Sky/Freesat Satellite Dish

Index

• 1. How to assemble a sky/freesat satellite dish 
• 2. How to mount a sky/freesat satellite dish
• 3. How to align a sky/freesat satellite dish
• 4. Running the cables & attaching connectors
• 5. Installing the satellite receiver 

1.  How to Assemble a Sky / Freesat Satellite Dish

List of sky dish components

• Sky satellite dish
• Wall bracket
• Wall tube (arm)
• Elevation Bracket
• Dish Bracket
• Fixing Kit
• Feed arm
• LNB (plastic insert)

Tools needed to assemble sky dish

• 10mm, 13mm socket and ratchet
• Philips screwdriver

Steps to assemble the satellite dish

• Open fixing kit and select U-bolts (qty: 2), nuts (qty: 4)
• Insert the U bolts through the wall bracket
• Thread on the nuts
• Insert the arm and tighten the nuts using 10mm socket and ratchet.
• The wall bracket & arm assembly is complete
• Next insert U-bolts (qty: 2) through the elevation bracket
• Loosely tighten nuts
• Attach the Elevation bracket to the dish bracket
• using bolts and washers (qty: 4) and tighten with 13mm socket and ratchet
• Use the bolts and nuts (qty:4) and the philips screw driver to attach the dish bracket to the dish.
• Use the long threaded bolt and small nut to attach the Feed arm to the back base of the dish bracket so the arm protrudes in front of the dish
• Finally insert the LNB (and plastic insert) into the end of the arm and secure with a tie wrap.

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2. How to Mount a Satellite Dish

Equipment needed to mount a satellite dish on a wall

• Sky satellite dish, complete with wall bracket and arm
• Coach bolt M8 x 50mm & 10mm plastic plugs (qty: 4)

Tools needed to mount on a wall

• Cordless drill - ideally a 24-36v SDS Drill
• 8mm, 10mm drill bits
• 10mm, 13mm socket and rachet
• Satellite meter

Criteria on where to mount the satellite dish?

• Dish must face South East (141 degrees i.e. direction of sun 11am BST).
• Wall must be a solid surface capable of carrying weight of satellite dish
• Signal must not be blocked by houses or trees (signal is coming in at 21 degrees to the horizontal)
• Place at back or gable end of house to minimise visual intrusion
• Place as close at possible to room / wire box to which the satellite cables are to connect so as to minimise cable run

Steps

1. Place the wall bracket and arm in the correct location
2. Use the cordless drill and 8mm drill bit to drill 4 guide holes
3. Use 10mm drill bit to drill holes to a depth of 60mm
4. Insert the 4 plastic plugs in the holes and mount the wall bracket using the 4 Coach bolts.
5. Tighten the coach bolts using the 13mm socket and rachet.
6. Attach the satellite dish to the arm of the wall plate
7. Use 10mm socket to lightly tighten the dish 'U'-bolts so they are fixed to arm but the dish can still rotated
8. Follow steps in the How to Align a satellite dish guide above 

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3. How to Align a Sky / Freesat Satellite Dish

1. Having already mounted the satellite dish on
2. Attach your satellite meter to the dish LNB
3. Align the dish so that it is (1) perfectly vertical, (2) pointing South East (141 degrees).
4. Rotate the dish slowly over and back.
5. Repeat adjusting the tilt angle by 1 or 2 degrees to until a signal is found.
6. Tightend the U-bolts and side bolts using the 10mm & 13mm sockets.
7. Disconnect the satellite meter
8. Connect a cable with an 'F-type' connector from the Dish to the satellite box
9. Check that the signal is working.

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4. How to Run the Cabling & Attach Connectors

The next step is to run satellite cable to thesatellite receiver.

Tools Needed

• Hammer
• Snips
• Drill
• SDS Drill Bit 10X450

Equipment

• Satellite Installation Kit 

Prior to Begining you must decide

• Decide how to run cable
  • connect into existing cables in the attic
    • Normally neater but requires additional connectors
    • May need a multi-meter to be able to identify the correct cable
    • May result in longer cable runs
  • Run a cable directly from the satellite dish to the satellite receiver
    • Fastest and eastiest way to run a cable
    • Cable runs are normally shorter
    • Requires the drill of a hole through a wall
    

STEPS

1. If the satellite reciever is to be located next to the external wall of a room
   • use a drill and an SDS Drill Bit 10X450 to drill a hole through the wall
   • ensuring to drill from the inside out.
2. To conceal broken plaster use either:
   • Hole tidy (insert inside and out before the cable is run)
   • Cable Cover  nailed onto the outside wall after the cable has been run
3. Feed the end of the satellite cable through the wall leaving enough cable to reach the front of the satellite box.
4. Now start tacking the cable using 7mm clips and a Hammer
   1. Ensuring that the cable runs down from the hole that been drilled in the wall
   2. This will stop water following the cable into the house.
5. Continue tacking the cable
   • Run cable vertically or horizontally but NEVER diagonally
   • If possible hide cable under the plint or behind drain pipes (using 300mm cable ties)
6. Cut the cable leaving enough lenght to reach the LNB of the dish
7. Put on an F Connector on the each end of the satellite cable
8. Screw the F connector on the LNB
9. Seal the connection using Insulation tape or ideally waterproof Self Amalgamating tape 
10. Secure the cable to the dish feed arm using either 300mm cable ties or Insulation tape
11. Final Step is to put on an F Connector on the satellite cable next to the satellite receiver

How to put on an F-Connector

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5. How to Install a Satellite Receiver