Seattle Scott
01-26-2008, 11:20 AM
Here is what I am going to do, hopefully this will save some people a little time and if I missed something you can tell me. Sorry I'm too lazy to make the hyperlinks pretty but I did put them on separate lines so you can easily cut and paste them.
I'm buying the DirecTV HD receiver boxes at COSTCO. I ordered the antenna-dish from
www.solidsignal.com.
With shipping, mast braces and a ground block the total antenna cost was a little under $200.
The path I took and some information I picked up along the way is below. Hopefully this can help some people rolling their own. If you see some omissions, things I missed, please tell me. Everything pertains to HD DirecTV.
HD Receiver Boxes :
These can be purchased at stores and over the Internet. The common price is $100 for a HD receiver and $200 for a HD receiver-recorder. I didn't see any awesome deals on the Internet.
Best Buy: standard prices of $100 and $200.
COSTCO: A HD receiver costs about $76. A HD receiver-recorder is about $168. Even when adding 8 percent sales taxes that's a good deal for me. The sales person I talked to was confused by my questions but after awhile she told me for an existing system, just walk up to the pile of receivers, take one, go thru the checkout line and activate it at home on your own.
Antennas:
To receive all five of the DirecTV satellites you need a five LNB antenna. A LNB (Low Noise Block Converter) is basically a satellite receiver. If you want to know more Wikipedia has an entry here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-noise_block_converter The current, new antenna assembly, is the AU9S. Retail stores that used to have this antenna (Best Buy, Radio Shack and COSTCO) no longer carry it. Radio Shack has switched over to DISH products and can sell you a DISH antenna. Best Buy floor people had no idea what was going on except they didn't have antennas. The person at COSTCO I talked to claimed so many people were screwing up their own installs and then having DirecTV straighten correct those installs drove them to stop supplying antennas. Whatever the reason, the Internet seems to be the only place to purchase a DirecTV antenna.
I got a lot of leads on where to buy the antenna with a Google search. After a lot of pricing, looking at shipping rates and seeing what websites had to offer I decided to buy from http://www.solidsignal.com
which was recommended by dloftis. http://www.newegg.com
had the antenna too at a better price but none of the other needed hardware or technical support.
One source of confusion about the antenna is apparently the supplied manual-instructions claim the AZ/EL back mount (azimuth and elevation adjuster) isn't included with the antenna. I have read on several websites it is, we will see when the package arrives.
Something very few places sell but is certainly needed in my eyes are mast braces. I read on one forum at least one brace is required per the installation instructions and professional installers often neglect to use even one. I have one of these antennas already and it has about three times the surface area of my old DISH satellite antenna.
A nice website to give you a rough idea where to mount and point is located here:
http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/Satellite-Heading-Calculator.htm
I tried using the tool but the displayed location (Google maps) was close to my house but not correct. I was able to click and drag the red tear drop about four miles to the correct location.
If you want to search for a place to buy the DirecTV antenna "Google" AU9S
The mast braces can be found by searching for DTVA3-BRACE
There is a short and a long brace. Both have adjustable length. The short brace adjusts from 12 to 18 inches in length. The long brace adjusts from 18 to 32 inches in length.
You can view or download an AU9S antenna installation manual here
http://www.solidsignal.com/manuals/Slimline_Dish_Installation_Manual.pdf
You can view or download training movies. They are about an older model of antenna but the basics are the same. The newer antenna doesn't require any work with the LNBs. The movies are here
http://www.solidsignal.com/satellite/at9_install_videos.asp
Finally here is a picture I stole from the Internet and then enhanced. I think Reggie recommended the forum I stole the picture from. A professional DirecTV installer originally installed the antenna without any braces. The owner later added braces.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/12414/direct.jpg">
I'm buying the DirecTV HD receiver boxes at COSTCO. I ordered the antenna-dish from
www.solidsignal.com.
With shipping, mast braces and a ground block the total antenna cost was a little under $200.
The path I took and some information I picked up along the way is below. Hopefully this can help some people rolling their own. If you see some omissions, things I missed, please tell me. Everything pertains to HD DirecTV.
HD Receiver Boxes :
These can be purchased at stores and over the Internet. The common price is $100 for a HD receiver and $200 for a HD receiver-recorder. I didn't see any awesome deals on the Internet.
Best Buy: standard prices of $100 and $200.
COSTCO: A HD receiver costs about $76. A HD receiver-recorder is about $168. Even when adding 8 percent sales taxes that's a good deal for me. The sales person I talked to was confused by my questions but after awhile she told me for an existing system, just walk up to the pile of receivers, take one, go thru the checkout line and activate it at home on your own.
Antennas:
To receive all five of the DirecTV satellites you need a five LNB antenna. A LNB (Low Noise Block Converter) is basically a satellite receiver. If you want to know more Wikipedia has an entry here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-noise_block_converter The current, new antenna assembly, is the AU9S. Retail stores that used to have this antenna (Best Buy, Radio Shack and COSTCO) no longer carry it. Radio Shack has switched over to DISH products and can sell you a DISH antenna. Best Buy floor people had no idea what was going on except they didn't have antennas. The person at COSTCO I talked to claimed so many people were screwing up their own installs and then having DirecTV straighten correct those installs drove them to stop supplying antennas. Whatever the reason, the Internet seems to be the only place to purchase a DirecTV antenna.
I got a lot of leads on where to buy the antenna with a Google search. After a lot of pricing, looking at shipping rates and seeing what websites had to offer I decided to buy from http://www.solidsignal.com
which was recommended by dloftis. http://www.newegg.com
had the antenna too at a better price but none of the other needed hardware or technical support.
One source of confusion about the antenna is apparently the supplied manual-instructions claim the AZ/EL back mount (azimuth and elevation adjuster) isn't included with the antenna. I have read on several websites it is, we will see when the package arrives.
Something very few places sell but is certainly needed in my eyes are mast braces. I read on one forum at least one brace is required per the installation instructions and professional installers often neglect to use even one. I have one of these antennas already and it has about three times the surface area of my old DISH satellite antenna.
A nice website to give you a rough idea where to mount and point is located here:
http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/Satellite-Heading-Calculator.htm
I tried using the tool but the displayed location (Google maps) was close to my house but not correct. I was able to click and drag the red tear drop about four miles to the correct location.
If you want to search for a place to buy the DirecTV antenna "Google" AU9S
The mast braces can be found by searching for DTVA3-BRACE
There is a short and a long brace. Both have adjustable length. The short brace adjusts from 12 to 18 inches in length. The long brace adjusts from 18 to 32 inches in length.
You can view or download an AU9S antenna installation manual here
http://www.solidsignal.com/manuals/Slimline_Dish_Installation_Manual.pdf
You can view or download training movies. They are about an older model of antenna but the basics are the same. The newer antenna doesn't require any work with the LNBs. The movies are here
http://www.solidsignal.com/satellite/at9_install_videos.asp
Finally here is a picture I stole from the Internet and then enhanced. I think Reggie recommended the forum I stole the picture from. A professional DirecTV installer originally installed the antenna without any braces. The owner later added braces.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/12414/direct.jpg">