E* Guy Needs Help From D* Guys

[jimboeau]

I've been thinking of switching from E* to D* mainly because of the lack of new HD. However here are a few issues that complicate things.

I live in Western WI and "moved" with E* about 30 miles west so that I could get HD locals out of Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN. Here's the help I need. What transpoders and satellites are the the D* Minneapolis HD and SD locals on and how tight are the spotbeams? With E* I had no trouble with the SD spotbeam as I was still on the fringe and the E* HD locals were conus. Is this doable with D*? I really am thinking of switching but not at the expense of loosing Minneapolis HD and SD locals. Thanks for any help you can offer. Any Western WI D* guys please chime in.

 

[charper1]

The Minneapolis / St. Paul DMA HD LiL is on Spaceway 2 at 99.2°w; what is your actual zip code?

 

[jimboeau]

The Minneapolis / St. Paul DMA HD LiL is on Spaceway 2 at 99.2°w; what is your actual zip code?

54701

 

[charper1]

OK, I see that is a multi-county region; and although none are HD LiL; what county?

 

[charper1]

OK, seeing that Eau Claire is only 80m (by air) from St Paul; my guess is that with the correct service zip code, that you should be in the spot. Only another local close to you could confirm this 110%.

 

[jimboeau]

OK, seeing that Eau Claire is only 80m (by air) from St Paul; my guess is that with the correct service zip code, that you should be in the spot. Only another local close to you could confirm this 110%.

Is there a way with D* hardware to tell what tronsponder the MSP local HD channels are on? I am about 30 miles from the MSP DMA line.

 

[charper1]

As long as you have a view from 99 - 119 it really does not matter what TSPs channels are on as they can and do move them around from time to time and the receivers simply maps then to a specific chnl number in the EPG. That being said I am sure someone local or an installer has that info.

 

[jimboeau]

As long as you have a view from 99 - 119 it really does not matter what TSPs channels are on as they can and do move them around from time to time and the receivers simply maps then to a specific chnl number in the EPG. That being said I am sure someone local or an installer has that info.

Are there any spotbeam maps for D* like there are for E*? I guess I was thinking if I new what transponders they were on someone in the forum from here might be able to check the signal strength on those transponders to determine whether or not I am still located within the spotbeam footprint.

 

[charper1]

All of the maps are way outdated and were best guess at best and I have not seen any new ones. Your are on the right track getting someone in your area to check. AT 80m though, if you are out, then that must be the smallest spot I have heard of.

 

[jimboeau]

All of the maps are way outdated and were best guess at best and I have not seen any new ones. Your are on the right track getting someone in your area to check. AT 80m though, if you are out, then that must be the smallest spot I have heard of.

The 80 miles is a little missleading because even though I am only about 80 miles from MSP, Minneapolis is not the center of the spotbeam because much of the entire state of MN is in that DMA. So Minneapolis itself is toward the edge of the beam. I know with Dish I am right on the edge but it still works even though the signal strength is lower than the other transponders.

 

[dilbuck]

You should be alright. When I used to install I had an install at Fall Creek and they had just moved from M/SP area. Their receivers still received the M/SP spot beam. They wanted the EC/Lacrosse locals however and were switched over but the M/SP locals were coming in just fine. Not sure on the transponder.

 

[cebbigh]

When I was with Dish I found "moving" was done without question. Now that I'm with DTV, I really don't have a reason to "move" (all my Seattle locals are carried) but am curious if it is just as easy to "move" with DTV as it is with Dish?

 

[MikeD-C05]

I "moved" easily by emailing Directv one afternoon from Beaumont ,Tx and gave them my new service address and kept my billing address the same. WHen I got up the next morning their was an email confirming my move was complete and the changes were made. I turned on my tv and I had Houston locals. This was a day after I upgraded to the slimline and hd , so it is still easy to "move."

 

[cebbigh]

I "moved" easily by emailing Directv one afternoon from Beaumont ,Tx and gave them my new service address and kept my billing address the same. WHen I got up the next morning their was an email confirming my move was complete and the changes were made. I turned on my tv and I had Houston locals. This was a day after I upgraded to the slimline and hd , so it is still easy to "move."

Interesting. I wonder why there is so much more "moving" talk with Dish?

 

[MikeD-C05]

DISH has always played fast and loose with the distant networks, which they lost the right to carry because of it and now the "Moving"option has taken the place of distants. Many that don't have hd locals will move to get them and DISH is ready to help their subs get them. THey do have less dmas in hd than DIrectv also. Which may explain why there is more "moving" going on in with DISH vs Directv.