Dish not grounded

[mfoster711]

I am looking to upgrade to Hopper soon which means a tech visit but I have an old issue with my Dish not being grounded and I am wondering if I need to have it addressed during the upgrade. The last time a tech came out to work on my Dish he said my Dish was not grounded. The tech said whoever installed it originally did not do it correctly because it wasn't grounded. The tech seemed frazzled about the situation and was pacing back and forth wondering "what am I going to do"? This tech was only here to run an additional line from the dish because I was adding a reciever. He finally just ran the line but he then wrote on my paper work "dish not grounded" before I signed it.

So two questions:
1) Does the Dish need grounded? And if so why on earth would the original tech that installed it not ground it?
2) How should I handle this when I upgrade? Should I make sure Dish is aware and inform the tech the Dish needs "fixed" since the original tech did not ground it properly?

Edit:
From what I can tell it is not grounded. The dish is near an exhaust vent on the roof which is about half way up my roof. The tech just ran the wires down through my attic by the exhaust vent. The wires then enter a wall by my laundry where I have a distribution panel. From what I call tell, there is no ground wire running from the Dish.

 

[Tyedied52]

Grounding is done if there is a ground source within 25 feet of dish mount per dish guidelines. It is not a failed install if it is not grounded so long as everything else is up to dn code. What grounding does is prevent an electrical surge thru your system in the event of a lightning strike. In which case, in theory the surge could run all thru yout cabling and to the receiver. Now having said that it is required to install a ground block on the exterior and ground the dish to the ground block via messenger wire. As long as that is done then u shouldnt worry much about it. Especially if youve not experienced issues. Now grounding in now way effects the quality of you service or signal, even if u upgrade. The tech that comes out will try to ground if there is a source close enough, if not dont worry unless u have a pacemaker patient in the home.

 

[mfoster711]

Now having said that it is required to install a ground block on the exterior and ground the dish to the ground block via messenger wire. As long as that is done then u shouldnt worry much about it.

This part confused me, what do you mean? I do not have any type of ground block on the exterior of my house except for the one used by the cable company (I have cable internet). The cable wires from my dish enter my roof right next to the exhaust vent. The wires do NOT run down my roof to the exterior of my house and enter there. My dish is installed probably 20 feet up my roof.

 

[Tyedied52]

Sounds like u need to have that dish taken down and a new hd dish mounted in a more accessible location, over an eve or on yyour facia or a sofit mount. What u decribe is not up to dns standards. U should request an inhouse dish tech to do your upgrade and he will follow all the qas guidelines. Including installing a ground block etc... Btw a ground block is a metal component about three inches long and has two barrells in the middle.

 

[Tyedied52]

Also need to have your cabling redone probably. They can go thru the sofit and connect to the wires already existing in the attic.

 

[bcwmachine]

NEC Art. 810 and Art. 820. Very interesting reading.
bcw

 

[gtal98]

It sounds like you have an old installation. Guys used to just mount the dish near the top of the roof and feed the cables into the attic thru a roof vent so they don't have to make anymore holes. This is not Dish approved anymore. OSHA requirements state that anytime we walk on a roof we have to install a roof anchor on your house and tether ourselves off with a fall protection harness that is only 10' long. Current Dish guidelines also only allow us to mount the Dish on the part of the roof that is an overhang (at the edge of the roof) so that in a worst-case scenario of a leak it is not over a living space inside your house. Don't be surprised if all of this is brought up when you upgrade.

If I came to your job I would tell you I had to mount a new dish at the edge of your roof. Run the cables to a GB on the underside of the eave, and then I'd run them into the attic through that same eave and tie into the existing cables. If your old dish is more than 10' from the edge of the roof I would be unable to take it down. Ideally I would mount the dish near your power meter so that I could ground to your house ground wire or meter panel. An A/C disconnect box can also be used as a ground source (not ideal though).

What grounding does is prevent an electrical surge thru your system in the event of a lightning strike.

This is incorrect. The size wire we are required to install will in no way handle a lightning strike. The messenger wire on the cable is only 18 AWG. The purpose of grounding the dish is to prevent static electricity from building up on it, that's it.

 

[hawker152]

When u first were installed it was not required to ground the dish. The rule was " if Theres a ground source ground it, if not, who cares". The tech who came out to run the additional line was lazy because according to dish's standards now every job you come in contact with must be up to standard. Even if you ate there to do something as simple as running a line. He was lazy enough to even tell you to cover his own ass and lied on his paper work

 

[jerryez]

Last year, Dish came out to realign my Dish. When they seen it was not grounded properly. They moved the Dish to above the electric meter and grounded it, ran all new wiring,new lnbs and a new dish. All at no cost to me. Good job Dish.

 

[Tyedied52]

It sounds like you have an old installation. Guys used to just mount the dish near the top of the roof and feed the cables into the attic thru a roof vent so they don't have to make anymore holes. This is not Dish approved anymore. OSHA requirements state that anytime we walk on a roof we have to install a roof anchor on your house and tether ourselves off with a fall protection harness that is only 10' long. Current Dish guidelines also only allow us to mount the Dish on the part of the roof that is an overhang (at the edge of the roof) so that in a worst-case scenario of a leak it is not over a living space inside your house. Don't be surprised if all of this is brought up when you upgrade.

If I came to your job I would tell you I had to mount a new dish at the edge of your roof. Run the cables to a GB on the underside of the eave, and then I'd run them into the attic through that same eave and tie into the existing cables. If your old dish is more than 10' from the edge of the roof I would be unable to take it down. Ideally I would mount the dish near your power meter so that I could ground to your house ground wire or meter panel. An A/C disconnect box can also be used as a ground source (not ideal though).

This is incorrect. The size wire we are required to install will in no way handle a lightning strike. The messenger wire on the cable is only 18 AWG. The purpose of grounding the dish is to prevent static electricity from building up on it, that's it.

Hogwash... It is to protect againsst a power surge like I said. I didnt say it would prevent a lightning strike. But the copper wire used will keep the surge out of the interior of your home if grounded correctly.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

When u first were installed it was not required to ground the dish. The rule was " if Theres a ground source ground it, if not, who cares". The tech who came out to run the additional line was lazy because according to dish's standards now every job you come in contact with must be up to standard. Even if you ate there to do something as simple as running a line. He was lazy enough to even tell you to cover his own ass and lied on his paper work

I disagree with you calling the tech lazy.
I've been in this situation several times and have been more than willing to "reinstall" the system up to specs. However, and as other techs can testify, Dish ABSOLUTELY refuses to give us the extra time/points/credit to "reinstall" the system. And then if we do it anyway DISH bitches at us for taking too long on the job and/or points-per-hour being below acceptable.
If anyone should be blamed, it's DISH for creating this "freak-show circus" performance system they created for their techs which puts them in a "catch-22" of deciding between doing the "right thing" or "playing the game" to beat the system to keep from getting fired for not meeting our numbers.

 

[kracker8476]

Hogwash... It is to protect againsst a power surge like I said. I didnt say it would prevent a lightning strike. But the copper wire used will keep the surge out of the interior of your home if grounded correctly.

The messenger is used for static build up and the ground block its self prevents surges through the coax.

 

[Dishman-n-nc]

I agree with Dr. Pepper. As A sub, if I show up to your home to run a new cable line I'd be damn if I'm going to spend 3+ hrs bringing your old crappy past Dish install to current specs. I'd loose money on that job and I'm not out to work for free!

 

[mfoster711]

I agree with Dr. Pepper. As A sub, if I show up to your home to run a new cable line I'd be damn if I'm going to spend 3+ hrs bringing your old crappy past Dish install to current specs. I'd loose money on that job and I'm not out to work for free!

So how should I handle this when I upgrade to ensure everything gets done right and the tech gets compensated properly?

 

[jarvantgroup]

So how should I handle this when I upgrade to ensure everything gets done right and the tech gets compensated properly?

Call Dish and let them know you want your system re-installed. Which will probably result in a $99 fee to you. Although the tech will only see a portion of that, he will get a little more compensation for it. Personally, I'd have the tech complete the upgrade as is, and just compensate him directly. The $99 fee from Dish just adds a little more revenue to Dish's bottom line for basically taking your order.

You'll have guys here flat out discourage customers tipping the tech. I say crap on that. If you have a guy that does a great job for you, then you do what you feel is proper to show your appreciation. Tips, beverages, referrals, side work, etc. Usually, if a guy sees that you're not trying to get your system re-done for free, he'll go the extra mile to make sure you're taken care of.

Dish has handcuffed us so bad, there's no incentive for a tech to technically go the extra mile or the perform beyond what's listed on a work order. If we do, we are castigated and written up for taking more time to do things that are not on the work order, i.e, redoing your system, moving the dish, running new lines. Although, Dish talks out the other side of their mouth and say that they want all these things done. (Just off the clock/books). Ultimately, you the customer, is caught in the middle of this circus.

 

[Dishman-n-nc]

Good advice. Instead of paying Dish $99, pay me half($50) cash and I will reinstall your system to Dish specs. Your $50 cash and the $40 Dish is going to pay me for the service call visit will be a little short of what I would get for a 2 rm install but its better than getting $40 alone for a 3 hour job! Mention it to me as I drive up and i'll quickly extend my arm to let my hand meet cash money. These cash money jobs were A+ installs that I'd put more time and effort into because the customer's willingness to help out the tech while cutting out the middle guy(Dish). And these customers would call me weeks to months afterwards when they needed something else done or had a family member/friend in need of a sat/cable guy.

 

[31cold]

+1. Its all a numbers game, tech is damed if he does or doesn't reinstall everything.

 

[mfoster711]

Here are a couple of photos showing where my Dish is installed.

 

[mfoster711]

Instead of paying Dish $99, pay me half($50) cash and I will reinstall your system to Dish specs.

I have the Dish service plan so it should only be $15.

 

[Dishman-n-nc]

I have the Dish service plan so it should only be $15.

The service plan $15 tech visit is for if your receiver dies, lnb dies, cable line dies and we show up to replace such, not to re-install your whole system. If I showed up to your house on a service call and you started telling me how you wanted your system re-installed, the first thing I would do is call Dish and let you speak to a CSR to pay the $99 fee. Just to relocate your current dish to a new location is a $50 charge from Dish. Service plan.............ha