# Directv dish and receiver help



## diyorpay (Sep 21, 2010)

I am no expert.
Assuming your equipment is installed correctly, aiming the dish remains.
When I installed my original DTV dish many years ago, all I had was a general idea of where to aim. I was on the roof, wife by the tv, receiver set to settings screen showing signal strength.
Trial and error over cell phones got us to catch the general direction, then up/down/left/right small changes until optimized reception.
DirecTv for 'cable' channels and USSB for premium HBO.
Equipment worked for years until new tv designed for higher quality made SD picture look worse than playing a DVD.


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## notnew2diy (Sep 1, 2017)

I have dishnet. I hit the dish many years ago. Not much but enough. My dish is on a pole in the ground, maybe 15' from a basement window. Moved receiver box and tv very near the window where I could see it from outside. I ran a shorter piece of coax to the box. Set receiver to setting for signal strength. Since I had an approximate angle, I kept playing w/it until the signal got better. 

Yep...took me a while...but saved me a service call charge.

HTH...Don.


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## SW Dweller (Jan 6, 2021)

See if you can get T mobile 5g internet for $50 a month. Then go with a streaming app.
I was playing with my tv last night looking at the free apps and it was working just fine. I have had an over the air antenna for the last 9 years as the sat people pissed me off. OTA is a lot location based TV Fool. 
Lots of choices but again it is based on location


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## PeteMag (Oct 15, 2019)

SW Dweller said:


> See if you can get T mobile 5g internet for $50 a month. Then go with a streaming app.
> I was playing with my tv last night looking at the free apps and it was working just fine. I have had an over the air antenna for the last 9 years as the sat people pissed me off. OTA is a lot location based TV Fool.
> Lots of choices but again it is based on location
> [/QUOTE


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## PeteMag (Oct 15, 2019)

I've not had any luck but then my time was limited is I may just have to be a little more patient aiming the dish. My concern was I'm not even getting a blip on the receiver meter at the suggested DTV elevation and Azimuth. T-Mobile is not available in the area yet, maybe one day. I can stream stuff but not live TV or the major networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

PeteMag said:


> Wish I could find a streaming service that allows live, local tv at two locations at once.


We get our local CBS station on Paramount+, and NBC on Peacock, and watch them on multiple TVs at the same time. If you have different 'local' stations at the 2 locations, and want to watch the separate local channels, you'd most likely need a second subscription to the streaming service, one for each address.


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## diyorpay (Sep 21, 2010)

To followup HotRod's comment:
I am not a fan of DirecTv Stream but I remain a customer. My main gripe is the price. BUT, it has a good perk.
IF, you have a decent, good to excellent internet service at both locations and,
you want to add 'cable' and local channels, and,
IF you became a DirecTv Stream customer and use an 'outside the smart tv device' like a ROKU with the DirecTv Stream app,
your delivered service area content is dependent solely upon the street address of the credit card you attach to your account.
For example, if you lived in Florida but then moved to California, and wanted to follow the Marlins, Rays, Heat, Dolphins etc you would leave your Florida credit card with a Florida address in place and watch Florida local channels and sports channels in California.
No matter what 2 locations you choose, the same Florida content would be delivered if the credit card address was in Florida.

Regardless, if you want to get that dish working, keep trying. Line of sight to satellite must unobstructed to travel that 22 thousand miles.


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## wedoitall (3 mo ago)

did you get the signal yet? if not I've been in the business for 20 years as a service addon to my existing, ever-growing offerings. I'd be happy to help over the phone for free. There are a couple small snags that can happen if you don't do this type of thing everyday. one being to make sure the 2-3 bolts/nuts on the dish(part that slips over the mounting pole) needs to be snug. If not there will be some up and down play, ever so slightly. Ever so slightly, can make you be off the pie in the sky by hundreds or thousands of miles. just a half degree deviation down here can be every bit of hundreds of miles up there, they're supposedly something like 23000 miles up in space or something . usuallny people snug down the top nut and bolt on the dish (azimuth part) and leave the bottom loose some. not matter how level you have the mounting the dish will be off on the elevation if bottom nut left loose. Also the nuts nd bolts for the elevation adjustment need to snug but still loose enough to make adjustments. if that is the issue , you'll notice it next time at the dish. once you do see a signal. tighten it down then you can barely flex the dish left and right , up and down to see which way you need to go to make the signal as high as possible. .


if thats doesn't do it. try to search grid method. start a few degrees lower than elevation given. scan left to right in a straight line on azimuth adjustment. if no signal on that elevation (I.e 43 degrees) move up to 44 degrees and scan your horizon left to right to left this time. if that doesn't hit try 45 deg. elevation left to right then 46 right to left , 47, left to right and so on until you get a signal. IIRC the directions is true north also...as magnetic north will be slightly off by like 12 degrees or so, iirc.


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## PeteMag (Oct 15, 2019)

wedoitall said:


> did you get the signal yet? if not I've been in the business for 20 years as a service addon to my existing, ever-growing offerings. I'd be happy to help over the phone for free. There are a couple small snags that can happen if you don't do this type of thing everyday. one being to make sure the 2-3 bolts/nuts on the dish(part that slips over the mounting pole) needs to be snug. If not there will be some up and down play, ever so slightly. Ever so slightly, can make you be off the pie in the sky by hundreds or thousands of miles. just a half degree deviation down here can be every bit of hundreds of miles up there, they're supposedly something like 23000 miles up in space or something . usuallny people snug down the top nut and bolt on the dish (azimuth part) and leave the bottom loose some. not matter how level you have the mounting the dish will be off on the elevation if bottom nut left loose. Also the nuts nd bolts for the elevation adjustment need to snug but still loose enough to make adjustments. if that is the issue , you'll notice it next time at the dish. once you do see a signal. tighten it down then you can barely flex the dish left and right , up and down to see which way you need to go to make the signal as high as possible. .
> 
> 
> if thats doesn't do it. try to search grid method. start a few degrees lower than elevation given. scan left to right in a straight line on azimuth adjustment. if no signal on that elevation (I.e 43 degrees) move up to 44 degrees and scan your horizon left to right to left this time. if that doesn't hit try 45 deg. elevation left to right then 46 right to left , 47, left to right and so on until you get a signal. IIRC the directions is true north also...as magnetic north will be slightly off by like 12 degrees or so, iirc.


Unfortunately I've not had any luck. With mom n hospice I'm not sure when we'll get there. But if your offer stands I can contact you when I know we'll be there and maybe we can work something out. Thanks


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