distant locals - am I too far away?

[tandoori]

I've "moved" recently to Utah from Ohio. And subscribed to the Utah locals. Problem is, here in Ohio, I can't get a signal from satellite 119 West spotbeam 9 - no signal at all - which is where Dishnetwork say the locals signal come from. Signal strength is over 100 for the other transponders. I have Dish500 system.
Is it a lost cause trying to get such distant locals? Any ideas to solve this one?

 

[Peter Parker]

That si not really "distant nets". Youa re trying to receive out of market locals. I wish it was legal and technically feasible to do so but it is not. Are you interested in the Ohio locals?

 

[Bobby]

Transponder 9 on 119 is a spot beam that will not reach Ohio. Moving isn't going to work for you.

 

[snathanb]

Well.... moving will... "moving" won't.

 

[shadow_keeper]

Getting distant locals east/west feeds (even if you don't qualify legally) is quite simple actually. Pull up a good map of your state, and find a small town that is far away (70+ miles) from any metro area. This will be an "unserved" or "white" area which will make you eligible for distant locals without waivers from your affilates.

Note the Zip code of that area and then make up a line street address; probably one you lived in growing up (ie. 2244 Snoopy Way). Test this address online with directTV or DishNetwork on their web page to see if you now qualify.

Write this address down and keep it handy. Call your sat provider and say you have moved your "physical" residence to this new place, but still own your older place as well and that address will be your "mailing" address where you will receive your bills. I did this for 5 years, and what was funny, the phone rep suggested this

Order your nets

 

[DishSatUser]

And to add to "Shadow Keepers" comment, never ever do a Pay-per-view or hook up the phone line as the caller-id information will confirm that the "physical" address is fradulent. This will limit you to a single receiver and can never be a 322, 522 or any other dual-tuner configuration as a phone line is required.

It's a shame that the laws our Government creates in combination with the NAB do not address the desires of the "public" for which our Government exists. I've gotten confused and forgotten what was taught to me in school.

Is it a "people for the government and ruled by the governement?" Some one told me that it's "a government for the people and by the people", but I only can tell by what I observe especially with the increasing "taxation without representation" issue.

Sorry for the off-the-topic protest.

 

[Mr Tony]

And to add to "Shadow Keepers" comment, never ever do a Pay-per-view or hook up the phone line as the caller-id information will confirm that the "physical" address is fradulent. This will limit you to a single receiver and can never be a 322, 522 or any other dual-tuner configuration as a phone line is required.

um, wrong. As long as the phone number on the account is correct as what the recdeiver dials out, thats all that matters.

I have "moved" twice..once to make what was my lake cabin the physical...had the phone line plugged in. And now that I live there, I "moved" it to my new cabin. Phone line was plugged in until a couple weeks ago when I went cell phone only. Ordered plenty of PPV movies & wrestling events.

 

[Mr Tony]

Getting distant locals east/west feeds (even if you don't qualify legally) is quite simple actually. Pull up a good map of your state, and find a small town that is far away (70+ miles) from any metro area. This will be an "unserved" or "white" area which will make you eligible for distant locals without waivers from your affilates.

It all depends on what state your in. In MN it is real hard to get locals AND all distants. The Mpls/St Paul DMA is huge (which is good) but there are translator and satellite stations all over it (bad). I am 120 miles from Mpls and only qualify for FOX distant, due to translators being 20 miles from me.

 

[roadrhino]

Getting distant locals east/west feeds (even if you don't qualify legally) is quite simple actually. Pull up a good map of your state, and find a small town that is far away (70+ miles) from any metro area. This will be an "unserved" or "white" area which will make you eligible for distant locals without waivers from your affilates.

Note the Zip code of that area and then make up a line street address; probably one you lived in growing up (ie. 2244 Snoopy Way). Test this address online with directTV or DishNetwork on their web page to see if you now qualify.

Write this address down and keep it handy. Call your sat provider and say you have moved your "physical" residence to this new place, but still own your older place as well and that address will be your "mailing" address where you will receive your bills. I did this for 5 years, and what was funny, the phone rep suggested this

Order your nets

Okay, I understand how this works. However, I have a question or two that will help me (and perhaps others) understand all the implications of such actions.

• Does Dish Network ever send mail (like new smartcards) to the "new" address?
• Does Dish Network care (at all) about whether one has a physical location that is fictional (as per your example)
• Is Dish Network under any obligation to report suspected violations to any legal authorities?
• What would the penalties (if any) for having a fictional physical address so that one can receive locals that are not "local" or distant locals that one would not qualifiy for from one's mailing address?
• How often does this sort of thing happen and how often is anyone "caught"?

The reason I ask these questions is that I know of a town with zip code properties that fit my TV viewing needs (well, wants) quite nicely. However, I would rather not open up a whole can of trouble when a real address, say one of a friend or relative, would do almost as nicely (all but some of the distant locals).

All the best...

Redrhino

 

[Mr Tony]

[*]Does Dish Network ever send mail (like new smartcards) to the "new" address?

no. Everything goes to your billing address

[*]Does Dish Network care (at all) about whether one has a physical location that is fictional (as per your example)

yes. It has to be able to be verified via USPS

[*]Is Dish Network under any obligation to report suspected violations to any legal authorities?

nah

[*]What would the penalties (if any) for having a fictional physical address so that one can receive locals that are not "local" or distant locals that one would not qualifiy for from one's mailing address?

they cut off the distants that you shouldnt be receiving

[*]How often does this sort of thing happen and how often is anyone "caught"?

how often do people "move"? plenty
how many get caught? I dont know but its probably few and very far between.

 

[roadrhino]

Thanks Iceberg!

I hope you don't mind if I ask two follow-up questions.

First, when I wrote:

What would the penalties (if any) for having a fictional physical address so that one can receive locals that are not "local" or distant locals that one would not qualifiy for from one's mailing address?

I was perhaps a bit unclear because I meant "are there any legal penalties...". I am not so much concerned that Dish Network would cut off my service but more than some sort of Federal or state agency would desire to fine me or worse, make an example out of me. Small chance, I am sure, but I figure that I should know the real costs involved.

My second question is more mundane. I asked about whether Dish network cares about whether the address I give is fictional (as in the earlier example, 1234 Snoopy Lane or some such). You replied:

yes. It has to be able to be verified via USPS

I presume you mean that Dish Network checks the given address against some list of possible valid addresses (i.e. the Zip and town need to match, the street needs to exist and perhaps the number on the street needs to match the zip as well). With that in mind, is there a suggested method of selecting an "address" that is least likely to cause problems? Take an actual Dairy Queen location and add "unit B" to the address?

Just thinking these things through ....

Redrhino

 

[roadrhino]

There is an entirely different issue for me in this discussion as well.

A friend of mine gave me a dp301 receiver (which she was not going to use anymore) and I called Dish to switch my account over to that receiver/smartcard. It is far nicer than my 3900 box in many ways. However I found that with this new receiver it seems that I now get HBO, Encore plus the AT180 ... but I did not ask for this service. I know that they switched my account over to this new receiver because I get my locals (that she did not) on this box.

I am curious about three things. First, how would this happen?

I am wondering whether Dish tends to notice such things.

I am also wondering whether I call to change my physical address whether it is likely that the CSR will notice that I am receiving channels that I never requested and turn them off.

Redrhino

 

[n0qcu]

There is an entirely different issue for me in this discussion as well.

A friend of mine gave me a dp301 receiver (which she was not going to use anymore) and I called Dish to switch my account over to that receiver/smartcard. It is far nicer than my 3900 box in many ways. However I found that with this new receiver it seems that I now get HBO, Encore plus the AT180 ... but I did not ask for this service. I know that they switched my account over to this new receiver because I get my locals (that she did not) on this box.

I am curious about three things. First, how would this happen?

The box was not hooked to a dish when it was disconected.

I am wondering whether Dish tends to notice such things.

NO, but dish does continue to send disconnect signals so eventually they will be shut off.

I am also wondering whether I call to change my physical address whether it is likely that the CSR will notice that I am receiving channels that I never requested and turn them off.

not possible for them to see that you are getting old subscribers channels.

 

[roadrhino]

NO, but dish does continue to send disconnect signals so eventually they will be shut off.

I guess I should TiVo a bunch off of HBO and Encore right away then.

Thanks!

 

[Mr Tony]

Thanks Iceberg!

I hope you don't mind if I ask two follow-up questions.

First, when I wrote:
I was perhaps a bit unclear because I meant "are there any legal penalties...". I am not so much concerned that Dish Network would cut off my service but more than some sort of Federal or state agency would desire to fine me or worse, make an example out of me. Small chance, I am sure, but I figure that I should know the real costs involved.

I highly doubt Dish is going to have the cops come after you. You are paying them for a service.

My second question is more mundane. I asked about whether Dish network cares about whether the address I give is fictional (as in the earlier example, 1234 Snoopy Lane or some such).

I presume you mean that Dish Network checks the given address against some list of possible valid addresses (i.e. the Zip and town need to match, the street needs to exist and perhaps the number on the street needs to match the zip as well). With that in mind, is there a suggested method of selecting an "address" that is least likely to cause problems? Take an actual Dairy Queen location and add "unit B" to the address?

you could. Or if a street has a range (like 1200-1299), pick one that isn't a house. If the houses are 1250, 1255, 1260, 1265, etc....say 1253 for example.

Also, you can't have 2 different accounts under 2 different names at the same address.

Just so you know..I have "moved" twice and due to Dish's error, I get Duluth (which I get through "moving"), Minneapolis (which I use to get at the old address) and FOX distant (due to the old address). I have asked Dish twice about it and they blew it off by saying "you can keep them if you want".

 

[Mr Tony]

I am also wondering whether I call to change my physical address whether it is likely that the CSR will notice that I am receiving channels that I never requested and turn them off.

Redrhino

I called to swap receivers (from a 301 to a 508) and they didnt say anything to the fact I had 2 sets of locals & distants, when I only qualify for one set of locals...
The guy was reviewing my account (to try to upsell) and noticed it but said I could keep them because I had them before.

 

[roadrhino]

Thanks for the info ...

All the best

Roadrhino

 

[GaryPen]

Is it me, or does the term "distant locals" remind anyone else of the old George Carlin routine about "jumbo shrimp" and "military intelligence"?

 

[SimpleSimon]

Is it me, or does the term "distant locals" remind anyone else of the old George Carlin routine about "jumbo shrimp" and "military intelligence"?

Yeah - for sure, but I can't remember any other breathing idiots right now

 

[GaryPen]

Sorry. That went over my head like a t-shirt.