So you want to assemble a satellite dish. With many homes prewired for cable these days, it's easy to convert your home from cable to satellite simply by installing a dish, then hooking it into your existing cable wiring.
Instructions
1. Locate where your exterior cable wiring is located, then find where you can mount your dish. The dish needs a clear, unobstructed view of the southern sky. This means no homes or trees between your dish and the satellites.
2. Run a wire from where you plan to install the satellite dish to where your exterior cable wiring is. Establish which wire controls a specific television, and hook the new satellite wire into it.
3. Put your satellite dish together. There are four main parts to the dish: its base pole, which attaches the dish to the side of your home; the round receiver part; the extension arm; and the LNB, which is the piece with anywhere between one and three white circles. Attach the extension arm to the round receiver, then attach the assembled part to the base pole. Run your wire down the hollow extension arm until it sticks out, and screw it into the LNB. Then, screw the LNB into the extension arm.
4. Attach the base pole to the side of your home using the screws that come with the dish. Keep in mind that this dish will be exposed to all the elements, including wind, rain and snow, so you should secure it as tightly as possible.
5. Park an assistant in front of the television that is hooked up to the satellite dish. Hook the box up to the television, and check the manufacturer's directions as to check the satellite signal strength. Once the box is in this mode, return to your dish and adjust it until you receive a high signal strength on your television. Sixty percent or more is the absolute minimum, but you're looking for better than 75 percent, if possible.
6. Call your satellite provider and activate the box. The representative on the phone will instruct you do this.
Tags: satellite dish, base pole, cable wiring, your dish, your home, exterior cable, exterior cable wiring