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Last reply · posted in DIRECTV General Forum
I haven't touched a dish in years but since the local directv guys doing the 5lnb mpeg changeover wouldn't install the dish (just dropped it off with the homeowners) I was recruited to do the install since I do their AV.

I have an AcutracIII+ meter with the following levels:

Code:
Meter Setting KA 99 & KU 101 levels:
 
KA High = 99.4
KU         = 99.5
KA Low = 99.0
 
Meter Setting KA 103 & KU 119 levels:
 
KA High = 87.3
KU         = 87.1
KA Low = 99.9
 
Meter Setting KA 103 & KU 110/119 levels:
 
KA High = 49.3
KU         = 99.9
KA Low = 90.0

I assume these level are satisfactory but I've never done one before so I don't know for sure. Maybe the 49.3 reading is a deal breaker. The recievers didn't pass their test and I also don't know what package they have or what channels they should get.

I tried to follow the alignment manual but the AU9 dish doesn't have dither stops so I just sort of tweaked the meter levels since mine meter shows the KA bands. I also stumbled across another problem the dealers neglected to inform the customer about the use of diplexers which are used to combine with CATV. Once I remove these form the loop the tests passed but I still wasn't getting any of the new channels so.....

Not knowing if my levels were good prevented me from trying more things and wasting more time so I fugured I'd try an find out first before moving ahead.

Questions:

Are the above levels good?
Do I need to provison the boxes again?
The diplexers are bad, right?
7 Replies · 1698 views
V
iwc5893 wrote:
What type of 5LNB dish did they leave?
AU9.

Jimbo wrote:
You didn't say what rec's your installing, if they are the H/HR 20/21's , you said you were not getting the new channels, have you installed the BBC modules to the back of the rec.'s,
Hmmm. I don't even know what type of receiver they have, I'll post when I figure that out. The Pics on the website aren't distinct enough for me to tell.

What's a BBC module? These receivers were installed by the direcTV guys doing the conversion but since they wouldn't install the dish becasue that required actually working for their comission (it did require a ladder) so If this module is required only for the mpeg4 stream then I would have to say it couldn't have been installed since they set these receivers up for the old dish.
S
I attempted to do a self-install over the weekend. My hunting cabin has a dish but doesn't have service, and I had a basic SD receiver that I use on my 2nd television. I pointed the dish in the right direction and connected everything, but when I turned it on I wasn't able to get a full signal.

Transponders 1-18 had all zeroes, 19-24 had numbers ranging from 86-96, and all the rest were zeroes. I tinkered with the dish but was never able to get any signal on any of the other transponders. I did have a connector on the cable from the LNB to the dish as I didn't have one cable long enough to reach. Was the problem possibly with the connector or was I doing something wrong with the dish?

i plan on going back again this weekend and would really like to be able to watch football, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
jtwex
I attempted to do a self-install over the weekend. My hunting cabin has a dish but doesn't have service, and I had a basic SD receiver that I use on my 2nd television. I pointed the dish in the right direction and connected everything, but when I turned it on I wasn't able to get a full signal.

Transponders 1-18 had all zeroes, 19-24 had numbers ranging from 86-96, and all the rest were zeroes. I tinkered with the dish but was never able to get any signal on any of the other transponders. I did have a connector on the cable from the LNB to the dish as I didn't have one cable long enough to reach. Was the problem possibly with the connector or was I doing something wrong with the dish?

i plan on going back again this weekend and would really like to be able to watch football, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

While I don't like the spliced lines outside (or anywhere for that matter) simply using a dual female coupler should have no (or very little) affect on the signal.
Instead of using transponder readings try using the individual satellite numbers for each bird; this would also require us knowing what type of dish/receiver you are trying to use.

Different types: What DIRECTV dish antenna type do I have? Phase I, Phase II, Phase II+, Phase III, ....

As far as length of cable, I believe 150ft is D's suggested length. If using the phase three dish, align the 101 for everything you need. If possible, bring your tv/receiver right next to your dish (with a short coaxial cable) & make your modifications right there. I have not attempted to use my old receivers for NFL-ST reception & have been told conflicting information as to whether they would receive ST in SD this year off of 101.

Phase 3: 101, 110 & 119
AT-9+ 99, 101, 103, 110 & 119.

If the 'connector' was a splitter instead of a coupler I would lose it, though it should still work on Phase-3 or earlier if only being used on one receiver.
S
I was using a phase 1 dish (it is actually an old Dishnet dish) and a D11 receiver.

It showed that I wasn't receiving a signal and said 'searching for signal' on the screen, but when I checked the transponders on satellite 101 various transponders had readings at or above 84.

I got the setup to work one time before without knowing any dish settings (total luck, obviously), but that was without using a double-female line connector, so I thought the problem might be in the connector. Unfortunately I had to move the dish location and the new location was too far away to connect without the splice, so I couldn't take the splice out to check and see if that was the problem.

I was at zip code 77963 and used the settings on the dish to set it at the suggested settings.
V
Got an email from the home owner and they are h23's so according to the thread on h23's no BBC required.

So If I pull the diplexers out again and run straight from the dish's integral switch straight into the H23 receiver with the signal levels posted early in this thread using my Acutrac III+ meter should I be able to get all channels providing the account is set up for them.

Any one at all familar with this tester and these readings that could let me know if the dish is properly aligned or not.

On a side note:

This thing with the diplexers reminds me of the Cable companies who sell voip telephone service to their cable customers. They have the customers discontinue there existing analog service for voip only and after a month or so to realize their security system doesn't dial out any more because of the incomapability. What ever happened to being obligated to informing customers of the pros & cons of their products. Are the installers afraid of loosing their commsion and don't care about giving DirecTV a bad rap. The majority of my customers have both cable for their ISP and TV as well as DirecTV and they are almost all using diplexers. Now they're getting told they have to update to the new system to continue HD service and, oh by the way you have to figure out a way to get new cable lines through out your house but they don't tell them that up front or at all. 10,000+ sq' homes and 90% of the house's have their basement just about completely finished.
dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Stumbled across this ... http://www.gaspricewatch.com/USGas_ZipSearch.asp
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy

Ethanol Free Stations

5552 Replies · 460584 views
Bobby
Regular$5.999​
Premium$6.399​
Diesel$7.999​
at Costco, Rohnert Park.​
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harshness
I wonder if California is getting into the Winter formula.
dishstaller
Regular$5.999​
Premium$6.399​
Odd that out there, Prem is only 40 cents higher. Here it's a full dollar more.

Last night it was about $4.17 gas, $6,19 diesel.
harshness
Odd that out there, Prem is only 40 cents higher. Here it's a full dollar more.
On the West Coast, a 40-cent differential is common. It used to be 30 cents before the prices rose above $3.

A "full dollar more" sounds like it may be boat gas (non-alcoholic), which is a whole different discussion.
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Foxbat
Here in Indiana, the difference between Regular and Premium is usually a dollar, but some charge even more:
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dishstaller
A "full dollar more" sounds like it may be boat gas (non-alcoholic),
Both non-ethanol and prem run about the same....buck more. When we were up in TN it was a buck more up there as well.
jokeworm
Last reply · posted in What's Cooking?
Ok, I'm bored .... actually - to be more precise - I'm bored of eating the same rotation of 9 or 10 meals that are currently my "go-to" meals. My wife works the long hours - I work from home as and when i feel like it ... which means i generally do most of the cooking ... and so by default - i also make out the shopping list ...

We cook at home 5 or even 6 nights a week - but we always seem to fall back on the same old tried and tested "quick and easy but tastes ok" meals. Week in week out.

Pot Roast - mash and Peas.
Spaghetti
Chicken Pasta in cheese sauce.
Curry & rice
(these are some of mine)

Now it's not that I'm not adventurous in the kitchen ... I'll try anything once or twice ... but we all do it. Unless your name is Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray .. we all eventually fall back on our 8-10 favorite "meals"

So i thought - if we shared some of our own go-to meals with each other ... we might be able to add a few "new" ones to our own arsenal of meals.

So again - I ask you ...

What's for dinner tonight ?

Please give me something new to add to my rotation ... its our weekly shop tomorrow - so i want to pull together a few idea's and try and eat a meal each day next week that I've never had before .. or at least something that is not on my current "go-to" meal plan.

What meal do you always seem to fall back on in your house ? Maybe its something that I've never tried or not had in a while. I need inspiration !! I've got a blank shopping list in front of me - and nothing sounds good .. HELP !
4332 Replies · 331130 views
TRG
TRG
Beef and vegetable stew with buttermilk biscuits. Water.
It seemed appropriate on an unusually cold and wet evening in New Mexico.
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Bobby
Chili Cheesebugers, Tater Tots.
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TRG
TRG
I made shrimp parmesan with spaghetti and a salad.
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S
venison lasagna
dishstaller
Smoked some salmon on the grill while enjoying some Blue Moon beer. Kinda cool tonight so I fired up the heaters. Here in FL, we fire up heaters once the temps get below 60 :cool As for the salmon, I seared them first, then flipped them off to the side not over the coals and brushed on some lemon pepper marinade followed by some salmon seasoning. Threw some hickory chips on the coals and then closed the vents to about 10% airflow. Yum.
osu1991
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club

The number-one US state for EV growth, according to the June 22 Yardi report?
Oklahoma.


:eek


It has no ZEV mandates and "minimal" incentives, Yardi says, but also has cheap electricity, high multi-car household rates (so, for example, a non-Lightning Ford F-150 pulls their trailers), and a consumer base willing to switch.
112 Replies · 899 views
navychop
Servant's problem.
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meStevo

Never realized that Tesla is losing to BYD at manufacturing too, which IMO is Tesla's biggest accomplishment and area of innovation. Nice writeup about the state of play and how we got here though. I have no faith that we're moving any productive direction though sadly, most changes and efforts feel reactionary rather than rooted in making use of the time being bought by tariffs, with few exceptions.

So: how are the cars so cheap, and what is being cut to get there? The best public accounting comes from the Rhodium Group, which compared BYD, Geely, and Leapmotor against Tesla's Chinese operation, a fair comparison because it removes labor costs and shipping from the equation entirely. Their estimate is that BYD builds a car for about $4,700 less than Tesla builds a Model 3 in Shanghai, roughly 15 percent of the Model 3's price. The breakdown is the interesting part. Direct government grants account for about $292 per vehicle, which is 5 percent of the gap. The biggest single factor is vertical integration: BYD makes about 80 percent of its top-tier components in-house, against 37 percent for Tesla, and that eliminates roughly $2,369 per vehicle in supplier markups. Lower overhead, meaning cheaper engineering talent and administrative cost spread across enormous volume, accounts for another $1,719. And BYD pays its suppliers on 155-day terms, against Tesla's 60, which is worth about $214 per car in float. When people say the Chinese advantage is subsidies, the per-vehicle number says otherwise. When people say it is slave wages, the Tesla Shanghai comparison says otherwise too. The advantage is mostly that BYD decided, twenty years ago, to make its own batteries, its own motors, its own power electronics, and its own semiconductors, and Western automakers decided the opposite.​
harshness
The EV company to watch out for is SAIC. They seem likely to take over Government Motors at some point.

GM originally struck a JV deal with SAIC to gain access to China. Now SAIC has taken China back with the substantial library of technology GM shared and they're looking to export to Mexico, South America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
osu1991
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Ham Radio 2.0
· posted in Ham Radio 2.0
0 Replies · 11 views
Peter Parker
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
No idea what improvements might be involved.
18 Replies · 778 views
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bookworm370
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.
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N
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
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R
Has anyone noticed an FF stutter with 713? I used to be able to hit FF a few times and skip smoothly. After 713 (maybe 712), when I skip forward, there is a definite stutter for as many times as I have pressed FF.

Can anyone check on this and report back? Recorded programs and then press skip forward a few times to see if it's smooth? Normally, it just jumps to the right place after the skips.
My wife mentioned that her remote is acting strange this morning. She hit FF and it went to 15x FF.
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Bobby
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
This has been an ongoing issue. A fix is coming, probably in the next software version.
Foxbat
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"
Here's the one I need:
1792365258110.webp
Ramy
Supporting Founder
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
148 Replies · 1731 views
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Foxbat
They ought to have fun with this… :devilish
osu1991
They ought to have fun with this… :devilish
Was thinking same thing. It should be a good week for sec shorts and roll call
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R
A lot of upsets yesterday, but my LSU Tigers won.
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Foxbat
Best fan sign I saw during the ND-BYU game: "Bear ate your Lucky Charms!" (Bear being the Cougars' QB). I was going to suggest, "Have you or your team been involved in a Carr crash?"
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meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
A continuation of a thread from the pub, just general discussion of AI.

Brief 60 minute clip about next gem autonomous fighters - not remote controlled, but rather collaborating with controllers and aircraft in the theater.


View: https://youtu.be/DRm0mbp_n1k


We've literally got a movie already about this ;)


View: https://youtu.be/a2PW7a9ViDc
67 Replies · 1138 views
meStevo
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point. Nobody needs an innovative fix for a driver error or a creative way to format a report. Let it handle the solved problems so people can spend their time on the ones that aren't.
harshness
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point.
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.
meStevo
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.

Addressed by what you didn't quote. This cycle is as old as computing: compilers, libraries, frameworks each automated the tedious part, and the human work moved up a level. Innovation didn't end; it shifted. And people still make new compilers, libraries or frameworks.

Nobody's forced to hand anything off. Anyone who wants to keep doing it by hand still can, and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
harshness
... and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
meStevo
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
You're not wrong, but that's part of learning. Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
harshness
Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.
meStevo
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.

This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
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dishstaller
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.
meStevo
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.

Agents need appropriate context to make what would be understood as the correct read in a situation like that, and that Gemini answer was a clear miss on that front.

That said, we've also seen Musk (and/or his team) put his thumb on the scale (or just release a very poor product) with his own deployed AI since:


In the end, it's all a tool. Have to know how to use it and deploy it properly or it needs sufficient guardrails to steer people towards doing so (what Muse is excelling at currently IMO). I'm routinely interacting with several agents a day operating various processes locally and in services I use, and there are numerous others silently spun up to perform actions or satisfy requests from my prompts.

Related to earlier discussion in the thread on leveraging local inference: this kind of analysis happening behind the scenes is something everyone will have built into Windows, IMO. Most people won't see all of this, just the results, unless they want to dig into how the fix was chosen. Stuff like this will be standard as agents get local system access baked in, and more of the inference itself moves on-device.

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T
Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.



This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
You invested in datacenters?
meStevo
You invested in datacenters?


Though, I do have stocks in my portfolio that benefit from data centers.
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
· posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network
0 Replies · 13 views
Former member 208119
Last reply · posted in SiriusXM Satellite Radio
My year was almost up and we got the new bill for a year of service for $ 360.00 insane sat radio is becoming like cable!!! i logged into my acct and hopped onto chat and told the rep that i wanted to cancel. she understood my concern and went quiet for a few minutes. i figured that she was canceling my service. she comes back and said that she seen that i have been a sub since 07 and then offers me the same package for a year for 120.00 with taxes and fee's!!! i grabbed it. after almost having a stroke :biggrin
236 Replies · 10960 views
B
What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $4.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.
Jimbo
What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.
Did you accidentally get on the wrong plan ?
I still do the once a year plans.
EarDemon
I tried to do that, when I did delivery driver work (2010- 2013), we had a fleet of Freightliners. The newer trucks had headunits that were satellite compatible (XM only I think), but lacked the antenna and guts. I got a car kt for my old Roady XT and tried to use it, but at the volume levels I needed have it at to hear it over the diesel engine it sounded like crap, so I used my phone with an aux cable. When I was in the middle of nowhere with no cell service it didn't do me any good though.

At my current job, one of our new cars has the free trial of SXM active, I frequently have to go off site to a location 75 miles away in a rural area and it's nice being able to use the service off of the satellites versus using the app. There are many places on this journey where all three providers lack service.
B
Did you accidentally get on the wrong plan ?
I still do the once a year plans.
I have to think maybe more people dont keep track of the monthly XM bill. Every time i renew i put a reminder on my calendar week before its time to renew. My wife told me the other day not to renew her and then i told her you are not going to be able to listen to XM at home. Then she changed her mind...!!
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TRG
TRG
I have to think maybe more people dont keep track of the monthly XM bill. Every time i renew i put a reminder on my calendar week before its time to renew. My wife told me the other day not to renew her and then i told her you are not going to be able to listen to XM at home. Then she changed her mind...!!
I get an e-mail every month reminding me that X amount will be charged to my credit card. If I see it go up I get on chat or pick up the phone. But I also remember that my year is up in December.
B
I get an e-mail every month reminding me that X amount will be charged to my credit card. If I see it go up I get on chat or pick up the phone. But I also remember that my year is up in December.
yea i don't understand WHY, like you I get a notice each month. Mine is also up in December.
Jimbo
yea i don't understand WHY, like you I get a notice each month. Mine is also up in December.
You get an email every month to let you know they are billing you for the next month.