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Best of the Blog 2023, Volume 5

The Solid Signal Blog is your resource for thousands of articles and reviews, with new content coming every day. 2023 marks our seventeeth year since our humble beginnings, and today over 250,000 people read the blog every month. Every month, the staff gets together and gathers articles that really seem like they have long-term appeal. Here’s the list for May, 2023: How far should the DIRECTV power inserter be from the dish or SWM? What’s the difference between a booster and a microcell? Working from the RV – what’s it worth to you? Activating new technology is a drag. It doesn’t have to be. Which DIRECTV remotes work with the new Gemini? How long do those old burned discs last? This cellular router could save your business Can you...
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Four Easy and Successful Bar Promotions

Attention, bar owners! We know that you’re looking for different ways to promote your business and attract more customers. To help you do that, Signal Connect shares these four bar promotions that are as successful as they are easy to implement. Best of all, each of these promotions will attract more people to your bar, which in turn will help you earn more money. Half-Price Wine Night Bars that offer a variety of wines sometimes run into a problem – some products never get sampled. Given the costs involved, most customers might not try a wine that they could be interested in because they’re not sure they’ll like it. Wine bottles gathering dust don’t do bar owners any favors, either. Getting people to try new wines can...
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Business Internet from Signal Connect

Have you ever considered switching Internet providers for your business? Some business owners might ask, “Why would I want to do that?” Well, the answer is simple: Internet speed… or the lack of it. If your business is plagued with slow connections, variable speeds, and/or outages, your internet provider isn’t working out for you. Worst yet, these computer issues hold your business back. It doesn’t have to be this way, though. Signal Connect provides lightning fast AT&T business Internet to businesses like yours in many areas around the country. Yes, We Do That! When most people hear the name Signal Connect, they think DIRECTV. That’s hardly shocking, considering that we’re a DIRECTV Authorized Dealer that specializes in many...
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Tech Innovations Transforming Workplace Safety and Efficiency

In today’s workplace, technology isn’t just a tool; it’s a force that’s reshaping how work happens. Traditional printed standard operating procedures and in-person training have been replaced by digital tools and virtual workshops. From training new employees in the metaverse, to optimizing processes with intelligent software, to using AR and VR for safety training, there’s no doubt that technology-driven workflows are making work more accessible, efficient, and safe. It’s easier than ever to predict challenges and prevent them rather than take a reactive approach to what happens on the job. Remote work tools allow companies to source talent from around the world rather than only in their own cities. The increased freedom and...
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DIRECTV Commercial Account Solutions

Here’s a typical Signal Connect success story. A DIRECTV commercial account was almost denied to a business. Signal Connect saved the day by providing the ideal DIRECTV dish mounting option! As an AT&T Preferred Dealer, Signal Connect provides the best customer support to our clients. Our sales reps go above and beyond for residential and commercial DIRECTV customers alike. Take this recent example. Another company told a businessman that he couldn’t get a DIRECTV commercial account at his office. Our Signal Connect reps easily made DIRECTV a reality for the client. This case study is a good example of how Signal Connect provides the optimal customer service experience with every DIRECTV installation. DIRECTV Commercial Account...
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THROWBACK THURSDAY: Personal Digital Assistants

I try not to think too much about how much tech I’ve bought and discarded over the years. I try to think even less about the fact that a very decent proportion of that tech is sitting in a landfill somewhere. And, I try very hard not to think about how much I could sell some of that tech for, if I still had it today in pristine condition. The personal digital assistant I was obsessed for roughly 20 years with the idea of a personal digital assistant. I wasn’t the only one. Sometime in 1989, I saw someone much wealthier than I using one of the first Sharp Wizard devices. It looked something like this: It’s difficult to explain precisely why, but I thought this was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. It was about the size of a...
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What are your options if you have no cell signal at all?

A while back, I was asked to do some cell signal readings at a very remote location. I’m talking 7 miles away from the closest highway, and a mile from the closest road of any kind. To make matters worse, it was at the bottom of several hills which effectively blocked all cell signals from coming in. It was like being in your own little world where it was still 1985 and no one had cell phones or internet. In a lot of ways, it was kind of peaceful. Still, I could see where it could be a little annoying. The people there wanted to get cell phone service. Why wouldn’t they? So I set about determining if they could get any cell signal at all. Armed with a Wilson Pro 5G Network Scanner, I took detailed readings. The results were about what...
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Ken Reid and Joe Pera

October 2-8, 1999 This week Ken welcomes certified comedy superstar, and man behind the new comedy special “Slow and Steady”, Joe Pera to the show. Ken and Joe discuss tiny computers, Wargames, Buffalo New York, wings, Anchor Bar, Zoomer goofs, preppers, toilet paper, Joe Pera Talks with You. Jo Firestone, Y2K, cover stories, going mobile, post-Nuke dads, 90s posture, Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa Ethridge’s Glamor Shots, the “99 face”, Verne Troyer, High School Senior Portraits, photographers, Margaret Cho, Tom Green, awful stand up comedian pilot concepts, oil, mailing post cards to your own depression, Hocky Night in Canada, getting Canadian TV, racist sports announcers, MTV, Red Green, watching movies that look awful, journalism...
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Five Free Bar Promotions for Bar Owners

There’s an old saying that states “Nothing in life is free.” This isn’t exactly true when it comes to bar promotions. There are things you can do to promote your bar without spending a dime. Keep in mind, these free bar promotions aren’t meant to take the place of the marketing you pay for. You need to keep doing your paid advertising. Adding these ideas into the mix will help boost your current bar marketing ideas. Try these tips to see how they help promote your bar, pub, or tavern. Since they don’t cost any money, what do have to lose? Successful Bar Promotions Free promotions are all about promoting your promotions. This might sound confusing at first, but it really isn’t. There are many different bar promotions you can...
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What is “fixed wireless” internet?

It’s a revolution in internet service. Everyone’s been talking about it for several years, and it looks like it’s finally happening. “Fixed wireless” means that your home or business gets internet over the air like a cell phone, through a permanently installed antenna on the roof. Unlike using your cell phone, the expectation is that you’ll get speeds that are fast enough for everyone in the home or business to stream. This is possible though the use of new 5G network equipment and also through the larger antenna placed on the roof. For many internet and cellular providers, it’s the holy grail. Let’s take a look at why. How we used to do it (and might still do it) If you got on the internet at all in the 20th century, you dialed up...
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Podcast #554: Is video quality dead? (Video Podcast!!)

You asked, I answered! Here’s a podcast showing my ugly mug. If you like what you see, leave a comment below and I might just do more like this. As always, shop at Solid Signal - Signal Solutions including HDTV Antennas, DIRECTV and DISH Network satellite equipment and home entertainment supplies and accessories or call 888-233-7563 for the best service. Listen to the podcast your way! Just choose one of the following: Option 1: Click on the image above to stream the podcast in your browser. If you use the YouTube player above, be sure to subscribe to get future videos delivered to you! Option 2: The Solid Signal Podcast is available on several podcast aggregators. Search for us, or tap on the links below on your mobile device. If you...
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NICE AND EASY: What is an “STB?”

The other day, one of my coworkers asked me what an “STB” is. I was actually a little surprised until I realized that the term hasn’t really been used much in the last couple of years. The world of entertainment is littered with old acronyms that don’t mean anything anymore, and I guess “STB” is just one of them. Let me explain a little more about this: It’s your satellite box An “STB” is a satellite receiver. Actually it’s any box that connects to your television, but it’s generally used to describe a satellite or cable box. Simple as that. The term stands for “set-top box” and goes back 30 years to the days when cable TV first started requiring separate tuners. The first cablesystems were really simple and just used your TV’s...
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Can you take your Gemini Air with you when you travel?

Friends, I’ve spent the last decade telling you that you can’t watch your DIRECTV content on the road if you have someone in the house who’s there watching it. That’s all part of your customer agreement. But, that’s completely different with DIRECTV’s internet service, and I’m here to explain why. First, a look back DIRECTV’s streaming service has always been great, but — truth to power — it’s been a marketing miss. It was originally announced in 2016 as part of a trio of services to be offered by AT&T, and launched at the end of that year. It was part of a new breed of services, more expensive than traditional streaming services but with a lot more live content. About three years in, the service was branded as “AT&T TV NOW,” and...
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TIP: Terminate those unused ports!

It makes a difference. When you see an open coaxial connector, think of it as a light you left on or a water spigot left running. It may not seem like it, but an open coaxial connection is really the same thing, just on a smaller scale. We all know that you should use the smallest possible splitter, because the signal strength through every port is lower even if you don’t use the extra lines. It’s hard to resist the temptation to “set it and forget it” by wiring every room in the house, but you really should resist. The unused lines add loss to the whole system and can especially impact MoCA networking, which is used by both DIRECTV and DISH. If you absolutely must have an unused connection, whether it’s a port on a splitter or a long...
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iOS 17 breaks field test mode, AGAIN

Come on, don’t pretend you weren’t expecting it. After all, I publish this article roughly once with every new version of iOS. (Don’t believe me? Here are the receipts.) Forget about any article that advises you to go into the iOS field test mode. It’s never worked consistently and believe me, I’ve been trying for over ten years. It now seems with iOS 17, you can’t get a signal level of your 5G signal, at least I can’t. If someone else is able to, I’d love to hear how you did it. Why do you need to know this information? Really, you don’t. Really, the most important thing with a cell phone is whether or not you can do what you want. Can you make clear calls whenever you want to? Stream as fast as you want to? If you can, that’s all...
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