I gather you are in a rural area since no cable available.
Here is what I know, and it ain’t much:
NEVER let them mount your sat. dish on roof! I don’t care if they do use lag bolts. Some roof decking is but 1/2 plywood. Maybe one inch at most. The dish will move ever so slightly and there goes your pic. Best to secure to the post they have available. Protect from wind as much as possible.
Some say those covers they have available help in snow/ice. No idea if true or not.
Always be sure guy that installs dish (either service) knows what the hell he is doing. You must get a CLEAR , unobstructed view to SW. It may look clear, but when wind blows, do limbs cross this “clear view” area? If so? Pic drops out.
A couple years ago, DISHNETWORK paid a hefty $um to MO AG for faulty equipment, business practices, harassing former customers,etc. Then again, DIRECT TV has had they feet held to the fire as well.
Let me/us know what you decide and how it works out for you. Pic/sound are to die for. Better than cable in most cases. But if pic drops frequently, what good is it?
Not installing the required ground wire to house ground is the biggest “missing” element that I saw in installs up until about a year ago.
The ground connection is not just for lightning strikes - it also takes stray voltage from reception of unwanted frequencies the dish pick up - and dumps it to ground.
Seems in the last year as I’ve watched the DISH Network and DirecTV guys at work - they’re putting in the ground wire connection. Guess a memo went out...
Post type install is best...can’t stand the roof crap.
=8-)