You may have a satellite receiver that was designed to find and program the
satellites on its own. However, even these “smart” receivers will require you to
find and identify one upper and one lower satellite. There also are automatic
dish peaking and polarity peaking features on some receivers. If you choose to
use these auto features, first follow the steps presented below to get your dish
to track the Clarke Orbit. Once you are confident that you are receiving your
best signal on a lower and upper satellite and have programmed them into the
receiver, you are ready to turn on the auto program feature.
The accuracy of these auto features primarily depends on which brand of
receiver you have purchased. Some receivers occasionally miss a satellite or
two and you often find that you can peak the position of the dish and polarity
better manually. It is recommended, especially during the initial installation,
that you turn these features off.
Many receivers have a scanning feature that is handy for locating satellites.
These receivers scan repeatedly through all of the available satellite channels
at a rapid pace, providing you with glimpses of the active transponders.
Channels will flash by on your TV screen as you move the dish past a satellite.
You can go back to where the flashed occurred, turn off the scan feature, and
identify the satellite by comparing the programming you encounter to the
satellite TV program grids. Some satellites only carry a few active
transponders. Without the scan feature, you would need to select an active
transponder and tune to the correct polarization before you could find the
satellite.
Preview the sections in your receiver manual on dish set-up and programming.
Also read through these next steps to get familiar with the overall steps to get
familiar with the overall procedure you are about to perform. Finally, initiate
each of the steps below.
Inclinometer readings for the satellite look angles should be taken on the back
plate of the antenna or on a surface parallel to the plane of the rim of the dish.
1) Determine the elevation of the lowest satellite available from your location
and move the dish until the inclinometer registers that elevation.
2) Engage the receiver’s scan feature or set the receiver to a channel which
should have programming on it. A 24 hour service, even if it is scrambled,
would be a good choice. Refer to a current satellite program guide to find a
suitable selection.
3) Push the dish to the right or left so that it rotates on the pole until you see a
flash of video on your TV screen. Turn off the scan and go through the
channels until you find video.
