Adjusting my Dish

[smakovits]

I have a Dish 1000.4 with Eastern Arc. I got a new roof this week and the crew installed commdeck dish mount. However, once the dish was installed, I still dont get a signal. I called dish and they cant get out here till Friday when I will be home with the guy. They could come Tuesday, but I am not home for that. Then I got to thinking, instead of waiting till weeks end, maybe I get up there and try and make the adjustment. The dish is in just about the same spot, but the height is different so things have obviously changed. Is there any easy way to make the adjustment? How do I know which way i need to go, or does this require tools I most likely dont have.

Also, with the commdeck, do I still need the feet? I cant have them screwed to the deck because it voids the warranty of the shingle. they are tight and sitting on the roof, but do I really need them for anything with the commdeck?

 

[boba]

Patience Grasshopper, you should have posted this question before you had the work done. Now just wait for Friday.

 

[smakovits]

really? so it isnt worth me trying to climb up there and adjust it myself? The best part is I was going to call and schedule them for this weekend for this exact reason, but got lazy and thought that things would just come back...I should have gone with my gut and just called earlier. The one thing that does annoy me is I have no way to get the local off-are HDs to work either because when I try to set them up, it says it cant because there is no data...if I could just get the locals it would be nice, so I can see the news.

Also, as far as that commdeck mount, do i need the support arms or can I just have them removed? the package says it should support it without the arrms, but I still figured I should ask.

Lastly, since it looks like I will just have to wait, if I am adding a 3rd receiver, will they need to run a 3rd line from the satellite, or is the 2 they have coming from it all they need? I know there is a 3rd line coming from the arm of the satellite, but it is not connected to anything so i wasnt sure if that will be for a 3rd receiver, or something else. I have a DP-34 switch in the basement from the previous owner, will that do me any good, or do I need something else? I would really like to try and avoid needing a 3rd (2nd) line on the roof.

The current line is the 2 RG6 wire where they are connected. Is there one with 3? I wouldnt be totally against that, but adding a whole new separate line I would like to avoid. If I need a switch to add the 3rd receiver vs a whole new separate wire, then I will go that route.

And very lastly, is there any way to avoid the $50 fee when getting a new box? I find it really silly that I need to pay 50 bucks when I am giving them a vip222 for 2 HD solo receivers. They want $100 total for the 2 plus a 24 month contract. Thats nutty to me and a little aggravating, but if there is really no way around it then fine, but this site is always great about the little tricks so save, like the $10 for HD they were charging extra a few months back. Got that removed no problem, so if I could avoid the $100 charge too that would be great.

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[TimberWolf]

If the you are using the short heavy duty mast, you don't need the strut arms. The long mast does does them to stabilize the dish.

If the dish is in exactly the same place place, you might be able to adjust it enough to get some signal back, at least enough to get by until Friday.

Th 1K.4 dish can support up to 3 dual tuner recs, but each needs its own line from the dish. The Dp34 is not compatible with the DPP triple on the 1K.4

You would need a DPP44 if you wanted more than 3 recs but it still need 3 lines from the dish.

The upgrde fees are annoying but probably unavoidable

 

[smakovits]

Thanks timberwolf. Thats fine if I need a 3rd line, now the question is will they run a single new RG-6 or is the a triple coax, kind of like the double where they are all connected together? I want to try and keep things as clean as possible.

Can the 1k.4 be put on the short heavy duty mast? I really hope so because I would like to get rid of the arms on the roof to really clean it up. I wish I new more on the commdeck before they installed it as I would have had them hide the cable under the deck of the roof then too, but hind sight is 20/20, so I will just deal with it for now. on the roof. But if I could rid myself of the arms that arent screwed tot he roof any way and I wont let the guy as it will void my roof warranty so the short heavy duty arm is the ticket.

 

[sethwell]

commdeck

 

[TimberWolf]

The 1K.4 will fit any standard dish 500 mast, but there is also a version of it that looks identical but is made of heavier gauge steel that was made for the larger 1K.4 dish. Any tech that installs 1K.4 dishes should have them. There should be a "W4" stamped on the footplate.

Triple coax cable probably exists but I have never seen an installer that normally carries it

 

[smakovits]

Awesome, thanks. 4 days and counting. At least I got my locals via TV tuner. Crazy how much you can miss TV. Good thing the DVR was full of shows, but then i also miss my ones from this week. Will have to catch them on the replays...

I think I may contact Dish and make sure the tech has the right mast or is it a safe bet to assume that he does? I would hate to be in this boat again, waiting on a tech visit.

 

[TimberWolf]

Calling cust serv. probably won't help, they won't know what tech will be handling the job

 

[smakovits]

Calling cust serv. probably won't help, they won't know what tech will be handling the job

Cool, I will just sit back and wait. Local HDs have helped ease the pain. At least I have something. I just hope the tech has the mount, even if he has to come back, that will be the most ideal solution for what I have.

If I wanted to just go ahead and add the 2 HD solos to replace my 222, should I call and schedule that to ensure the tech has those units with him? I didnt add them at the time as I was hoping to avoid the fees, but we now know that most likely isnt going to happen.

 

[TimberWolf]

Cust serv may not be able to create a workorder for an upgrade while there is still a open workorder for a service call. They would have to cancel out the existing workorder a build a new one, which might push it to a later date. You can still call and ask to see what they can setup.

Also, if the tech gets there and has the recs on the truck, he can complete and close the service call then call to create and complete another workorder for the upgrade while he is there

 

[smakovits]

Cool. The first key is getting the dish adjusted. Adding the new recs is secondary. I just wish I could do it without the 2 year agreement.

 

[smakovits]

OK, Dish came, adjusted the dish, installed 2 new HD solo receivers, signed a 24 month agreement...everything went very smooth.

As far as the mast, the tech said the mast I have up there is for the much larger 1k dish and therefore, putting the 1k.4 on it without the arms should not be a problem...Who knows, I asked the guy a few times if he is sure and he seemed pretty confident, but then again he has only been installing for 3 months. As for the shorter heavy duty mast, he said he never heard of it...

For now things are working, I guess the real test will be in some heavy wind to see how the thing holds up, but the tech said even if it blows in the wind a little, that it shouldnt effect my signal. Any thoughts?

 

[MikeD-C05]

All of my sat dishes that I have are on fence posts in quickrete. They all sway a little in the wind but not enough to move out of alignment or to lose signal. Now if the wind is blowing and your dish is swinging in circles, then you have a real problem.