Hi. First, i'm a total newbie, so please be patient and kind. Yesterday i had Dish installed in my condo - 1 Hopper and 2 Joeys. The rules of the condo association limited where the tech could place the dish (had to be on my balcony, couldn't be "permanently affixed", etc.), but the tech seemed confident that he could make it work. His first 2 attempts failed to get an adequate signal, and i guess i looked pathetic enough that he made another attempt.
What he ended up with was mounting my dish to a pole clamped to my balcony, with an extension to the pole to try to clear my roof, and then he ended up moving the pole higher up on the balcony railing to better clear the roof. When he did that, he said that, although i have a signal, it's "technically" below the minimum that Dish allows for HD. He gave me 2 choices 1) deal with low signal and continue with the install 2) take the dish down and cancel the install.
He said that i was getting a signal strength of 41 on his meter and Dish requires a signal of 52. I asked what the minimum number that would actually receive an HD signal was, and he said 20 (with a max of 52). The way he explained it, Dish requires a maximum signal (52), and anything less is a no-go technically. He said that gives you wiggle-room from 20-52 in case of a bad storm, and that a signal of 41 just means that, in bad weather, i'm more likely to lose a signal. He didn't seem to feel that it was likely, but he wanted to cover his butt. I told him to continue with the install, and i'm happy with the results so far.
My questions are:
1) Is there a way for me to monitor my signal strength?
2) The tech said that i'll probably get calls from Dish saying i have low signal and that they'll want to dispatch a tech. He said NOT to let them do that, b/c they'll charge for the visit, and they won't be able to improve things. Does this make sense, or is he trying to keep from getting in trouble for doing a "less than ideal install"?
3) The tech said that i'll also likely get a call from a quality-assurance person who'll want to check the install b/c of the low signal strength. He said that this visit would be free, but again it wouldn't accomplish anything except that he'll get written up for proceeding with the install. He said that they won't give me a choice on the visit, but i should just say that i won't be home for any of the times they can visit, and eventually they'll let it drop. I don't want to get the guy in trough b/c i really DO think he was doing me a favor, but i want to make sure that i'm not maybe keeping myself from getting a better signal somehow. What do you guys think?
Again, i'm new here, so please go easy on me! Thanks.
-david
What he ended up with was mounting my dish to a pole clamped to my balcony, with an extension to the pole to try to clear my roof, and then he ended up moving the pole higher up on the balcony railing to better clear the roof. When he did that, he said that, although i have a signal, it's "technically" below the minimum that Dish allows for HD. He gave me 2 choices 1) deal with low signal and continue with the install 2) take the dish down and cancel the install.
He said that i was getting a signal strength of 41 on his meter and Dish requires a signal of 52. I asked what the minimum number that would actually receive an HD signal was, and he said 20 (with a max of 52). The way he explained it, Dish requires a maximum signal (52), and anything less is a no-go technically. He said that gives you wiggle-room from 20-52 in case of a bad storm, and that a signal of 41 just means that, in bad weather, i'm more likely to lose a signal. He didn't seem to feel that it was likely, but he wanted to cover his butt. I told him to continue with the install, and i'm happy with the results so far.
My questions are:
1) Is there a way for me to monitor my signal strength?
2) The tech said that i'll probably get calls from Dish saying i have low signal and that they'll want to dispatch a tech. He said NOT to let them do that, b/c they'll charge for the visit, and they won't be able to improve things. Does this make sense, or is he trying to keep from getting in trouble for doing a "less than ideal install"?
3) The tech said that i'll also likely get a call from a quality-assurance person who'll want to check the install b/c of the low signal strength. He said that this visit would be free, but again it wouldn't accomplish anything except that he'll get written up for proceeding with the install. He said that they won't give me a choice on the visit, but i should just say that i won't be home for any of the times they can visit, and eventually they'll let it drop. I don't want to get the guy in trough b/c i really DO think he was doing me a favor, but i want to make sure that i'm not maybe keeping myself from getting a better signal somehow. What do you guys think?
Again, i'm new here, so please go easy on me! Thanks.
-david
