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skottey
Last reply · posted in Cable Television and Fiber Providers
I am in St. Petersburg and yesterday and today have been getting annoying audio hiccups on various channels (specifically of note Fox News Channel and Sun Sports). I am watching hockey tonight and the audio will garble every few minutes and the picture remains fine.

I know they are doing upgrades to 1Ghz equipment and this was verified by the tech support on the phone tonight. Of course he would not admit to any problems and doesn't have an upgrade schedule.

Could all this upgrading be causing my audio problems? When I called support he said he would "send a signal" to the boxes and if it continues to call back tomorrow.

What does sending a signal do anyway? It is still mucking up after he sent a signal.

My Internet appears to be fine, although a ping -t to google.com has been getting an occasional request timed out, which routinely is not the case, as I'll run a ping test for hours with no times out on any given day.
20 Replies · 4548 views
stevenl
The slogan is "Its all about the bundle" they had signs up all over the offices for awhile. Now they got the astrick stuff, and the "one and done" its their service policy that is saying one customer should only have to make 1 phone call and the problem should be resolved or have1 tech visit and its done, no matter what the problem. On paper its great, but working in the field I know its impossible goal to meet at all times.
skottey
The slogan is "Its all about the bundle" they had signs up all over the offices for awhile. Now they got the astrick stuff, and the "one and done" its their service policy that is saying one customer should only have to make 1 phone call and the problem should be resolved or have1 tech visit and its done, no matter what the problem. On paper its great, but working in the field I know its impossible goal to meet at all times.

I am just thankful they are looking at both my intermittent audio / video problem going on since Dec off and on with the television that has recently become the occasional blackout for a minute or two which also takes out Internet on the VO account. I had to have them cross reference my two accounts to look at it with one visit. It comes in on the same line, it is the same problem, but it is two accounts. Why does that confuse people? Run me a second line to the pole if you like for the RR. I don't care. I still think it is something wrong down the street with an amp or something again like it has been in the past, but what do I know?
stevenl
I am just thankful they are looking at both my intermittent audio / video problem going on since Dec off and on with the television that has recently become the occasional blackout for a minute or two which also takes out Internet on the VO account. I had to have them cross reference my two accounts to look at it with one visit. It comes in on the same line, it is the same problem, but it is two accounts. Why does that confuse people? Run me a second line to the pole if you like for the RR. I don't care. I still think it is something wrong down the street with an amp or something again like it has been in the past, but what do I know?

They usally only run 1 line per "power meter" as the standard if a dwelling has only 1 line its only considered a single unit. If you have 2 separate power meters, they will usually will open 2 accounts and give you two bills. Your situation is relatively unique because they usually dont put 2 seperate accounts on a single unit. They will try to put them together, so when the CSR pulls up your cable account they do not see anything else to tell them you have another account at the same location. So they don't know you have RR until you tell them, and even then they may have a hard time understanding how its a the same house. (be careful they confuse easy when its not a normal 1 2 3 step thing, if they are new)

The problem could very well be on the system, the problem with it being intermentiant is if its not happening and when the tech troubleshoots it from tap to node, everything maybe perfect, its dam near impossible to track. Because the problem could be anywhere from your wall plate to the headend. and if no one is seeing it or its only there for a few seconds its hard for anyone to determine ok this is where the fault happened. Usally if their is a high volume of customers with the same problems it makes it easier because we can find a "common point" between all the customers complaining and start trouble shooting from there.
skottey
The problem could very well be on the system, the problem with it being intermentiant is if its not happening and when the tech troubleshoots it from tap to node, everything maybe perfect, its dam near impossible to track.

This is what I am afraid of. I am sitting here watching Fox Business, waiting for the guy to come out and "test" everything this AM. Everything is perfect with no hiccups. But, I have had problems off and on since Dec, but it really didn't annoy me enough to finally schedule them out until this week. With the new baby arriving last week, my mother in law stayed (10 days or so) at our house and the Living Room / home office TV was literally on 24/7 as she watches Fox News, A&E (non-HD version for some reason even though I told her there is an HD version), TNT (non-HD), and Lifetime. We sure got our usage of BHN this month. But anyway, having the TV on ALL the time means while I sit at my computer doing work or playing around on sites like this, I noticed every hiccup while in the room, 24/7 as she watched TV. It was happening way more than I noticed previously. She never complained though,but it was bad. Then the black screen hit the other day, and again a day later. Both times, taking out my Internet. Eventually, TV came back on and impatiently I rebooted my business class modem. When I called to get them out here they skipped troubleshooting and scheduled immediately.

I truly understand how hard it is for you guys to pinpoint a problem. I go through the same thing with customers and computers. I'll go out and their problem vanishes, I leave, it comes back. And since I am an RR reseller, my customers often call me first when their Internet is down. I know RR is having a problem when I get 3-4 families calling me to say their Internet is down. Although I would love the money of a service call to their house to tell them it is RR, I end up realizing it is RR and tell them to call, saving them the cost of having me out. Sometimes they don't want to deal with it so they pay me to come over and call in and report it. Other times they ride it out. I see a lot of trends in neighborhood outages. Especially the coastal upper class residential neighborhoods with one way in, one way out utilities. They are down all the time. I seriously have very little RR outage, which is the important thing. TV is nice, but Internet is my bread and butter and pays the bills.

Come on tech.... time is money... the sooner you get here, the sooner I can go make some money!

Edit: 9AM- it just hiccuped.... come on... do it again when the guy comes.

Edit: 11AM- I'm told squirrels chewed through my line and the tech replaced the line from the pole to the box. No hiccups since. Unfortunately, he was unable to add an HD box for my son's room, as he didn't have any in the truck, so I get to have somebody come out again for a three hour window next week. Anyway, I don't see how an exposed line at my house would impact the entire Tampa Bay, since others are getting hiccups too, but maybe replacing the line will help me. Don't know about the other 600,000+ customers.
stevenl
One thing I recomend to help you get faster service when you call, call in for the business class modem problem (they get same day service calls if its before 3 at least here in cfl) then when the tech gets their explain the whole problem. With the extra cost of business class comes better support you dont have to wait in the normal que or people. Just a suggestion if you need someone there 'right now'

About your problem:

I think we had this discussion before (maybe it was me and jc) but as I told him just becasue 10 people in the city are experianceing the same problem does not mean they are related. If it is as he said a problem with the line being chewed that could really explain why you have the pixelation. Water is a killer to the digital band (higher freq) usally if you have aproblem on the system that the lowband is fine but the high band is wiped out 90% of the time its water in a device, (or water damaged cable) So that could very well explain why you were having the problem. The majority of the problems we have at houses are usally related to the 'drop' because that is the weakest point. Its outside, affected by the elements and seems to be a landscapers favorite item to hit with the edger :) Let us know how it does over the next few days. Sometimes, ive been to locations saw something that was clearly a problem, fixed it, but the customer later still experianced some problem. Sometimes fixing one problem makes another problem seem worse, so keep an eye on it.
skottey
One thing I recomend to help you get faster service when you call, call in for the business class modem problem (they get same day service calls if its before 3 at least here in cfl) then when the tech gets their explain the whole problem. With the extra cost of business class comes better support you dont have to wait in the normal que or people. Just a suggestion if you need someone there 'right now'

Thanks for the advice... I normally do this but there was no rush, as it is/was an intermittent problem and I had previously called to bitch about the TV. So I figured I'd report it to residential. (read on...)


Sometimes, ive been to locations saw something that was clearly a problem, fixed it, but the customer later still experianced some problem. Sometimes fixing one problem makes another problem seem worse, so keep an eye on it.

Dude... you seriously jinxed me. Everything was working fine, no hiccups or anything after the guy left. This morning, at 9:30AM, while watching the lovely repackaged Investigation Discovery (previously Discovery People, Discovery Civilization, and then the dreadful Discovery Times when NYTimes bought into them) the screen went black and sure enough my Internet was down. I purposely didn't reboot the modem and got right on the horn with RR biz. During the phone call the TV came back on but not the Internet. I asked him to hurry up and test the modem before Internet came back online. He said there was a problem with the power level to the upload and download and that they would need to send somebody out on Monday. Fortunately, I got the same time window as the installation of my son's HD (non-DVR) cable box. It will be two guys coming but we only have to wait around for the same three hour window.

haha... so you jinxed me man.... problem's still here. I knew it had to be something else because of the past problems but the squirrel thing seemed feasible for part of it.

The odd thing is, it seems to drop out at the same time or roughly so each time. Everything goes out at 9:30AM or so for five minutes, as if that is the exact time the douchebag down the street turns his HAM radio on each morning, interfering with BHN. haha.
stevenl
HA! So youve had that experiance before? Because we have had that problem a few times :) with the HAM guys. Any tiny break in our system and BAM a higher power HAM radio will knock out the node. Those are a bitch to troubleshoot because even a pin hole could allow the signal to get in and most "TDRS" (what we use to test for line breaks) cant even see them!
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
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EatMyVolts
Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) -- Tex Williams
long_time_Dish
Don't Do Me Like That - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
H
I LIKE It LIKE THAT-The Dave Clark Five
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ClarkGable
Five O'Clock World - The Vogues
FTA4PA
All Around The World - Oasis
dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in What's Cooking?
Anyone making their own breakfast sausage? I've recently been trying different recipes, found some I like, some I've modified...
36 Replies · 3543 views
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navychop
Bob Evans Sage.
R
Bob Evans Sage.
I will look, but I don't think I have seen it. Owen's breakfast sausage use to be favorite, but I can't find it anymore. Jimmy Dean's country mild is OK also when I can find it.
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dfergie
Swaggerty's isn't too bad, sausage prices are lower per lb than making my own from pork butts right now so I've been buying JC Potter or Owen lately.
(Swaggerty's at Sam's is pre cut, I usually partially freeze the rolls and cut with my slicer and vacuum seal on parchment paper)
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S
I will look, but I don't think I have seen it. Owen's breakfast sausage use to be favorite, but I can't find it anymore. Jimmy Dean's country mild is OK also when I can find it.
amazon maybe :what
S
I will look, but I don't think I have seen it. Owen's breakfast sausage use to be favorite, but I can't find it anymore. Jimmy Dean's country mild is OK also when I can find it.
owens on amazon is 54.99 for a 4 pk 16 oz a sausage. i feel that's kind of steep!!!
S
Swaggerty's isn't too bad, sausage prices are lower per lb than making my own from pork butts right now so I've been buying JC Potter or Owen lately.
(Swaggerty's at Sam's is pre cut, I usually partially freeze the rolls and cut with my slicer and vacuum seal on parchment paper)
id'e rather make my own vs store bought.
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Continuing the Kilauea thread in the Pub here. Perhaps the Iceland one too next time there's remarkable activity.

Currently there is precursory lava flowing into the crater, leading to the next episode that'll probably start within the next day.

You can see the pace of inflation / deflation here. It serves as the primary predictor for when the expect the eruptions, which coincide w/ inflation turning into significant deflation and last for several hours on average with significant fountaining.



View: https://youtu.be/Uecu2seh4b4


Wife and I like the AfarTV feeds, for the discussion along w/ them, though they're otherwise just mirrors of the official USGS feeds.


View: https://youtu.be/iws3rh5vLAQ
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meStevo
Some wild inflation and significant uptick in earthquake activity in the caldera. Magma intrusion, could lead to new fissure(s). Or not.

1790868854059.webp


Summary: A shallow intrusion of magma is occurring within the summit region near the existing eruption location in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Activity Summary: Earthquake activity has increased in the summit region of Kīlauea beneath Halemaʻumaʻu crater and the south caldera region. Ground deformation patterns recorded by summit tiltmeters suggest that magma is intruding beneath the ground in this area, in an east-west orientation, near the western or southern part of Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

Increased earthquake activity began this afternoon, September 30, 2026, at approximately 2 p.m. HST, underneath Halemaʻumaʻu. Since then, about 40 earthquakes have been detected and activity is still on-going. The largest event, so far, a magnitude 3.4 earthquake, occurred at 9:52 p.m. HST, 1.4 km (0.9 miles) beneath the surface in the northeast part of Halemaʻumaʻu. Starting around 8 p.m. HST., summit tiltmeters began to show extremely rapid changes consistent with crack growth in an east-west orientation possible near the current vent area, suggesting that magma is intruding in this region.

Historically, east-west trending fissures have erupted in the southeastern part of Halemaʻumaʻu and extending through the Keanakākoʻi crater area all the way to Chain of Craters Road near Lua Manu. The last east-west fissure in this area erupted in September 2023 and extended from the middle of Halemaʻumaʻu to the eastern wall just beneath the Keanakākoʻi overlook. An event of this type is also possible under current conditions.

Currently, there are no signs of a change at the surface as the existing eruptive vent complex in Halemaʻumaʻu, including the north and south vents, continue to intermittently spatter with strong glow and flames; however, conditions could change quickly. It is possible that this event ends without reaching the surface or it produces a fissure eruption in a new location within the summit caldera region.
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meStevo

View: https://youtu.be/tv37YPVfHME


Gemini summary:

In this video from Shawn Willsey: Geology Explained, geology professor Shawn Willsey details rapid subsurface and surface changes at Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii:
  • Signs of a Magma Intrusion (Dike): Summit tiltmeters recorded an unprecedented, rapid inflation spike of around 45 microradians [04:00 Opens in a new window ], accompanied by a dramatic surge of over 100 shallow earthquakes within 24 hours (peaking at a magnitude 3.4) [01:44 Opens in a new window ]. The deformation indicates that magma is intruding in an east-west orientation beneath the southern caldera/Halemaʻumaʻu region [01:16 Opens in a new window ].

  • No Rift Zone Migration: Tilt and seismic data confirm magma is remaining confined to the summit area rather than traveling down the East Rift Zone [02:40 Opens in a new window ].

  • Structural Pathways: Willsey notes that pre-existing faults and fractures expanded during the 2018 caldera collapse [08:32 Opens in a new window ]. Because these fracture zones remain unsealed, magma can move and mobilize toward the surface much faster than before [10:17 Opens in a new window ].

  • Potential Outcomes: The intrusion could stall underground without erupting, or it could feed a new east-west fissure eruption inside the summit caldera, similar to the September 2023 event [02:47 Opens in a new window ].

  • Shift to Dome Overflows: Webcam footage from overnight reveals repeated pulses of fluid lava overflowing the spatter cone at the North Vent [11:42 Opens in a new window ]. Occurring roughly every 20 to 50 minutes and lasting several minutes each [12:36 Opens in a new window ], these cyclic overflows suggest Kīlauea may be transitioning away from high-fountaining episodes toward regular surface overflows [14:54 Opens in a new window ].

Foxbat
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TheRatPatrol
Last reply · posted in TV Shows
Anyone else watch this show? Any guesses as to what was in the box Gibbs gave to Abby that was on her desk? It look liked it was glowing.

I also heard that someone was leaving the show at the end of this season. Any guesses as to who thats going to be?
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Jimbo

Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
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Howard Simmons
Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
Tony as the director.🙄
Jimbo
Tony as the director.🙄
Would you rather have LaRoche ???
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dfergie
I liked this episode and a toned down Tony...
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Howard Simmons
Would you rather have LaRoche ???
No. Bring in someone new.🤔 Tony is not serious enough for me. Parker is too close to the team and Tim is too young to take over IMO.
Jimbo
No. Bring in someone new.🤔 Tony is not serious enough for me. Parker is too close to the team and Tim is too young to take over IMO.
I don't think Tim and Tony are that far apart in Age ...

Remember what Tony said to Tim when they first got back together ...
Tony said: I am the New Tony, Tim .... (something to that effect)

Tony has changed, he's been running his Security Business ... I'm sure he has grown up.

Give it time ... your judging the New Tony from the old Tony.

It sounds like Tim won't be around the Team much longer either.
KAB
KAB
I wonder it they will show the teased meeting (in Origins) with Tony and Gibbs.
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Jimbo
I wonder it they will show the teased meeting (in Origins) with Tony and Gibbs.
I'm curious how they are going to implement Tony into Origins (If they do) ...
Tony was introduced to Gibbs and the team, on NCIS, which makes it the Mothership side of things, he worked in Baltimore prior to NCIS, NO mention when they met that anyone had known one another ...
Anony55
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
For quite a while now, people with a VIP211k have been losing their recordings on their activated external HDDs... even when there's nothing physically wrong with HDD. I believe this is an intentional and underhanded tactic that Dish is pulling in an attempt to force users away from the VIP211k.

They are obviously regretting that they ever let users have a "non-dvr" dvr in the first place. You would think they would be happy charging you a $40 one time fee... and then be happy letting the customer be the one responsible for HDD failures.

Dish clearly hates the 211k bitter-clingers. This recording deletion problem is intentional (IMO), and I think it is just one more tool that they are using. Hopper and a 2-year agreement... that's what they want you to have. Think about that... a 2-year agreement... with a company $30 Billion in debt (that's with a B). What happens when all that debt causes them to drop the channel that may have been your whole reason for having Dish in the first place? Guess who's stuck with a service that no longer suits their needs... for the remainder of the 2-year agreement.

On top of that, they don't want you to install it yourself. I purchased and installed all my equipment myself. That used to be common. Now, they lie to me and tell me that my dish must be updated to use a Hopper. Funny thing is... they don't even know what dish I have because they didn't install it, and I didn't tell them. If you ask what type of dish/LNBs the hopper needs... good luck getting an answer. All they know is that whatever you have needs to be upgraded by an installer.

It is quite apparent to me that they care much more about staying in their box, than they do working with the customer. That's too bad, because it hasn't always been that way. It's like they are totally unaware of the current business environment that they are trying to compete in.

I have been a customer since 2010. I will be cancelling my service before the next period. Yeah, I know, my $1,200 a year won't make a difference to them. It just seems like they have forgotten who needs who, especially when you consider the competition in today's streaming world. But hey, they will have succeed in forcing me off the 211k.
168 Replies · 7531 views
Nebugeater
Got a 211k that works fine, and I no longer need it if someone wants to throw me a few bucks and pay shipping. Not tied to my account as of last week. Used with a tailgater and got a wally
T
Got a 211k that works fine, and I no longer need it if someone wants to throw me a few bucks and pay shipping. Not tied to my account as of last week. Used with a tailgater and got a wally
Is the 211k still available? If so, I'm interested.
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Nebugeater
Is the 211k still available? If so, I'm interested.


Actually, it is. A couple of people PMed me when I posted this, and when I asked for an address, they never responded. Then I just sort of let it go. Send me a PM to continue the discussion
Anony55
Well, after nine months of being on pause, I finally figured out that I was wasting $5 a month. So I cancelled. For the first time since 2010, I no longer have a Dish account.

I do have to say that I did appreciate the account pause option. That just gives a person some time to see what the fallout of cancelling will be... without having to go all the way over the cliff first.

Since I never once had an "oh shoot, I need Dish Network for..." moment, the decision was a lot easier.

Funny enough, when I called to cancel (for real, not playing the pricing game), all of a sudden, they were offering me deals that I was told before that I couldn't get without changing out my VIP211k. Now, I could have had those specials with them just sending me a new card for the receiver. LOL!

Of course, my mind was already made up because of having not missed the service while on pause. That, and the fact that I bet the 211k still kills recordings.

All in all, I'm glad that I had Dish for all those years. I just outgrew the need, and they pressed the issue by deleting recordings. I would have eventually went this route without the deleted recordings issue. But, for sure, that did hasten the outcome.

I'll still pop in at this site from time to time. Believe it or not, I still have a C/Ku BUD that I intend on playing with again if life ever slows down.
dishstaller
Actually, it is. A couple of people PMed me when I posted this, and when I asked for an address, they never responded. Then I just sort of let it go. Send me a PM to continue the discussion
Unless things have changed at Dish, which is entirely possible, they won't activate the 211, even as a replacement. I gave one to a customer a while back....which when I turned it off I made sure to tell the CSR I wanted it freed up so another customer could use it, I was assured it was.....and when they called to swap out there's they were told it couldn't be done. Now like I said, things MIGHT HAVE CHANGED.
Anony55
Unless things have changed at Dish, which is entirely possible, they won't activate the 211, even as a replacement. I gave one to a customer a while back....which when I turned it off I made sure to tell the CSR I wanted it freed up so another customer could use it, I was assured it was.....and when they called to swap out there's they were told it couldn't be done. Now like I said, things MIGHT HAVE CHANGED.
It hasn't changed. When I cancelled my service the other day, they told me I didn't need to return the receiver (which I already knew because I purchased it).

But in addition to that, the young man told me not to sell it, but to take it to a recycling place. The reason he gave for the advice was because 211Ks can no longer be activated.

So as far as the VIP211k goes... once grandpa dies, he's dead.
T
They tell you to trash it and not to sell simply because they're phasing them out, not particularly because someone might be "confused" into buying it and not be able to activate. They tell people that in every case where they're not acting to get a box back, either from a replacement or service cancel.
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Corrado
Although my VIP211K hasn't been subscribed or connected to a dish in probably 5 years since canceling service, my 1 TB HDD full of programming still works fine.

Upon occasion I power it up to watch something I recorded as far back as 2010. The last time I had it going in September it even let me rescan the local OTA channels which I think it refused at some earlier time. I will use it until the day it fails but this topic makes me think some software download is responsible for current subscribers.
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