Installing and configuring a satellite dish yourself: instruction + video

Every year, ordinary television antennas lose their popularity. Yielding to more advanced broadcasting methods - namely satellite and cable television. We will understand the nuances of selecting, installing and tuning a satellite dish.

Operator Selection

The connection should begin with the choice of the operator, or rather, the satellite from which your satellite dish will receive a signal. Its working scheme is such that the signals of certain channels arrive at the satellite, and then are reflected back to the earth. Here, a dish tuned to this satellite can pick up the signal from the TV channel, convert it through the receiver, and from there transmit it to television in decrypted form.

For a satellite dish to receive a signal, it must be directed in the direction where the transmitting satellite is located. You can choose it by the number of free channels, or by the general assortment.

About three dozen channels in Russian, for which you do not have to pay, can be caught from Yamal 201. If we talk about operators, the most popular are NTV-Plus, Tricolor-TV, and Rainbow. The cost of their services can be found on the pages of these operators on the Internet.

Thus, we can say that the first thing to do is to decide whether you are interested in the range or the savings. On the Internet you can find special services for finding affordable satellites broadcasting channels for free. If you are looking for easier, if not free, ways, contact any satellite TV operator.

Also, when choosing a satellite, keep in mind that the plate will need to be sent directly to it, i.e. if your apartment is facing the wrong side or your windows obscure tall buildings, trees, no tuning of a satellite dish with your own hands will help, you will have to install a dish on the roof.

How to choose an antenna

Antennas that receive satellite TV can be divided into three types:

• Direct focus - This is a classic version. The converter in the direct focus plates is mounted with the help of knitting needles directly in the center. Plate elements cast shadows on its surface, impairing signal reception. This type of antenna is more susceptible to weather - during rainfall and fog, the signal quality is much lower.
• At offset the focus is not in the center, as in the direct focus, but at the bottom. Such an antenna is mounted at a small angle, usually around 25 degrees. Due to this, snow or rain water does not accumulate in the plate, so the reception quality does not drop even in bad weather.
• Not so long ago a new type of antenna appeared - toroidal. Toroidal, perhaps the simplest antenna. With its help, you can easily receive a signal from several sources at once. In this type of plates, parabolic and toroidal reflectors and several irradiators are used. This avoids reinstallation before setting the toroid plate to another satellite.

Also plates may have suspension different types. The azimuthal structure is simpler; on it, a plate can be tuned to only one single source. In order to switch to another, it must be completely reconfigured. Polar can receive signals from several different sources. Most often, polar pendants are set to direct focus, and azimuth ones to offset plates.

It’s also important what material is the antenna made of. The most popular aluminum plates, they are very light and do not rust over time. Plastic plates are also very light, but they are the least durable. Steel plates are heavier, but they are not subject to deformation, unlike aluminum. Therefore, the quality of reception on them does not deteriorate over time. Mesh antennas are quite stable, not affected by wind, but they receive signals worse in a certain range.

Finally, you need to consider plate diameter. The larger it is, the better the reception quality will be. Setting a satellite dish on its own is not much different for different types of antennas.

Training

Before you start mounting a satellite dish yourself, determine which side of the world the windows of your apartment are facing. If you do not know this, the compass will help you determine the exact direction.

Important: the compass may not display correctly if placed near a reinforced concrete wall.

If there is no compass, you can also determine with the help of the sun, although not so accurately. As you know, the sun rises in the east, in the middle of the day it happens in the south, and sets in the west. You need to choose the sunniest side for installation, since most satellites are usually located on the south side of the sky.

So that the antenna does not block anything, it is better to install it on the roof. However, in apartment buildings, it is not uncommon for satellite TV antennas to steal from the roof. If you are unsure of the safety of your roof, choose the south side of the wall or balcony.

Installing a satellite dish

To figure out how to properly install a satellite dish, instructions for antennas are not required. Pay attention to the picture:

Important: the mounting part of the rack (in the figure it is colored green) should go vertically. Otherwise, it will be much more difficult to align the antenna.

Also of great importance is the choice of location for mounting the antenna. The antenna should not be blocked by trees, power lines, neighboring buildings, it should be turned in the direction the satellite is located. Only window glass can enter the antenna mirror.

If you live in your own home, install the antenna as high as possible - this is more likely to catch the best signal. The higher, the less dusty the air, which means that the signal will pass without interference.

First of all, install the rack. The antenna mirror, bracket and converter can be assembled at home in advance - this way it is much faster and easier to align the drain vertically. In no case do not attach the antenna to the wall with self-tapping screws and plastic dowels - over time, under its own weight, the antenna will begin to deviate and lose the signal. It is better to use 20-centimeter or longer collet studs, with a thickness of 8 millimeters or more.

You can learn more about installing a satellite dish from the video:

To find out which direction the antenna can be directed, you can use special services on the Internet. To do this, just mark the place where you plan to install the antenna and select from the list of satellites the one whose signal you are interested in. In addition, for complete confidence, you can check the signal reception by connecting the antenna to the TV, but not fixing it to the wall.

Take the antenna in your hands near the window where you plan to mount it. Of course, in this position the signal will be worse, but if it reaches at least 70% of the desired, you can safely start the installation. The better you choose the installation side, the easier it will be to set up a satellite dish yourself.

When installing the antenna, do not rush to immediately tighten the nuts firmly - first adjust the position of the antenna.

Antenna adjustment

After fixing the antenna on the bracket, connect it to the TV using a special cable. One end must be connected to the receiver, and the other to the antenna convector. If the convectors of a satellite dish have 3 or more satellites, first you need to connect all the convectors through the drive, and connect it to the receiver or tuner.

When the antenna rests firmly on the bracket, the cable between the receiver and the converter is routed, you can proceed to the next stage and tune the satellite dish to the desired satellite. The general direction is best determined using a compass, and the satellite antenna is precisely tuned according to the signal level.

Important: Observe the required angle for your model.

Only when the signal level is the best, you can fix the nuts that secure the antenna to the wall. You need to spin it very well, because the antenna will swing by the wind, and it should last as long as possible. The cable also needs to be fixed - it is best to nail it to the wall at regular intervals. So the wire will not bother you and will be more protected from mechanical damage.

Tuner tuning

Correctly setting up a satellite dish yourself is even easier than mounting it. Before setting up a satellite dish, read the instructions that came with it so you don't need to set up a satellite dish for dummies.

First, install the correct language and check if the latest firmware version is installed on it. If your version is very outdated or there are some important changes in the new one, tuning the tuner begins with its flashing. You can set up a satellite dish yourself without firmware, but it will give you more advantages of using the receiver.

After that, set the correct time and date on it, define your time zone and configure other parameters. In the channel search menu, select the desired satellite.

The final tuning of a satellite dish with your own hands is to fine tune the signal. Open information on the signal level - based on it, finalize the antenna setup. Having reached the maximum signal level, scan the satellite. To open channels, open the operator’s access card.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in setting up a satellite dish.

When you have connected and configured everything, you can see that a number of channels in the list are marked with a symbol. It can be an asterisk, an exclamation point, or some other attention-grabbing symbol. This is how paid channels are designated. To watch them, you need to buy a key card that provides access to them.

Do I need to make a satellite dish?

Many people who want to put a satellite dish are wondering if they need to receive any permissions, register the antenna in some instances or engage in some other kind of bureaucratic red tape. The answer to all these questions is one - no.

If you live in an apartment building, that is, you are not the full owner of the building on which install the antenna, you may need permission from the owner of the building or organization operating this building. To avoid this, you can mount the antenna on the balcony - since you are its full owner, no permissions will be required.

But in this case, the antenna will swing with a strong wind, violating the reception quality. There is another way out of the situation. When ordering a satellite dish in a large company, you do not have to issue any permissions - the operator will do this.