Dish Alignment

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How to align a sky satellite dish

Ten Easy Steps on The Right Way to Mount a Satellite Dish

Do you want to mount your own satellite dish? you must be insane? Working at heights, probably without the correct equipment and possibly making do with a ropey old ladder? Sounds like a recipe for a disaster. But, if you really must, then go for it. If you're somehow driven to set up your own personal satellite system, read on. I can tell you how to install it correctly in ten easy steps.
The equipment you are likely to need:- A satellite system and decoder - of course, RG6 Coax Cable, a very good ladder, a satellite signal meter, a compass, a level, an adjustable wrench, a drill, maybe a cordless drill and screwdriver, nut driver bit for the drill, lag bolts, cable ties, screw clips.
No.1Look at the direction of the neighbour's satellite dish. It should give you a good idea of which way your dish should be facing to pick up the Astra satellite. Generally, in the UK, this angle varies from 20 degrees in the North to 30 degrees in the South. You must have a clear line of sight. Any branches or telephone poles in the way will affect the reception to your satellite dish.
No 2Your satellite dish should come with a mast. Attach the mast to something solid using the bolts. e.g. a chimney or perhaps a wall. Use your spirit level to make certain that the mast is level.
No. 3Place the dish itself onto the mast but don't fully tighten the bolts at the moment. This comes later when you've aligned it correctly.
No. 4Run RG6 coaxial cable through the dish and out to the LNBF (Low Noise Block down converter Feedhorn - but you do not have to know that!). Now connect the cable to the LNBF & attach the LNBF to the dish. Do not over tighten the screws at this stage.
No. 5If you possess a satellite signal meter, now is the time to get it out. They are not massively costly any more and you can buy them in Curry's. Now, connect the other end of your coaxial cable to the meter. Turn the meter on, and when you find a satellite signal, your meter will light up or make a sound to let you recognize that you have locked on. If you don't hear or see anything from the meter, turn your dish left, right, up and down to locate it.
No. 6In the event you don't have a meter (or you're too tight to buy one!) you can still use your TV to view the signal strength. You will have to get someone to shout up with all of the readings.
No. 7Once you have the strongest signal, tighten up all of the bolts and screws on the dish. The smart guy leaves the meter on while they do this to make sure it hasn't moved.
No. 8Now you may run the coaxial cable from the dish to the satellite receiver. You may find you will need to drop the cable down the front or rear of the home and then drill a tiny hole through the wall to run the cable through. Use the cable ties and screw clips to make sure that you have a decent tidy finish, hiding as much cable as possible.
No. 9Once you have pushedthe cable through the other side to the room where the receiver is located, simply attach it to the 'Satellite in' port. Connect the satellite receiver to your TV and follow the on screen instructions to tune it in.
No. 10
That is it, you are finished. Relax and begin scrolling through the hundreds of channels now appearing in your front room.

About the Author

I always put satellite systems up for myself and other people for a living. On the rare occations that I have a problem I use a company called <a href="http://serviceteam.co.uk">Aerial Installer London</a>

Is it a crime in California to change someone else's satellite dish's alignment?

I live in an apartment building and we have a DirecTV dish on the roof. The landlord approved of the installation and the roof is not part of any apartment.

Our upstairs neighbor (it's a two-story building, so the dish is above his apartment) has now twice climbed up to the roof and misaligned the dish. Can he be prosecuted?
We're in Berkeley, Alameda County, California.

In a strange case I guess it could rise to the level of vandalism.