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strunch

Last reply Sep 12, 2004 · posted in Cable Television and Fiber Providers

Tips from experienced installers please!?

I have been wanting to ask some experienced installers a few questions for awhile so here goes.

1. Is there a way to detect if a cable in a prewired home is going through a splitter or not using a multimeter or other magic tool?

2. Your method or a good way to find studs on various roofs.....there has to be something better then a hammer..some high tech device that will go through three layers of shingles or something.

3. Best tools and methods of determining line of sight. I seem to have trouble visualizing the exact space I need for a SuperDISH sometimes.

4. also have run into alot of problems with the electricity is some houses. Whats the best solution with houses that have reversed polarity or neutral ground issues....

and why did i get a huge jolt when i had one end of a cable coming from the dish in one hand and was about to hook it up to the receiver and i touched the outside of the receiver and got a massive shock that may have knocked off a few IQ points....or added?

Thanks for any help fellas

Smokey

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techdood

Aug 24, 2004

That last one could have been RF interference, when a transmitter is located nearby installed home. Could have been prevented by properly grounding lead before it gets into the home. Telecommunications techs go thru that shock scenario many times before realizing the potential hazard. Some even etch their names onto tel-co poles using the floating conductor against the wood.
As for your other inquiries, detecting a splitter or switch could be as simple as making a "piezo" tone. One end has a battery and the other a "piezo" buzzer. If the known cable has no tone...then cable is either split off or open. Others might use an ohm meter, splitters show up as shorts if they have band passing properties.
Shooting birds using line of sight generalities, i don't know of a better tool than a compass with inclinometer. Hopefully this post will spark up answers to your inquiry.

Cougar

Aug 24, 2004

Some answers to your questions:

1. Easiest way I know to check for a splitter is to short one end of the cable and see what the resistance is on the other end. If something is in between, you will not see the short on the other end if it was showing a open before putting a short on it.

2. A good electronic stud finder should be able to handle this, though I have not done it myself. Some are able to work through concrete so shingles should be no problem.

3. Here is a link to look at some compass/inclinometer combinations. I have the Suunto SU-51. The Brunton model looks real nice also.

4. If the wiring in a house has reversed polarity it needs to be fixed at the source of the wiring error by a qualified electrician pronto. As you apparently found out the hard way what will happen. The case of the receiver was hot with respect to earth ground and the antenna end was probably tied to ground potential. You got in between the circuit and YEOWEE. A dangerious situation. The owner of the place should be notified of this immediately if this is really happening. Hopefully all the AC connections have polarity plugs on them so things are not connected the wrong way and causing this.

CablerMN

Aug 31, 2004

3. Don't have one, thought about getting one to "toy" around with:

http://www.alignasite.com/

Wayd Wolf

Sep 1, 2004

strunch said:
I have been wanting to ask some experienced installers a few questions for awhile so here goes.

1. Is there a way to detect if a cable in a prewired home is going through a splitter or not using a multimeter or other magic tool?

Not really. Some toners detect splitters as a short by beeping but some don't. Some splitters are self-terminating, some aren't.

strunch said:
2. Your method or a good way to find studs on various roofs.....there has to be something better then a hammer..some high tech device that will go through three layers of shingles or something.

You need one of those stud finders with the deep scan. Dish in-house (DNSC) uses them with a piece of corrugated cardboard right underneath on tar shingles and they can work just fine through ONE layer of shingles and ONE layer of roof cladding. If another layer of plywood and another layer of roofing has been laid over an older layer, you're out of luck.

strunch said:
3. Best tools and methods of determining line of sight. I seem to have trouble visualizing the exact space I need for a SuperDISH sometimes.

You need a combo inclinometer and compass such as that from Suunto. All professionals should have one and if anyone inducted you into the business without telling you this, I'd like to slap them. This is the most basic tool for DBS work.

strunch said:
4. also have run into alot of problems with the electricity is some houses. Whats the best solution with houses that have reversed polarity or neutral ground issues....

Don't do the install, tell the customer why, and tell them to have an electrician correct the problem before it can be done, and get out. NEVER install with unsafe electrical conditions.

strunch said:
and why did i get a huge jolt when i had one end of a cable coming from the dish in one hand and was about to hook it up to the receiver and i touched the outside of the receiver and got a massive shock that may have knocked off a few IQ points....or added?

Thanks for any help fellas

Dish Pro receivers put out 18VDC and slightly higher amperage than the old legacy units. If you short it accidentally, you might get a shock. Of course, if the dish was grounded correctly and there's a ground fault in the house, it might leak back to the receiver on the line and OUCH.

Also, many TVs tend to have ground faults and can shock your arse good. If you get a zap when hooking up coax to a TV, don't install to it.

95yj

Sep 12, 2004

You answered your own question regarding getting shocked. You said that you keep running into reversed polarity on the electrical. A three prong outlet has a hot (black), a common (white), and a ground (usually green.) The common and ground take two different paths to get to fundamentally the same point, so putting a voltmeter between the hot and common or hot and ground should both show about 120vac. The hot connection in the outlet is the small tip where the wider tip is the common. A lot of electrical devices take the common to the outside shell of the device, although this is usually done with devices that don't use a three prong plug. If the common is run to the case, but your household wiring is backwards and it is really the hot, touching the case while holding on to something that is grounded, like your RG6 will run 120vac through your body. Buy a $5 outlet tester and check all your outlets. If the outlets you are checking aren't grounded, use a grounded extension cord plugged into a properly wired outlet, then use a volt meter between the smaller prong on the outlet and the ground on the extension cord. If the outlet is properly wired, this test will show 120vac. However, if the common from the outlet (the large prong) and the ground on the extension cord shows voltage, the outlet is backwards or else you have a problem with your ground. Having the common and hot backwards is the mark of a very amature electrician and can be very dangerous. Running 120vac through your body is usually just startling and annoying, but under the wrong conditions it can kill you.

meStevo

Lifetime Supporter

Last reply 15 minutes ago · posted in The Sports Section

NFL 2026-2027 Season

Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.

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HipKat

Yesterday at 4:27 PM

Balls
Bears. Took care of the elite Seahawks defense in a great performance.
NFC North. The entire division is 2 games above .500
Lions. Finally handed an L to that weird Minnesota team. Good vibes for Jack Campbell.
Pitt. Took the lead of the division convincingly.
Bengals vs Titans game. Fireworks game. Not sure it was a well-played game, but it sure was fun. JoeyB with 6 scores... and 4 turnovers.
Denver. They keep winning, man. Payton is a baller of a coach.
Packers. Thorough beatdown of the hard-to-read Panthers.
Jags. Demolished the hapless Colts.
Rams. The Super team finally wins back-to-back games.

Goats
Vikings. Took their first L. I know their D is insane, but their offense is setting back football to the 1950's.
Cowboys. Lost a 2-score lead vs. the Gardner Minshew-led Cards... at home. Embarrassing.
Browns. Playing for the division lead by scoring 6 points.
Bucs vs Falcons game. Setting modern football back to the ice age. Honorable mention to Tua Penix err ... Michael Tagov .... well, you know what I mean.
Bengals fans acting like Burrow just won the MVP after his performance. I get it. 6 scores is awesome. But. He also turned the ball over 4 times and required overtime to beat the 1-win Titans. So spare me the parade.
Chiefs. Not because they lost. It was a close game decided on the last play vs. a divisional rival on the road. That's always rough. But because of their whining over the CLEAR flag they got on the would-be winning play. They are used to getting the calls, and when they don't, they complain. Honorable mention to Mahomes for this quote: "I mean, at the end of the day, you have to go with whatever is called, but a lot of times in those big moments, the little stuff doesn't get called like that"... so you admit it was a penalty?? Just shut up, man.
Colts. They began the fire sale earlier in the week, and it showed. This team is cooked; Daniel Jones should go to the bench, and Steichen will be fired pretty soon.
Chargers. Wow. That's all I got.
Miami. For having the Pats sort of on the ropes and letting them go.
Eagles. Another team that should consider selling some assets. They are going nowhere.

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Mike0616

Yesterday at 5:59 PM

Watched the Colts wrestle defeat from the jaws of victory one more time. We need a coach. A REAL coach. Until then, thank the Lord for Sunday ticket. Imo, Jones isn't responsible for the losses, it's as group effort and he is the top QB on the roster.

Reactions: HipKat

Howard Simmons

Today at 11:24 AM

HipKat said:
Balls
Bears. Took care of the elite Seahawks defense in a great performance.
NFC North. The entire division is 2 games above .500
Lions. Finally handed an L to that weird Minnesota team. Good vibes for Jack Campbell.
Pitt. Took the lead of the division convincingly.
Bengals vs Titans game. Fireworks game. Not sure it was a well-played game, but it sure was fun. JoeyB with 6 scores... and 4 turnovers.
Denver. They keep winning, man. Payton is a baller of a coach.
Packers. Thorough beatdown of the hard-to-read Panthers.
Jags. Demolished the hapless Colts.
Rams. The Super team finally wins back-to-back games.

Goats
Vikings. Took their first L. I know their D is insane, but their offense is setting back football to the 1950's.
Cowboys. Lost a 2-score lead vs. the Gardner Minshew-led Cards... at home. Embarrassing.
Browns. Playing for the division lead by scoring 6 points.
Bucs vs Falcons game. Setting modern football back to the ice age. Honorable mention to Tua Penix err ... Michael Tagov .... well, you know what I mean.
Bengals fans acting like Burrow just won the MVP after his performance. I get it. 6 scores is awesome. But. He also turned the ball over 4 times and required overtime to beat the 1-win Titans. So spare me the parade.
Chiefs. Not because they lost. It was a close game decided on the last play vs. a divisional rival on the road. That's always rough. But because of their whining over the CLEAR flag they got on the would-be winning play. They are used to getting the calls, and when they don't, they complain. Honorable mention to Mahomes for this quote: "I mean, at the end of the day, you have to go with whatever is called, but a lot of times in those big moments, the little stuff doesn't get called like that"... so you admit it was a penalty?? Just shut up, man.
Colts. They began the fire sale earlier in the week, and it showed. This team is cooked; Daniel Jones should go to the bench, and Steichen will be fired pretty soon.
Chargers. Wow. That's all I got.
Miami. For having the Pats sort of on the ropes and letting them go.
Eagles. Another team that should consider selling some assets. They are going nowhere.

Mahomes is the biggest cry baby I have ever seen. He thinks he's privileged or something.

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reubenray

Today at 11:49 AM

Howard Simmons said:
Mahomes is the biggest cry baby I have ever seen. He thinks he's privileged or something.

So is Kelce.

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meStevo

Today at 12:14 PM

Just the same vilification as players like Brady experienced, a product of their success and largely overblown (just like them 'getting all the calls').

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Yespage

15 minutes ago

Howard Simmons said:
Mahomes is the biggest cry baby I have ever seen. He thinks he's privileged or something.

Well you see him more because he is incredibly talented. And yes, typically players try to spin things being in their favor. This isn't cricket where sportsmanship (except in Australia) is expected.

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zippyfrog

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply 59 minutes ago · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

110/119 Listings Post 129 Transition (Updated 11/01/2026)

Over the past year I have been tracking the changes on Western Arc. The past 3 months have had a lot of changes that I posted in the other MPEG2 Western Arc shutdown thread. Now that 129 is (basically) out of commission, here is where Western Arc stands. This is just a national channel list, (no local channels) based off what I can see and what others have contributed. Thanks to everyone who has helped me come up with the locations of some of the channels – I would try and list all of you out, but I know I would forget someone! As has been suggested in other parts of the forum, it would be great to collect the spotbeam data for those who could contribute!

A couple of pieces of info:

Out of the 64 transponders between 110/119, there are currently 50 transponders that Dish is licensed to use. 22 are Spotbeams, 28 are ConUS transponders (14 transponders are licensed to DirecTV and Dish doesn't have access to them)
Those 28 ConUS transponders are divided as follows:
- 10 are dedicated to National HD channels (ESPN, CNN, Disney Channel, etc). Dish is maxing out at 16 HD channels per transponder (note – in an earlier post I said there was one transponder with 17 HD channels, that was an error on my part. When I double checked my listings, one channel changed transponders). Before the transition, there was a maximum of 14 HD channels per transponder.
- 1 transponder is dedicated to adult content
- 2 are a mixture HD PPV Movies/4k channels
- 3 are set aside for HD Sports channels that are only on for live games (NBA League Pass, the PAC 12 alternate channels, some PPV events, etc); 3 SD PPV Sports Channels are there as well.
- 7 are for SD and/or music channels. Dish is maxing out at 26 SD channels per transponder thus far on the SD transponders.
- 5 transponders on 110 I have no channels listed but Dish operates. (they are labeled as ConUS on my chart below) There are other things that could be on those transponders, like RV Distant Networks, internal testing channels, etc, that I can't see. They might be able to be used for additional content, but I am not sure exactly what is on those transponders.

There are two transponders that have lower than normal SD channels – 110, TP 21 and 119, TP 19. Previously those transponders contained the programming guides that get downloaded from the satellite when the receivers download EPG. I assume that is where the programming guides are still downloaded from, thus less channels there.

When I talk about number of channels on a transponder, all my numbers are unique channels – for example, channel 101 and 199 are the same channel mapped to two different numbers, but in terms of space, only takes up 1 channel worth of bandwidth on the transponder.

Finally, I have to give Dish a ton of credit. When it was 110/119/129, Dish had 82 transponders they were using – it took a lot to get it down to 50 transponders and figure out where all the pieces were going to go. What are the things they did to get there? Here are the things I saw:

During this migration from 129, Dish converted 7 ConUS transponders on 119 into Spotbeams – that is how they ended up fitting on all the HD locals that used to be on 129. (for those interested, TP 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 are the ones that used to be ConUS on 119 that are now Spotbeam)
Removed almost all SD duplicate channels that are offered in HD
Converted remaining SD channels from MPEG2 to MPEG4
There are also 2 subtle things that changed from the HD channel perspective
- At the beginning of the transition, Dish decreased the number of PPV Movie channels – prior to this transition the PPV channels HD PPV movies were 502-522; now they are 502-517.
- At the beginning of April when MLB, NBA, and NHL regular seasons were all going on at the same time and this transition began, there were a ton of games "joined in progress" for the HD feeds. That wasn't common since the days before the full time HD RSN's. The reason for that was prior to the transition, Dish had 4 transponders set aside for HD Sports – 2 transponders was the bandwidth set aside from the HD RSN's before Dish dropped the RSN's, then 2 transponders were for alternate channels. Now we are down to 3 transponders for HD sports.

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zippyfrog

Sunday at 4:47 PM

With the extra hour I had this morning, I updated the listings. Another month has passed, and nothing has moved off 110 to 119 for the national channels. I really thought those handful of transponders on 119 would have been populated with the national channels from 110, but no change.

Can someone who has a Hopper tell me if the 4k channels are still on 110 and if so, what transponder?

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Bobby

Sunday at 5:07 PM

zippyfrog said:
With the extra hour I had this morning, I updated the listings. Another month has passed, and nothing has moved off 110 to 119 for the national channels. I really thought those handful of transponders on 119 would have been populated with the national channels from 110, but no change.

Can someone who has a Hopper tell me if the 4k channels are still on 110 and if so, what transponder?

They appear to be on 110, transponder 8.

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zippyfrog

Sunday at 5:30 PM

Bobby said:
They appear to be on 110, transponder 8.

Thanks! I do have my listing correct then.

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zippyfrog

Yesterday at 5:11 PM

Dish has officially removed all the locals from 119 and they are all on 110 now. TP 02, 04, 06, 08, 10 were all functioning as Spotbeams as of last week, but now they are ConUS.

This means all 21 transponders that Dish has access to at 119 are now ConUS.

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dishrich

Yesterday at 9:34 PM

zippyfrog said:
Dish has officially removed all the locals from 119 and they are all on 110 now.

Might be a silly question, but does this mean ALL 29 TP's on 110 are positively spot beams now?

Reactions: zippyfrog and charlesrshell

zippyfrog

Today at 5:20 AM

dishrich said:
Might be a silly question, but does this mean ALL 29 TP's on 110 are positively spot beams now?

Nope - TP 1-13 are still ConUS on 110. Which is crazy...there are so many different spotbeams on the new 110 satellite compared to the older 110 or 119. Now, someone can correct me if I am wrong on this - but aren't there two satellites at 110 right now? If so, it looks like TP 1-13 are coming from the old satellite at 110 and 14 onward are spotbeams on the new satellite.

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dishrich

59 minutes ago

zippyfrog said:
Now, someone can correct me if I am wrong on this - but aren't there two satellites at 110 right now?

Hopefully nelson61 can chime in on this one, because I'm not sure, either.
I guess the thing I'm really perplexed about, is if there are NO more locals - at least on spotbeams - on 119, then how DID they cram ALL the locals on 110 & NOT have ALL those x-ponders in SB mode by now?

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Linus Tech Tips

Today at 12:42 PM · posted in Linus Tech Tips

Good PC Deals Still Exist!

Time for another AWESOME video from Linus Tech Tips!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAraNufcrW4

Direct YouTube Link - Good PC Deals Still Exist!
Linus on Facebook
The LTT Store

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply Today at 12:27 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

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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hwkn

Today at 2:35 AM

HEAVEN IS A Place On Earth-Belinda Carlisle

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ClarkGable

Today at 5:29 AM

Earth Angel - The Penguins

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dishstaller

Today at 9:31 AM

The Heart of Rock & Roll - Huey Lewis and the News

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harshness

Today at 10:01 AM

Closer to the Heart - Rush

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sdfntx

Today at 12:27 PM

Coming from the Heart - The Searchers

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teachsac

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply Today at 11:57 AM · posted in TV Shows

S.W.A.T. Exiles (Starz)

Hondo is back with a new squad 9/25 only on Starz.

View: https://m.youtube.com/shorts/b0gPzA8KHEQ

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dfergie

Sep 2, 2026

View: https://youtu.be/wRbxI9muoIw?is=uM9d0DhDKRao_kA3

teachsac

Oct 19, 2026

Started watching yesterday. Not too bad.

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Scott Greczkowski

Oct 19, 2026

Wife likes it.

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teachsac

Oct 19, 2026

I like Zyra from La Brea (one with the prosthetic).

teachsac

Today at 11:57 AM

Caught up last night with episodes 4-6. I like it. Better than a lot of the shows on regular broadcast tv.

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Ham Radio 2.0

Today at 11:32 AM · posted in Ham Radio 2.0

Xiegu G7250: The NEW 100W Radio You Need to See

Time for another AWESOME video from Ham Radio 2.0!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V_Ny4b8gNo

Direct YouTube Link - Xiegu G7250: The NEW 100W Radio You Need to See
Ham Radio 2.0 Website
Ham Radio 2.0 on Facebook

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comfortably_numb

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Today at 11:16 AM · posted in Internet Television (IPTV) Discussion Forum

Philo now offers discounted annual plan

Not sure saving $24/year is worth it unless you're a hardcore Philo user. I'll stick with monthly.

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Jimbo

Today at 9:41 AM

comfortably_numb said:
Not sure saving $24/year is worth it unless you're a hardcore Philo user. I'll stick with monthly.

View attachment 195247

$24 for the Year, would be more useful.

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Howard Simmons

Today at 11:16 AM

Jimbo said:
$24 for the Year, would be more useful.

But when you cancel you still have to watch until the plan runs out. With monthly you're done at the end of the month.

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MorCowbell

Last reply Today at 11:11 AM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Saved OTA list on Dish can't be appended

I have Dish with Hopper3. I choose to get local channels OTA and had a "guide list" established at my previous home. Having moved a few miles away, I wanted to update the list by appending a couple new stations via a rescan. As many would know, some stations come in with the UHF/VHF antenna aimed in one direction, while others come in better with a different direction.

Unfortunately, when a scan is done (bringing in 25-30 stations for that particular antenna aim), the dialog screen does not present the established guide list; it presents an empty field to the right that the scanned stations may be selected one by one and added to the empty guide. But because of antenna aim, some stations originally saved are missing, and would have to be retrieved with a different antenna aim. But as I explain, if a 2nd scan is done with a different antenna aim, the stations saved from the first scan are lost.

It troubles me that Dish didn't develop software that would allow a user to simply append only 1 or 2 channels to the established list.

Any thought on this? Has anyone experienced this or heard of this from others?

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Almighty1

Yesterday at 5:16 PM

Good points MorCowbell - All they had to do was add a few more options including the existing, I don't remember the exact names:
1) Scan/Re-scan and it will ask if one wants to overwrite database aka delete first or add to existing database
2) View existing database and add or delete manually
3) Save Database
4) Restore Database

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dishstaller

Yesterday at 9:42 PM

I could very well be wrong....it has been a LOT of years but back when I had a 722K it seemed like when you went back to the scan screen that you could just scan again and it would ADD those channels to the previous list or you could delete the previous results and only add the channels from the new scan.

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MorCowbell

Today at 10:11 AM

Methinks you are wrong, Dishstaller - at least for what I see now..
I so wish that functionality was available ...

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n0qcu

Today at 10:41 AM

dishstaller said:
I could very well be wrong....it has been a LOT of years but back when I had a 722K it seemed like when you went back to the scan screen that you could just scan again and it would ADD those channels to the previous list or you could delete the previous results and only add the channels from the new scan.

I am not sure about that but I do know that you could manually add additional channels just by entering the actual RF channel number and the older receivers would add the virtual channels to your list

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dishstaller

Today at 11:11 AM

n0qcu said:
I am not sure about that but I do know that you could manually add additional channels just by entering the actual RF channel number and the older receivers would add the virtual channels to your list

Like I said.....that has been many years ago. Swapped my 722K for a Hopper in 2012.

It does seem like I remember having to delete the existing channels when we did a rescan. Back then our local stations KEPT monkeying around with things and it was non-stop complaints from customers about their channels not coming in. Got so bad that I stopped selling OR installing OTAs....something I had been doing since 1984 so you know it HAD to be pretty bad.

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 9:32 AM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Ginux: A Rust Operating System Kernel Built in 11 Days #shorts

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/X5Yp6dbu76U

Direct YouTube Link - Ginux: A Rust Operating System Kernel Built in 11 Days #shorts
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

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osu1991

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Today at 9:01 AM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

USA Healthcare Costs are Ridiculous

Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs

My health Insurance renewal for 2027 just came in. Going from $827 a month to $1,187 a month. Deductible going up a $1k to $9,350. Max out of pocket also going up $1k to $11,000. Doctor co-pay of $40. Urgent Care co-pay $50. ER 50% coinsurance after deductible. That's all in network. Out of network is double, should it be needed.

Have to think about this. I'm really tempted to just go without now. I only go to the doctor once or twice a year. I pay out of pocket for Tirzepitide and can do without the Rosuvastatin (crestor) now. Really tired of spending over $10k a year and getting nothing out of it.

After years with Blue Cross I switched last year to Ambetter as my Blue Cross premium was going from $1200 to $1800 for a Silver plan and the Bronze plan was still going to be $1300 at BCBS. Ambetter was $827 for the same coverage with a Bronze plan. Didn't think it would jump this much so soon.

I'm guessing a Silver plan is probably over $2,000 a month for 2027.

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osu1991

Sunday at 7:39 PM

Such a scam. Healthcare.gov shows me cheaper individual plans available for 2027 from ambetter that ambetter doesn't show on their website. Looked it up. I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years and got nothing out of it except a few doctors visits and labs.

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dishstaller

Sunday at 8:15 PM

osu1991 said:
I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years

That's why I cancelled ours and just started saving the money. We're about to do the same thing with our home insurance.....not cancel it outright but do away with the portion which covers wind damage. We're paying over $5k right now and that is AFTER I dumbed things down...and it keeps going up. Got a couple trees I want to have taken down first before I do that however. After we do that, it will knock about $3k off our annual premium.

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harshness

Monday at 10:51 AM

dishstaller said:
not cancel it outright but do away with the portion which covers wind damage.

Other than fire, what other kinds of damage do you guys get down there?

dishstaller

Monday at 11:26 AM

harshness said:
Other than fire, what other kinds of damage do you guys get down there?

Not much else. Fire is the only thing I really worry about. I honestly didn't know I could remove wind coverage until someone told that they had....dropped their annual rate from $6,500 to $1,800. I'm currently paying $5,160.

Jimbo

Monday at 6:36 PM

dishstaller said:
Not much else. Fire is the only thing I really worry about. I honestly didn't know I could remove wind coverage until someone told that they had....dropped their annual rate from $6,500 to $1,800. I'm currently paying $5,160.

Does the Wind portion cover Hurricanes ?

dishstaller

Monday at 8:58 PM

Jimbo said:
Does the Wind portion cover Hurricanes ?

Yes. I covers ANYTHING wind related. If the wind blows down a tree on my roof...that is wind related.
That is why I want to take out a few trees first before I drop it.

I'm not worried about my roof. House was very solidly built and has hurricane straps. I put the metal roof on myself with the help of a friend and I recently replaced all of the outer screws with #12 2 in screws which I also dipped the tip in silicone before driving them in. Any other damage I'll fix myself like I did after Michael gave us a visit in 2018.

Jimbo

Monday at 10:13 PM

dishstaller said:
Yes. I covers ANYTHING wind related. If the wind blows down a tree on my roof...that is wind related.
That is why I want to take out a few trees first before I drop it.

I'm not worried about my roof. House was very solidly built and has hurricane straps. I put the metal roof on myself with the help of a friend and I recently replaced all of the outer screws with #12 2 in screws which I also dipped the tip in silicone before driving them in. Any other damage I'll fix myself like I did after Michael gave us a visit in 2018.

So, the Roof will stay, hopefully the rest of the house stays as well ... if the Hurricane decides to take the house and move it down the street, well at least the roof will go with it !

dishstaller

Monday at 10:49 PM

Jimbo said:
So, the Roof will stay, hopefully the rest of the house stays as well ... if the Hurricane decides to take the house and move it down the street, well at least the roof will go with it !

Why be such a smartbutt.
We went through a cat 5 hurricane.....the foundation is sound. Trees hitting the house are the only thing I am worried about when it comes to wind related damage.
IF you had actually been through multiple hurricanes like I have, you would know that most of the damage, unless you were stupid enough to build along the coast.....something ALL of our ancestors knew better than to do, is roof related. In a lot of cases the roof gives way and then the house suffers water damage due to the heavy rain.

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navychop

Yesterday at 9:30 AM

I've had CTs etc within MINUTES of entering an ER (A&E).

In Canada, they publish wait times (months) for CTs. And track the number of deaths of such people while waiting.

Reactions: AZ. and dishstaller

TRG

Yesterday at 12:02 PM

dishstaller said:
Why be such a smartbutt.
We went through a cat 5 hurricane.....the foundation is sound. Trees hitting the house are the only thing I am worried about when it comes to wind related damage.
IF you had actually been through multiple hurricanes like I have, you would know that most of the damage, unless you were stupid enough to build along the coast.....something ALL of our ancestors knew better than to do, is roof related. In a lot of cases the roof gives way and then the house suffers water damage due to the heavy rain.

A good friend of mine is a general contractor. He has quite a large network of builders throughout the U.S. In certain parts of the country roof straps, brackets, clips are a code requirement now. Older homes can be upgraded if they have attic access. These roof reinforcing methods significantly strengthen roof integrity during high wind events.

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meStevo

Yesterday at 1:03 PM

navychop said:
I've had CTs etc within MINUTES of entering an ER (A&E).

In Canada, they publish wait times (months) for CTs. And track the number of deaths of such people while waiting.

Except you're comparing emergency care - which is available just as quickly in Canada - to scheduled outpatient diagnostics.

The last 2 CTs I needed had to be scheduled 3-5 weeks out here as well.

Reactions: Foxbat, osu1991, AZ. and 1 other person

dishstaller

Yesterday at 1:15 PM

TRG said:
A good friend of mine is a general contractor. He has quite a large network of builders throughout the U.S. In certain parts of the country roof straps, brackets, clips are a code requirement now. Older homes can be upgraded if they have attic access. These roof reinforcing methods significantly strengthen roof integrity during high wind events.

Ours was built in 1986. Hurricane clips weren't required then but the man who built it obviously had my mentality and had them put on anyway. Good thing he did because it would have been very hard to find home insurance without them.
When I was young and I was helping my Dad add onto our haybarn he would go to the lumber yards and get those metal straps they used to use bundling lumber. We would cut them and strap them over the rafters. He had been through a tornado years before and had seen barn roofs lifted right off.

osu1991

Today at 8:16 AM

AI is now deciding who gets healthcare in 6 US states – and it's already harming patients | BBC Science Focus Magazine

An AI pilot programme is attempting to cut down on ‘wasteful’ medical procedures, and patients are paying the price

www.sciencefocus.com

Reactions: AZ.

thomasjk

Today at 9:01 AM

osu1991 said:
AI is now deciding who gets healthcare in 6 US states – and it's already harming patients | BBC Science Focus Magazine

An AI pilot programme is attempting to cut down on ‘wasteful’ medical procedures, and patients are paying the price

www.sciencefocus.com

During the summer I was hospitalized prior to having a pacemaker inserted. Shortly after discharge I received a letter from United Healthcare denying the level of coverage during the hospitalization. The denial text was written by a AI that sounded like a third grader. The hospital appealed immediately and it was eventually overturned.

Reactions: AZ., osu1991 and dishstaller

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