To install FTA satellite dish is not accomplished in easy ways. It is crucial that a person have the moderate electronic knowledge and patience in following step-by-step instructions. If you do not have these important qualities, then the installation will not be easy for you. Thus, you need to hire a professional satellite installer who can do the installation for you. Apart from the above mentioned qualities, you must also understand different definitions concerning the installation of FTA satellite dishes. These definitions include elevation, Azimuth, and polarization.

To install FTA satellite dish, elevation is essential as this refers to the angle between the physical location of the receiving satellite dish on earth and the broadcast satellite above the sphere. Elevation is not only the angle but also refers to the up and down adjustments made on the satellite dishes. Meanwhile, Azimuth refers to the compass direction of the satellite location and the left and right adjustments made on the satellite dishes. For every corrected value on the compass direction, it is called as declination angle. The polarization is the correction that balances the bending of the Earth element to the linearly polarized satellites signals. It is also called as skew or tilts. The linearly polarized signals use both horizontal and vertical polarization. The satellite dish should be adjusted to accurately receive signals on satellite transponders. The polarization adjustment balances the bending of the Earth by left or right rotation of LNBF.

To install FTA satellite dish, satellite site survey is very important. Doing this survey, the eligibility of the satellite location in receiving satellite signals will be determined. Keep in mind that not all areas are capable in receiving satellite signals especially if there are natural or man-made barriers that serve as blockage. It is important that the satellite location does not have obstruction views in able to receive satisfactory satellite signals. The acquisition and installation of mounting pole is relatively important in the setting up FTA satellite dishes. The diameter and height of the mounting pole is crucial in every satellite system installation. For bigger satellite dishes, a pole with larger diameter is required. However, if there are possible obstacles, a taller mounting pole is highly recommended.

To install FTA satellite dish, the installation requires for a standard stationary satellite dish. This kind of satellite dish installation is fairly straightforward. It should require satellite receiver to the dish location and coaxial cable in order to run. The length of the cable should be enough to secure the mounting pole, and run through the LNBF and satellite dish. The cable should have excess length to allow the dish to be permanently mounted.

To install FTA satellite dish, the satellite dish should be set to the polarization and elevation calculated. Once the settings for these calculations are correct, the satellite dish is surely aligned and has a signal finder. The satellite dish should be locked on the active signals. This can be done by adjusting the sensitivity of the signal finders to its optimum signal strength.

The installation of motorized FTA satellite dish system may require some skills in minor construction techniques and electrical wiring. Along with these skills, it is also important to have the knowledge about the installation process and convenience in working with heights. The initial step in the installation of the satellite dish system is aligning the motorized satellite dish. To begin this, you must congregate the dish then mount the HH motor on the pole. Ensure that the pole is solid and 100% vertical. Afterwards, mount the dish on the motor then install the LNBF on the dish. The LNBF should not skew or tilt. The pointing angles and technical instructions can be secured from the setup guide provided upon purchased or directly from the product’s website. The instructions on the product’s website are usually in videos, thus following the guides or procedures would be easy.

Once the pointing angles are already aimed from the website of motorized FTA satellite dish product, calculate it. You can do this by entering the zip code, selecting the motor type from the menu, and finally selecting go. This process will allow you to get your current location in terms of magnetic south, dish elevation, longitude, and latitude. The motor elevation of the motorized FTA satellite dish should be same as the latitude. The motor bracket’s latitude scale should be used. Then set the dish elevation but do not deduct the declination. The entire assembly should be pointed out to the compass magnetic south.

In connecting the receiver to the motorized FTA satellite dish, a coaxial cable should be used. Ensure that the receiver is not open in doing this step. Once the receiver and coaxial cable are already connected, turn the receiver “ON”. In the installation of the motorized FTA satellite dish system, the antenna setup will always be the highlight. The setup of the antenna will require another set of procedures. In most cases, the receiver is setup by default and with the use of remote controls.

Adjusting the correct angles will determine the accurate setup of a motorized FTA satellite dish. This can be check once the bar of “Signal Quality” reflects as green. If the bar is not green then the satellite dish system is not accurately aligned with the satellite. The dish elevation of the angle can be adjusted slowly to the correct directions. After this is done, perform a power scan on the satellite dish. This process will search for all available FTA channels. As soon as the scanning performance is completed, the data will be saved by the receiver. For more technical assistance on the process, you can call at the customer support of the product.

A Free-To-Air or FTA satellite dish receiver is designed to receive non-encrypted FTA satellite transferences. This satellite receiver can decode the data compression protocol of MPEG-2 that is used in FTA satellite transferences. Apparently, the satellite receiver cannot decrypt the satellite programming of DirecTV and Dish Network. Only old analog FTA satellite dish receivers can able to do this but such receivers are no longer in used today.

There are different types of FTA satellite dish receivers but the most common type is the stand-alone hardware box that looks similar with the satellite receivers of DirecTV and Dish Networks. Another existing type of a FTA satellite dish receiver is the PC-based. This type can allow you to watch the FTA satellite directly from the computer. Aside from the types, an FTA satellite dish receiver has different features as well. If you are opting of buying your own satellite dish receiver, you should look for these features. These features should include an EPG or Electronic Program Guide, allowing to zoom pictures, support picture in picture, built-in PVR or personal video recorder, dual tuners to allow recording and viewing of two different channels, PIP/PIG interface, S-Video output, Dolby SPDIF output, blind search power scan that will search all channels transmitted through a satellite, and on-screen display or OSD. The OSD should allow users to rename, delete, and move channels.

An FTA satellite dish receiver can be purchased from various vendors. Here is a list of vendors that you can use as guide:

·       Sonicview Receiver – highly competitive than the Viewsat and Pansat vendors. Its latest product is the Sonicview SV1000 equipped with numerous features.

·       Viewsat – offers vast range of products for satellite television. Among its popular products include the Viewsat Extreme, Viewsat Ultra, Viewsat Receiver, Viewsat Files, and Viewsat 2000.

·       Pansat Receiver – is the leading vendor when it comes to television satellite business. The digital receiver satellites of this vendor are capable of receiving data directly from the satellite. The array of products that this vendor offers include the Pansat Last Bin, Pansat Key Data, Pansat Files, Pansat Bin, Pansat 3500 SD, Pansaat 3500 Receivers, Pansat 3500 Receiver, Pansat 3500, Pansat 2700a, Pansat 2700, Pansat 2500a, and Product 2500 Bin.

·       Fortec Receiver – offers one good product for all television enthusiasts that is known as the Fortec Lifetime Ultra. This product surely guarantees the delight and satisfaction of the customer.

·       Coolsat Receiver – a vendor that uses breakthrough FTA technology. The Coolsat 6000 and Coolsat 5000 are one of its popular products. The Coolsat 6000 is the top class product while the Coolsat 5000 offers variety of series for the users.

Other quality vendors of FTA satellite dish receiver include Twinhan, Digiwave, MultiStar, Ariza, UltraStar, and BlackBird.

The installation of FTA Satellite Dish or Free to Air Satellite Dish can be tough. One must have the patience in following the instructions as well as the moderate knowledge in electronics. If you do not have any of these characteristics, then it would be better for you to hire a satellite installer in your local area who can help you. This article will serves as a tutorial for those who intend to receive multiple satellites using a dish rotor or motor.

In installing an FTA Satellite Dish, there should be different factors to consider. These factors include the elevation, azimuth, and polarization. Elevation refers to the up or down angles between the broadcast satellite beyond the physical location and horizon on the earth wherein the satellite dish will be installed. This factor is also the positive or negative adjustments made on the satellite dish. Meanwhile azimuth refers to the side-to-side direction. It is often the compass direction to the location of the satellites. This factor is also the left or right adjustments on the satellite dish. Apparently, the authentic azimuth calculation is comparative to the geographic location of the North Pole. On the surface of the earth, the compass usually positions to the magnetic location of the North Pole instead of its geographic location. The angular discrepancy between the two paths is known as the magnetic declination.

The polarization factor is the correction that balances Earth’s curvature related to the satellite signal. This applies for polarized satellites that are linear. It is also called as skew or tilts. Polarized satellites that are linear use both horizontal and vertical polarization. In addition, positive polarization has a direction of counterclockwise from the vertical while negative polarization has a direction of clockwise also from the vertical.

Installation of an FTA Satellite Dish may also require different steps:

The first step involves surveying of satellite location. The satellite location is essential will determine the eligibility of the satellite dish to receive signals. Natural barriers such as mountains, trees, buildings, and other structures can block the satellite signals. It is important that the satellite location has a clear view of the sky to receive reasonable signals.

The second step in the installation of an FTA Satellite Dish involves mounting pole setup. The diameter and height of the mounting pole should be determined prior to installation. If the satellite dish is larger then it requires larger pole diameter as well. To prevent movement, the pole should be secured with bags of concrete and made of steel. However, if the satellite location is stormy then more bags of concrete will be needed.

The third step of installing FTA Satellite Dish involves standard rules of installation. Many satellite dish manufacturers provide polarization scale to their clients that can they use as reference in the installation.

The fourth step involves the connection of cables, polarization, and elevation of the Free To Air Satellite Dish. It is important that the television set and FTA satellite dish receiver is close to the dish during the alignment procedure.

The fifth step involves the correctness of the satellite dish alignment when it comes to polarization and elevation settings.