I'm a current HughesNet user with a DirecWay dish and a DW6000.  I now have Wireless available in my area and have switched to that but have not yet terminated my HughesNet account.  My dad lives 2 hours from me and I'm wondering if I can get move the dish and equipment to his house so he can make use of it there.

Though I've had this service for several years, I'm a complete newbie when it comes to dish alignment.

Can I point the dish to the same satellite from his house and continue the same service that I have now (just from a new location)?

Do I need any additional equipment to be able to point the dish and evaluate the connection while setting it up?

Thanks in advance!

If your dad's place has a dish location that can "see" the same satellite to which you're currently assigned - yes, it will work. Hughes will be none the wiser, billing to the original installation address.

But - I don't really think moving it yourself will work out in the long run. Based on your admitted lack of experience, I'd recommend paying a local HughesNet installer to do it for you. It will be $75 bucks well spent. You'd have to spend $100 just to buy the proprietary signal meter that HN installers use. Make sure you find a certified HN installer though, a guy that just does DirecTV won't have a clue how to deal with transmitter isolation

//greg//

Thanks, I'll look into a pro.  I didn't realize it could be done so inexpensively.  Cost me $600 when I had mine installed, though mine wasn't exactly standard.  Still, that was a lot more than I expected.

Is the signal meter required?  Other posts I've read make it sound like you just set the elevation and swing the dish in the relative direction of the satellite you're trying to hit until you get a solid connection.  Or was that referring to TV only?  I'm pretty savvy when it comes to computers, so I'm completely comfortable working with the DW6000 software.

Another question.  Is there a good site to go to in order to find a reliable installer in my area?  I looked on the internet, but the only two that popped up were Wild Blue and HughesNet.  Wild Blue indicated I would need to contact HughesNet directly.  HughesNet said it would cost on the neighborhood of $275.

You're gonna hafta look in the area yellow pages/classifieds for HughesNet installers. $275 assumes the installer does the whole nine yards. The figure I cited assumes you do the grunt work.

If you dismantle and move the hardware to your dad's place, part of the job's done. Once the dish location is selected, you can replicate how the cable and ground wires were run at your house. You can also install the universal mounting arm or polemount, and put the dish on it. If an installer is happy with the (re)installation to that point, you'll only be charged to professionally optimize the antenna pointing angles.

From interaction I've had with others who've gone this route, the charge is typically between $60 and $75. Obviously - if the installer is not happy with your work, he'll likely charge accordingly to correct it.

//greg//

Thanks very much for your reply and the great info.

Happy Holidays!