Donated FTA system

[truckracer]

Recently a friend of mine told me about a family whose home was destroyed in a fire that resulted in total loss. They did have enough resources to build a small house on their property that is not yet completely finished. They live in a rural area that is not served by cable and they really can't afford any subscription tv services at this time.

So I donated a Coship 2300B with remote, diseqc 4x1 switch, two 75 cm dishes with lnbfs, a D* lnbf for audio channels, 300 feet RG-6 Quad, connectors, and cement for pole mounting of the dishes.

I went out to their home and planted the two 1 1/4 inch schedule 40 galvanized poles and mounted the dishes. One dish pointed at G10R and the other at SBS-6.
I strapped the circular polarity lnbf to the side of the Ku linear lnbf on the dish that is pointed at G10R for audio only. I programmed the transponder frequencies and symbol rates as well as antenna configurations on the diseqc switch.

All worked great! Plenty of FTA channels so their tv would work. Over the air reception in this area is modest at best even with a high gain tv antenna and ampifiers due to the mountains and valleys. Multi-path is a nightmare on analog tv stations. I do not know about digital signals or if they are even receivable in this area since they are UHF.

All was working great and I left, they were very happy with their satellite system.
I explained to them that it is not "cable" and is not a replacement for their subscription tv services, but it would provide them with some decent reception of Free to air signals.

I got a call today and they said that all channels show "no signal". My first thought is that the diseqc switch has failed (as they do sometimes). I talked one of the guys through the steps to turn off the reciever (unplug it) and plug the G10R lnbf straight to the receiver's lnbf input to isolate the diseqc switch as the culprit. He said this did not help. We did the same process for the other dish that is pointed at SBS-6. No signal still yet.

I could not figure this one out since i planted the dish on rigid poles. The dishes were peaked and lnbf skew fine tuned.

Well when the truth came out, one of them "tried adjusting the dishes" as one stated in order to try to receiver free porn channels from "some other satellite".

I explained that there are no "free porn channels in North america" and if there were you would have to know the downlink frequency and symbol rate before trying to point the satellite dish. The Coship 2300 does not do Blind searches. You have to know the downlink freq's and Symbol rates.

Now they act as if I am the one who "does not know what he is doing" as one stated in the background as I was on the phone trying to help them get their system back up and running. I am frustrated. I wish i had not done anything for them now and that is not the right way to feel. Some of you may have experienced the same similar circumstances.

 

[TiminMb]

I hope you can give yourself credit for your kindness, generosity and work you put in, even if the recipient cannot. Not sure what I'd do either.

 

[Mark2074]

That is terrible. I can believe that they did that to you. Especially when you donated all that equipement. Hey, that was a very nice thing you did for them. Did you have any indication that they were these kind of people? I wouldn't dare criticize someone who gave up there time and effort to help me in a time of need.

They are the ones that screwed up by changing the position of the dishes. I would just have to cut my loses there and give up on them. They obviously think they know everything, let them figure this out on their own.

I just feel bad for you because in the future you will be less likely to help someone out for fear of being taken advantage of, all because of these F* jerks.

 

[truckracer]

Thanks guys

I really do always try to help other people. I am not just saying that. I can only imagine how devastating it would be to loose everything in a house fire. Especially when you live so far out in the country that you cannot get fire insurance because of the distance to the nearest fire department and the absence of any municipal water supply(everyone has wells for water in that area).

I had no idea really what kind of people they were. I did not know them that well.
I don't want everyone praising me because i tried to help, because that is just what people should do. We should all be good to each other and help when we can.

I will still continue to help others when i can, but this was a bit of disappointment for me. I think i will let them figure it out and just be done with that situation.

 

[Katrinasucks]

Just in case misery does love company...

Many years ago, I was a trainer for a large computer reseller in town. The owner of the company donated about $10,000 worth of computer equipment to a local charity. (This ws back when 10K bought 1 fully loaded system... Computer, color monitor, scanner, printer.) To put it in perspective, back then $10,000 was about half my yearly pay.

He gave me the name of the woman at the charity and told me to call her and tell her that we offered training and that if she wanted to take any of our classes, I could mail her a brochure.

If I live to be 100, I will NEVER forget her reply. Direct quote:

"You mean you gave us a comptuer with no training? What good is it?"

She was offended that I did not come to her and donate my time to show her how to use a $10K computer we donated! I politely explained that I was not the owner of the company and I could not donate the classes. She asked me how much our classes where and when I told they were $175 for a full day of one on one training she said... And I quote again:

"Oh, that's just ridiculous, I'll have to get some bids and see how that comes out."

We donated $10,000 worth of equipment and she wanted to bid out $175 in training.

I've never donated a penny to that charity since.

 

[123tim]

You bet!

Now they act as if I am the one who "does not know what he is doing" as one stated in the background as I was on the phone trying to help them get their system back up and running. I am frustrated. I wish i had not done anything for them now and that is not the right way to feel. Some of you may have experienced the same similar circumstances.

Yes! This has happened to me. You might think that I'm going to give a specific story, but I can't (or won't). The reason that I won't is because I've never done anything as generous as you, and also, after years of frustration, I think that I've finally learned that I can't let my mind dwell on things like this, because it slowly will kill me. I will say that it's happened to me more times than I would be able to count.
I could almost bet (but I don't bet) that I can tell what kind of person that you are.
Obviously you're kind, but you're also unassuming. You don't act like are YOU are the "Guru" (I hate the use of that word, by the way.) of whatever it is that you're doing. You let the person that you're helping have input, and you also let him know that he might actually know a thing or two himself. You also include that person in with whatever it is that you're doing to help with. You do this to make them feel that they're also "involved" even though they might really be dragging down whatever it is that you're doing. You also wouldn't think of making a big deal out of what you've done. You just quietly leave and say something like..."Good luck! If you have any trouble give me a call. You seem to know just about as much as me so you probably won't have to." ...
Obviously you are meticulous. You make certain that everything is done right- the whole way to completion. You leave nothing to chance. You not only give a "thing' of value - you give the hidden thing that most people can't see or appreciate. That thing is craftsmanship. You don't just slop something up...You make certain that it will give years of untroubled service to the person that you're helping. Don't you wish you had the time to do this for yourself?
OK, I've assumed a lot. Lets face it, I really don't know you. I just think that I do.
If it were me....I would be seething inside that I had gone to all of the trouble to help someone out just so that they could watch porn. Porn is your own choice, but hey! If you need it, then figure out how to install an antenna yourself! Don't involve me in your Porn. While you're at it, do the research to figure out where it comes from. Don't listen to your cousin who thinks that he's a satellite expert just because he watched someone else install his Direct TV!! Do you think that might have been the cousin in the background saying "He doesn't know what He's talking about" ? You bet it was! He was also the one who went out without a compass to turn your dish toward the sun (and without tools - brute strength will do.) because "That's where MY Direct TV comes from!"
Well, EVERYONE will tell you to let this go. They'll say it will kill you. You know what? They're right. But let's face it - you can't let things like this go. Why? because:
(1.) You really DID want to help someone out in their "time of need". Then you find out that they really don't appreciate what you've given.
(2.) You really DO know a lot more than the person that you're helping. You've spent years learning what you know.
(3) Hey, you gave away a really nice system that you could have used yourself (or maybe a brother, a sister. or a friend whose house didn't burn down?).
How can you let that go?
I want to tell you this. Don't let it go. Just laugh (in time) at people like this. Also realize that for every one of these, there are ten people who you have greatly helped who greatly appreciate it. They know that they can depend on you and never have to say it.
It really helps knowing that others experience the same thing too.
What you give always comes back to you.
Next time you have a nice system, give it to me. I'll appreciate it.
Take care.
Tim

 

[Diamond Jim]

I believe in helping others that will help themselves, but in most cases the people are lazy and want you to do everything for them. My example: A friend of mine is a US Marshall, when the Wabash River was flooding and threating this ghetto village they brought prisoners from the Federal Pen down the road to sandbag the levee and help save what little these people had. As the day went on the villagers sat around in lawn chairs watching the cons work and offered no help to the guys that were trying to save their butts. When they brought food in to feed the cons the villagers tried to take it from them.

I say go get your equipment and let those people fend for themselves.

 

[PSB]

Reminds me of when I first got the Satellite bug MANY years ago in the UK. I was so excited with FTA. I gave a friend a system, installed it and showed him all the FTA channels he could pull in with his satellite system.

There was a lot of unemployment at that time in the UK (Thatcher years) and it had been a long time since this friend had worked. I felt good I had done something for nothing and he and his family could now get a bundle of great TV channels, including EuroSports, MTV,
Sky 1 (The Simpsons) ......

A month or so later I drove by his home and the dish was gone, I later found out he had sold the system for beer money!

NEVER AGAIN!

 

[drhydro]

On the other hand you get the folks like my neighbor that i loaned / setup my 76 cm winegard and satworks 3618 for. I set it up as fixed for g10 for him a few months ago, and he is happy as can be with it. He has learned how to use blind scan and rename channels as the channels have changed, and promotes FTA to all his buddies that tell him to go to D.N. My kind of guy, he even picked me up some cold tasty beverages to take the edge off of sitting on his hot roof for a good chunk of an August afternoon

 

[Katrinasucks]

>I set it up as fixed for g10 for him a few months ago,

Since someone mentioned this.... I saw a thread a while back about which sat you would point at if you didn't have a motor. Since I don't have a motor (yet of course) I looked for the thread and can't find it. Can I hijack this thread long enough for someone with a better memory than me to link it?

thanks, I did do a search but must hve not typed the magic seach string.

 

[ken2400]

I know what you mean. I spent hours helping a woman down the street with her computer. I put the OS on, all the updates, firewall and all. The next thing you know her son installed stuff bad stuff. So I went and cleaned it up. A few weeks later she said the sound stoped working. I told her I could down in a week or so. Well she could not wait. She found the recovery CD and redid the whole thing. She called again and I went down. When I asked her why she did it She just keeped saying.

"I didn't know. I didn't know"

Well that was the end of helping her.

I still help people BUT I try not to push it and I make sure I know them better before I spend a lot of time.

Recently a friend of mine told me about a family whose home was destroyed in a fire that resulted in total loss. They did have enough resources to build a small house on their property that is not yet completely finished. They live in a rural area that is not served by cable and they really can't afford any subscription tv services at this time.
So I donated a Coship 2300B with remote, diseqc 4x1 switch, two 75 cm dishes with lnbfs, a D* lnbf for audio channels, 300 feet RG-6 Quad, connectors, and cement for pole mounting of the dishes.
I went out to their home and planted the two 1 1/4 inch schedule 40 galvanized poles and mounted the dishes. One dish pointed at G10R and the other at SBS-6.
I strapped the circular polarity lnbf to the side of the Ku linear lnbf on the dish that is pointed at G10R for audio only. I programmed the transponder frequencies and symbol rates as well as antenna configurations on the diseqc switch.
All worked great! Plenty of FTA channels so their tv would work. Over the air reception in this area is modest at best even with a high gain tv antenna and ampifiers due to the mountains and valleys. Multi-path is a nightmare on analog tv stations. I do not know about digital signals or if they are even receivable in this area since they are UHF.
All was working great and I left, they were very happy with their satellite system.
I explained to them that it is not "cable" and is not a replacement for their subscription tv services, but it would provide them with some decent reception of Free to air signals.
I got a call today and they said that all channels show "no signal". My first thought is that the diseqc switch has failed (as they do sometimes). I talked one of the guys through the steps to turn off the reciever (unplug it) and plug the G10R lnbf straight to the receiver's lnbf input to isolate the diseqc switch as the culprit. He said this did not help. We did the same process for the other dish that is pointed at SBS-6. No signal still yet.
I could not figure this one out since i planted the dish on rigid poles. The dishes were peaked and lnbf skew fine tuned.
Well when the truth came out, one of them "tried adjusting the dishes" as one stated in order to try to receiver free porn channels from "some other satellite".
I explained that there are no "free porn channels in North america" and if there were you would have to know the downlink frequency and symbol rate before trying to point the satellite dish. The Coship 2300 does not do Blind searches. You have to know the downlink freq's and Symbol rates.
Now they act as if I am the one who "does not know what he is doing" as one stated in the background as I was on the phone trying to help them get their system back up and running. I am frustrated. I wish i had not done anything for them now and that is not the right way to feel. Some of you may have experienced the same similar circumstances.

 

[mdovell]

Reminds me of one place I worked at I had to pretty much show 3 people how to do just basic computer things....it wasn't even part of my job! One couldn't cut and paste text because she was using the mouse wrong!

 

[Anole]

A month or so later I drove by his home and the dish was gone, I later found out he had sold the system for beer money!

I buy gas at a station near a bar.
Many years ago, someone gave me a sob story about needing directions to the freeway,...
... and a few bucks for a gallon to get home.
I gave her a few dollars.
Then she disappeared.

Similar thing happened just this weekend.
I turned and walked away in a huff.
Could hear the lady cursing behind me.
When I turned around, she was gone.

Magic? Aliens? You decide.

 

[NiFi]

I have had more free and jobs helping people come back to haunt me than any paying jobs ever, and the funny thing is, the free , helping jobs usually take more dam time.

Of recent, i helped out a "friend" of my wifes, with her high school daughters laptop, this thing had so many nasty virus's and trojans it was unreal, ended up just formatting and do all fresh OS. Installed antivirus and all was well.

Well, month and a half later, i get a call from the mom, saying the daughter says she didnt really use the laptop since then, but now she tried and its infected still. What crap. So i get it back, look it over, and it sure is, but with a totally different style bug. Antivirus def's are totally outdated ( kid couldnt even listen to that advice of keeping it up to date ) and you can just hear it in the parents ( who dont know a cpu or usb from a hole in the ground ) that they act like i didnt fix it right or something. LOL

Cant please most of the people, most of the time,

 

[baya]

Oh Boy!!!

This will be my approach.

" I think the the receiver is corrupted now" I need to take it back and flush the CMOS, on it. However, that is not a guaranty that it will work again.
May be you need to star looking into buying a new receiver.

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

>I set it up as fixed for g10 for him a few months ago,

Since someone mentioned this.... I saw a thread a while back about which sat you would point at if you didn't have a motor. Since I don't have a motor (yet of course) I looked for the thread and can't find it. Can I hijack this thread long enough for someone with a better memory than me to link it?

thanks, I did do a search but must hve not typed the magic seach string.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=37019