Either I'm crazy or technicians aren't smart

[andrewg1995]

So I had two technicians come out to install my service yesterday and today. I'm in an apartment so the dish would be installed on the balcony, and both said "oh you're not going to get signal, your balcony wall is blocking the satellite path" My understanding (and every dish pointing website available, including DirecTV's dish pointer) is that the satellites are around 211ºSW with a 39º elevation. Techs were checking around 250ºW for the satellites. Asked the tech today why/where he's looking for the sats, he said "oh I'm right" went and grabbed a compass from the truck and still pointed at 250ºW and said "yup you can't get service" I attached a screenshot of one of the many sat finder apps I used to try and show the tech he was wrong, and you can clearly see all three sats with a relatively clear path. Any ideas what's going on?

 

[raoul5788]

to Satelliteguys andrewg1995!
Sounds like he didn't want to do the install.

 

[Claude Greiner]

The sat finder apps are not always accurate.

But likely the tech did not want to do the install.

Find a local dealer

The trained monkeys Directv and Dish sends out are lazy and don't like doing apartments.

 

[Zashel]

if your balcony is wood, they can use an S-tube mount easily. that would put the dish further out and lower then where you're standing now. alternatively, a rail mount may work too. but most rail mounts that i've seen end up out of alignment pretty quick because nobody actually knows how to secure them properly. pole mount works too but those should be secured using concrete and some landlords wont allow that.

 

[Claude Greiner]

if your balcony is wood, they can use an S-tube mount easily. that would put the dish further out and lower then where you're standing now. alternatively, a rail mount may work too. but most rail mounts that i've seen end up out of alignment pretty quick because nobody actually knows how to secure them properly. pole mount works too but those should be secured using concrete and some landlords wont allow that.

They likely don't have anything beyond a standard mount in their truck.

 

[Jimbo]

The sat finder apps are not always accurate.

But likely the tech did not want to do the install.

Find a local dealer

The trained monkeys Directv and Dish sends out are lazy and don't like doing apartments.

That's a pretty broad brush your using to describe All te hs, don't you think.
I know some that are very good as well as some that look at it as Just a job.

 

[b52pooh]

I suspect mounting has more to do with the reluctance to install than anything else. Since we can't see your balcony, is it possible that it would require a non-penetrating mount with concurrent concrete blocks for weighting to properly install?

 

[Claude Greiner]

That's a pretty broad brush your using to describe All te hs, don't you think.
I know some that are very good as well as some that look at it as Just a job.

I setup fulfillment jobs in apartments all the time, and they just don't get installed.

Also I do a lot of jobs in apartments that Dish or Directv blows off

Fulfillment contractors or employees do not like doing apartments. It's a known fact in this industry.

 

[andrewg1995]

I suspect mounting has more to do with the reluctance to install than anything else. Since we can't see your balcony, is it possible that it would require a non-penetrating mount with concurrent concrete blocks for weighting to properly install?

Balcony is plastic so they wouldn't be able to mount on the balcony since it would need a non penetrating mount, but I have a nice weighted down table that would be a great place to mount the dish if they actually would do their job.

 

[Troch77]

Balcony is plastic so they wouldn't be able to mount on the balcony since it would need a non penetrating mount, but I have a nice weighted down table that would be a great place to mount the dish if they actually would do their job.

Okay, so now out comes the truth...

Its not the LOS thats a problem, its you expect them to do a job by mounting a dish to a table??
And they are supposed to guarantee their work, and answer to their boss?

Sorry I would have said you have no Los as well, just to avoid telling you how I really felt.

 

[andrewg1995]

Okay, so now out comes the truth...

Its not the LOS thats a problem, its you expect them to do a job by mounting a dish to a table??
And they are supposed to guarantee their work, and answer to their boss?

Sorry I would have said you have no Los as well, just to avoid telling you how I really felt.

That's not the issue, I don't expect them to mount the table and that idea was never brought up to the techs (just me thinking of alternate ways to put the dish out without buying cement, a bucket and a pole)

My problem that they're not doing their job when there's a dish two blocks down the road that's pointed where it should be and they're saying that that's not the correct place to point the dish.

 

[mdram]

you can always buy the parts and install yourself

 

[Troch77]

At least buy a tripod.

 

[Jimbo]

He could still get D* service is he wanted it ... this is where, like mentioned, Non penetrable mounts work, or a bucket of concrete with a pole in it.
That said, it would be something that he would have to do as D* employees would not do this kind of set up.

 

[lfp302]

250 degrees azimuth has to be WAY off. That's nearly due west.

 

[Jimbo]

Whats the zip code there ?

 

[Troch77]

250 degrees azimuth has to be WAY off. That's nearly due west.

Nova Scotia, Canada

 

[raoul5788]

250 degrees azimuth has to be WAY off. That's nearly due west.

That was the knucklehead tech that said 250 degrees. The picture he posted says 210 degrees.

 

[Jimbo]

I'm gonna say its gonna be closer to about the same as Boston would be.
210-220 ish sounds about right.

 

[raoul5788]

The location is Morgantown WV, check the TSs avatar.