They won't install!

[itsmee22]

I signed up for DirecTv on their website and had no trouble completing my order. I live in a "floating home" which is stationary (except for some up and down movement) and has a permanent address. Several of my neighbors with floating homes have DirecTv and some Dish. They have no complaints.

When the installer came he told me DirecTV policy is not to install Dishes on floating homes. He suggested I go to a reseller and that they would do the install.
I did this and am scheduled for installation in a couple of days. I've since found out the the installer is not an independent contractor but again a DirecTv installer.

I'm afraid he's going to refuse as well. The sales people I talk to at Directv don't have a clue about floating homes.

Anyone know how to convince them to do the installation?

Thanks.

 

[Jimbo]

I signed up for DirecTv on their website and had no trouble completing my order. I live in a "floating home" which is stationary (except for some up and down movement) and has a permanent address. Several of my neighbors with floating homes have DirecTv and some Dish. They have no complaints.

When the installer came he told me DirecTV policy is not to install Dishes on floating homes. He suggested I go to a reseller and that they would do the install.
I did this and am scheduled for installation in a couple of days. I've since found out the the installer is not an independent contractor but again a DirecTv installer.

I'm afraid he's going to refuse as well. The sales people I talk to at Directv don't have a clue about floating homes.

Anyone know how to convince them to do the installation?

Thanks.

They probably would be fine doing the install if it was going onto the deck and you were feeding a line to the boat.

The place you probably need to go to or look up is the ones selling the KTV and maybe Winegard dishes.

They are the ones that usually do the motion dishes.

Check here:
http://www.kvh.com/Leisure/RV-Systems/Television.aspx

 

[Jimbo]

They probably would be fine doing the install if it was going onto the deck and you were feeding a line to the boat.

The place you probably need to go to or look up is the ones selling the KTV and maybe Winegard dishes.

They are the ones that usually do the motion dishes.

Check here:
http://www.kvh.com/Leisure/RV-Systems/Television.aspx

The page I posted, is for D*, but KU only, which means SD only on that particular one, theres are others out there if you want motion and HD.

 

[Hutch1814]

Floating homes, and RV's are a almost a promised no every time. Yes the CSR's are will say "yeah no problem, they do it all the time" but no we don't. It's in our guidelines to refuse due to high rate of repeat service calls. The reseller may be able to help you but don't expect an HSP or O&O do it. I wish you the best of luck and judging by Jimbos post he's got a good idea. I'd take a look at the winegards etc

 

[stardust3]

I've personally installed many floating homes as a retailer.

1 thing you have to realize is that you need to actively participate in realigning your dish when needed.

I've told all my customers that it's a service call fee to realign their dish. It's not a matter of "if" but "when" you will need realigned with a fixed dish on the water.

 

[itsmee22]

I don't need a dish that accounts for motion. Floating homes are stable as far as lateral motion, though they do go up and down. Many of my neighbors have dishes and don't need to continually re-align them. I'd be willing to do my own re-alignment occasionally if that were necessary.

So it seems I'll have no luck with DirecTV directly. Any advice how to find a retailer that would give me the same deal as DirecTv and install my dish without charge? As mentioned, the first online reseller set me up for a DirecTV install which I suspect will be refused when they get here.

Thanks for your comments so far.

 

[Hutch1814]

I don't need a dish that accounts for motion. Floating homes are stable as far as lateral motion, though they do go up and down. Many of my neighbors have dishes and don't need to continually re-align them. I'd be willing to do my own re-alignment occasionally if that were necessary.

So it seems I'll have no luck with DirecTV directly. Any advice how to find a retailer that would give me the same deal as DirecTv and install my dish without charge? As mentioned, the first online reseller set me up for a DirecTV install which I suspect will be refused when they get here.

Thanks for your comments so far.

Any motion at all in a dish can and normally will account for signal lost. Slimline dishes are very picky, 1/8 of an inch and you've lost signal. You're prolly gonna pay a fee up front to get the install done from a contractor unfortunately.

 

[Claude Greiner]

The dish has got to go on the dock.


No way to install it on a floating home, as any change in the water levels and its an automatic service call

 

[Jimbo]

The dish has got to go on the dock.


No way to install it on a floating home, as any change in the water levels and its an automatic service call

Wondering how/why he wants a Non motion on a boat ?
He already shot down the Dock option that would be easy.

That said, is he using this while out boating ?

Must be a really big boat if he has 110v on the boat, I would think if your out boating, you have no need to be watching TV.

 

[itsmee22]

The dock floats as well as the home (which is not a boat). There is as much as a 20 ft change in elevation seasonally on the Columbia River. However many of my neighbors have dishes and don't require re-alignment every time the tide changes. It' is the vertical ANGLE to the satellite that matters, not the elevation. If the dish much up or down, the change in angle to the satellite is infintesimally smalland shouldn't matter.

The dish has got to go on the dock.


No way to install it on a floating home, as any change in the water levels and its an automatic service call

 

[Hutch1814]

The dock floats as well as the home (which is not a boat). There is as much as a 20 ft change in elevation seasonally on the Columbia River. However many of my neighbors have dishes and don't require re-alignment every time the tide changes. It' is the vertical ANGLE to the satellite that matters, not the elevation. If the dish much up or down, the change in angle to the satellite is infintesimally smalland shouldn't matter.

Vertical angle, elevation? Isn't that the same? When that dish moves an inch it throws the signal off. 1/4 of an inch equals nearly 400 miles by the time it reaches the satellite over the equator so yes, any movement matters

 

[Claude Greiner]

Vertical angle, elevation? Isn't that the same? When that dish moves an inch it throws the signal off. 1/4 of an inch equals nearly 400 miles by the time it reaches the satellite over the equator so yes, any movement matters

I agree!

Technically 20 feet up or down vertically is not going to make a difference, but the issue is that if the boat moves forward, backward, or side to side even half an inch it will throw the Dish off of alignment.

Its a service call waiting to happen, and no installer is going to want to get married to a job that will come back to bite them in the ass.

Too many times customers have signed off on installs like this, only to have the customer demand free service calls later to fix it.

 

[stardust3]

Well I have to say the 1st time I was asked to install a fixed dish on a houseboat I was REAL skeptical. Doing it for an hsp, rsp or inhouse would be a no go for me. Just because of their BS.

However as a retailer I've done more than I can count, fixed & auto dishes, mobile houseboats & permanent houses on the water. It is very surprising how well fixed dishes hold up on water. It really depends on the size of the houseboat or permanent house on the water & how it is anchored. Some will turn significantly with changing water levels, others especially fixed permanent houses not so much.

Within the last 2 or 3 weeks I installed a 3 tv D* on a mobile houseboat 80 X 18 with 2 levels parked at the dock. You could feel the movement of the boat. It passed install verification without a hitch & never lost signal the entire time I was there. This customer knows the drill & occasionally takes it out on the lake. He previously had dish which I installed about 3 yrs ago & never heard a peep from him till I switched him to D*. This is something they only use on the weekends. It is no big deal to them to re-tune when necessary, especially when it's only needed for the weekend. If signal is gone they take a few minutes with 1 at the dish & 1 at the tv using cell phones & their good until they leave.

Most customers understand the need to be able to re-tune their dish on their own, otherwise I wouldn't fool with them. Also I have yet to see an auto dish that will pickup 99 or 103 on D*, besides that most will only see 1 sat at a time. Regular dishes are by far the best way to get all programming.

I do have 1 customer that calls 3-4 times a year with a mobile houseboat. He has a land based system with flooded cable laying in the water coming to the boat, also there is nlos for the auto tracker when boat is at the dock. Most of his service calls are easy fixes, wrong surround sound input, receivers losing authorization due to being without pwr for weeks on end. However he always gives me $100+ when ever I go out there. I always say that is too much, his response is you'll just owe me 1 for the next time, however he tells me that every time & still pays me very well.

From the best I can tell the op has fixed house on the water similar to this.



If this is the case your best bet is to find a retailer who will do this for you. Most of these types of homes are very heavy & stable with supporting systems that will not turn during water level changes. For me personally I would not think twice about installing a fixed dish like the 1 pictured above as long as there was an understanding there would be a fee for me to re-tune or the customer willing to do if needed. On a home like this I would bet it would be rare to have to realign. Years ago I would have said no way, but working with my lake customers has given me a whole different outlook that yes it is doable. I do however draw the line with sat internet, it has to be land based regardless.

 

[dishcomm]

I don't need a dish that accounts for motion. Floating homes are stable as far as lateral motion, though they do go up and down. Many of my neighbors have dishes and don't need to continually re-align them. I'd be willing to do my own re-alignment occasionally if that were necessary.

So it seems I'll have no luck with DirecTV directly. Any advice how to find a retailer that would give me the same deal as DirecTv and install my dish without charge? As mentioned, the first online reseller set me up for a DirecTV install which I suspect will be refused when they get here.

Thanks for your comments so far.

I was a tech for a long time. While I never had an occasion to install on a house boat or a dwelling like yours, I would have refused to do the job. Here's the reason....If for any reason your signal is lost, I would have been responsible to come to your home on MY DIME and realign your antenna. Plus, I would have had my service record adversely affected because each outage would count against my ability to make monthly bonus.
Sorry, but I will not take the chance to allow your situation take food off my table.
This is a business. And business is as they say, business.

 

[dishcomm]

The dock floats as well as the home (which is not a boat). There is as much as a 20 ft change in elevation seasonally on the Columbia River. However many of my neighbors have dishes and don't require re-alignment every time the tide changes. It' is the vertical ANGLE to the satellite that matters, not the elevation. If the dish much up or down, the change in angle to the satellite is infintesimally smalland shouldn't matter.

Now you are making me laugh. If I had the equipment, I could show you how moving the dish side to side or up and down just 1/8th of an inch can cause total signal loss.
Are you 100% certain your neighbor's dishes are A) not mounted to a fixed place or B) not the type where the antenna automatically adjusts for motion?

 

[dishcomm]

The dock floats as well as the home (which is not a boat). There is as much as a 20 ft change in elevation seasonally on the Columbia River. However many of my neighbors have dishes and don't require re-alignment every time the tide changes. It' is the vertical ANGLE to the satellite that matters, not the elevation. If the dish much up or down, the change in angle to the satellite is infintesimally smalland shouldn't matter.

Oh, if it's on the water, it's a boat....It may not look like a conventional vessel, but if it floats, it's a boat.

 

[dishcomm]

Well I have to say the 1st time I was asked to install a fixed dish on a houseboat I was REAL skeptical. Doing it for an hsp, rsp or inhouse would be a no go for me. Just because of their BS.

However as a retailer I've done more than I can count, fixed & auto dishes, mobile houseboats & permanent houses on the water. It is very surprising how well fixed dishes hold up on water. It really depends on the size of the houseboat or permanent house on the water & how it is anchored. Some will turn significantly with changing water levels, others especially fixed permanent houses not so much.

Within the last 2 or 3 weeks I installed a 3 tv D* on a mobile houseboat 80 X 18 with 2 levels parked at the dock. You could feel the movement of the boat. It passed install verification without a hitch & never lost signal the entire time I was there. This customer knows the drill & occasionally takes it out on the lake. He previously had dish which I installed about 3 yrs ago & never heard a peep from him till I switched him to D*. This is something they only use on the weekends. It is no big deal to them to re-tune when necessary, especially when it's only needed for the weekend. If signal is gone they take a few minutes with 1 at the dish & 1 at the tv using cell phones & their good until they leave.

Most customers understand the need to be able to re-tune their dish on their own, otherwise I wouldn't fool with them. Also I have yet to see an auto dish that will pickup 99 or 103 on D*, besides that most will only see 1 sat at a time. Regular dishes are by far the best way to get all programming.

I do have 1 customer that calls 3-4 times a year with a mobile houseboat. He has a land based system with flooded cable laying in the water coming to the boat, also there is nlos for the auto tracker when boat is at the dock. Most of his service calls are easy fixes, wrong surround sound input, receivers losing authorization due to being without pwr for weeks on end. However he always gives me $100+ when ever I go out there. I always say that is too much, his response is you'll just owe me 1 for the next time, however he tells me that every time & still pays me very well.

From the best I can tell the op has fixed house on the water similar to this.

View attachment 89281

If this is the case your best bet is to find a retailer who will do this for you. Most of these types of homes are very heavy & stable with supporting systems that will not turn during water level changes. For me personally I would not think twice about installing a fixed dish like the 1 pictured above as long as there was an understanding there would be a fee for me to re-tune or the customer willing to do if needed. On a home like this I would bet it would be rare to have to realign. Years ago I would have said no way, but working with my lake customers has given me a whole different outlook that yes it is doable. I do however draw the line with sat internet, it has to be land based regardless.

It is also rare for yearly lake levels to fluctuate 20 feet.

 

[dishcomm]

Well I have to say the 1st time I was asked to install a fixed dish on a houseboat I was REAL skeptical. Doing it for an hsp, rsp or inhouse would be a no go for me. Just because of their BS.

However as a retailer I've done more than I can count, fixed & auto dishes, mobile houseboats & permanent houses on the water. It is very surprising how well fixed dishes hold up on water. It really depends on the size of the houseboat or permanent house on the water & how it is anchored. Some will turn significantly with changing water levels, others especially fixed permanent houses not so much.

Within the last 2 or 3 weeks I installed a 3 tv D* on a mobile houseboat 80 X 18 with 2 levels parked at the dock. You could feel the movement of the boat. It passed install verification without a hitch & never lost signal the entire time I was there. This customer knows the drill & occasionally takes it out on the lake. He previously had dish which I installed about 3 yrs ago & never heard a peep from him till I switched him to D*. This is something they only use on the weekends. It is no big deal to them to re-tune when necessary, especially when it's only needed for the weekend. If signal is gone they take a few minutes with 1 at the dish & 1 at the tv using cell phones & their good until they leave.

Most customers understand the need to be able to re-tune their dish on their own, otherwise I wouldn't fool with them. Also I have yet to see an auto dish that will pickup 99 or 103 on D*, besides that most will only see 1 sat at a time. Regular dishes are by far the best way to get all programming.

I do have 1 customer that calls 3-4 times a year with a mobile houseboat. He has a land based system with flooded cable laying in the water coming to the boat, also there is nlos for the auto tracker when boat is at the dock. Most of his service calls are easy fixes, wrong surround sound input, receivers losing authorization due to being without pwr for weeks on end. However he always gives me $100+ when ever I go out there. I always say that is too much, his response is you'll just owe me 1 for the next time, however he tells me that every time & still pays me very well.

From the best I can tell the op has fixed house on the water similar to this.

View attachment 89281

If this is the case your best bet is to find a retailer who will do this for you. Most of these types of homes are very heavy & stable with supporting systems that will not turn during water level changes. For me personally I would not think twice about installing a fixed dish like the 1 pictured above as long as there was an understanding there would be a fee for me to re-tune or the customer willing to do if needed. On a home like this I would bet it would be rare to have to realign. Years ago I would have said no way, but working with my lake customers has given me a whole different outlook that yes it is doable. I do however draw the line with sat internet, it has to be land based regardless.

There is no way a fulfillment contractor or in house tech is going to risk their neck on installing a satellite antenna on a building that moves.
Retail is the best way to go for the OP.

 

[itsmee22]

Just to give everyone a follow up. The second installer also refused to install.
I gave up on DirecTV and ordered Dish. They came right out and installed. I've had the service now for about a year and haven't had a single loss of signal.
People just don't understand what a "floating home is".

 

[raoul5788]

I'm happy you got a resolve regardless of how it happened.