My directv HD satellite installation nightmare (1 Viewer)

[Adam]

I am not sure this is the right forum for this, but here goes anyway. Just move if necessary. I just moved and decided to go satellite instead of cable. The house already had a standard DTV dish installed, but I want to be ready for my new TV so I wanted a HDTV setup. SO, I went to Circuit City and bought the equipment. THey were very confused on how to ring this up and it took over an hour. Finally, I get home with my equipment and now I have to call for installation. The installation is done though sub-contracters to Circuit City.

Well they took a week to get out to my house. I told the installer I want to just swap out the standard dish for the new oval dish, everything is mostly wired. He said it wouldn't fit in the same location. So, I told him find a good location for the new dish but I don't want it mounted to my roof. Well I come home and I find the dish mounted to my roof and my wife tells me I am not getting the B satellite so HD won't work. THe tech told her the LNB was bad and they would have to send another tech. I waited another week. The new tech shows up and says that a tree is blocking the 119 degree satellite and I would have to cut the top of the tree off or move the dish. Making matters worse I think the peak of the roof is actually blocking the 119 satellite, so I am not sure cutting the tree is going to work. The dish is mounted half way up the roof line and at the edge of the roof. I did not want holes left in my roof, let alone new holes for a new location. So, upset, I decided I would try to cut the 30 foot tall tree. So, here I am holes in roof, and the job of trying to cut down and remove a 30 foot tall hemlock tree.

I never knew getting a new dish setup would be so painful. I should have went with cable.

 

[EricRWem]

Yup. That's what I learned when I moved in January from Miami up into the midwest. Altitude and weather and geography really become satellite's enemies up here very quickly.

One flaw they seem to still not be able to overcome is the fact that you can have a stormcloud form overhead and poof! Out goes your picture.

I loved having DirecTV back in Florida. It was perfect there because the land was flat. Granted, everytime we had a storm, that thing went out on us, but when the weather is bad, I don't like to have my electronics on anyways.

The DTV prices right now, at least on normal SD stuff, has me blown away, because TWC is utterly ripping us all off with their monopoly in this region.

If I could go to DirecTV again and be assured success, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I've talked to too many people since I've gotten here that have told me nothing but stories like yours.

Damn!

 

[Robert_J]

DirecTV installers are paid by the job and not by the hour. The faster they can get in and out, the more money for them. This is the reason I installed my DirecTV system. Using information from here and a few other forums, it was easy and took less than two hours.

-Robert

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I've had DirecTV since '96, installed and aimed it myself and did the same when I upgraded to HD and added the oval dish.

I think weather problems are probably aggravated by poorly aimed dishes--I average 1 or 2 cases of rainfade a year, usually during severe thunder squalls involving hail.

One of the main reasons I don't have Voom is because they do not allow self-installation.

If you're even halfway handy with a few basic tools you can do a better job yourself than most "professional" installers.

 

[anthony_b]

Adam, I live in New Jerey also and after being with dish since '96 I switched to HD-cable thru Cablevision (is that your provider in your part of town ?)..It was cheaper because there was no upfront cost for hardware and no extra charges for HD programming.

Steve, you're right about the poorly aimed dishes. My original dish in 8 years went out the most 3 times for only a few minutes. When I upgraded to a dual LNB and had another one installed it was a nightmare with any passing cloud.

 

[EricRWem]

You all have given me a glimmer of hope. However, I wonder if geography is still my enemy. I don't think it's any accident that I can drive anywhere in town practically and the count how many people have dishes on about one hand.

 

[Bruce-E]

I would return the dish to CC.
Look in the phone book for someone you does installs and call tell them what area you live in.See what they say about being able to get all 3 sats.If you are in a bad area they will tell they can't do an install.

If you are a new customer you can get an Hd receiver and a coulpe of sd ones installed with a new dish.

Ask them about first time customer prices or call Directv for a deal.

 

[Grant B]

I installed for about 3 months and found by doing things the right way (the way I wanted them in my house) I could not make a living....not even close.
For 1 dish / reciever install I was paid $40. I had to pay for my own gas & vehicle, tools and even cable and connectors. At times we had to drive over 50 miles to the install on top of the trip to the shop which was 35 miles.

You do the math.
Tricky installs like yours could take the whole day which meant I was making about $3 a hour,hence a constant change over of installers.
Just a few words for a dificult job that pays nothing... be nice to them but it doesn't help you out
1 thing I did find out, very rarely does a tree wipe out a signal completely. If the meter says no signal; its not aligned properly.There is hope if you still are interested and maybe the next guy might know what he's doing

 

[Adam]

Well I cut down the tree.......... and it worked! Yippee.

Now what to do with all the wood and branches? Maybe I will bring them to circuit City. LOL.

 

[EricRWem]

Hell, you live in a part of the country where it gets pretty damned cold. You just got yourself some firewood, son!