Decide on the type of portable satellite to build. There are numerous options available when it comes to building a portable satellite dish. It depends on the circumstances as to what portable satellite dish setup would work best for you. You can use your portable dish for road trips, for camping, for summer homes or any other reason. These portable satellite dishes can be used with poles and tripods, on a specially created portable platform or mounted directly on RVs, trucks (and other vehicles). Read over the following Steps to figure out which would work best in your situation.
Build a portable satellite dish using a pole and tripod. The tripods are the easiest to fold up and store, since you must also consider where you will store the portable satellite dish as you are getting to your destination and come in various sizes. You can find some good deals on ones that were made for rooftop antennas in place of the ones designed specifically for satellites. You will also need a 4 to 6 foot pole that will fit inside of the tripod and also on the back mount of the satellite dish, usually a 1 5/8” diameter fence (post) pole will work. You can use the mounting bracket for the dish and clamp it to the pole, if there is a variation in the size. If there is a problem with wind, you may want to either stake it down or add weights to it to prevent it from shifting.
Create a portable satellite dish platform. You can use the mount that normally comes with the satellite dish (or buy one) to do this. You can often times easily mount it directly to your vehicles roof or side and not need any type of platform for it. You then remove the dish from the mast (pole) that connects to the mount and fold it down while you are driving. You could also build a platform out of wood (or other materials) that you secure the satellite dish mount on. This platform could be compact or a complete box or table style. These satellite dish platforms could stand-alone or be attached to a table, RV ladder, or something else. Use your imagination to create a platform that will work. Again, if wind is a problem; be sure to secure your portable satellite dish platform.