Satellite TV is a great alternative to cable television. The price of satellite dishes and receivers continues to drop, and the service is incredibly affordable. Frugal consumers may be eyeing the systems and wondering if the dishes can be installed by the consumer and save the expense of service and installation charges by a professional.

Satellite TV can be a do-it-yourself project. Like most do-it-yourself projects, it requires some skills and may not be the best do-it-yourself project to start with for the first timer. Professional installation can save the consumer many headaches and offer fast service and quick viewing.

Having said that, if you'd still like to try to do-it-yourself, you'll need a complete satellite TV package: the satellite dish, the receiver, and the coax cable. First, you'll need to decide where to place your satellite dish. Your satellite dish must point due south. You need to be careful to avoid a location that will have trees, branches or any other obstruction. It's best to choose a direct path from the dish to your TV location.

Satellite dish can be attached to the house or mounted to a post that is sunken into the ground. The location should be easily accessible for routine cleaning of the dish and possible readjustment.

Do-it-yourself satellite installation requires a little more than simply placing the dish on the house, roof or post. It demands that you make adjustments to the dish to get the correct azimuth and elevation.

Azimuth is the horizontal direction, the angular distance between the direction of your dish and the satellites, the 'left to right' positioning of the disk. Elevation is the angular distance between from the horizon to the satellite, the 'up and down' positioning of the disk.

Your satellite receiver is programmed to give you the coordinates of the azimuth and the elevation. The set-up menu will give you those coordinates and the owner's manual will provide some instruction for adjusting.

Once you've positioned the satellite correctly, the next step is to run the coax cable from the satellite to the receiver. This is a trial run to make sure the system is working and is adjusted correctly. Drill a small hole into wall to allow the cable to pass into the house. Plug the receiver into an outlet, and connect the receiver to the television. Check the signal and make minor adjustments. If positioned correctly, bury the cable with dirt and displaced sod.

It is possible to do-it-yourself install a satellite dish. Some people may not be comfortable with adjusting the dish for correct positioning and choose a service provider to install the dish and make adjustments. In any case the important thing is to set the dish up and start enjoying the programming as soon as possible.