Question for installers...

[skyviewmark]

What a guy drives and what type of meter he uses has nothing to do with how professional an installer is.. I have seen many guys pull up in pretty white vans with Dish logos all nice and pretty and then the guy gets out and doesn't know which end is up and can't figure out what to do with a dish..

A professional is one that gets out of whatever he drives and listens to the customer and trys to provide to them what they are looking for balancing the customer needs with what actually has to be done to make the system work properly. And when he leaves it all looks professional and is done correctly, and the customer is as happy as possible.

 

[rcdallas]

Yeah, ok. I drive my own truck, buy everything and I do have two meters.
And just because you work by the hour and have a nice little uniform and and a shiny company vehicle does not make you any more qualified to do the job. Sometimes stuff happens. And If you have several installs to do and your last job was 50 miles south and there is no Radio Shack in sight(or it's Sunday?), what are you gonna do? I am usually prepared, and whos to say this guy bobrap is talking about isnt usually prepared and just had a really bad day? Or maybe he was a new subcontract installer and just wasn't trained properly,or long enough. Alot of new subcontract installers pretty much have to teach themselves, and as bad as it sounds, thats on the job training. (Me, for example).

Are these guys just supposed to go work at wal mart? Everybody needs a job. What proper training is there for this type of work? 8 hours of SBCA classes? Is that it?

I laugh every time a customer asked me how long I had to go to school for this.

I have a very nice meter, the other day I just didn't have it, I have a job to do, you improvise, whether it be open the window up with the volume turned up or ask the customer, you have to do what you have to do.

Reschedule the entire route, or do what you have to do and get the job done?

Buy a cheap meter? Last I knew the local small town country stores we're out of stock.

 

[rcdallas]

What a guy drives and what type of meter he uses has nothing to do with how professional an installer is.. I have seen many guys pull up in pretty white vans with Dish logos all nice and pretty and then the guy gets out and doesn't know which end is up and can't figure out what to do with a dish..

A professional is one that gets out of whatever he drives and listens to the customer and trys to provide to them what they are looking for balancing the customer needs with what actually has to be done to make the system work properly. And when he leaves it all looks professional and is done correctly, and the customer is as happy as possible.

: :up

 

[Roadwarrior]

I drive my own truck, buy everything and I do have two meters.

I've got no problem with your truck, my point on this was more the guy driving up in his hatchback with all his crap in back etc.

And just because you work by the hour and have a nice little uniform and and a shiny company vehicle

I work for a private co. with 4 installers (7 people in entire co.), they supply the van and tools(my boss would say my van isn't very shiny & that I need to wash it ). I work on commision, not hourly, and a T-shirt with co. logo is all the uniform I have and I don't have to wear it.

whos to say this guy bobrap is talking about isnt usually prepared and just had a really bad day

I didn't, just last week I left my only cordless drill at a customers house, and ended up driving in a couple lags with a 1/2 wrench because I couldn't find my back up rachet that I hadn't used in about 2 years. I felt bobrap asked how installers felt it should be done.

What proper training is there for this type of work? 8 hours of SBCA classes? Is that it?

The SBCA class was a joke, we usually have a new hire ride for 3-4 weeks with a current installer. Also having a background in & understanding of home electronics is good.

I also get a kick out of people asking if I had to go to school for this

*edit - I started this b4 your last post-thats why it seems out of order*

Ok, I had you pegged as a company man. My bad. So you understand. Customers often judge me "by my cover" when I roll up to their house and are leary. And when I first started, they were right.

But now days I quickly put their fears to rest once I survey the house and decide how things are going to be run and go over it with them. I get 10's every time on the post call and no complaints.

And right on rcdallas, the jobs must get done and a good installer will make sure and do everything in their power to prevent any return trips. The customer does not have to understand or agree with our methods, as long as they are happy with the results.

 

[PIMP_2]

It takes a professional to be a professional, not tools. I have traveled 250 miles in the middle of indian reservation, before realizing I didn't have any tools, except screwdriver, rachet & socket, pocket knife, and my drill. And how I can imagine that you wouldn't like me hanging off the side of your house with a pocket knife cutting fittings, but the job was done correctly precautions not to knick the center conductor, and throughout the rest of the job. It did not look professional, but a professional is the only person that could have survived that day. Sometimes being a installer is like being McGiver. I'll take a twenty dollar bet that me being a professional using a cell phone, and a non professional using a $300 meter and I'll come out on top with better TC percentage.

And right on rcdallas, the jobs must get done and a good installer will make sure and do everything in their power to prevent any return trips. The customer does not have to understand or agree with our methods, as long as they are happy with the results.

I also agree

 

[chadzx11]

Sorry guys, didn't mean to start anything. Just figured if the best the installer can do is eyeball it, I can do that one afternoon myself and then I can't complain.

When I was installing Directv, I didn't use a meter. I could shoot it with a compass and get 95+ every time (lining up directv 18 inchers is cake). I tried that ONCE with a dish 500, what a pain in the ass. I found every satellite but the combo I needed, and I ended up having to enlist the customer. On that day, I had left my meter in the garage charging. I was in a shithole town with no radioshack, nor would I have paid $20 for a meter I can get for $10 or less wholesale.

I did get to where I could place the dish on the mount and get a signal with a dish 500, but I never was able to peak one without a meter.

 

[chadzx11]

Ok, I had you pegged as a company man. My bad. So you understand. Customers often judge me "by my cover" when I roll up to their house and are leary. And when I first started, they were right.

I had this one lady come flying out of her house one day (I had precalled, so she was expecting me), she wanted to know just who I was and WTF I was doing at her house. I told her, and she rolled her eyes and said "oh, you're a SUB contractor. Great, I want an employee." So I told her OK, they can probably get to you next week, and hopped back in my truck (trying very hard not to laugh AT her).

She stopped me and asked me to take a look at it. She was having signal loss problems on a 322. Everything looked good on the outside, so I had her take me to the attic. The DNS guy took a cable from the ground block into the attic DIRECTLY behind the TV, ran it about 100 feet to the main cable junction to hook it into the prewired RG59, so he could use diplexors. I told the customer what I thought was wrong with it, and that I needed to rewire it, which meant drilling a hole to bring that cable straight to the 322. She OK'd it and I pulled the wire back and poked it though the hole I drilled. I used the existing RG59 to run the second tuner. When all was said and done, I left with 75 feet of DNS's cable and a pair of their diplexors. She also gave me a tip for hooking up the wireless phone jacks that she had purchased.

She turned out to be a really nice lady, but I will never forget the eye rolling or what she said to me that day. Very insulting.

 

[ZandarKoad]

Hahahaha, that's great. It's funny the sterio types people have sometimes.

That reminds me of the time this one customer actually happened to BE a DNS TECHNICIAN, and a FEMALE! She was well built, so I didn't doubt her physical abilites on the job, but it was kinda strange why the work order was even issued... When I told her I wasn't DNS she was kinda pissed. She told he office she wanted a DNS guy out there, but you know how work orders go. She said she had everything pre-wired, and all I needed to do was hop up on the roof, install the SD and drop the 3 cables to the basement where she had the DP34 mounted and the cables all attached to the recievers (two dual tuners). She was also upset about my cable (Skywalker stuff). She said it was crapy cable, but she didn't have any cable that had a messanger wire. In the end, I agreed to run three of her lines, and run 30+ feet of my green ground wire from the dish to the basement.

The real kicker is when I tried to run check switches, nothing was working. Turns out she did NOT hook things up correctly! I had to take stuff appart to find that she had crossed her backfeed lines with her sat in lines (no diplexors present). Also, as I was trouble shooting it, and at one point I tested the cable that she had labled 'to TV in'. I was getting POWER from that cable! I was like... "Um, TV's don't give out 18v power" She swore up and down that they DO GIVE OUT POWER!!! ROTFL!!! I think she had been doing installs for about six months. Don't know where she got that idea.

 

[iafirebuff]

I guess everyone makes mistakes...... but you gotta love it when the "expert's" stuff is wrong!

 

[Alvn8r]

And right on rcdallas, the jobs must get done and a good installer will make sure and do everything in their power to prevent any return trips. The customer does not have to understand or agree with our methods, as long as they are happy with the results.

I once used an old 111 reciever taped to a 4" Sony tv to get my signal, used it about a week till my new meter came in. A couple of my customers thought I was a genious for coming up with that. and a shiney white van around here usually means a rookie in the seat.

 

[patmsb]

The Best Digital Satellite Meter.

I just purchased the "Super Buddy" and I have to say it's the meter I've been looking for a long time. My other satellite meter's can't even touch this one for setting up the alignment on the new and old dish setups. Although it was a $731.00 investment but having used it on a few jobs already I have to say it's a excellent meter. Applied Instruments has really put some effort into this product.

Here's a web-link:

http://www.appliedin.com/signallevelmeters/superbuddyspec.html

 

[rcdallas]

The real kicker is when I tried to run check switches, nothing was working. Turns out she did NOT hook things up correctly! I had to take stuff appart to find that she had crossed her backfeed lines with her sat in lines (no diplexors present). Also, as I was trouble shooting it, and at one point I tested the cable that she had labled 'to TV in'. I was getting POWER from that cable! I was like... "Um, TV's don't give out 18v power" She swore up and down that they DO GIVE OUT POWER!!! ROTFL!!! I think she had been doing installs for about six months. Don't know where she got that idea.

You know what they say, the mechanic has the worst running car...

Seriously, I don't know if its just me that thinks this way or what, but those who screw up the most are the ones that don't ask questions and claim to know it all.

 

[rcdallas]

I just purchased the "Super Buddy" and I have to say it's the meter I've been looking for a long time. My other satellite meter's can't even touch this one for setting up the alignment on the new and old dish setups. Although it was a $731.00 investment but having used it on a few jobs already I have to say it's a excellent meter. Applied Instruments has really put some effort into this product.

Here's a web-link:

http://www.appliedin.com/signallevelmeters/superbuddyspec.html

I've used one a couple of times, just my opinion that has too many bells and whistles to install a D500 or even a 1000+ with that bad boy. Big and bulky takes 10 seconds to turn on..... maybe if it did balancing between multiple birds simutaneously like the Dual Buddy from Applied that'd be awesome.

It is a nice meter just way too much for consumer grade satellite.

 

[webbydude]

I've used one a couple of times, just my opinion that has too many bells and whistles to install a D500 or even a 1000+ with that bad boy. Big and bulky takes 10 seconds to turn on..... maybe if it did balancing between multiple birds simutaneously like the Dual Buddy from Applied that'd be awesome.

It is a nice meter just way too much for consumer grade satellite.

I completely agree. If I hadn't just nuked the battery pack on my Accutrac 22 Pro I would recommend it for everyone.

I'm in the process of "making" a new battery pack with store bought rechargeables I got from Rat Shack. If it doesn't work out, I may have to buy a new meter. Oh well. It's still fairly decent for the 500+ and D1000 systems.

 

[chadzx11]

Those acutrac batteries are POS's. I used to get my acutrac without the damned battery, but that's no longer an option. I bought an inverter, and just hook the 22 up in the cab when I am not using it. That way, it always has enough juice to get the next dish ligned up.

I installed a E* HD system for a directech employee. Everything was going well until I brought in the 811 in the sealed box. It had the magic word on it: "remanufactured." He went nuts, so I suggested he take it up with E*. He spent an hour on the phone with them arguing. When he got off I had the system lit up and running and I asked him how it went. He said the basically told him he was leasing the equipment, FU we're installing a reman. Pretty much what I expected. I never saw a NEW 811 while I was doing E* anyway. Rocking R is cheap. If they can get a reman, they do.

 

[webbydude]

Those acutrac batteries are POS's. I used to get my acutrac without the damned battery, but that's no longer an option. I bought an inverter, and just hook the 22 up in the cab when I am not using it. That way, it always has enough juice to get the next dish ligned up.
.

Now you see...that's BS! You shouldn't have to continually do that after leaving every job. And yes...I was doing the same thing! It pissed me off that it was part of my "packing up the truck and clean up the area before leaving the customers home" process. I love the meter. To the point I actually strapped on my old Sat Buddy and am using it to power up the Accutrac (output of the Sat Buddy feeding the IRD input of the Accutrac)