More Internationals Moving Off of 61.5?

[dangue]

I was just wondering if anyone had heard about more international channels being moved off of 61.5 in the near term. Yesterday, I received a letter from Dish asking me to call in to arrange for a change of my antenna in order to avoid interruption of service.

I called in today and spent over an hour on the phone with first a CSR from overseas and then TSR from the US. To make a long story short, both initially said that I had to get a repoint but then changed their minds and said it wouldn't be necessary. Adding to my concern is that Dish thinks I am pointed at 110, 119, 129 and 148 when in actuality I am pointed at 110, 119 and 61.5.

A switchover from 61.5 to 118.7 is in line with what I was told to expect in October. Now I'm not sure what is going on. Why would Dish send me a letter when there's nothing that needs to be done? It doesn't help my confidence in the Dish people that I knew far more about my setup and Dish programing than either of the people I talked to.

The International channel I subscribe to is RTP internacional (615). I just want to make sure that service doesn't get interrupted. And if Dish does have to swap out hardware I want to make sure they end up setting me up with Hd off of 129 (so that I can get my RSNs in HD).

EDIT: I just checked "The List" and my international channel is being broadcast on 118.7. Now I'm really concerned.

 

[yapagaldil]

My understanding is that dish is moving international channels from 61.5 to 118. I received my letter few months ago and did get the dish re-pointed. I think you should call them back and tell them what setup you have so they can do the re-pointing otherwise i am afraid you might lose your channels sometime in the future.

Personally i think it's a good idea to move international channels to one location and moving from 61 makes more space for new hd channels.

 

[digiblur]

Some internationals are staying on 61.5 even though they are on 118.7 since some areas do not have coverage of 118.7. If I remember correctly I think Puerto Rico is one of them.

 

[dangue]

Some internationals are staying on 61.5 even though they are on 118.7 since some areas do not have coverage of 118.7. If I remember correctly I think Puerto Rico is one of them.

Is there a list anywhere of what is being moved off and what is staying?

 

[digiblur]

I haven't seen one. Can you not see 118.7?

 

[dangue]

I currently don't have anything pointed at 118.7. Since I can see 110 and 119 I doubt there would be anything obstructing 118.7, but I don't know with any certainty. I know there have been lists for past migrations, so I was hoping a new list would be available. If my international was on the list, I'd contact Dish again and insist on the install. Otherwise, I'm not sure if it's worth another hour plus on the phone if I'm not certain a hardware change is needed.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I don't see the reason to use 61.5 sat for internationals at all since they are on 148 and 118 as well. Can't we just get it down to one sat? Why so many complicated dish configurations to achieve the same thing?

 

[digiblur]

I don't see the reason to use 61.5 sat for internationals at all since they are on 148 and 118 as well. Can't we just get it down to one sat? Why so many complicated dish configurations to achieve the same thing?

Read one of my previous posts above.

 

[rglore]

I don't see the reason to use 61.5 sat for internationals at all since they are on 148 and 118 as well. Can't we just get it down to one sat? Why so many complicated dish configurations to achieve the same thing?

It cost Dish four to five hundred dollars to switch someone from 61.5 to 118.7. Need the 500/1000+ dish and a DPP44. Cheaper to just leave them mirrored on 61.5. There's probably tens of thousands of people using 61.5 for internationals.

 

[dangue]

Well it looks like RTPi is indeed moving off of 61.5. I called back since the last two CSRs left me feeling so dubious. After I convinced her that I did not have 148 and 129 (like their system thinks I do) nor 118.7, she told me that I would need to have my Dish changed. I'm scheduled for an install of a 1000+ at the end of January. She verified that I would receive 110, 118.7, 119 and 129 after the install. I was assured that the channel would not be migrated prior to that. (I'm not sure that that bodes well for national HD launches in the near term.) I just wish it hadn't taken 2 hours and talking to 3 reps to get this straigntened out.

 

[dixi1]

DN has installed dish1000+, and I have lost all international channels. I do not see any channels from 590 t0 625. How can I find dish echo118.7? Also, is there a way I can add a new sattelite on my pansat 3500SD. Any and all help will be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[dangue]

I'm not sure if I can answer question or not, but I'll give it a shot: According to The List SatelliteGuys.US - Subscription 118.7°W

Channel numbers on 118.7 may be different from the channel numbers on 61.5 and 148 (this is true in my case). If they installed a 1000+ and you get 118.7 try looking for your missing channels in the 600-700 channel number range. To see if you are receiving a signal from 118.7 from your Dish Network receiver menu hit 6-1-1 and run check switch. 118.7 will show up as one of the satellites listed if you're pointed at it. I can't help with your pansat question. That might be better answered in the FTA forum.

 

[HDRoberts]

Hmm, I hope this is a positive HD sign. Dish needs to have 16 CONUS transponders set aside for HD so they can match Ciel-2. Even being down 4 TPs, this should be possible, as they don't seem in a hurry to turn on TPs 17, 19, 21, and 23 in spotbeam mode.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Read one of my previous posts above.

Sorry missed that one.