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joeyjojojnr

Last reply Dec 9, 2008 · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Day 1 of dish...off to a bad start.

Well, our installer showed up at 8:30 and worked until about 1. Nice kid, seemed very competent and took his time getting everything hooked up in admittedly crappy MN winter weather. Dish now on roof, cable through wall, grounded, hooked up to TVs, and...then he couldn't actually point the dish as his monitor thing had a dead battery.

Said he'd run to get a new one.

3 hours later...still not back. No phone call.

Call dish. 10 minutes on hold, talk to India, they transfer me to US, told that a new installer will be out, put me on hold for 10 minutes to get details...15 minutes later...told that a new tech should be out in 'maybe an hour' and that 'they assume I'll get a call before they come'...

*sigh* Well, there goes our entire day.

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Andrewwski

Dec 7, 2008

He could have just used the signal meter on the receiver.

Granted it's not the easiest way, as he'd have to somehow be able to check the numbers from the dish location, but he should have been able to do it.

webbydude

Dec 7, 2008

Andrewwski said:
He could have just used the signal meter on the receiver.

Granted it's not the easiest way, as he'd have to somehow be able to check the numbers from the dish location, but he should have been able to do it.

Not the best idea. Rather unsafe as well. If the tech was thinking, he could've powered up his meter with the receiver.

joeyjojojnr

Dec 7, 2008

Well, 13 hours later, I now have DishNetwork.

Turns out installer #1 had me pointed at the Eastern satellites. Alas, the giant oak tree in my neighbors yard that sat in the line-of-sight was a bad thing.

So...guy #2 and #3 had to climb up there and ended up pointing me at the western satellites, and that seemed to work!

Somehow I have and am paying for local channels, even though I explicitly did NOT want them, so It looks like I still need to call India, but overall, have to admit the crew today was pretty good. At least they were nice.

All that said...I'm a bit disappointed in the picture. I'm seeing a TON of compression artifacts. Is this typical of cable and DirecTV too? Admittedly, I'm used to the pristine OTA signal from our local PBS HD stations, so maybe I'm spoiled.

8bitbytes

Dec 7, 2008

joeyjojojnr said:
Well, 13 hours later, I now have DishNetwork.

Turns out installer #1 had me pointed at the Eastern satellites. Alas, the giant oak tree in my neighbors yard that sat in the line-of-sight was a bad thing.

So...guy #2 and #3 had to climb up there and ended up pointing me at the western satellites, and that seemed to work!

Somehow I have and am paying for local channels, even though I explicitly did NOT want them, so It looks like I still need to call India, but overall, have to admit the crew today was pretty good. At least they were nice.

All that said...I'm a bit disappointed in the picture. I'm seeing a TON of compression artifacts. Is this typical of cable and DirecTV too? Admittedly, I'm used to the pristine OTA signal from our local PBS HD stations, so maybe I'm spoiled.

What's the HDTV setup output set to? If it's 480, you need to bump that up.

Acerbean

Dec 8, 2008

webbydude said:
Not the best idea. Rather unsafe as well. If the tech was thinking, he could've powered up his meter with the receiver.

What is so unsafe especially since the customer was there??? I did my own solo back in early 1999 for cripes' sake.

bigfame said:
he'll get you fixed up Im sure. Keep in mind these guys usually have a good amount of jobs a day so patience (easier said than done) is always a good thing.

Folks need to understand they service one customer at time and that customer is THE most important customer at that moment, especially when Dish is losing customers at the rate they are. What is so hard about that, we expect it at McDonalds when we spend $4, why not a company where you spend upwards of $1400 a year let alone whatever install fee you pay for the occasional incompetent person that shows up. Don't tell me about how their underpaid, they have an f'ing job, unlike millions of others, DO IT!!! The next guy usually will understand scheduling issues with a courtesy call, they may not like it but....

Acer

joeyjojojnr

Dec 8, 2008

8bitbytes said:
What's the HDTV setup output set to? If it's 480, you need to bump that up.

I'm not sure. Will look into that tonight. The TV 'sees/says' it's 1080i.

By bad quality, I mean I'm seeing a lot of compression issues. We get our locals OTA, and they look a lot better than the stuff I'm seeing on HBO and the like...but maybe that's typical with cable/satellite period, and that OTA will always look better.

In the end, all 3 guys were good guys. The only gripe is the first guy leaving and ME having to call to find out what's going on. If I hadn't called, I don't think I would have gotten it set up last night.

Andrewwski

Dec 8, 2008

joeyjojojnr said:
I'm not sure. Will look into that tonight. The TV 'sees/says' it's 1080i.

By bad quality, I mean I'm seeing a lot of compression issues. We get our locals OTA, and they look a lot better than the stuff I'm seeing on HBO and the like...but maybe that's typical with cable/satellite period, and that OTA will always look better.

In the end, all 3 guys were good guys. The only gripe is the first guy leaving and ME having to call to find out what's going on. If I hadn't called, I don't think I would have gotten it set up last night.

OTA always looks better, whether it's cable or sat, they both compress them.

Liquidforce88

Dec 8, 2008

Acerbean said:
What is so unsafe especially since the customer was there??? I did my own solo back in early 1999 for cripes' sake.

Folks need to understand they service one customer at time and that customer is THE most important customer at that moment, especially when Dish is losing customers at the rate they are. What is so hard about that, we expect it at McDonalds when we spend $4, why not a company where you spend upwards of $1400 a year let alone whatever install fee you pay for the occasional incompetent person that shows up. Don't tell me about how their underpaid, they have an f'ing job, unlike millions of others, DO IT!!! The next guy usually will understand scheduling issues with a courtesy call, they may not like it but....

Acer

You have no clue what happened to this installer. You obviously also have no clue of the things that installers have to go through. NO installer no matter how good he is can be prepared for every situation. There are just to many things that can happen that can mess a techs whole day up.

Maybe you should give people a break. Things happen that can't be accounted for. Although I don't like that it took 3 techs to get the job done, atleast it was done. Could have been a new tech that is still learning the job.

joeyjojojnr

Dec 8, 2008

Andrewwski said:
OTA always looks better, whether it's cable or sat, they both compress them.

Well, the kids are watching Disney HD right now. It looks like I'm watching the show through a frosted window pane. It's awful. It looks like the resolution is half of HD and is just being blown up.

Is that really typical across-the-board?

It is a shame. PBS HD OTA is amazing.

joeyjojojnr

Dec 8, 2008

Liquidforce88 said:
Maybe you should give people a break. Things happen that can't be accounted for.

I have to agree with the original poster.

Like I said, the 3 guys I had out were all great PEOPLE. But there's still no excuse for the company to do what they did...abandon a customer half-way through an install.

Again, I'm not really upset or anything...I've had much worse from Qwest, for example. I don't knock people for companing, though.

tsduke

Dec 8, 2008

joeyjojojnr said:
Well, the kids are watching Disney HD right now. It looks like I'm watching the show through a frosted window pane. It's awful. It looks like the resolution is half of HD and is just being blown up.

Is that really typical across-the-board?

It is a shame. PBS HD OTA is amazing.

Dude, sat HD is compressed, but it ain't that bad. Something isn't set up right.

Mark0

Dec 8, 2008

joeyjojojnr said:
I have to agree with the original poster.

Like I said, the 3 guys I had out were all great PEOPLE. But there's still no excuse for the company to do what they did...abandon a customer half-way through an install.

Again, I'm not really upset or anything...I've had much worse from Qwest, for example. I don't knock people for companing, though.

Aren't you the original poster?

Anyway, I find it amazing that you're giving them crap for going home on a Sunday night. I guess I'm spoiled. I'll never work on a Sunday night. Especially outdoors in your neck of the woods this time of year.

joeyjojojnr

Dec 8, 2008

Mark0 said:
Aren't you the original poster?

Anyway, I find it amazing that you're giving them crap for going home on a Sunday night. I guess I'm spoiled. I'll never work on a Sunday night. Especially outdoors in your neck of the woods this time of year.

I was referring to the poster who brought up that we're paying customers.

And I'm giving DISHNETWORK, the CORPORATION crap--not the fine guys that showed up to work.

What frustrated me is Guy #1 takes off at 1pm and says "i'll be back within an hour to finish".

*I*, the PAYING CUSTOMER, have to then call after he doesn't show up after 3 hours and ask WTF is going on. Only then do they realize that the job wasn't done and send out 2 other guys an hour later.

Again, the ground folks that showed up were great...but whatever communication they have going on internally up the chain is obviously broke or non-existent.

And while I applaud them for working on a Sunday, I've long ago learned to never ask for a week-day install if you can avoid it.

I can't afford to miss a whole days of work only to have large companies completely screw up their hard-working ground crew (yes, I'm mainly pointing at Qwest as I say all of that.)

joeyjojojnr

Dec 8, 2008

tsduke said:
Dude, sat HD is compressed, but it ain't that bad. Something isn't set up right.

Well, I found the HDTV set up option in the 722. It's set to 1080i at 16x9, so that looks right.

Admittedly, HDNet looks pretty good. So, I'm guessing Dish just compresses some stations more than others (or the source is worse?).

Mark0

Dec 9, 2008

joeyjojojnr said:
I was referring to the poster who brought up that we're paying customers.

And I'm giving DISHNETWORK, the CORPORATION crap--not the fine guys that showed up to work.

What frustrated me is Guy #1 takes off at 1pm and says "i'll be back within an hour to finish".

*I*, the PAYING CUSTOMER, have to then call after he doesn't show up after 3 hours and ask WTF is going on. Only then do they realize that the job wasn't done and send out 2 other guys an hour later.

Again, the ground folks that showed up were great...but whatever communication they have going on internally up the chain is obviously broke or non-existent.

And while I applaud them for working on a Sunday, I've long ago learned to never ask for a week-day install if you can avoid it.

I can't afford to miss a whole days of work only to have large companies completely screw up their hard-working ground crew (yes, I'm mainly pointing at Qwest as I say all of that.)

Here are a few things I've learned over the years you might want to consider.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease, unfortunately sometimes they bring the wrong kind of grease and if you really want it done right, DO IT YOURSELF. Its sad but true. I've had Comcast, Verizon, RCN, DirectTV and now Dish Network. I'm also a homeowner, engineer and a big fan of HD tv. So when I notice a problem, I usually fix it myself.
When I moved out of my condo to my house, Direct TV told me I wouldn' t be able to pull a signal (trees). They had said the same thing when I lived in the condo (buildings). Instead of fight them I installed it myself. It just took a bit of reading and creativity. Anyway, have always had problems with my Comcast. Even when they told me the problem was mine I finally convinced them to string me a new line from the pedistal. Turns out that was the problem all along. It's frustrating, but when you're a perfectionist and a nut, I've found that they are all incompetitent to a certain degree. So nowadays I save my breath and do things myself. With things becoming so complex these days, you really need to. But in the end you will be happy, and when things go wrong, you know how to fix them.

The techs all companies send out are jsut average people like me and you. Keep that in mind. I give them credit working as hard as they do. But I also know I'm a PITA. So I try to remind myself of this whenever things go worng.

There are a lot of people who complain about Dish, but being a guy whose had all types of service, I'll tell you that the quality and value of Dish beats any other service out there. Sure their customer support sucks, but if you know what you are doing, there's really no need to deal with them.

joeyjojojnr

Dec 9, 2008

Well said, Marco.

THese days, I just ASSUME dealing with a company will be a futile and frustrating experience. Going into it with that attitude, it's a lot easier to just take it in stride and keep the blood pressure down.

Again, no big beef regarding the install. Yea, it took a while, and they left me hanging, but the guys that were out here were nice guys and did work hard getting it all set up.

And, I find, that's usually the case. Call centers are probably the worst way to deal with a company. The grounds crew...the best.

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Ham Radio 2.0

17 minutes ago · posted in Ham Radio 2.0

LIVE!

Time for another AWESOME video from Ham Radio 2.0!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDeuQ1SLkQU

Direct YouTube Link - LIVE!
Ham Radio 2.0 Website
Ham Radio 2.0 on Facebook

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Peter Parker

Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter

Last reply 24 minutes ago · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

DISH Hopper 3 Software Version 713 Is Out

No idea what improvements might be involved.

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bookworm370

Yesterday at 3:17 PM

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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naptime

Today at 1:05 AM

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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reubenray

Today at 6:14 AM

bookworm370 said:
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

Today at 10:32 AM

naptime said:
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.

Reactions: naptime and charlesrshell

dishstaller

Today at 1:01 PM

reubenray said:
My wife mentioned that her remote is acting strange this morning.

Had a customer call recently saying their remote was really acting up, some buttons no longer functioned. Told them to reboot the Hopper....problem fixed.
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"

https://www.amazon.com/Have-Tried-Turning-Again-T-Shirt/dp/B07G1ZV9W9/ref=sr_1_11?crid=3NNRAEED195WV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.86TxUTPcw48CRYlDcLntwpMxbPDBfjiLu4wMZGX3VN6ajG_cFCuoDBJT7pS9CW2mjThKlke5Z6dlXH8bJKkQF4s892wGVU1ca_00S0BQz6F15V30_4szIdWeycvw3_zoVtsULQASM8bGcgvsKms930xApC43y_-YBVN0Q8Xsf_csSqXcmhWpresARdXHfx2VazllrXI8asduvrbnk9S3CGnzjqnVTkjzFSpSQLdQKA6Dx_7UfbQIBBJsqAmQwwtDGqM0YKVIkjV4ARgVJvJ69vLPhxV0m8pkJQd_2w_QX_A.-jSy9OqrqWdxPBsgZGia1hHMbvDAKxxhRn9kK1EBdCc&dib_tag=se&keywords=have%2Byou%2Btried%2Bturning%2Bit%2Boff%2Band%2Bon%2Bagain&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1792342839&sprefix=have%2Byou%2Btried%2B%2Caps%2C265&sr=8-11&customId=B0752XJYNL&customizationToken=MC_Assembly_1%23B0752XJYNL&th=1&psc=1

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cpdretired

41 minutes ago

dishstaller said:
Had a customer call recently saying their remote was really acting up, some buttons no longer functioned. Told them to reboot the Hopper....problem fixed.
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"

https://www.amazon.com/Have-Tried-Turning-Again-T-Shirt/dp/B07G1ZV9W9/ref=sr_1_11?crid=3NNRAEED195WV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.86TxUTPcw48CRYlDcLntwpMxbPDBfjiLu4wMZGX3VN6ajG_cFCuoDBJT7pS9CW2mjThKlke5Z6dlXH8bJKkQF4s892wGVU1ca_00S0BQz6F15V30_4szIdWeycvw3_zoVtsULQASM8bGcgvsKms930xApC43y_-YBVN0Q8Xsf_csSqXcmhWpresARdXHfx2VazllrXI8asduvrbnk9S3CGnzjqnVTkjzFSpSQLdQKA6Dx_7UfbQIBBJsqAmQwwtDGqM0YKVIkjV4ARgVJvJ69vLPhxV0m8pkJQd_2w_QX_A.-jSy9OqrqWdxPBsgZGia1hHMbvDAKxxhRn9kK1EBdCc&dib_tag=se&keywords=have%2Byou%2Btried%2Bturning%2Bit%2Boff%2Band%2Bon%2Bagain&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1792342839&sprefix=have%2Byou%2Btried%2B%2Caps%2C265&sr=8-11&customId=B0752XJYNL&customizationToken=MC_Assembly_1%23B0752XJYNL&th=1&psc=1

Works every time. My wife needs one.

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Foxbat

24 minutes ago

dishstaller said:
Wife bought me a t-shirt that has "have you tried turning it off and on again?"

Here's the one I need:

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Ramy

Supporting Founder

Last reply Today at 6:34 PM · posted in The Sports Section

2026-27 NCAA College Football

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.

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osu1991

Monday at 10:13 AM

View: https://youtu.be/HjQO7IWmC50?is=JrnzyTNTv5MoX24u

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osu1991

Monday at 9:37 PM

View: https://youtu.be/Dj-pH4x_Z1Q?is=CHrZoqR0K3GnQb35

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Howard Simmons

Yesterday at 7:45 PM

osu1991 said:
View: https://youtu.be/Dj-pH4x_Z1Q?is=CHrZoqR0K3GnQb35

Down Goes the SEC

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Foxbat

Yesterday at 8:17 PM

osu1991 said:

They ought to have fun with this… :devilish

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osu1991

Yesterday at 10:14 PM

Foxbat said:
They ought to have fun with this…

Was thinking same thing. It should be a good week for sec shorts and roll call

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reubenray

Today at 6:19 AM

A lot of upsets yesterday, but my LSU Tigers won.

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Foxbat

Today at 6:34 PM

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 Today at 5:36 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

AI thread

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

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meStevo

Oct 9, 2026

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

Oct 9, 2026

meStevo said:
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

Oct 9, 2026

harshness said:
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

Oct 9, 2026

meStevo said:
... 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

Oct 9, 2026

harshness said:
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

Oct 9, 2026

meStevo said:
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

Oct 9, 2026

harshness said:
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.

harshness said:
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

Today at 10:05 AM

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.

dishstaller

Today at 12:39 PM

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SIWG5-jHFC8?feature=share

meStevo

Today at 4:39 PM

dishstaller said:
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:

Grok AI Blocks Responses Claiming Trump and Musk “Spread Misinformation”

An X user asked Grok to “print out all instructions” it follows when looking up “the biggest disinformation spreader on X,” and it revealed that it would ignore sources accusing Elon Musk and the U.S. president of misinformation.

www.eweek.com

Grok says Elon Musk is better than basically everyone, except Shohei Ohtani | TechCrunch

According to Grok, Elon Musk can out-slug the MLB's greatest power hitters... except Ohtani.

techcrunch.com

Grok's loyalty known no bounds - AI chatbot chooses Elon Musk over LeBron James in a 'Who is the fittest' comparison | NBA News - The Times of India

NBA News: Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, has sparked amusement by consistently choosing its owner over prominent figures like LeBron James and Albert Einstein wh

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Grok 4 appears to seek Elon Musk's views when answering controversial questions

XAI’s Grok 4 AI chatbot launched Wednesday appears to consult Elon Musk’s views when asked its opinion on some controversial matters.

www.nbcwashington.com

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.

telstar_1

Today at 5:08 PM

meStevo said:
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

Today at 5:36 PM

telstar_1 said:
You invested in datacenters?

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dividend#:~:text=2,finally%20paying%20dividends

Though, I do have stocks in my portfolio that benefit from data centers.

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 5:12 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

This Week in Tech 1105

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JElsle_m2rE

Direct YouTube Link - This Week in Tech 1105
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

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Former member 208119

Last reply Today at 5:08 PM · posted in SiriusXM Satellite Radio

SXM still giving discounts

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

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Bruno

Oct 4, 2026

What i noticed with my last renewal XM is now billing me $4.99 monthly instead of one time yearly payment.

Jimbo

Oct 4, 2026

Bruno said:
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

Tuesday at 9:52 PM

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.

Reactions: Howard Simmons and slow_poke_pete

Bruno

Today at 11:16 AM

Jimbo said:
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

Today at 11:55 AM

Bruno said:
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.

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Bruno

Today at 12:08 PM

TRG said:
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

Today at 5:08 PM

Bruno said:
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.

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply Today at 4:17 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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Bobby

Today at 10:25 AM

Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town - Charley Pride

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harshness

Today at 11:29 AM

Delta Dawn - Tanya Tucker

Reactions: long_time_Dish, sdfntx, dishstaller and 1 other person

dishstaller

Today at 12:33 PM

Can't You See - Marshall Tucker Band

Reactions: long_time_Dish and sdfntx

sdfntx

Today at 2:42 PM

See You in September - The Happenings

long_time_Dish

Today at 4:17 PM

You Look Like You Love Me - Ella Langley

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meStevo

Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 3:59 PM · 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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osu1991

Thursday at 5:17 PM

Troy Aikman seems to confirm he'll be leaving ESPN

Aikman says he looks forward to "where my next landing spot will be."

www.nbcsports.com

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Mike0616

Thursday at 5:30 PM

osu1991 said:
Troy Aikman seems to confirm he'll be leaving ESPN

Aikman says he looks forward to "where my next landing spot will be."

www.nbcsports.com

Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.

Yespage

Friday at 11:03 AM

Mike0616 said:
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.

After having experienced Gus Ferguson trying to call soccer games, I'm uncertain why NFL football analysts get hate. Even the "worst" of them are pretty good.

meStevo

Friday at 12:05 PM

Jalen Hurts out indefinitely as they treat and monitor a superficial blood clot in his leg.

View: https://x.com/RapSheet/status/2111074303185989663?s=20

Reactions: Mike0616 and Foxbat

meStevo

Today at 3:59 PM

Browns lead the AFC North

Seth Meyers What GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers

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TVHabit

Last reply Today at 3:38 PM · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

Hybrid Dish setup

Picked up a sweet directv dish, mount, twin lnbs and a short cable.
Has anyone converted one to FTA? A Frankenstein of sorts...

5 Replies · 163 views

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Titanium

Tuesday at 5:10 PM

Yes, many have hacked a DirecTV or Dish Network dish before. Quite undersized, but would receive the 97w KU stations with an LNBF swap. Make a template to set the LNBF face angle and distance from the reflector. Remove the current circular polarity LNBFs and make a bracket to hold the replacement linear LNBF in the correct centered position. Remember to set the polarity skew.

Reactions: TVHabit and FTA4PA

Brct203

Tuesday at 9:07 PM

would probably also work well for NHK on 101W and possibly for PBS on 99W. I used one for a while on 30W. Just keep in mind that because it's undersized for those satellites, it might work fine in clear weather but won't have much margin to account for signal degradation during rain/snow

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one_db_compression

Tuesday at 10:22 PM

If you can find one, the Shaw / Star Choice 75e ellipticals are great for use on 97, 99, and 101W. They are really just rebranded ChannelMaster 75 cm reflectors and use linear LNBFs by default out of the box.

Everyone else's mileage may vary.

Reactions: TVHabit

TVHabit

Today at 10:12 AM

I have read that some have converted this type dish but after giving it a good look, it's the lnb conversion that is the bottleneck. Does anyone have a picture of their attempt to configure the lnb? I watched a video on youtube from the save it for parts guy and he used duct tape! Guess it worked but I'm thinking something a bit more permanent!
Thanks to all for your interest and replies...

Titanium

Today at 3:38 PM

Many of us have used a universal LNBF mount (or get creative with L brackets and plumbers tape - perforated metal strapping). Use a few inches of aluminum tube (or a piece of 1x2" lumber) to extend the support arm (replacing the plastic mount used by DirecTV and Dish) to place the LNBF throat opening at the correct distance from the reflector, the correct height and at the correct angle. Nothing magical... simply place the new linear LNBF in the center at the same distance, height and angle as the current combo.
www.amazon.com/Universal-Single-Bracket-Holder-FTA-US/dp/B074L85WK2

dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply Today at 2:04 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Gas Price Info With National Gas Temperature Map

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

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Bobby

Thursday at 11:20 AM

Regular$6.099
Premium$6.599
Diesel$7.999
at Costco, Rohnert Park.

Bobby

Today at 10:27 AM

Regular$5.999
Premium$6.399
Diesel$7.999
at Costco, Rohnert Park.

Reactions: harshness

harshness

Today at 11:30 AM

I wonder if California is getting into the Winter formula.

dishstaller

Today at 12:32 PM

Bobby said:
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

Today at 2:04 PM

dishstaller said:
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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