Best Practice Pays Off (so far...)

[dougmcbride]

I have a Voom install scheduled for tomorrow and following the tips and advice here on the board, I called Installs Inc., got the name of my installer, then called them to verify appointment and equipment.

I had been pretty insistent with the Voom folks about getting a 24" dish on the initial install due to the fact I'm in California and based upon comments from other "left coasties", a 24 incher is needed to get around rain fade. I'm glad I called, since I was able to verify the appointment was still on, but also the installer had not received the authorization to go with a 24" dish. This would have been a showstopper for me as I really didn't want to go the "try the 18 inch dish and see how it works" route, since it is a certainty that I would have rain fade issues, and who needs the hassle of unneeded outages and rework?

Anyway, the installer was nice but said Voom would have to authorize the upgrade. Fine - I called Voom and after a couple of minutes was connected to a very nice (they're all nice, aren't they? ) CSR who after hearing my situation, immediately said no problem, and even offered to get on the line with me to the installer to let them know - which we did via voicemail since the person I talked to at the installer wasn't available when I called back. The Voom CSR also gave me another Installs, Inc. number to verify that they were in the loop and after calling, indeed they were.

Later in the day I called the installer and verified they were going to bring out a 24" dish and had all the equipment and tools needed to do the job at my site. All was verified and the installer said that this is definitely a best practice and appreciated the call ahead of time to keep from having to come back again.

We'll see how the install goes tomorrow. Should be easy for them since I already have rock solid OTA on both analog and digitals. All they have to do is get the dish high enough on my 20' TV antenna mast to clear some pesky trees, which will require a pretty tall ladder - which I verified they had.

Without following the advice given here and proactively contacting the installer, we may have had a disconnect and a poor experience. Although it was a bit of a hassle, it will hopefully save some shag and hassle down the road. We'll see how the install goes and I'll report back on it, but I'd advise anyone who has an install coming (if they are anal or paranoid like me ) to call a day or two ahead of time to head off any disconnects in equipment or schedule to save potential frustration and angst.

So far so good...

Cheers,

Doug

 

[joep]

Good luck on your install tomorrow. One thing I would suggest is that do not use a “diplexer” and install your OTA antenna directly.

 

[dougmcbride]

Thanks joep - I agree. My OTA has been in for years (I don't live in an area that has cable - e.g. the sticks) and I already have an ATSC receiver that demonstrates my digital OTA capability which is very good. I don't intend to use the existing OTA coax for the dish, since this is an "experiment" for a die-hard C-Bander looking to get into the dreaded "small dish" world and may or may not be a long-term solution (however, given the alternatives of D*/E*, I may as well admit that it is...).

Short of having already run the coax for the installer and configuring the STB (which I would just as soon do - I installed my own C-Band and OTA systems) this should be a very easy install. Of course now that I've said that I better knock on wood...

Cheers,

Doug

 

[Sean Mota]

Doug, nice to read... Best of luck tomorrow.

 

[Ronald_Jeremy]

Good luck on the pole mounting of the dish. It had better be a pretty stout pole.

Antennas are forgiving for any movement. Dishes are not forgiving with the slightest movement. aka wind.

 

[dougmcbride]

Best Practice Pays Off (for sure)

Quick update. Installer showed up at 8:30 in a 8-12 window. Had the 24" dish as planned.

On the ground, he was skeptical as to whether or not we'd be able to get LOS to the Voom bird and after getting up on the roof, he still wasn't sure - but didn't hesitate to give it a shot. He mounted the dish as high as he could reach to the OTA antenna mast (which is very stout BTW ) standing on top of an 8' step ladder straddling the peak of the roof (not a steep roof by the way) and I held the ladder steady while he was working.

Got the coax run to the STB to power up the dish and we went back up to peak it with his meter. On the way down to see the results off the STB, I asked him what the best signal was that he typically saw in my area. He said 96 and once he saw a 97. We got down to the TV and we had a 96 - cool beans!

As far as OTA goes, we used my existing antenna (Channel Master Quantum 1160A with preamp - older version of the Channel Master 3671 deep fringe antenna). After doing the channel scan, we got all the channels except for a couple my Samsung ATSC tuner gets, including a couple from the Bay Area (Sacramento is my DMA) which is almost 100 miles away (I live at 1300' MSL so have some antenna height going for me). I think it said I got 31 channels, which must include the sub-channels as well.

The installer had suggested we use my exiting OTA coax for the dish feed and I politely declined in order to avoid using a diplexer - no issue on his part and we ran a separate coax for the dish.

So - good results so far. STB downloaded 7.33 within 30 minutes of getting authorized and I've been doing a little surfing comparing the Voom PQ to what I get on C-Band. So far I'd have to say the Voom HD is just as good as C-Band (for those not familiar, C-Band is used to convey most of the programming from the head end to distributors such as Voom, D*, E*, cable companies, etc. and the PQ is as good as it gets). SD is pretty darn close to C-Band, and a lot better than what I've seen on friends E* and D* systems.

Anyway, I just wanted to post some more positive comments about a Voom install as happy people don't always post. I know I was a little worried after reading some of the horror stories folks have gone through with their installs, and probably can confirm that a good installer makes all the difference. I continue to feel for the folks who aren't as lucky in the install area, and also hope that as unfortunate as a bad install is, it is the minority case.

To honor Gill (aka "seattlesatelliter" over on the Yahoo Voom board)

Now watching HDTV (with Voom) under clear and sunny Northern California Skies,

Doug

 

[Ilya]

Doug, glad to hear about your successful install! Welcome aboard!
This is an excellent example of how a little bit of homework and a couple of proactive phone calls can save you from trouble and frustration!

 

[TheTimm]

Thanks for the positive report,doug -- we don't get enough of those around here.

By the way, no need to explain the Gill reference around here -- he's well-known in these parts as SeattleVoomer1, and I'm quite sure our resident weatherphile is watching HDTV under partly cloudy/sunny/clear/who knows? Seattle skies...

Hope you enjoy the Voom as much as I do!

 

[SeattleVoomer1]

Hi Doug,

If I'd just read the next thread (I start from the bottom and work up-don't know why I do this--maybe something about all the clouds and rain in Seattle) you pretty much answered the question I posted "below".

Glad to hear the install went so well! And thanks for giving a comparison between bud and VOOM. Having never had satellite service before it helps give me perspective. We had gotten OTA HD before via a Samsung STB and knew we had to have HD!

Clear skies tonight, Gill

P.S.: Rain starting Sat. afternoon and forecast through next Friday! Just trying to help out you Californians!

 

[DarrellP]

On a clear day, he should get 97 everytime he installs if he peaks it correctly. I'm sitting under a freezing rain today with a 95.