferes with the other, but keep the top of the dish below the roofline

yes the windload will be a lot so make sure its well secured, because as you say the wind pressure and load can and do cause damage so everybody should be aware of this and I would recommend rawlbolts not coach screws + rawlplugs to attach the T-K brackets

the circled bit looks upside down to me as I would think you want the mains adjuster at the bottom when its upright

the motor will be tightened to your latitude and locked up tight, as will the bolts holding the dish to the motor as well

the adjustment is left and right on the pole and also the dish elevation too

I dont find a vu easy to check the signals even with a preinstalled channel list so I usually use an old technomate or spiderbox instead and also use a satfinder with a beeper to get you pointed at a satellite, you wont know which until you check with a receiver using a premade list with various satellites on the menu

so ideally have a tv and the box close so you can view for channels as you adjust the dish, trying to get bbc world on 0.8w

[smelltheglove]

First off thanks for your reply,

I was thinking the circled bit was upside down, it is hard to visualise with the dish like that, i knew it was wrong after I had done it

I have the motor set to my lattitude and locked at the moment, the other bolts which have the sticker with the do not tighten with spanner image upon it, what is the problem with having these tight?

I do not intend to use the bolts and plugs that came with the dish pack, i have sourced longer stronger rawlbolt types as you have suggested

http://omg.wthax.org/7nBHbS.png

10mm, i am thinking these will be enough, 5 in total holding the t&k brackets.

When you say a satfinder, do you mean an app on a phone, or the in line type, i have both, but doubt the in line type has a beeper.

I will just have to hope the girlfriend is in a helpful mood come saturday as she will be on watch!

Thanks again.

[digicon]

Heres a tip make sure you go in at least 3-4 coarse in and down away from the pitch of the roof, the mini dish that is there now is just 1 coarse away from the roof pitch which wont matter for that size of dish but a 1m x windload speed can rip it right off the roof and possibly take some brick work if it is not far enough in.

If your using the Solo and you have either an android or iphone then you can download enigma signal meter for free which will lock onto your solo via the router and act as a signal meter very handy if your wi-fi will reach to where your install is going.

Not too sure how far away that tree is but that could cause issues when in full bloom if its too close.

[smelltheglove]

I was thinking the tree might pose a problem, it is quite sizeable, however I am on a bank, and it is half way down it, hard to appreciate the aspect in that photo, with a bit of luck I might be ok, here's hoping anyways.

Below is the dishpointer obstacle view, but I am not really sure how to read into that, I guess I will find out at the time.

http://omg.wthax.org/4MG3es.jpg

I appreciate the tip about the coursework, I would not have thought of that, and should have. I'm guessing that means I will need a pole that is longer than 1.5m, I will get on the ladder before the weekend and try to judge what I will need. Do you think with the dish being 1m in diameter, and allowing it to be little more than a metre above the pitch of the roof, and bearing in mind your tip, that i might be needing something between 2.5 and 3m.

Have downloaded the app you have suggested, thanking you, I am building up a nice little tool kit now!

[digicon]

The tree is a hard one to judge but if you go with what ramjet stated in between the 28.2 dish and the chimney then best thing to do is get up the ladders and have a peak at the distance from above that part of the pitch of the roof and the remaining height of the tree.

I would definitely go with at least a 2.5m pole or even 3m if you can source one that way you can have a larger ratio below the pitch of the roof than above and i would also suggest buy 2 sets of T&K's 12" is all you need there with 1 K at the top and bottom and a T in the middle and that will be rock solid.

Good luck with the install

[smelltheglove]

Thanks Digicon,

I have 18" t&k brackets at the moment, they were advised by the supplier of the package. So I will have to source another 18" K from somewhere. I was thinking 12 " myself at the time, but went with what they suggested.

Yeah I will measure for sure, I think 3 metre it will have to be, as you say that will be a good ratio for strength. When I say the site is windy, it really is, so i want this thing to be as solid as can be. I work in a place that does scaffold, so I guess I will return my 1.5m and get the 3m.

I guess that means my installation will be put off for another weekend. If you look at my join date, I have been on this site the same year as yourself, in all that time you have become a mod, and a combination of procrastination and lack of funds have meant that I still have not achieved my dream of a motorised set up haha!

"Don't stop believing"

[ramjet]

I definitely agree with digicon,s proposals there , including a longer scaffold pole and 3 brackets

as for the pictures, looking at where the sly dish is pointing (28e) I think you should be ok if the new dish is to the left and higher than the sly dish , say halfway between the dish and chimney stack and on a par with the black downpipe next door, but ensure you have a few courses of bricks between the top bracket and the roof as you dont want to damage the wall as digicon pointed out

I have never used a smartphone or app so I meant the type of beeper you add inline on the coax feed and powered by the box which changes pitch and tone when pointed at a satellite. sometimes the old methods are the best so an old technomate box and cheap sat beeper are good enough for me as long as I have them hooked into a tv monitor

[digicon]

No idea why they suggested 18" unless they assumed you had some large eaves to clear and so take the dish away from the edge more, working at that height you must think of safety first and 12" T&K's will mean you are not leaning back when placing the dish and the motor on the pole or any further adjustments afterwards.

If you do stick with the 18" ones then please do be careful when installing everything especially the dish at that height. If you can or know anyone in the trade nearby or maybe even a window cleaner believe it or not ask if they have a ladder stand off that you could use as this will bring you out further from the wall itself and then you wont have to lean back as much, I use my Microlite stand off all the time its a godsend and steady s the ladder to boot.

Good Luck

[smelltheglove]

Well I have finally accumulated everything I need for this project, and plan on starting the process tomorrow, hopefully the weather will be ok as it has not been so far this week!

I bought 12" as advised above, and so have 3 and have managed to get a 2.8 metre scaffold pole which should be big enough for the job.

Have plenty of anchor bolts too.

I have got the app working on my phone, the enigma signal meter one, so hopefully that will come in handy.

Anyways I plan on taking plenty of pictures and hope to make a guide, or an add on guide for the one that already exists and so try give a little back to the community.

Wish me luck.