How To Find Satellite Signals Without Meter? DSTV, DirecTV

We encounter many cases when there is no signal on our television sets. This is quite common in bad weather conditions. For example, if it is cloudy or rainy outside, you may have to wait till the weather clears for the signal to come back.

However, if there is a signal problem even if the weather is clear, then there is a fair chance that the dish has some issues which need to be fixed, we got you a guide to Find Satellite Signals Without Meter

How to Align a Satellite Dish Without a Meter?

Finding the correct frequency satellite signal does not need some hi-fi meters and equipment. All you need to do is to make some adjustments with the dish and monitor.

You can easily find satellite signals without a meter using your mobile phone. Go through this article to check out the steps.

1. You Need To Rotate Your Dish For Horizontal Adjustment

Azimuth adjustment, also known as East-West Horizontal Adjustment, it is a key factor here. You need a socket screw to take out the nuts and the bolts holding the dish.

You must first take the nuts for horizontal movement for smooth rotation in the left to the right direction.

2. Vertical Adjustment For The Elevation

Vertical adjustments are present for moving the dish up and down as suited. For doing so, the elevation bolts are present and you need to take these bolts out to make vertical adjustments.

3. Work With A Partner Who Can Monitor The Changes

Finding the appropriate signals is a task that you cannot do alone. You can, but it is going to be very tiresome for you because the dish antennas are usually set on the roof or some sidewall and you need to keep checking the signal strength on your TV.

Having a partner can help you check the signal peaks on your television while you are at the site where the dish is set up to make the adjustments.

• You need to set up right angles for proper signal transmittance.
• After you make short adjustments, horizontally or vertically, you need to wait since it takes time for the signals to be stable.
• Wait for your partner to notify you of the signal strength.
• The signal strength depends upon the adjustments that you make with the dish.
• You need to keep adjusting the dish until you get the signal with maximum peaks displayed on your television.
• One thing you need to make sure is that you get the correct signals by horizontal adjustments and then proceed to make the elevation adjustments.
• Once you find the maximum signal, you can tighten the screws again and fix the dish in an appropriate position.

How Do I Know Which Satellite To Point My Dish At?

The first and foremost thing you need to take care of is that the dish should not be covered by any building, tree, or other obstruction.

This is because the obstacles can hinder the signal transmittance, and you won’t be able to watch anything on your television.

The satellites are present in the geostationary orbit and transmit signals. And these are thousands of miles away from the earth so there must be a proper alignment of the satellite and your dish.

The correct angle and direction can be accurately determined by signal meters used by technicians.

You need to make sure that your satellite dish is both horizontally and vertically aligned for smooth transmittance of the signals to your TV set.

There are several ways to check that your dish is not aligned with the satellite up there:

• Interrupted signals
• Loss of picture
• Sound interruptions

Such conditions can also arise during bad weather conditions, but if not, then you can check again regarding the adjustments of direction using a meter or mobile phone.

Align DirecTV Without A meter:

Step 1: The first step for you to perform is to log on to the DishPointer website.

• Enter your address on the website.
• Jot the skew, elevation, and azimuth numbers of the dish.
• Click the Menu button on your remote.
• Go to the Settings.
• Click on Help.
• Tap on the View signal strength option.
• Click on the Signal Meters option.
• You will be able to see the signal strength received by your dish based on its position.
• Change the position of your TV to get a better resolution or according to your preference.
• You can also have some other person to assist you and keep a check on the television screen.

Step 2: Cross-check your address/ZIP code entered on the DishPointer site.

• Entering an incorrect code/ address can cause even more complications without solving your actual problem.
• Also, make sure that you are entering a distinct zip code.
• Enable movement by loosing screws.
• Arrange a wrench to loosen the bolts that fix the dish securely.
• Just loosen them, don’t remove them completely to make necessary adjustments.

Step 3: Rotate and adjust the satellite dish.

• As you continue to rotate your satellite dish, you need to keep a check on the fluctuating signal strengths that would appear on your television screen.
• Wait for a few seconds after making adjustments to get accurate signal strength.

Step 4: Adjust the elevation bolts.

• You need to adjust both horizontal and vertical bolts.
• You need to make sure that after making adjustments, both elevations are at their strongest points.
• This is also important to avoid repositioning again and again.
• Fix all the nuts back.
• Once you are satisfied with the signal strength, it’s time to secure the nuts.
• If the nuts remain loose, then the dish adjustments might get altered again.

Align a DSTV satellite dish without a meter:

Step 1: Set the vertical angle of the dish to 36.6 degrees.

Step 2: Check the skew angle on the LNB. It should be on the right-hand side of the dish, below the horizontal axis, by an angle of 53 degrees.

Step 3: The dish should face in the east direction.

• You need to be careful while setting the horizontal angle.
• You can take the shadow of your neighbor’s dish as a reference to set your dish plate at time 8-9 AM.
• Try to make adjustments and bring about the same shadow pattern.
• Search for signal strength using the decoder.
• Make fine adjustments until you get the strongest signal strength.

How To Find Satellites Signals With Meter?

Two major factors play a crucial role in signal transduction between the dish and the satellite.

These are:

1. Dish orientation
2. Dish angle

Line of sight is very important factor in signal transduction. This means that your dish plate must have direct contact with the satellite, and there should be no obstructions in between.

Three major adjustments include:

1. Azimuthal Adjustment
2. Elevation Adjustment
3. LNB Polarization

Follow these steps for further adjustments:

• The satellite meter comes with a short power cord.
• This cable is connected to the LNB.
• One cable is connected to the receiver as well.
• The display screen of the satellite meter turns on.
• Now rotate your dish sideways by adjusting the screws.
• You have to continuously check your meter to display peak values and stop when you reach that value.
• Best signal strength is provided with adjustments made in the horizontal direction.
• The signal strengths, according to the adjustments made by you, will be flashed on your meter screen.

FAQs

Final Talk

Now you have got a pretty good idea regarding the installations and fixing the signal issue, so you can fix it by yourself rather than paying a technician for the mere rotation of your satellite dish.