Your
Satellite Downlink
Installing
a New Satellite Dish
IN
THIS SECTION:
Site
Selection
Dish
Selection
LNB
Selection
Dish
and LNB Installation
Setting
and Adjusting the Antenna
Coaxial
Cable
Receivers
Site
Selection
The
first thing you will need to do is a site study to determine that a
satellite dish will work at your proposed location. You can either do
the study yourself, or hire someone to do it for you. If you "do it
yourself" you need to do the following:
Check
the arc clearance by using
a compass and an inclinometer. You need to check whether all the desired
satellites can be seen from the proposed site. Don't check for only
one satellite; the service could move to another satellite. Inclinometers
are available at architect's or surveyor's supply houses. Hardware stores
also have devices to measure elevation.
Check
the local zoning laws
to see if there are any regulations regarding land use. Are there any
limits on dish visibility from the street? Are you in a historic district
or on landmark property?
Check the property you want to use.
The dish and the cable routing should be entirely on your owned or leased
property.
Locate
all terrestrial interference.
Some areas to check for interference include telephone company microwave
links. These terrestrial microwave links use the same C-Band frequencies
used by your satellite equipment. Mobile cellular phones operating between
806 and 890 Mhz can generate harmonics that can be a problem. The second
harmonic of a microwave oven is near the satellite band. Radio altimeters
and airport radars operating just outside the satellite band have also
caused problems.
Following are some suggestions to
minimize interference: Since C-band downlinks are not required to be
licensed, you can frequency coordinate and license the site; this will
force new microwave users to not interfere with you. Walls, fences or
buildings can be used to block interference from specific directions.
You could also use filters between the feed element and the LNB. These
filters can eliminate some of the interference but at the same time
may also hurt the desired signal.
Advantages/Disadvantages
of a roof location
Advantage:
may be at the studio location
Disadvantages:
terrestrial interference is greater and harder to avoid on roofs
may have difficulty getting roof rights from landlord
may have difficulty securely anchoring the dish
roof mounting jobs often cost more than the dish and receiver themselves
other buildings may obstruct the view of the satellite arc
Advantages/Disadvantages
of a ground location
Advantages:
may
be at the transmitter site, which you may own
if at the transmitter site, may be away from terrestrial interference
can pour a concrete slab and have a sturdy installation
Disadvantage:
if not at the studio, getting audio and cueing contact closures back
to the studio adds expense and unreliability.
