We've been having some signal issues with our 110/119 install.
We've had a couple of Dish Techs out this week the first said it was trees and the second said it wasn't trees!
Here's the question, assuming the second Dish Tech is correct and line-of-sight is not the issue, is an Eastern Arc signal less susceptible to rain/clouds than 110/119?
I live about half way between Hartford, Connecticut and Springfield , Massachusetts in zip code 06029.
The 119 signal strength is currently between 30 and 35 on most transponders with a high of 50 on one transponder. This is on a day with blue skies and low humidity. The 110 signals are around the mid 70s, and after the Tech that was here yesterday aligned the dish (signals were 2 - 5 lower before alignment). Both techs said there would be no line-of-sight issues with Eastern Arc.
Here are more details on my circumstances if you want to read on:
We rarely had loss of picture through the winter and early spring, but starting about 2 weeks ago we began to frequently lose the signal. There seems to a pretty strong correlation between the signal loss and the sprouting of tree foliage.
Tech that came out last Sunday said trees were definitely the issue. He didn't climb on roof but stood behind dish from the ground (dish is on the lower corner of the garage roof) and used the sight glass tool to determine that the neighbors tree was the issue. He called Dish to explain that original install was done back in November when there no leaves on the trees. As a result, Dish scheduled a tech to come out and do an Eastern Arc install with a 722 receiver (to replace our 625 DVR - 110/119 install) we only have a SD TV so no benefit other than better LOS.
Tech comes out on Friday with a work order that only says a receiver swap, and he says he doesn't have the dish required for Eastern Arc because the work order didn't say EA. (I don't know why the techs don't carry spares -- the tech on Sunday didn't have a 722 or the right dish either -- could have potentially solved the problem right there and then!)
Yesterday the tech goes on the roof checks the dish location with his sight glass tool and says the tree is not the problem. He realigns the dish and is surprised the signal didn't go up more, but says its not the trees. He then explains that the clouds can be a problem. When he was hear there was a high cloud cover, but it wasn't raining and the clouds were thin enough so that distinct shadows were cast on the ground.
He says an EA install probably wouldn't help since it's not an LOS issue. I said that's fine we'll keep what we've got then since we have no committment and installing the EA would require a 2-year committment. I got the imprression that at first he was pushing the 110/119 existing install because he didn' t have the right dish. After he went to his truck to speak with his supervisor he seemed to pushing for a reschedule to install EA.
I asked him everyway I knew how if EA would make a difference since LOS was not the issue and I could not get a straight answer.
If EA is truly not going to make a difference, and the recent signal loss is considered normal than I would like to keep my options open and avoid a 2-year committment.
But if current if EA yields a more reliable picture I wouldn't hestitate to make the committment. I like Dish's DVR technonlgy.
We've had a couple of Dish Techs out this week the first said it was trees and the second said it wasn't trees!
Here's the question, assuming the second Dish Tech is correct and line-of-sight is not the issue, is an Eastern Arc signal less susceptible to rain/clouds than 110/119?
I live about half way between Hartford, Connecticut and Springfield , Massachusetts in zip code 06029.
The 119 signal strength is currently between 30 and 35 on most transponders with a high of 50 on one transponder. This is on a day with blue skies and low humidity. The 110 signals are around the mid 70s, and after the Tech that was here yesterday aligned the dish (signals were 2 - 5 lower before alignment). Both techs said there would be no line-of-sight issues with Eastern Arc.
Here are more details on my circumstances if you want to read on:
We rarely had loss of picture through the winter and early spring, but starting about 2 weeks ago we began to frequently lose the signal. There seems to a pretty strong correlation between the signal loss and the sprouting of tree foliage.
Tech that came out last Sunday said trees were definitely the issue. He didn't climb on roof but stood behind dish from the ground (dish is on the lower corner of the garage roof) and used the sight glass tool to determine that the neighbors tree was the issue. He called Dish to explain that original install was done back in November when there no leaves on the trees. As a result, Dish scheduled a tech to come out and do an Eastern Arc install with a 722 receiver (to replace our 625 DVR - 110/119 install) we only have a SD TV so no benefit other than better LOS.
Tech comes out on Friday with a work order that only says a receiver swap, and he says he doesn't have the dish required for Eastern Arc because the work order didn't say EA. (I don't know why the techs don't carry spares -- the tech on Sunday didn't have a 722 or the right dish either -- could have potentially solved the problem right there and then!)
Yesterday the tech goes on the roof checks the dish location with his sight glass tool and says the tree is not the problem. He realigns the dish and is surprised the signal didn't go up more, but says its not the trees. He then explains that the clouds can be a problem. When he was hear there was a high cloud cover, but it wasn't raining and the clouds were thin enough so that distinct shadows were cast on the ground.
He says an EA install probably wouldn't help since it's not an LOS issue. I said that's fine we'll keep what we've got then since we have no committment and installing the EA would require a 2-year committment. I got the imprression that at first he was pushing the 110/119 existing install because he didn' t have the right dish. After he went to his truck to speak with his supervisor he seemed to pushing for a reschedule to install EA.
I asked him everyway I knew how if EA would make a difference since LOS was not the issue and I could not get a straight answer.
If EA is truly not going to make a difference, and the recent signal loss is considered normal than I would like to keep my options open and avoid a 2-year committment.
But if current if EA yields a more reliable picture I wouldn't hestitate to make the committment. I like Dish's DVR technonlgy.
