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RegGuheert

Last reply Jan 12, 2009 · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Considering TurboHD Bronze - Too many questions!

I live near Winchester, VA in a location where cable will likely NEVER be available to me. I am considering subscribing to Dish TurboHD Bronze. My last satellite TV experience was with DirecTV about 20 years ago. However, I am a radio engineer and currently use HughesNet for internet access. As such, I have no issues with radio terminology, antenna installation, etc. I have a very nice OTA HDTV setup which includes only one HDTV, Blu-ray, HD-DVD and the recent addition of a DTVPal DVR, which is what got me thinking about Dish. The Bronze package with a DVR would be a nice addition to my current line-up. (Please note, I do not want ANY other programming, including locals.) However, I don't seem to find answers to many obvious questions either here or on Dish's website. Answers to any of my questions will be greatly appreciated! (Please don't feel compelled to answer them all!):

Pricing questions:

P1) Is there some way that I can lock in the $24.99/mo. price and avoid the $5.00 increase in February (for at least two years)? Perhaps prepay?
P2) Is Dish going to charge me a fee for NOT including locals?
P3) Is there any way to avoid the additional fee for the DVR, such as owning it myself?
P4) Am I *really* required to connect to a phone line to avoid some fee? Will an ethernet connection suffice? (I don't have a land line anymore, though I do have a phone jack at my entertainment center that will allow calling out through one of three cell phones.)
P5) What other taxes/fees will I see every month? I'm guessing it will be more than just $24.99 + DVR fee...
P6) Am I better off purchasing now or is there some incentive for purchasing in February after the rate increase and promotions come into play? Please keep in mind that I don't WANT more programming than TurboHD Bronze.
P7) Is there a preferred path to obtain the BEST deal with Dish as a new subscriber? Should I call Dish? Should I call a local installer? Someone else?
P8) Would I be better off waiting until the Greater Depression is in full force before looking for a good deal with Dish?

Antenna questions:

A1) Can I get all of the TurboHD Bronze programming from my location using only the Eastern Arc Antenna?
A2) Are all 1000.4 antennas Eastern Arc Antennas? If not, how can I tell the difference?
A3) Do I need to point at any satellite farther west than 77W to get TurboHD Bronze? (My strong preference is to install in a location where I cannot point much further west than that.)

Other questions:

O1) If I purchase the 1000.4 antenna and 722 Receiver on eBay (~$400) and perform all the installation myself, (mounting, cabling, etc.), will Dish allow me to commision this system? If not, why not? (It IS receive only, is it not?)
O2) If I am not allowed to perform the installation myself, how can I evaluate my installer *before* the installation? I care about things like technical skill, code compliance, neatness of installation, dependability and trustworthiness.
O3) How much power does the Easten Arc Antenna draw?
O4) How much power does the ViP722 Receiver draw?
O5) Should I be holding out for the ViP922 with the level of service that I am considering, or is there nothing in that box that I would care about?
O6) What other obvious questions am I not asking? I'm sure there are gotcha's that I don't yet know about...

TIA!

Reg

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HDRoberts

Jan 12, 2009

See my attempted answers in bold. Caveat: I'm not a Dish employee or retailer, so I can't speak directly for them.

P1) Is there some way that I can lock in the $24.99/mo. price and avoid the $5.00 increase in February (for at least two years)? Perhaps prepay?
Unfortunately, no. The current theory is the big increase will be due to new HD programming, though.
P2) Is Dish going to charge me a fee for NOT including locals?
No. However, you won't get OTA guide data for the ATSC tuner on the HD receiver.
P3) Is there any way to avoid the additional fee for the DVR, such as owning it myself?
No, Dish charges the DVR fee no matter what. It's supposed to be for the 9-day guide data. Also, the first leased receiver if free to lease (on a monthly basis, may cost something to get a 722, and I'm only talking lease fee, not DVR fee), so there is very little benefit to owning your receiver.
P4) Am I *really* required to connect to a phone line to avoid some fee? Will an ethernet connection suffice? (I don't have a land line anymore, though I do have a phone jack at my entertainment center that will allow calling out through one of three cell phones.)
Ethernet will enable you to avoid this fee.
P5) What other taxes/fees will I see every month? I'm guessing it will be more than just $24.99 + DVR fee...
Depends on your state and local laws. No national satellite tax, of course.
P6) Am I better off purchasing now or is there some incentive for purchasing in February after the rate increase and promotions come into play? Please keep in mind that I don't WANT more programming than TurboHD Bronze.
At CES, Dish announced something about a programming pack being $9.99 for 6 months for the DTV transition, but I do not know for what package
P7) Is there a preferred path to obtain the BEST deal with Dish as a new subscriber? Should I call Dish? Should I call a local installer? Someone else?
See the link to Dishstore at the top of the page. Talk to Claude, a member on this site and a Dish retailer.
P8) Would I be better off waiting until the Greater Depression is in full force before looking for a good deal with Dish?
I don't think anyone will have a good answer.

Antenna questions:

A1) Can I get all of the TurboHD Bronze programming from my location using only the Eastern Arc Antenna?
Yes
A2) Are all 1000.4 antennas Eastern Arc Antennas? If not, how can I tell the difference?
Yes, all 1000.4's receive 61.5, 72.7, and 77. 1000.2's are for the traditional Western arc.
A3) Do I need to point at any satellite farther west than 77W to get TurboHD Bronze? (My strong preference is to install in a location where I cannot point much further west than that.)
No, provided there are no issues getting you Eastern Arc service to begin with (right now it is technically for only specific DMAs, not sure if there are problems outside of those areas). There are futute plans for a sat at 86.5, but we don't know if it is for future EA service or not.

Other questions:

O1) If I purchase the 1000.4 antenna and 722 Receiver on eBay (~$400) and perform all the installation myself, (mounting, cabling, etc.), will Dish allow me to commision this system? If not, why not? (It IS receive only, is it not?)
You should be able to. Others on this site have done so and are more qualified to answer. Be careful with Ebay receivers, though. Make sure they don't a balance on them from Dish, not to mention are actually owned and not leased. I'd buy from Dishstore if I was going to buy.

Not really sure how to answer the below questions
O2) If I am not allowed to perform the installation myself, how can I evaluate my installer *before* the installation? I care about things like technical skill, code compliance, neatness of installation, dependability and trustworthiness.
O3) How much power does the Easten Arc Antenna draw?
O4) How much power does the ViP722 Receiver draw?
O5) Should I be holding out for the ViP922 with the level of service that I am considering, or is there nothing in that box that I would care about?
O6) What other obvious questions am I not asking? I'm sure there are gotcha's that I don't yet know about...

garys

Jan 12, 2009

P1. Not any longer. Dish used to charge yearly rates but the phased them out several years ago.
P2. The package has two prices, one without locals, one with locals included. There is no fee for not having locals.
P3. DVR advantage waives one dvr fee. All Everything Package waives all dvr fees. No other way to waive the fee short of not having a dvr.
P4. Phone line fee (additional receiver fees) are only charged on specific dual tuner receivers. The sd receivers require the phone line as they do not have eithernet connections. HD receivers can use DSL connections to waive the fee.
P5. Sales Tax and maybe the digital home plan protection (usually waived at beginning and maybe added. Just don't remember at what point they try to add it. You can cancel this at any time). Premiums they give you free at the beginning of service (they can also be cancelled at any time), plus any other service purchased
P6. New customers are given leased receivers free. Owning does not give you any savings, except being able to sell the receiver once you cancel. Leasing may require an activation fee (I think it is either $50 or $100) but their is no cancelation fee, or if you sign up with a two year committment, there is no activation fee, but a cancellation fee of about $10 a month for each month left on the committment.
P7. Calling Dish gives the company wide rate, sometimes local installers may be able to give you something extra, but not much.
P8. Dish seems to be giving less and less each year. You shouldn't wait.
A1. EA is available in VA, you need 61.5, 72 and 77 orbital locations, other option would be for 110, 119 and 61.5 using two dishes, but you should be aware of where your HD locals are if you are going to be getting them. VA may be on 77.
A2. Yes, on the Dish 1000.4, the lnb's are not evenly spaced where on the Dish 1000.2 and Dish 1000+, they are spaced very evenly.
A3. Most HD channels are on 61.5 and 72. 77 is currently mostly HD locals.
O1. Commission is paid to recognized installers only. You must be take a test to become an installer for Dish.
O2. Talk to others in your surrounding area that has Dish.
O3 & O4. Don't know for sure, but you will not see that much increase on your power bill if that is what you are concerned with.
O5. Only thing on the 922 (which may not be available until July) would be the built in sling box.
O6. Seems like you put a lot of thought into your questions. Only thing I would add would be channel transmission contracts cause you to loose channels from time to time, but you cannot quit due to a channel being taken down or being changed to a different package if you are still under contract.

RegGuheert

Jan 12, 2009

Thanks, RobertsHD and garys! You guys went way beyond the call of duty to answer my questions, and I really appreciate it! :up

Also, thanks to SatelliteGuys and everyone posting here, as I wouldn't even be able to formulate these questions without all the great information found here!

Here are just a couple of follow-up comments:

HDRoberts said:
P2) Is Dish going to charge me a fee for NOT including locals?
No. However, you won't get OTA guide data for the ATSC tuner on the HD receiver.
P3) Is there any way to avoid the additional fee for the DVR, such as owning it myself?
No, Dish charges the DVR fee no matter what. It's supposed to be for the 9-day guide data. Also, the first leased receiver if free to lease (on a monthly basis, may cost something to get a 722, and I'm only talking lease fee, not DVR fee), so there is very little benefit to owning your receiver.

garys said:
P2. The package has two prices, one without locals, one with locals included. There is no fee for not having locals.
P3. DVR advantage waives one dvr fee. All Everything Package waives all dvr fees. No other way to waive the fee short of not having a dvr.

My current thinking is to use the DVTPal DVR for the OTAs and use the ViP DVR for the Dish programming. That gives me two OTA tuners (with an option for a third) and two satellite tuners. The only thing that might make me change my thinking would be if I liked the ViP722 SO much better than the DTVPal DVR. According to the excellent information found at DishStore it looks like a 722 is an additional $50 up front, but no other fees.

garys said:
O3 & O4. Don't know for sure, but you will not see that much increase on your power bill if that is what you are concerned with.

I use solar electric for *some* of my electricity and any constantly-running loads like this are significant. (I have grid power for any overages.) I've read somewhere the ViP722 uses something like 50W and figuring 20W for the receiver would be a constant 70W, or another $4.00/mo. at todays rates for grid electricity.

Including electricity, it looks like I'm at ~$41.00/mo. without locals and perhaps ~$45.00/mo. with locals, assuming $10.00/mo. for DVR advantage. It's certainly not free, or even $25.00 as Dish's website implies! I will need to think this over a little more. I may hold out to see if Dish offers any decent VOD services for the DTVPal DVR, but there seems to have been no mention of that at CES.

If I decide to move ahead, I'll definitely contact Claude at DishStore. Thanks again for all your time and the great information! It's a big help to someone like me trying to make this kind of decision!

Reg

garys

Jan 12, 2009

You should see about the 722k (not sure if this one is out yet). Getting the k module with it will give you OTA with tv1 and a second ota to use with tv2.

JSheridan

Lifetime Supporter

Last reply 9 minutes ago · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

All DMA's now Western Arc

I know HipKat said that they were working on conversions but we got the official news yesterday right from Dish that starting next month all DMA's will be on the western arc, and all customers will be assigned to that. That's gonna mean a lot of customers around here aren't gonna get Dish unless there are exceptions. Too many mountains and trees.

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Foxbat

Sep 25, 2026

Unless Dish acquires DirecTV and its mid-USA satellite slots, I may not have Dish Network to reach 40 years. Or, I guess we could buy a new house…

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Strega

Friday at 10:01 PM

Even if you are broadcasting old SD-only shows, I would think advertisers would still want their commercials to look good.

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Jimbo

Friday at 11:17 PM

Strega said:
Even if you are broadcasting old SD-only shows, I would think advertisers would still want their commercials to look good.

Advertisers on SD channels are probably Far and Few, very hard to find, they have very few viewers to watch them.

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Mister B

Saturday at 7:35 AM

Jimbo said:
Advertisers on SD channels are probably Far and Few, very hard to find, they have very few viewers to watch them.

I watch mostly SD channels (H&I, Start and ION, etc.). There are plenty of advertisers, this time of the year it is mostly Medicare Advantage plans, auto extended warranties and the occasional walk-in-tub. They know who is watching.

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slow_poke_pete

Yesterday at 8:37 PM

Foxbat said:
Unless Dish acquires DirecTV and its mid-USA satellite slots, I may not have Dish Network to reach 40 years. Or, I guess we could buy a new house…

have charlie buy you a new house :biggrin

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telstar_1

Yesterday at 8:46 PM

Well, I didn't immediately think of broadcast, where there are all kinds of digital "subchannels"- I remember back when digital broadcast began that supposedly the 6mhz channel would likely support just 1 HD program and that the added subchannels would likely have to remain SD. I don't watch enough broadcast to know. Are there a lot of the subchannels in SD-only, and how do they do that, like are they in 4:3 or some kind of low-res widescreen?

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Foxbat

Yesterday at 8:53 PM

slow_poke_pete said:
have charlie buy you a new house

Unfortunately, I don't think my social proximity to Charle Ergen provides any special perks. Maybe if Foxbat, Jr. were to marry his daughter…

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slow_poke_pete

Yesterday at 9:11 PM

Foxbat said:
Unfortunately, I don't think my social proximity to Charle Ergen provides any special perks. Maybe if Foxbat, Jr. were to marry his daughter…

that would be one hell of a convo :biggrin

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osu1991

Yesterday at 11:27 PM

telstar_1 said:
Well, I didn't immediately think of broadcast, where there are all kinds of digital "subchannels"- I remember back when digital broadcast began that supposedly the 6mhz channel would likely support just 1 HD program and that the added subchannels would likely have to remain SD. I don't watch enough broadcast to know. Are there a lot of the subchannels in SD-only, and how do they do that, like are they in 4:3 or some kind of low-res widescreen?

New more efficient encoders. I think there's around 60 channels/sub channels now in the Tulsa dma. 480 widescreen for most of the sub channels, but some have 2 HD channels and a couple of SD sub channels while others have 1 HD and 5 or more SD sub channels. If they moved to mp4 or hevc encoding they could do higher bitrates for SD or more HD or even 4K in that 6Mhz channel. That could render some early digital tvs unable to tune though as they may not have the codecs for that. Considering 4K tvs have been on sale for years, I think it would be a very small minority of TVs with the problem. I'd rather see that happen and keep ATSC 1 than continue the move to a DRM enforced ATSC 3 world.

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slow_poke_pete

9 minutes ago

Mister B said:
I watch mostly SD channels (H&I, Start and ION, etc.). There are plenty of advertisers, this time of the year it is mostly Medicare Advantage plans, auto extended warranties and the occasional walk-in-tub. They know who is watching.

can't forget the little blue m&m's

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply 16 minutes ago · 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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harshness

Today at 8:42 AM

Rockin' Down the Highway - The Doobie Brothers

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gms49ers

Today at 8:46 AM

Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits

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sdfntx

Today at 9:42 AM

The Smothers Brothers Theme - Mason Williams

FTA4PA

Today at 9:46 AM

We Just Disagree - Dave Mason

hwkn

16 minutes ago

JUST You n' Me-Chicago

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TVHabit

Last reply 24 minutes ago · 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...

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Titanium

Oct 18, 2026

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

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k4otl

Tuesday at 6:42 AM

To add: 101W Ku seems to be (one of if not the) strongest for me, and if I only had Ku I definitely want 101W for the music mux, it's robust FEC and strong signal help a lot. I've thought about using a used Dish/DirectTV dish at my Dads to supplement his OTA (mainly for my benefit when I visit

)

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cyberham

Tuesday at 11:38 PM

I used a 60cm Shaw Satellie dish (60e) with its original dual-LNB. It worked fine for 101W/97W or 99W/103W at that time when weather was fine. But the fade margin was small so rainy weather killed reception or almost so. But it was all free since they're so plentiful so I couldn't complain.

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Titanium

Wednesday at 1:03 AM

A Shaw dish with the linear LNBFs are as rare as hens teeth in the US...

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TVHabit

24 minutes ago

cyberham said:
I used a 60cm Shaw Satellie dish (60e) with its original dual-LNB. It worked fine for 101W/97W or 99W/103W at that time when weather was fine. But the fade margin was small so rainy weather killed reception or almost so. But it was all free since they're so plentiful so I couldn't complain.

Free is good

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Ramy

Supporting Founder

Last reply 26 minutes ago · 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

Oct 19, 2026

View: https://youtu.be/mUq0cZaflyc?si=odZ2TTCweQXCWNBR

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Mike0616

Oct 19, 2026

osu1991 said:
View: https://youtu.be/mUq0cZaflyc?si=odZ2TTCweQXCWNBR

They get cruel sometimes, very very cruel.

. Hated to see my dawgs go down but I still say being ranked #1 is a hex on you!

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Jimbo

Oct 19, 2026

Mike0616 said:
They get cruel sometimes, very very cruel.. Hated to see my dawgs go down but I still say being ranked #1 is a hex on you!

Yup, I agree, I'd rather be 2 or 3 till the last few weeks.

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osu1991

Oct 19, 2026

View: https://youtu.be/F6KonG-9Gz0?is=NqOTlbotkS--p4aj

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osu1991

Today at 9:42 AM

View: https://youtu.be/bgOaI0013IE?si=S4bOiJ4TQWZuo86b

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Jimbo

26 minutes ago

osu1991 said:
View: https://youtu.be/bgOaI0013IE?si=S4bOiJ4TQWZuo86b

That one was Awesome !!!!

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dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 9:17 AM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Might want to watch this before you buy a new vehicle battery

Love this guy's channel. Looks like Walmart has thrown in the towel when it comes to conventional car batteries.

I bought a new AGM battery from Walmart about a year ago, it is already needing replacing. I thought about just buying a regular battery but from what I've read, that might not be a smart move. Might check my Forscan program and see if I can change the battery type from AGM.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awe7kY5nvdU

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harshness

Yesterday at 11:33 AM

When you need a battery, you need a battery.

If you can wait, new technologies are on the not-too-distant horizon.

You're probably doing something wrong if you're only getting a year out of an AGM battery. Heat and infrequent charging both significantly reduce lifetime.

Jimbo

Yesterday at 12:17 PM

The guy in the Video, REALLY needs to TAKE a Breath ...
If he'd Slow down, you could figure out What he's testing and on what.

harshness

Yesterday at 12:23 PM

Jimbo said:
If he'd Slow down, you could figure out What he's testing and on what.

You can't view his videos passively.

I appreciate this approach to videos that take an hour to deliver a fraction of the same data.

Now, if YouTube were required to flag the AI "reviews", that would really be something.

dishstaller

Yesterday at 12:53 PM

harshness said:
You're probably doing something wrong if you're only getting a year out of an AGM battery. Heat and infrequent charging both significantly reduce lifetime.

Huh? How can I be doing something wrong.....I took out the original battery, that was 6 yrs old and put in a new one.....kinda hard to screw that up. I figure it was just a bad battery....it happens.

The biggest takeaway I got from this video was the Walmart batteries only had something like 85% of battery life left even though they were brand NEW. The ones from O'Reilly all tested 100% of life left.

Jimbo

Yesterday at 1:01 PM

dishstaller said:
Huh? How can I be doing something wrong.....I took out the original battery, that was 6 yrs old and put in a new one.....kinda hard to screw that up. I figure it was just a bad battery....it happens.

The biggest takeaway I got from this video was the Walmart batteries only had something like 85% of battery life left even though they were brand NEW. The ones from O'Reilly all tested 100% of life left.

And the Walmart ones mostly had very little warranty.

My last AGM (using now) I got from O Rielly's, its the Super Start ... I got the Platnium, they had several to choose from.

TRG

Yesterday at 1:03 PM

dishstaller said:
Huh? How can I be doing something wrong.....I took out the original battery, that was 6 yrs old and put in a new one.....kinda hard to screw that up. I figure it was just a bad battery....it happens.

The biggest takeaway I got from this video was the Walmart batteries only had something like 85% of battery life left even though they were brand NEW. The ones from O'Reilly all tested 100% of life left.

I've been buying my batteries from AutoZone. I avoid Walmart whenever possible.

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dishstaller

Yesterday at 1:08 PM

harshness said:
I appreciate this approach to videos that take an hour to deliver a fraction of the same data.

That's the way I feel about it.
I hate those videos where they show themselves slowly opening up the box and unwrapping it.
His videos are probably the fastest pace test videos on Youtube.

Reactions: Jimbo

telstar_1

Yesterday at 1:14 PM

He sounds like he's trying to sell me a pocket hose.

I just had to replace a car battery this week and thought I'd look into LiFePo4. Amazon has plenty of them, but all have top posts and only one 'also' has side connections (Group 75).Then I read that they're really lousy in the cold. So, an AGM, but again, almost nothing with side terminals instead of top. In researching that, I read that most mfrs in recent years have dropped side terminals and gone back to the old top posts, which is surprising to me since those are more corrosion-prone, cause the battery to need more space and are generally more hazardous. Finally I just threw up my hands and bought a regular lead-acid at Sam's Club. They had a Group 75 "Duracell" with side terminals only. It was virtually the only such battery with side posts on their shelves

arlo

Yesterday at 2:20 PM

Had a Die Hard in my folks cellar for over 6 years. Pulled it out, slapped it on a charger for a day. Put it in my 'Cuda and drove it around for a week of my vacation. Next year, the same. But my dad kept it topped off for me.It was a mid 80's battery in early 1990.

Flooded acid batteries like a float voltage of around 13.5-13.8 voltage.
AGM needs a float of 14.2 volts. So if you slap an AGM in where a flooded was. It never gets a full charge.
"Why do they die so fast?" Question answered. There are folks who sell voltage regulators for alternators that are designed to boost float voltage for AGM batteries.
The other way around? Flooded will gas-off a little at 14.2 volts. But seems to tolerate it pretty good.

Lithium car/bike/atv batteries. After 3 batteries in my Harley. The OEM flooded and two AGM's (before the 14.2 volt float requirement to let them live was learned). I bought a lithium for it. 4 year, no gripe warranty after having it tested by an approved store.
The thing started like Thor himself sent a bolt from the sky. Except......try to start it around freezing? Nope. Needed a heating pad.
And I usually like to park it around events in the evening with the parking light on. Looks cool like that.
We could traipse around for a few hours no worries. Hop on, fire it up, and go putt around.
Lithium? A Dakota Lithium at least. The BMS shuts it right down if it discharges below <something>.
Come back. Parking lights off. Won't start. And you know the rest. But it lasted 6 years. A lot better than 'new every two'. And the fact that powersports batteries are warranted for six, maybe nine months. Ludicrous.

I called Noco. Asked all of the right questions. Great warranty. Save some bucks ordering directly, faster service that the wally world alternative.
They addressed (or claimed over the phone) that the shut down was addressed. Sure. The BMS keeps it form being damaged. But if it is shut down because it does become low. Shut down any load (key on, parking or headlights left on) for 10-15 minutes and you get a second try to start your rig. Not a bad thing if it really works. Right?!

Exide, Interstate? Be very afraid. They ain't what they used to be. In Florida my '70 Cutlass had an Interstate (early 90') that lasted 6 years until it dropped its plates at an intersection and boiled over. In Florida, mind you. The last Interstate.....done in 2. Guys down there would suck out the acid and put water in shortly before the warranty ran out. Make it to the auto parts, get them tested. And get a new one pro rated. No more pro rating.
You can't beat an Odyssey. Napa, AC Deco (the better ones). Yup.
The mom and pop Car Quest only sells Die Hard. For a reason, the old man says. So they convinced that a Die HArd Platinum was the hot ticket for me. l will see. Stand by!

You can't cut Mr. Project Farm down. He does great tests of all sorts of things. Not sponsored and pressured to slap a little sugar on his comparisons and reviews. Compared to the Brits and Aussies with their constant overzealous and same sounding (Dave from EEVblog) rant. I like P-Farm a lot. Of course I like AvE (Boltr) too.
Reminds me to beware when wearing shorts around the garage vice.

Opinions may vary.

harshness

Today at 9:17 AM

Jimbo said:
And the Walmart ones mostly had very little warranty.

The days of the 84-month warranty appear long gone, regardless of brand or where you acquired it. Warranties tend to be shorter, with much greater dependence on quick prorating.

The big problem for lead-acid batteries (whether flooded or AGM) is that the US no longer produces lead (the last smelter closed in 2013) and must import it.

Recycling covers a good chunk of the need (~70%), but it isn't free.

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klang

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 9:06 AM · posted in TV Shows

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - Paramount+

Season 2 order already in hand:

'Star Trek: Starfleet Academy' Renewed for Season 2, Tatiana Maslany to Guest Star in Season 1

I've not been optimistic about this show based on what I've read so far. Seems to be aimed at a younger audience. Interesting though that Tatiana Maslany will have some sort of role.

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Reactions: MikeD-C05, TheKrell and Foxbat

harshness

Yesterday at 11:53 AM

Females wearing any clothing is unthinkable on Ferenginar.

Reactions: Foxbat

long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 3:35 PM

harshness said:
Females wearing any clothing is unthinkable on Ferenginar.

Was never a huge of the Ferengi-centric episodes in Trek...

Jimbo

Yesterday at 8:14 PM

long_time_Dish said:
Was never a huge of the Ferengi-centric episodes in Trek...

Me either ...
They turned out to be a Poor adversary ....

Foxbat

Yesterday at 9:02 PM

They got their proper due on "Deep Space Nine"

Reactions: long_time_Dish

long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 9:52 PM

Foxbat said:
They got their proper due on "Deep Space Nine"

And too many episodes centering on/around them as well...

harshness

Today at 9:06 AM

Jimbo said:
They turned out to be a Poor adversary ....

As has always been the case for those consumed by their own financial enrichment.

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SatZach

Last reply Today at 9:04 AM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Is Roku the new Legacy Cable?

The title was to catch everyone's eye lol! But it is a thought I've been having as I dev a Roku app for a client. You see many MAAANY years ago I got really interested in cable TV channels and even chatted with a regional carrier, Insight about what it took to get a channel number. It was surprisingly easy although prohibitively expensive.

You could petition, reserve a high channel number, they monitored performance and if they liked you, you'd get lower channel number overtime and cut into ad overlays.

Roku has a similar setup. Make an app, if it has a strong, original linear component you could get channel assignment on The Roku Channel.

As mixed as my feelings are on the current media landscape, I can't help but feel a little excited interest when I scope out the apps in the Roku store.

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navychop

Yesterday at 9:53 PM

Hmmm. I think Roku will last. But will Firestick? With their backing, I guess so. Apple TV STB? Of Course. Walmart? Seems someone ought to go, but with their backing?….

Off brands have, as probably expected, very short lives.

SatZach

Yesterday at 10:51 PM

navychop said:
Hmmm. I think Roku will last. But will Firestick? With their backing, I guess so. Apple TV STB? Of Course. Walmart? Seems someone ought to go, but with their backing?….

Off brands have, as probably expected, very short lives.

All of those services have FAST Channels. FAST is a linear online broadcast stndrd. You notice how their linear channels all have some overlap? They are gettting paid for every second those streams are up without really having to do their own accounting. Best part is they don't even facilitate any of the stream bandwidth. Over glorified app stores on some android hardware. No reason NOT to stay in the game.

harshness

Today at 9:00 AM

It is largely because of the standard Roku remote that channel numbers are a distant memory on the streaming side of things. Because their competitors followed suit only reinforces that they were right.

Linear TV's death is a direct result of DVRs giving you what you wanted when you wanted it; why go back?

harshness

Today at 9:04 AM

SatZach said:
FAST is a linear online broadcast stndrd.

FAST is uniquely popular as a way of saving money. It isn't so much about consumption as passing time.

dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Today at 8:41 AM · posted in TV Shows

Brutal review of Netflix's series Below

Don't know if any of you have watched this series yet, it would be interesting to see if you feel this review was accurate. It was very humorous to listen to however.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tsDO3y8I2c

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KAB

Yesterday at 8:16 AM

What a "pile of slop" review! I liked the show.

Reactions: Yespage and NYDutch

Yespage

Yesterday at 4:48 PM

KAB said:
What a "pile of slop" review! I liked the show.

If the review is like the article, oi! Eighteen paragraphs into the review and... all they've done is not really talk at all about the actual thing they are reviewing.

Halfway into the "written" review, I know more about how the writer "thinks" than I do about what they are writing about. I understand their politics, their self-overestimated understanding of film, their inability to be funny.

Takes about 22 paragraphs to get to one that starts "Anyway, the story kicks off...". Talk about Slop!

Reactions: KAB

harshness

Today at 8:41 AM

Punditry is alive and well and just as divisive as ever.

TFLEV

Today at 7:42 AM · posted in TFLEV

How Far? The 2026 Subaru Trailseeker Takes On Toughest Mountain Range Test!

Time for another AWESOME video from TFL Electric Vehicles!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-wAFhIJCSk

Direct YouTube Link - How Far? The 2026 Subaru Trailseeker Takes On Toughest Mountain Range Test!

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Gary Toma

Staff member Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge

Last reply Today at 7:33 AM · posted in DIRECTV Technical Resources Forum

DIRECTV Transponder Map ~ Data 10/21/2026

The TPN Map Excel Presents all DIRECTV Channels:

National (50-States or wide/NAT+PR beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)

Additional tabs provide:

OTA the (Over-The-Air) Database
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders

Domestic Satellites
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8

Understanding the TPN Map

Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions

DIRECTV_TPN_Map_261021.xlsx 1,876 KB

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Reactions: Zakdj, Mr Tony, Tom Speer and 3 others

KyL416

Friday at 3:20 PM

660 CAVLIERS, 668 TWOLVES and 680 SPURS are now available

Reactions: dtv757, Mr Tony, coolman302003 and 1 other person

KyL416

Friday at 6:57 PM

WPLG Miami is testing on the stream server again

EDIT: It's now available for streaming customers

Reactions: Nate.O’Brien

Mr Tony

Friday at 7:27 PM

KyL416 said:
660 CAVLIERS, 668 TWOLVES and 680 SPURS are now available

Still with Choice package? My stepdad says when the game started he got black screen and something to do with not the right package.
He had the Twins the last 2 years and I saw the Wild screen on 668-1 when I was there a few weeks ago.

KyL416

Friday at 7:56 PM

There were some technical issues during the pregame, where 668 was showing the Pacers feed instead of the Timberwolves feed until a few minutes before the game.

On the stream API it looks like some areas need the Sports Pack, what's his zip code?

Reactions: Mr Tony

KyL416

Friday at 8:11 PM

The BLUES, BLUJCKTS, HURCANES and WILD channels are now active and no longer pointing to the TV Promise slate

Reactions: dtv757 and Mr Tony

dtv757

Today at 7:33 AM

For those dazn nba channels are they sat only or sat & streaming

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Considering TurboHD Bronze - Too many questions!

All DMA's now Western Arc

Song Name Game Part 3!

Hybrid Dish setup

2026-27 NCAA College Football

Might want to watch this before you buy a new vehicle battery

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - Paramount+

Is Roku the new Legacy Cable?

Brutal review of Netflix's series Below

How Far? The 2026 Subaru Trailseeker Takes On Toughest Mountain Range Test!

DIRECTV Transponder Map ~ Data 10/21/2026