Any Bonehead Installers Pull this One on You?

Seawaves

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
May 10, 2004
567
0
Los Angeles, CA
My installer really takes the cake: He used the diaplexer module on my STB and then put my OTA into the UHF/VHF input, though I have two lines!

I was installed around 5/11/2004 in Los Angeles.

The guy that was here named was Thomas and he and I went to my roof to look over things. I already had a Weingard OTA installed on a mast. I have
a third floor condo on a three story building. I asked Thomas if he could put
the Voom dish on one of the vent pipes. (Direct TV guys had done it like
that for me, best thing-no holes) he said "oh I forget my pipe connectors
today when I left home.

I said what about attaching it to my OTA mast? He said " No, that's a bad
idea. You live close to the beach and when it gets windy, you'll lose your
satellite signal".

I left him and after 45 minutes or so he came down hooked up my STB and
called it in. The entire time (about 7 minutes) he was on hold, he
complained how terrible Voom customer service was because he had to hold and wait for them to activate my box. He told me he was late for dinner and left. He took with him all the cables. DVI, etc.

As I could never get my local channel 13.1 KCOP - Dodgers, I asked on
Satellite Guys how to check my OTA signal strength. Found out it was 29-30.

Thinking it must be my OTA. I paid a local company to look at it. They had
no idea. I went up on my roof and moved my Weingard. No rise in signal. I
then noticed the installer Thomas had in fact installed the Voom dish to my mast and guess
what? When the winds blow hard here, I lose my Voom signal!

I then looked at the back of my STB and low and behold he had installed the
diplexer module, put the Voom sat cable into that and put my OTA cable (yes, separate cables) into the UHF/VHF coaxial input. I pulled out the module
properly hooked in the two cable-and now my OTA signal power was 29-30 and now is 75-80!!!
 
You're right. The OTA mast is a thin 18 guage 1-1/4" diameter steel tube.

The vent pipe mount would be ideal, if you had cast iron vent pipes. I would not do plastic.

It would have been quite east to mount on the roof deck, if you had asphalt shingles. The rafters are easy to find. Just thump on the roof with a hammer. Where you hear a solid sound, that's where they are.
 
I wonder if he was licensed, bonded and insured? : ) Or even certified to install VoOM, not to mention SBCA 1+2 certified, a plastic pipe is not a mounting option, but steel would work, its about time we get these unqualified flakes out of the industry! If they don't have all of the above they are not satellite installers, they are strangers who have been sent out to install a satellite system, or in other words a crook and a sham!
 
The sink vent pipe he did not install it on- is cast iron.

In the end i was most pissed that he did not know how to set up the Voom STB and stuck the OTA cable into the UHF coax input. I went weeks trying to get my OTA fixed= IF the installer had any clue whatsover it would have been no problem.

Cleary- the Voom installers are ruining things for Voom customers.

Voom=great HD PQ, getting Voom installed right, impossible.
 
Update: Installs Inc. had a Tech call me, then called back and scheduled a service call for yesterday. The guy called on the way here to tell "he did not have the vent mount" I had requested.

I convinced my neighbor to subscribe to Voom and my original installer "Thomas" was here today. He told me he had a vent mount with him but since he didn't the get the call he could not fix my Voom dish. Funny thing is that he was on the phone with CS getting my neighbor set up.

I just never had this much trouble with Direct. I guess I'll go buy the mount and do it right myself. This Voom crap is getting old.
 
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