GREAT TIP: Get your tailgate TV set up faster!

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If you tailgate every weekend, there’s a great way to get that dish up and running quickly. You’ve probably already read our tutorial on aiming your dish with Solid Signal’s SATLOOKLITE meter, but here’s a way you can get going even faster once you’ve done your initial aim:

If your tailgate location is near your home, then set it up in your driveway, get it aligned. Tear it down and repeat until it’s a muscle memory exercise. Your mast must be plumb – as vertical as you can get it (use a level). Mark one of your tripod legs, or some part of whatever is holding your mast as north, and put it so it is oriented north (magnetic or true doesn’t matter, just be consistent). When you get to the tailgate location, set it up the same exact way aimed north. Mark your dish where it mounts on the mast. If you set the mast up exactly the same way, and put the dish on the mast exactly the same way, you should have signal when you fire it up. You will probably have to fine tune the alignment to get 99/103 n properly.

Just by marking one tripod leg with north will save you quite a bit of time in doing that initial aim. Remember though that you’ll have to be very careful in putting the dish on the mount the same way every time in order for this to work. However, with some practice, you can amaze your friends with your dish aiming skills and be ready to enjoy the day in record time!

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.