A motorised satellite dish is one of the most rewarding pieces of kit a satellite TV enthusiast can install. Instead of being locked to a single satellite the way a fixed Sky or Freesat dish is, a motorised system lets you swing the dish across the sky and pick up signals from dozens of different satellites. From a single dish you can access hundreds of free to air channels from across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and beyond.
The catch is that setup is more involved than a standard fixed dish. There are more components, more parameters to get right, and the dish itself has to be positioned with real precision. Get it wrong and you will either get nothing at all or you will be permanently fighting with weak signals and dropped channels.
This guide walks through the 10 key steps in order. Drawing on more than 20 years of installations across Walsall, Wolverhampton, Cannock and the wider West Midlands, we have refined this process so that, when each step is followed properly, the result is a smooth and reliable system that holds its alignment for years.
Step 1: Site the Dish
The first job with any motorised system is finding the right spot. The dish needs a clear line of sight across the southern sky. In the UK that means looking roughly south, with as little obstruction as possible from rooftops, chimneys, trees and neighbouring buildings.
A motorised dish has to swing across an arc of around 70 degrees east to west, so it is not just the direct south view that matters. Walk around the proposed mounting location and check that the dish will have a clear sweep from the south east through to the south west. If a tall tree or a neighbouring extension blocks part of that arc, those satellites will be unreachable from that position.
Step 2: Choose the Right Bracket
The bracket has to do two jobs. It has to hold the motor and dish securely, and it has to keep the mounting pole perfectly vertical. The wall surface dictates which type of bracket suits the job.
If the wall is flat and the dish will face away from it, a standard 90 degree elbow bracket is normally enough. On uneven brickwork, pebbledash, or surfaces where the pole would otherwise not sit plumb, a “T and K” bracket with its own adjustable pole gives you more control. On more challenging mounts, particularly on chimney stacks or rendered walls, we sometimes use heavier duty brackets with additional fixings.
Whichever bracket you choose, the fixings have to be appropriate to the wall. Cheap screws and plastic plugs into crumbling brick is asking for trouble down the line.
Step 3: Fit the Bracket to the Wall
This is where a spirit level becomes your best friend. The pole or vertical section of the bracket must be perfectly plumb. If the pole is even slightly off vertical, the motor will sweep through an arc that is tilted, and the dish will not be able to track satellites accurately across the sky.
Check vertical in two planes: front to back and side to side. A pole that looks straight from one angle but leans from another will give you grief later. Take your time at this stage. Every other step in the process depends on a properly plumb pole.
Step 4: Set the Latitude on the Motor
The motor itself has a latitude scale. You set this to match the latitude of your installation. For the West Midlands that is roughly 52.5 to 53 degrees north depending on exactly where you are. The setting tells the motor how to tilt itself relative to vertical so that its rotation axis matches the satellite arc.
This is a one off setting that only needs adjusting if the dish is later moved to a significantly different latitude. Get it right at this stage and forget about it.
Step 5: Attach the Dish and Mount the Motor
With the latitude set, attach the dish to the motor and slide the whole assembly onto the pole. Don’t fully tighten the motor onto the pole yet. You will need to rotate the entire assembly slightly during alignment to find true south.
Make sure the dish is properly seated on the motor’s mounting flange and that all the bolts are at least hand tight. We will properly torque everything down once alignment is complete.
Step 6: Enter Latitude and Longitude on the Receiver
Most motorised compatible receivers have a setup section, sometimes labelled “USALS” (Universal Satellites Automatic Location System), where you enter your geographic coordinates. The receiver uses these along with the known positions of the satellites to calculate the precise motor positions needed for each one.
You can find your coordinates from any mapping app on your phone. Enter them carefully, paying attention to whether the values need to be entered as positive or negative for north and east. A typo here is one of the most common causes of “motor finds nothing” problems.
Step 7: Connect the Cables Correctly
The cable routing on a motorised system is slightly different from a fixed dish. A single cable runs from the receiver to the motor’s input port, and a second short cable runs from the motor’s output port to the LNB on the dish.
The receiver to motor cable carries both the signal coming back from the dish and the power and control signals going out to the motor. Using poor quality cable here, or one that is too long with too much signal loss, will cause intermittent problems that can be infuriating to diagnose later.
Step 8: Use the Goto Function
With everything connected and powered up, select any satellite from the receiver’s list and use the “goto” function. The motor should swing the dish to where it calculates that satellite to be.
If the motor doesn’t move at all, check the receiver settings, the cable connections, and that the motor is actually receiving power. If it moves but to a clearly wrong position, double check your latitude, longitude and the latitude setting on the motor itself.
Step 9: Align the Dish Using a Meter
With the motor pointed at a known satellite, this is where a professional signal meter earns its keep. Loosen the motor slightly on the pole and rotate the whole assembly carefully east and west until the meter shows the strongest signal on that satellite. Then adjust the dish’s elevation and skew until both signal strength and signal quality peak.
This is the alignment step that DIY installations get wrong most often. Without a proper meter you are guessing, and a guess that gets you 90 percent of the way there will look fine on a sunny day but fail when the weather turns. Once you have the peak signal, tighten everything firmly.
Step 10: Scan for Channels
The final step is to go through the receiver’s satellite list and scan each one you want to use. The motor will move the dish to each satellite in turn and the receiver will pick up the available channels. Save them as you go.
Once everything is scanned and stored, your motorised system is ready to use. From a single dish you can now access hundreds of free to air channels across multiple satellites, all at the touch of a button.
When to Call in the Professionals
A motorised installation is a great DIY project for someone confident with practical work, comfortable with heights, and prepared to invest in or borrow a proper signal meter. For most households though, it is a job worth handing to an installer. The work at height alone is enough reason for many people to make the call.
At R and G Satellite Services we have been installing motorised satellite dishes across the West Midlands for over two decades. We carry all the right kit, including the meters needed for precise alignment, and we can sort out the whole system from siting through to channel programming.
If you would like a quote, give us a call on 01922 302195 or 01922 302129, drop a message to gary@randgsatelliteservices.co.uk, or request a free quote online.