Upgrade Help

[philbtl]

I realize I'm way behind the curve, but I've decided to upgrade my 14-year old DirecTV installation to HD. Trying to get useful information from two different installers has been an exercise in frustration.

I'm going to replace my two current receivers and perhaps add two more. One new box will be a dvr. I live in a wooded area, but seeing 99/101/103 is not a problem. I have no shot at 119. If I'm going to install new HD receivers, do I need to see anything besides 99/101/103?

My old antenna is mounted on a short, galvanized tower section 8 feet off the ground and two rg11 lines run in buried pvc to the house. Two different installers sent by dtv keep pushing to put the new antenna on the roof even though that position doesn't buy a better view of the sky. I don't trust them to give me accurate information.

I'm in northwestern Connecticut and need to figure out what birds I have to see for HD service for both national channels and locals. Thanks.

Phil

 

[MikeinBaja]

I realize I'm way behind the curve, but I've decided to upgrade my 14-year old DirecTV installation to HD. Trying to get useful information from two different installers has been an exercise in frustration.

I'm going to replace my two current receivers and perhaps add two more. One new box will be a dvr. I live in a wooded area, but seeing 99/101/103 is not a problem. I have no shot at 119. If I'm going to install new HD receivers, do I need to see anything besides 99/101/103?

My old antenna is mounted on a short, galvanized tower section 8 feet off the ground and two rg11 lines run in buried pvc to the house. Two different installers sent by dtv keep pushing to put the new antenna on the roof even though that position doesn't buy a better view of the sky. I don't trust them to give me accurate information.

I'm in northwestern Connecticut and need to figure out what birds I have to see for HD service for both national channels and locals. Thanks.

Phil

With no shot at getting 119, you are ideal for the SL3 (SlimLine3) which will use 99,101 and 103. Not all installers have them yet, which may be part of their reluctance.

Many installers don't like to use existing towers. You never know how well it is put in - and their is another issue with the HD dish. Given the size and weight of the dish you need to use a tripod mounting system - using monopoles. That's the only way to keep the dish rock steady. I'm sure that using a tower mount probably had the guy scratching his head wordering how to do the tripod.

The RG11 is excellent feed line.

Welcome to the site & good luck with your upgrade. Once you go HD you will never want to go back!

Edit: If your local installer does not have the SL3, I've had luck using the SL5 and setting the receivers for SL3. Not the best solution (need to reset all the boxes that way after power outages) but it does work.

 

[raoul5788]

I realize I'm way behind the curve, but I've decided to upgrade my 14-year old DirecTV installation to HD. Trying to get useful information from two different installers has been an exercise in frustration.

I'm going to replace my two current receivers and perhaps add two more. One new box will be a dvr. I live in a wooded area, but seeing 99/101/103 is not a problem. I have no shot at 119. If I'm going to install new HD receivers, do I need to see anything besides 99/101/103?

My old antenna is mounted on a short, galvanized tower section 8 feet off the ground and two rg11 lines run in buried pvc to the house. Two different installers sent by dtv keep pushing to put the new antenna on the roof even though that position doesn't buy a better view of the sky. I don't trust them to give me accurate information.

I'm in northwestern Connecticut and need to figure out what birds I have to see for HD service for both national channels and locals. Thanks.

Phil

Here in CT we get the sd locals from 119. The hd locals are on 103. Even if you don't care about getting the sd locals, the installer from Directv may not do the install without hitting 119, since it could be a charge back later for him. You may need to get an independent to do it for you. Of course you would have to pay extra for it. Can you post a picture of the tower? I'll bet the new dish can be mounted on it without any problems. BTW, what town are you in?

 

[MikeinBaja]

Here in CT we get the sd locals from 119. The hd locals are on 103. Even if you don't care about getting the sd locals, the installer from Directv may not do the install without hitting 119, since it could be a charge back later for him. You may need to get an independent to do it for you. Of course you would have to pay extra for it. Can you post a picture of the tower? I'll bet the new dish can be mounted on it without any problems. BTW, what town are you in?

Except if you install an SL3 - no 119 required - pulls the SD feed from 101.

 

[raoul5788]

Except if you install an SL3 - no 119 required - pulls the SD feed from 101.

It pulls what sd feed from 101? His sd locals are on 119. The SL3 is a good solution, but Directv will not install one with the sd locals on 119. He would have to have it installed independently on his own dime.

 

[philbtl]

Here in CT we get the sd locals from 119. The hd locals are on 103. Even if you don't care about getting the sd locals, the installer from Directv may not do the install without hitting 119, since it could be a charge back later for him. You may need to get an independent to do it for you. Of course you would have to pay extra for it. Can you post a picture of the tower? I'll bet the new dish can be mounted on it without any problems. BTW, what town are you in?

The first installer was all over the roof unsuccessfully looking for 119. He did mention 119 for SD locals and said he needed 119 for the guide too. That didn't make sense to me.

I didn't explain my ancient dish mount very well in my first post. I've got a section of Rohn 25 sunk into a concrete pad at the edge of my property. The tower section was salvaged from an abandoned fold-over tower and, unlike standard Rohn sections, is tapered and braced with flat stock. Three guys could climb on it without a wiggle. It stands only about 6 or 7 feet tall. A length of mast sized to receive the antenna is bolted to the tower section in four places and extends a few feet beyond the top of the tower section.

That first installer looked at the mount and told me that the mast diameter had to be bigger (2") for the new dish. He looked at the 2 rg11 lines snaking down into the buried pvc running about 100' to the house and said, "we don't do that" meaning, I assume, that he wasn't going to try to snake his own cables through the pvc or install his own there.

So after not finding 119 on the roof, and appearing unwiling to work with my existing dish location I got the dreaded, "You have line of sight problem. I have to call a supervisor. He'll come by within 24 hours. No, I don't know when."

After a few minutes of discussion he called a supervisor and tried to get approval without a visit. Another installation appointment was agreed on a few days later, and according to the installer he requested a dish with a SWM LNB so that the run to the house could be accomplished with one of the existing rg11 lines.

Fast forward two days. A new installer arrives at 5:30 pm, walked around the property, looks at my tower mount now sporting a shiny new length of 2" mast for the shiny new antenna, and wants to climb on the roof to look for 119. I recounted my earlier visit with the first installer so he checked his work order. Sorry, no SWM LNB and by the way, he said, "You have line of sight problem. I have to call a supervisor. He'll come by within 24 hours. No, I don't know when."

Maybe what we have here is just a failure to communicate. My wife agreed to pay DirecTV $200 for the new HD DVR and they agreed to install it and upgrade my antenna. So now I've got no HD DVR, no upgraded antenna and a mysterious supervisor coming to inspect the site sometime soon. I guess I can start calling again on Monday.

Are DirecTV's thumbs pressing so hard on installers that they cannot do the right thing without suffering, or did I just get two guys who wanted nothing to do with an installation not already in their playbook?

I'm in New Hartford, CT, just outside Torington. Anyone know a good installer in this area?

 

[raoul5788]

The first installer was all over the roof unsuccessfully looking for 119. He did mention 119 for SD locals and said he needed 119 for the guide too. That didn't make sense to me.

I didn't explain my ancient dish mount very well in my first post. I've got a section of Rohn 25 sunk into a concrete pad at the edge of my property. The tower section was salvaged from an abandoned fold-over tower and, unlike standard Rohn sections, is tapered and braced with flat stock. Three guys could climb on it without a wiggle. It stands only about 6 or 7 feet tall. A length of mast sized to receive the antenna is bolted to the tower section in four places and extends a few feet beyond the top of the tower section.

That first installer looked at the mount and told me that the mast diameter had to be bigger (2") for the new dish. He looked at the 2 rg11 lines snaking down into the buried pvc running about 100' to the house and said, "we don't do that" meaning, I assume, that he wasn't going to try to snake his own cables through the pvc or install his own there.

So after not finding 119 on the roof, and appearing unwiling to work with my existing dish location I got the dreaded, "You have line of sight problem. I have to call a supervisor. He'll come by within 24 hours. No, I don't know when."

After a few minutes of discussion he called a supervisor and tried to get approval without a visit. Another installation appointment was agreed on a few days later, and according to the installer he requested a dish with a SWM LNB so that the run to the house could be accomplished with one of the existing rg11 lines.

Fast forward two days. A new installer arrives at 5:30 pm, walked around the property, looks at my tower mount now sporting a shiny new length of 2" mast for the shiny new antenna, and wants to climb on the roof to look for 119. I recounted my earlier visit with the first installer so he checked his work order. Sorry, no SWM LNB and by the way, he said, "You have line of sight problem. I have to call a supervisor. He'll come by within 24 hours. No, I don't know when."

Maybe what we have here is just a failure to communicate. My wife agreed to pay DirecTV $200 for the new HD DVR and they agreed to install it and upgrade my antenna. So now I've got no HD DVR, no upgraded antenna and a mysterious supervisor coming to inspect the site sometime soon. I guess I can start calling again on Monday.

Are DirecTV's thumbs pressing so hard on installers that they cannot do the right thing without suffering, or did I just get two guys who wanted nothing to do with an installation not already in their playbook?

I'm in New Hartford, CT, just outside Torington. Anyone know a good installer in this area?

New Hartford is a real nice town, I would like to live there. Unfortunately, it is Halsted territory, I think. They aren't the best installers I have seen. The tower should be fine for the dish. I have one in my yard and you are right, they are PLENTY sturdy. You may have to get your own SL3 lnb and have the installer put it on the Slimline dish that they will bring. The SL3 picks up the 99, 101, and 103 satellites only, not the 110 or 119. Normally the guide data comes from 119, but by using the SL3, it will get it from 101. Perhaps a call to Directv telling them you will get the SL3 for them will solve the problem. Make sure they note it on the installation sheet so that Halsted knows about it. Come to think of it, if you have more than two tuners, you will need to get the SL3 SWM lnb. That allows only one cable from the dish to the house. Here is a link to the lnb I am talking about:DIRECTV SL3-SWM SlimLine Single Wire Ka/Ku Triple LNB With Built-In Multiswitch (SL3-SWM) - DIRECTV Slim Line - SL3-SWM - SL3-SWM - sl3 sl-3 s-l3 sl3swm sl3-swm sl-3swm sl-3-swm lnb lnbs ka/ku ka ku slim line slimline slim-line directv direc tv direc You will also need the power inserter and splitter. Good luck and keep us in the loop!

 

[philbtl]

Chip and Mike,

Thanks for all your help.

I've never been able to get 119 here so I've never been able to get the SD locals. Ever. What's on 119 that DTV thinks I have to see and that is important enough to punish their installers for failing to find?

 

[raoul5788]

Chip and Mike,

Thanks for all your help.

I've never been able to get 119 here so I've never been able to get the SD locals. Ever. What's on 119 that DTV thinks I have to see and that is important enough to punish their installers for failing to find?

Your sd locals. Since they are there, you "should" be able to get them. It's stupid, of course, but that's how it works. That's why I said you may need to get an independent installer.

 

[philbtl]

I finally resolved my installation issues, but not without more visits and discussion. All told, DirecTV sent installers on four occasions. Evidently they are more than happy to keep sending technician after technician. I literally begged the DirecTV rep to please send a supervisor and stop wasting their installer's time.

I got lucky. The fourth installer was also the first installer (not the requested supervisor) and he recognized the address and knew how to procede. I now have a Slimline 3-LNB dish on my original tower section and lines running to the house in the pvc that was buried earlier.

I can't imagine dealing with DirecTV or their installers without having a good understanding of how this all gets done. Thanks again to those who took the time to help.

Phil

 

[raoul5788]

I finally resolved my installation issues, but not without more visits and discussion. All told, DirecTV sent installers on four occasions. Evidently they are more than happy to keep sending technician after technician. I literally begged the DirecTV rep to please send a supervisor and stop wasting their installer's time.

I got lucky. The fourth installer was also the first installer (not the requested supervisor) and he recognized the address and knew how to procede. I now have a Slimline 3-LNB dish on my original tower section and lines running to the house in the pvc that was buried earlier.

I can't imagine dealing with DirecTV or their installers without having a good understanding of how this all gets done. Thanks again to those who took the time to help.

Phil

Excellent! Glad to hear your problem is resolved. Was it Halsted? Good to know that you can get a Slimline3 installed in a market with locals on 119.

 

[philbtl]

Excellent! Glad to hear your problem is resolved. Was it Halsted? Good to know that you can get a Slimline3 installed in a market with locals on 119.

Yes, Halsted was the installing company.

I'm sure I'm not supposed to get the Slimline3, but I eventually got it because I knew what was possible and what to ask for. I was ready to calmly walk away if I didn't.

If there's a lesson to be learned here, I think that asking for specific installation features really upsets the process. I had a sturdy pole mount ready to go... rg11 lines already running to the house or at least the buried pvc available to run new coax... and I still had to negotiate to keep them off the roof. Even on the roof, 119 was sketchy, but even if was solid and I needed it for locals, I wouldn't trade them for an easily maintained ground installation. But that's just me.

I'll give Halsted some credit too. The third tech tried to round up what he needed for the install after he arrived. I told him I'd rather have it right than fast and that I wouldn't complain if the upgrade had to continue another day. He moved on to his next job but I did get a call from the Halsted office that afternoon to set up the last visit. Would the install have finally happened if I hadn't gotten the tech who first showed up on Labor Day? I don't know. I think my luck finally changed.

Phil