Hi there - i am just wondering if anyone can help. I tried to get sky installed last week but was unfotunatly told be the installer that it couldnt be installed because of a big (and i mean big) tree next door. The tech was here for about 10mins, walked around the house then told my wife the only place was in the corner of the yard on a post, but we would have to trench the cable in blah blah blah ... sooo i called someone i know in the industry and he told me that the easiest way to check it is that the dish has to be on a 45 deg angle pointing 318 deg - so i jumped on the roof and checked a few spots and thought it might be possible so called sky back and they got the same tech back around - and he wandered around with a satelitte and meter at ground level saying "cant get the signal - see " and the meter starts beeping - he basically told me there is no way to get it because of the tree - but the meter was beeping ? I dunno - now i'm confused. I know sky arent in the business of not installing sky - but does this seem correct. Also he said i have to trench and conjuit (sp) the cable then pay for the extra cable at $2 a meter - someone please help ! thanks.
Would love to but its about 30m high and the trunk is about 1m across - i just wanted to know a) if the tech was right and b) Any ideas on how i can get around it ? Can i tap into my neighbours dish ????
Could the top of the tree be trimmed, so you could get a clear view of the sky. Of course you will have to pay for it, and if the council gets involved that's another story. How about attaching it to the tree itself.
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charging you for the extra cables fairly dodgy. A beeping meter does NOT mean it neccessarily has signal, most meters beep when they are plugged into an LNB. Why bother hacking into your neighbours dish when you get the dish for free anyway...
Would a larger dish increase the gain enough to get a signal? I know Sky only have their standard dish but perhaps a satellite TV expert on GZ could advise whether a Sky multi-throat LNB could be fitted to a larger dish?
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Either chop down the tree or find an alternative location for your dish :(
He is not correct.
The dish is not being installed at ground level , so why walk around there. In any case you cant just 'walk around ' with the dish connected to a meter without stopping to accurately align the azimuth / elevation. You should have insisted he go up on the roof and test it there.
I find installers are a pain at times not willing to go the extra mile, for my current flat Telstra said they would not install cable as the pole was made of steel and there was a wooden one next door they could of gone off that does the rest of the houses in the area.
I am from the old school and go with the "where there is a will there is a way", but as Brunzy says, you cannot just walk around with a dish quickly to get a signal, you must attempt to align it each time, dont forget you are aiming at a device the size of a Transit Van thats 33,500km away with an antenna thats got a -3dB beam width of only 3-5deg, you have to make sure your got the right van!.
Trees can be an issue, and a bigger dish is unlikely to help. It must be very close to the house as the elevation in the lower NI is around 40deg so you must be pretty much in the tree. Often the only solution is to cable out to a clear area, but only after a proper roof survey is done.
Sky installers are paid by Sky a very small amount to do the install, so if its too hard it will start to cost, so they can be less incline to go the extra mile, often in situations like this getting a independant installer to do the hard work is a good option.
Thanks guys for the reply - was told be someone in the industry that the particular tech was the first one to run if the install looked a little too hard to do - i could pole away from the house - which is an option i am considering. Maybe i do get an independant installer to have a proper look - once again thanks for the replies , its good to know people are still willing to help us that dont know alot and are getting duped !
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