May switch from E* to D*

[Peter Parker]

I am along time DISH sub with AT180 locals, the supers , HBO and Starz. MY equipment isa pair of 508s.

due to an ongoing battle w/ DISH service personnel that I can't even get DISH to siscuss with me. Therefore I need to start thinking about changing providers. I know that I will have to lose the suers and have a slightly different set of locals but what else do i ned to know---what package, what receivers etc.

 

[boba]

I am along time DISH sub with AT180 locals, the supers , HBO and Starz. MY equipment isa pair of 508s.

due to an ongoing battle w/ DISH service personnel that I can't even get DISH to siscuss with me. Therefore I need to start thinking about changing providers. I know that I will have to lose the suers and have a slightly different set of locals but what else do i ned to know---what package, what receivers etc.

The Total Choice + package at $49.99 will be the closest to AT-180. The DVR+ is the closest to the 508 being a dual tuner single output DVR. You will lose the UHF capability of the 508 and you will incur a $5.99/account fee for DVR capability. You will gain a little more record time, name based recording, a second tuner if you want to run the cables for the functionality. The DVR+ will work with just 1 tuner connected if running additional cables is a problem. Reliability of the 508 and DVR+ is about equal, both have caller ID, DVR+ has 2 weeks of programming guide information.

TC+ has most of AT180 programming you will lose TMC West and the Encore channels are part of Starz on D*.

 

[charper1]

Zip code?

HD or non-HD?

NFL or no NFL?

How many rooms?

I would go with the promo they have.

Build and estimate costs.

 

[yammy750]

E* would not help me out either to upgrade. SO I went to D* thinking the signal was great with E* it should be the same! But its not! To me E* was better in signal strength then D*.


So it’s a tuff thing to switch my channels never went out with E* during any storms!
Now it takes a clear day and my signals are lost!

 

[Jhon69]

E* would not help me out either to upgrade. SO I went to D* thinking the signal was great with E* it should be the same! But its not! To me E* was better in signal strength then D*.


So it’s a tuff thing to switch my channels never went out with E* during any storms!
Now it takes a clear day and my signals are lost!

Sorry to hear of your problem but if you lose your signal easy you have an adjustment problem with your dish.

 

[charper1]

Sorry to hear of your problem but if you lose your signal easy you have an adjustment problem with your dish.

Agreed! 10+ years, been out a handfull of times for 2 mins or less.

 

[dfergie]

If signal not good you will have probs with both/ all providers... D* since 96, E* since 00 Bud part time since early 80's... (pre scrambleing)

 

[Peter Parker]

Sorry to hear of your problem but if you lose your signal easy you have an adjustment problem with your dish.

The problem is intermittent so i am not so sure that I would have problems with D*---or even with E* if they would actually try to fix it.

But, in any event, the real problem is that I can't get DISH to even talk to me. that is what is fueling my disaffection.

 

[johnml]

I had the same problem when i was a cable customer - thats why i switched to Directv. Whenever there is a problem they always fix it and most of the time they will give a credit of some sort...

 

[vurbano]

Agreed! 10+ years, been out a handfull of times for 2 mins or less.

My zip is 23601, 3 lnb D* dish, signal strengths 95-99 on all three sat locations. The signal goes out or the HDtivo recordings comprimised EVERY time it rains hard. EVERY time. Very heavy could cover will do the same thing.

 

[Jhon69]

The problem is intermittent so i am not so sure that I would have problems with D*---or even with E* if they would actually try to fix it.

But, in any event, the real problem is that I can't get DISH to even talk to me. that is what is fueling my disaffection.

And you tried ceo@dishnetwork.com?

 

[Jhon69]

My zip is 23601, 3 lnb D* dish, signal strengths 95-99 on all three sat locations. The signal goes out or the HDtivo recordings comprimised EVERY time it rains hard. EVERY time. Very heavy could cover will do the same thing.

It might be time for an AT-9 ?

 

[tds4182]

My zip is 23601, 3 lnb D* dish, signal strengths 95-99 on all three sat locations. The signal goes out or the HDtivo recordings comprimised EVERY time it rains hard. EVERY time. Very heavy could cover will do the same thing.

Anybody's satellite reception (either E* or D*) will go out if it rains hard enough. It's the nature of the beast when you're looking at a group of satellites 22K miles up in the air. Even the cable companies (who utilize huge dishes compared to DBS) lose their signals if it rains hard enough.

I've never heard of cloud cover heavy enough to cause signal loss, however.

 

[vurbano]

Anybody's satellite reception (either E* or D*) will go out if it rains hard enough. It's the nature of the beast

Exactly. Thats why when I hear these ridiculous statements about never losing signal, or only losing signal 2 times in 10 years I have to wonder why people say things like that.

 

[vurbano]

I've never heard of cloud cover heavy enough to cause signal loss, however.

I guess I should have explained the "very heavy cloud cover" statement a little more. Its usually before or after a storm. The rain affects the signal before it actually rains at your location.


Rain fade

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Jump to: navigation, search
In satellite communications, rain fade refers to the absorption of a microwave Radio Frequency (RF) signal by rain or snow, and is especially prevalent in frequencies above 11 GHz. It also refers to the degradation of a signal caused by the electromagnetic interference of the leading edge of a storm front. Rain fade can be caused by rain or snow at the uplink or downlink location.It does not need to be raining at a location for it to be affected by rain fade. The signal may pass through rain or snow many miles away, especially if the satellite dish has a low look angle. From 5 to 20 percent of rain fade or satellite signal attenuation may also be caused by rain, snow or ice on the downlink antenna reflector, radome or feed horn.
Possible ways to overcome rain fade are site diversity, uplink power control, variable rate encoding, receiving antennas larger than the requested size for normal weather conditions, and super hydrophobic rain, snow and ice repellent coatings.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_fade"

 

[FlyingJ]

My zip is 23601, 3 lnb D* dish, signal strengths 95-99 on all three sat locations. The signal goes out or the HDtivo recordings comprimised EVERY time it rains hard. EVERY time. Very heavy could cover will do the same thing.

But somehow V, you have a way of making it sound like it only happens to you with D*, not E*

 

[vurbano]

But somehow V, you have a way of making it sound like it only happens to you with D*, not E*

LMAO. no. It happened with Voom and D*. Im sure it would be the same with E*. They are no different. It is a fact of life with Pizza dish satellite.

 

[johnml]

I have to pipe in here - I live in south Florida where it rains heavily almost everyday during the summer. When i first switched to Directv i lost my signal many many times during the storms, But i gotta say I can count on one hand the number of time I've lost it in the last few years. Even with hurricane force winds ( when my power was still on ) Maybe it's just me, but i find a world of difference between the last few years... :

 

[FlyingJ]

LOL By the way V...that little video doohickey by your name, is that the rain you are talking about or your representation of the down rezzed compressed D* HD ?

 

[ScoBuck]

yawn