I had E* for an install today. I didn't go since I didn't have a "clear" line of sight to the sats. He was using an elevation angle of ~30 degrees.

WTF, that seems so damn low that I'm surprised anyone could get an install. Any who, anyone know what the elevation angle is for D*? is it about the same as E*, higher/lower?

btw, i'm in Cleveland, OH.

thanks.

ohiost90,

The D* satellites are east of the E*, so from Cleveland they would be a little bit higher in the sky, but not too much. It could be enough to get signal although if trees were in the way of E*, they would like grow in the way of D*. My elevation in Seattle is 34, but when I lived in south Texas it was 52. For those of us on the west coast, the 61.5 satellite (Old Voom) has an elevation of 10, it actually looks like the dish is aimed down.

I'd suggest getting a second opinion for E* and D*. Living out here in the mountains with lots of tall trees I've seen many an unusual location for dishes.

Miner

You can try out this calculator - it says the elevation on the D* satellites in Cleveland is 38 degrees.

http://www.dishpointer.com/

Keep in mind as miner suggested that the dish does not have to go on the house. I'm surrounded by trees but was able to find one location in the corner of the yard that would work and had the dish mounted there on a pole.

Ross

miner/rtracey - thanks for both your replies.

The techs walked the yard. The only spot was right in the middle of the back yard. I wasn't about to sink a pole right in the middle of it.

I'm going to give D* a try in the spring/summer once all the foliage grows in. If i'm using the site right that you supplied RT, D* looks to be higher and more south. Both of which will help. BTW, awesome site - thanks.

no problem - good luck with D*

Ross

can I jump on? Potential new D* customer here, question is - 1) does the "elevation angle" that I've gotten from d* site equal the true angle of the dish (if you were to put a pole through the center of dish, would the angle of that pole to the ground = "elevation angle?") Confused because I've been reading about offsets etc.

part 2) does the satellite signal come in from a higher angle? I'm in los angeles, and calculated 46* but there's a building roughly in that vicinity, which I might be able to get over the roof of, especially if the signal comes in from a higher angle. can anyone speak to this please? Thanks

bradyman,

The pan itself is not at the elevation listed, nor is the arm that comes out from the pan. The arm is typically about 22 degrees less than the actual elevation. For a 46 degee elevation that makes the arm about 1/2 the actual angle. So to answer question 2, the signal comes from higher than it appears relative to the pan and arm of the dish. 46 degrees is still 46 degrees. If one extends their arm straight out parallel to the ground, that is 0 elevation; and if one's arm is straight up to the sky is 90 degrees elevation. 46 degrees elevation would be pretty much half way in between.

Miner

bradyman,

The pan itself is not at the elevation listed, nor is the arm that comes out from the pan. The arm is typically about 22 degrees less than the actual elevation. For a 46 degee elevation that makes the arm about 1/2 the actual angle. So to answer question 2, the signal comes from higher than it appears relative to the pan and arm of the dish. 46 degrees is still 46 degrees. If one extends their arm straight out parallel to the ground, that is 0 elevation; and if one's arm is straight up to the sky is 90 degrees elevation. 46 degrees elevation would be pretty much half way in between.

Miner

Ok- so is "elevation" the term used for the angle of the dish (the true angle the dish is "looking" or pointed? -not the arm), or is it the angle the signal comes in from?

The reason I'm asking is I have to set my dish up through my apartment window (trust me, it's the only option I've got) and there's a building to the southwest of my window - I estimated w/ crude methods, and if the dish needs a 46* "line of sight" to the satellite, I think I'm in the clear. I'll know when the guy come on the 4th.

Elevation is the vertical angle of the dish, in degrees. Where I live, the elevation is 52deg. Azimuth is the compass direction in degrees. Tilt is the rotation of the reflector dish assembly.

Through the glass will require some work. If you have line of sight to all 5 satellites, a big if, you still need to look at material. A single pane of glass can cause problems. A dual pane or low E window is a killer. Replacing the glass with a single plastic pane may work.

can I jump on? Potential new D* customer here, question is - 1) does the "elevation angle" that I've gotten from d* site equal the true angle of the dish (if you were to put a pole through the center of dish, would the angle of that pole to the ground = "elevation angle?") Confused because I've been reading about offsets etc.

part 2) does the satellite signal come in from a higher angle? I'm in los angeles, and calculated 46* but there's a building roughly in that vicinity, which I might be able to get over the roof of, especially if the signal comes in from a higher angle. can anyone speak to this please? Thanks

The elevation angles that are listed for satellites ARE the elevation that they are in the sky from your location - no matter how the dish is configured. The offset is compensated for in the elevation scale on the dish.


Highdef Jeff

For people who are getting satellite for the first time- The dish mount has to be mounted plumb using a level!!! This is very important for the numbers to work. You aim it using a compass at the coordinates provided. And there is an elevation scale and a skew (dish rotation) scale on the mount which gets you really close. You can tweak it from there using the onscreen audio guide. Use this advice to avoid dealing with the horrible customer service if you ever have dish alignment probs.