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If you are not in the trees, knowing where south is will point the dish in the right direction. If you level the tripod and dial in the dish settings from DSSatttool and then use PC OPI as suggested above you should find the sat in about 30 seconds.
If you are in the trees I've found the Suunto Tandem great for finding a hole to point the dish through before erecting it.
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If you have a smart phone you can just add the Dish Pointer app and you will have a tool that works as well as any other pointer and will help get you through the trees. If you want to spend the $400+ bucks for a Birdog, this does make pointing the antenna very easy since it does identify satellites even when pointing at the wrong one. This makes finding the right one very easy. In reality, just a bit of time and practice and you would find you really didn't need the Birdog. Don's PC OPI (assuming you have a PC and not a Mac) will get you up and running very quickly.
-------------------- Bill Adams Winegard Company Posts: 15776 | From: Traveling the Western US | Registered: May 2003
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I've got the PC OPI & DSSaTool already downloaded. I was reading Bob Hatch's article on setting up a tripod, is the align-a-site about the same as the Suunto Tandem Al because I will be in trees in the UP of Mi? How do you 'dial in the dish settings' from the DSSaTool into the modem or is it done just by running the DSSaTool? I have a iphone Bill, don't know if there is a app for pointing, I'll have to look.
What I'm going to attempt to do is make a practice run. I have the F1 set up now with a good signal. So the modem has the right settings and I am going to take the PC & modem outside to see if I can point it. In doing this, is there anything that would screw up my internet on the D3 & F1 when I return the modem inside the RV? The last thing I want to do is screw up my internet by just making a trail run on the tripod because I'm going to be here another month! Any other advise would be great! Sorry, this got long winded, Thanks
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Found it Bill, pretty interesting pointer. I spend two months in the southern Black Hills of SD and two months in the UP of Michigan. No cell phone reception so I don't know what good it will do me! In other words, because of this is why I have a datastorm. Now I want to use it in the trees also. Someone once told me that I could do this and no body would be the wiser.
Is it a good idea or a bad idea to remove the modem from the RV and take it and the PC outside?
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I don't think cellular reception is necessary, but what do I know. You can remove the modem without issue. If you try to do a cross-pol (DON'T!) and fail that would be a bad thing. Otherwise, it should all remain plug and play.
-------------------- Bill Adams Winegard Company Posts: 15776 | From: Traveling the Western US | Registered: May 2003
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Glenn, the only thing different about setting up in trees is to make sure there isn't a tree between the dish and the sat. If you are not in a field, stand where you'll put the tripod. Hold out the compass and sight where the sat is located. If there's a tree in front of you, move.
That's it. No rocket science here. If the woods is realy thick, you might need to sight along the elevation angle as well to find a hole in the tree line.
-------------------- Terrestrial Wireless (finally found an alternative!) Posts: 233 | Registered: May 2007
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Glen, I haven't used an Align-a-site, but I suspect it would be more accurate than the Tandem as it's connected to the dish, using the Tandem you are using your height as the reference when looking through it so in really dense trees the hole you find with the Tandem wouldn't be suitable for the dish.
The downside of the Align-a-site is that I think you have to set the dish up to do a sighting, no fun if you have to re-set the dish in multiple locations to find a hole to point through!
I've had good luck with the Tandem but if I had an I-phone, I would download the Dishpointer app. I'm hoping it will be available for my Blackberry Playbook soon.
In terms of your question about the modem move, I'm not sure if you are are set up with a wireless router or not, if you are it's easy to take the laptop out to the dish location and place it on a table (or have someone hold it for you) and then point the dish, you don't have to break down your computer set up in the RV that way.
[ May 07, 2012, 04:30 AM: Message edited by: Al McClughan ]
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The Align-a-Sight is used without the dish. You just set the Elevation, skew, and Az. Sight through the eye piece with both levels true and you will be able to find the holes in the trees. I would use mine in an Rv park site and mark the ground where the opening is so my wife would stop me when backing so when I deployed the Datastorm we found the sat every time without having to move the rig after set up.I use it every time I set up a stationary dish ether internet or Tv. They work great when you need one.
-------------------- Steve O'Bosky Dealer/Installer Datastorm/MotoSat TV 559-901-9044 sro54 at yahoo.com F1 DataStorm |D4|7000S|99W/1370|Linksys WRT54GC Windows 7 premiumSee our location Posts: 1086 | From: Visalia, CA | Registered: May 2003
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Everyone has their favorites, everyone's situation is different. I use a Bird Dog, Suunto Tandem, and dslookangle or Starband's PointDish to position/point my dish on a tripod. (Oh yea, GPS so I know here I am!)
The Tandem works fine for me, since an FCC requirement for a TFES is to have ..."the bottom lip of the antenna when fully deployed" ... "six feet above a surrounding surface which a person may easily access."
When I position my tripod using the Tandem, it is about 6' above the ground, so all works will. When pointing the dish/peaking the signal, the Bird Dog hangs nicely around my neck or from the tripod where I can easily see the numbers/hear the tones.
Like I said, different strokes for different folks.
-------------------- Lou Starband, Tripod, WRT54G, WiFi 1959 Avion Regal-26 1960 Avion Holiday 24 - may she RIP Say what you will about Sisyphus. He always has work. Posts: 83 | From: MD | Registered: Mar 2008
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Thanks Bill, obviously, you know a lot more then I do. When I get cell phone coverage I'm going to download 'dishpointer AR'. I will not do a cross-poll, thanks for the advice. I also ordered align-a-site in case the iphone app needs cell signal.
No Alternative, in the UP of Mi national forest I'll be lucky to find 'a hole'.
Al, I have a wired router and use ethernet cables. My wife gets headaches from wireless, not good. I'll figure it out but will wait until camping world sends my 'align-a-site' to try it.
That's a good idea Steve! I've gotten into sites where I guessed with my compass where to stop.
Thanks Lou, sounds like your armed for the 'aligement'! Six foot off the ground sounds a little ridicules to me. I have a tripod like the one in Bob Hatch's write-up. I don't even know if it will go six feet?
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