Pacific NW HiDef Install ?

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JacksonFreedom22

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Original poster
Jan 1, 2008
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Ferndale, WA
We've been DN customers for 4+ yrs now. We live in the Pacific NW near the US border with Canada. This Xmas we decided to go HD. We scheduled the install for this morning. We were going for 2 HD Dual tuner recordable receivers. Now for my problem and question. The install tech. showed up this morning with his DishNetwork van and the first thing after shaking hands and introducing himself he states that DN has problems with HD in my area, that it is spotty and prone to in and out reception. It's a problem he's seen for the 1.5 years he's worked there and that it's a problem DN is aware of. The issue has been addressed with different hardware and satelitte rework but to no avail. Now that I have been made aware of the problem I can go ahead with the install and lock myself into a 18 month contract or cancel the install. I canceled and asked him who he used and he said DTV. He gave me his boss's names and #'s to call and verify, but not to expect to get any admission from DN itself. What's up? Does any one have a suggestion? Should I go to DTV? Thanks for your time. Jackson:hatsoff:
 
The problem he spoke of, was it for sat 129 reception?
What most are doing up your way is installing a separate dish for 129, preferably a 24"
 
He said something about a sat problem and low orbit at times or something to that effect of a disrupted signal due to interfearance, but with all the other jargon about geosyncronus orbit and figure eight sat. loops I could only hang on to a little bit. He didn't offer any other solutions, only that I've been made aware of the problems that other customers are having. We have not had any real problems with our regular progaming. Thanks
 
I have a 500 dish with a single twin LNB for 129 only, it works pretty good, but 129 is an old sat and it has problems staying in the proper orbit, it drifts and has to be re-positioned often.
 
JacksonFreedom22 said:
.....I've been made aware of the problems that other customers are having. We have not had any real problems with our regular progaming. Thanks
Click to expand...

Jackson:

#1: your regular programming is on 110/119 Sats

#2: DISH HD for PNW is on a different/129 Sat

#3: If you use the SEARCH function for "Seattle 129 signal" you will find a lot of information. Here is a short concise one from another thread.

long_time_DNC said:
Hi and welcome, george 2!

129 is a real pain for all of us here in the Pacific NW. Did your installer peak the signal on transponder 11 on 129? Since the satellite wobbles in it's orbit due to broken stabilizer gyros, it goes through a 20-40 minute cycle of peaks and very lows. I spent about an hour or maybe a little more this past June carefully re-peaking my 24" dish on 129 and got it down to where I can go (sometimes) 2 hours without a dropout (loss of signal), but usually I get a dropout, on average, about once an hour.

Supposedly, the only solution to this is to get a Winegard 30" dish and get it peaked on 129. I don't have a location to put up a 30" dish. The 24" barely fits where it is as is, but the 30" Winegard is supposed to resolve the problem.

Again, welcome, and I hope this info helps!
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
RE: Larger, separate dish for the 129...

is not as effective the closer you are to the Canadian border. The signal here on the 129 TP 27 (24" dish LN LNB) was 80 (old meter) and would drop to ZERO 2x an hour for 1-3 minutes. TP6 was even worse...drop-outs were about 6x an hour for 2-5minutes each time.
 
Directv...

is the only way if you want to watch HD in this area. If you want to pay for programming you won't be able to watch then sign up with DISH. The CSRs at DISH are either clueless or told to play dumb. The bottom line is that they cannot provide the signal to this area...PERIOD.

Call Directv and save yourself a lot of grief!
 
Ps...re Sd...dish

I never had a problem with DISH's SD signal (7 years). It's just that hunk-of-junk 129 satellite where they've chosen to put 99% of their HD programming. It's falling out of the sky and they don't have any plan to remedy the situation in the NEAR future. Late 2008 or 2009, maybe.
 
Anyone know how far south and east until there isn't a problem?
In Central Oregon and have been with Dish/echostar for over 10 years.

Want to upgrade to HD but dont' want to spend a bunch of money to only have problems.

One Installer here says a one dish install may be possible because we are not over on the coast. Consulted another who says two dish is the only solution. How big should the second dish be? Or does anyone have a one dish install working in this region for 129 and HD?

Does it look like the Satellites being reshuffled this year will help solve some of the issues with 129 in this area?

We can switch to Direct if we have to---
 
It looks like the "Line of Death" for 129 is somewhere between Seattle and Bellingham.

I've had a 30 inch dish for 129 in Seattle since almost the beginning of its' service, and have never had a dropout.

The Dish 1000 did not work for me in Seattle.

However, folks in Bellingham are unable to get reliable service with 129, even with a large dish.
 
I am in Moses Lake, WA. and had troubles in the beginning, 4 service calls before they got it right but no problems since. Been receiving HD signals since June of 2006 and am happy with the picture quality. More HD would be nice, Speed Channel in February a must. :)
 
Tom_T said:
I am in Moses Lake, WA. and had troubles in the beginning, 4 service calls before they got it right but no problems since. Been receiving HD signals since June of 2006 and am happy with the picture quality. More HD would be nice, Speed Channel in February a must. :)
Click to expand...

Do you have a 1000plus or a dish for 129 by itself?
 
I'm just east of Seattle. I have a 24" dish for 129, and still experience dropouts, especially during bad weather. I have a cabin 50 miles north (E of Mt. Vernon, 25 miles S of Bellingham) and with a 24" dish there 129 is substantially worse. In bad weather it is pretty useless. In my opinion a 30" dish is the smallest you should try to use for 129, as with a 24" there is no margin for poor conditions.

My neighbors at both houses have DTV, with one multi-LNB antenna, and report no problems at all with reception. IMHO the newer DTV antennas are much easier to install and align.
 
Signal fine

North Oregon Coast. 24 inch E* dish signal strength 129 TP 27 60 on new
meter. I took time and did a good alignment.

Watched dish (generator power) during the Hurricane we had on Dec 2-3 2007 with no problems, winds reached in excess of 100 to 130 miles an hours in this area.

Have very infrequent drop outs. Those it seems are on the less watched HD channels, but never last very long.

Picture quality HD is excellent and have no reason to change to a poorer receiver and recorder developed by D*.

E* will replace the 129 this year and then will include a larger HD package.
 
I'm in the Portland/Vancouver area with a 24" pointed at 129 and have had no dropouts or issues since we had HD installed almost 1.5 months ago.
 
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