TREES, continued . . .

Often, when discussing satellite dish setup with customers, the subject of TREES comes up.  I usually joke about creating a tripod package that includes a chain saw to solve this problem.  We have discussed the issue in several previous editions of the newsletter.  In the May, 2009 Issue we covered "why the dish isn't pointed where you think it is" in relation to trees and other obstacles.  Additionally, in the December, 2009 Issue we discussed a clever AP for the i Phone that helps find a path through the tree canopy.  In the July, 2010 Issue we expressed our own personal frustration with trying to get a signal in a very heavily wooded site.  So, TREES can be a big problem when setting up a satellite dish, but not the biggest.  Mountains on the other hand are a huge problem.  With trees you have a chance to move the dish around a bit to get a shot but with a mountain in the way - you don't have much of a choice.

Some people use a device called Align-A Site™ as an aid when setting up their dish.  At one point we considered selling the product on our website but after further review we determined it wasn't a good fit for our product offerings.  The Align-A Site™ is typically mounted onto the dish and has a compass to determine the azimuth setting.  Many users find that the proximity of the compass to the steel dish renders it useless for that purpose because the readings are off as much as 20 degrees.

The Align-A Site™ also has an elevation setting that works well with a single LNB dish but not so well with a multiple LNB dish because it doesn't give you a plumb mast which is essential when hitting more than one satellite.

The one feature I did like on the Align-A Site™ was the scope that lets you see what the dish sees.  This feature is very handy for finding that small window through the trees to hit those satellites.

We are presently developing a scope system that can be used with our TV4RV.com Tripods.  Once the tripod is aimed at the azimuth and leveled the scope will be placed on top of the tripod and aligned with the tripod's index mark.  The elevation of the scope will  be set to the correct setting beforehand.  Then, when looking through the scope's viewing port you can see exactly what your dish will see, allowing you to move the tripod, if necessary, before installing the dish.  We hope to have this new item available by early March.  The photo to the right is an early prototype.