Can get DTV but not Dish?

igator99

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Feb 16, 2006
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Hello I was wondering if you could help me with a problem. About two years ago I upgraded from a dual LNB one satellite directv system to a multi satellite triple lnb system. Then you had to purchase the equipment so I sunk about 300.00 into equipment only to have the direcTV person to come out and within about five minutes he told me he couldn't do it. I was very fustrated and upset so I did it myself by attaching a long metal pole to the side of my house. I would say the pole is about six feet above the start of my roof. I was able to get the DirecTV multiple satellites and continue to get them to this day with 90+ signal strength.

I recently upgraded one TV to a HDTV so I wanted to go with DIsh because they will give me more equipment and HD programming at a cheaper rate than DirecTV. Well I experienced a bit of dejavu when the Dish installer came out and took one look and said he couldn't do it. He said he didn't want to take down the pole only to have to put it back up with DirecTV. To be fair to the guy there is a tree problem which is solved by the long pole. Are the Dish birds in a different location where there may be a tree problem or did I just get another unmotivated installer ( He did tell me he has only been doing this for a month). When he called dish for me to talk to them he made sure to be right there listening. So I didn't say the guy didn't even try. I've read on here and other internet sites about a two dish solution. Couldn't he have tried that? I think I'm going to call a local installer (The Dish guy drove in from out of town). Any advice would be appreciated. :(
 
The primary sats for E* are at 110w and 119w, with most of the HD programming on sats at 61.5w and 129w. (The HD program content on those two are mirrored except for the locals.) One *twin* LNB dish (Dish 500) can receive 110 and 119, and the D1000 can receive 110, 119, 129. If you need 61.5 then you will need a separate dish for that sat. Reply back with your location (zip code is OK) and someone can give you the azimuth and elevation to those 4 sats, then you can check for yourself to see if you have at least a shot at receiving them...

EDIT: Make that the TWIN LNB on the D500...
 
Last edited:
bhelms said:
The primary sats for E* are at 110w and 119w, with most of the HD programming on sats at 61.5w and 129w. (The HD program content on those two are mirrored except for the locals.) One dual LNB dish (Dish 500) can receive 110 and 119, and the D1000 can receive 110, 119, 129. If you need 61.5 then you will need a separate dish for that sat. Reply back with your location (zip code is OK) and someone can give you the azimuth and elevation to those 4 sats, then you can check for yourself to see if you have at least a shot at receiving them...


Thanks for the response. My zip code is 70448.
 
Where i install the elevation for DTV 3rd generation lnb is 35. for a dish 500 it is 32, and for a dish 1000 it's between 28 - 29. so some trees could be a LOS problem for dish but not dtv. He might not have been BS-ing you.
 
igator99 said:
Are the Dish birds in a different location where there may be a tree problem or did I just get another unmotivated installer ( He did tell me he has only been doing this for a month). When he called dish for me to talk to them he made sure to be right there listening. So I didn't say the guy didn't even try. I've read on here and other internet sites about a two dish solution. Couldn't he have tried that? I think I'm going to call a local installer (The Dish guy drove in from out of town). Any advice would be appreciated. :(


Unmotivated. I love it. As a general rule of thumb, we don't get paid if we don't do the work. We have the opposite problem around here, with aholes putting satellites in where they should be walking away. Chaps my ass, because if I can't fix it, I won't get paid!

Also, we have to guarantee these things, which makes me (personally--not speaking for everybody) a lot less willing to do swapouts where something was self installed, non-standard, and/or generally rigged up. I'd prefer to start over from scratch. I mention this because you didn't specify what type of mount you used for your D*.
 
I'm TOTALLY with on that Chad. No successful completion of job =s No Pay.

Yes, the tech may have been a tad green. But I'm willing to bet he did the best he could with his given skills/ability. Most places do pay by the job...not by the hour.

Even worse with upgrades. As you stated, you're not only upgrading receivers and/or dish...but a lot of times rewiring the total setup because some backwater, shortcutting mo-fo decided to do the ol' hook-n-book.
 
chadzx11 said:
Unmotivated. I love it. As a general rule of thumb, we don't get paid if we don't do the work. We have the opposite problem around here, with aholes putting satellites in where they should be walking away. Chaps my ass, because if I can't fix it, I won't get paid!

Also, we have to guarantee these things, which makes me (personally--not speaking for everybody) a lot less willing to do swapouts where something was self installed, non-standard, and/or generally rigged up. I'd prefer to start over from scratch. I mention this because you didn't specify what type of mount you used for your D*.


I didn't mean to offend anyone. I've had DirecTV for ten years so at least I know that works. I simply wanted to know if the sats for Dish were in a different location because as I said there is a tree problem on both sides. I didn't know they were paid per job and not by the hour. I wouldn't blame someone for not wanting to get started on a challenging job. Perhaps they should get paid by the hour with a maxium amount of hours per job or something.

I used a metal pole that is about 6 feet above the roof. It works and it survived Katrina. I live about twenty miles to the west of Slidell Louisiana where the eye of Katrina passed. As soon as I got home and had power I had TV.
 
webbydude said:
I'm TOTALLY with on that Chad. No successful completion of job =s No Pay.

Yes, the tech may have been a tad green. But I'm willing to bet he did the best he could with his given skills/ability. Most places do pay by the job...not by the hour.

Even worse with upgrades. As you stated, you're not only upgrading receivers and/or dish...but a lot of times rewiring the total setup because some backwater, shortcutting mo-fo decided to do the ol' hook-n-book.

I talked to a local Dish dealer. They have been in the satellite business here for twenty years. They will be out tomorrow morning. They seem to think it is doable. I guess I will find out tomorrow.
 
Hello, I just wanted to expalin this DTV uses 101/110/119 DISH uses 110/119/129
Depending on where you are, 101 is, most of the time, the highest in elevation and 129 is the lowest...In your case, 129 is more than likely the lowest.

The dish installer will have a hard time getting 129 and would have to guarantee the install....since that pole is not standard, they probably will all tell you NO

However......if you can get 61.5, you would be able to get your HD channels , but, when HD locals become available, you will not have the signal for those channels.

If you are looking in the area where your DTV is pointed now, then, look to your left, are there trees in that area? that's where 61.5 will be.

You MIGHT be able to get a retailer to install it by signing a waiver that, if you lose signal, it is not the installers fault....sometine Dish does that when there is potential for future tree growth....just explain to them that you know 129 will not come in, but you would like to have 61.5 installed for the HD channels.
 
miguelaqui said:
Hello, I just wanted to expalin this DTV uses 101/110/119 DISH uses 110/119/129
Depending on where you are, 101 is, most of the time, the highest in elevation and 129 is the lowest...In your case, 129 is more than likely the lowest.

The dish installer will have a hard time getting 129 and would have to guarantee the install....since that pole is not standard, they probably will all tell you NO

However......if you can get 61.5, you would be able to get your HD channels , but, when HD locals become available, you will not have the signal for those channels.

If you are looking in the area where your DTV is pointed now, then, look to your left, are there trees in that area? that's where 61.5 will be.

You MIGHT be able to get a retailer to install it by signing a waiver that, if you lose signal, it is not the installers fault....sometine Dish does that when there is potential for future tree growth....just explain to them that you know 129 will not come in, but you would like to have 61.5 installed for the HD channels.

Yes there are trees to the left. Basically I think the pole puts it above the tree line. The local company seems confident they can do it. I guess they will just raise the pole a tad and secure it. From what I've learned I don't blame the other guy for not trying. It simply was a bag of trouble he might have got himself into and in the end not get PAID! That is wrong. I've tried laying cable wire and it is a hell of a job. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. If Dish doesn't workout the DirecTV guy is coming Friday but from what I've learned I'm not interested in what DireTV is offering in HD. Is it possible and cost effective to lay cable underground? I would have no problem if the pole was in the front yard but how do you get it to the house? THanks to everyone for their input.
 
igator99 said:
Hello I was wondering if you could help me with a problem. About two years ago I upgraded from a dual LNB one satellite directv system to a multi satellite triple lnb system. Then you had to purchase the equipment so I sunk about 300.00 into equipment only to have the direcTV person to come out and within about five minutes he told me he couldn't do it. I was very fustrated and upset so I did it myself by attaching a long metal pole to the side of my house. I would say the pole is about six feet above the start of my roof. I was able to get the DirecTV multiple satellites and continue to get them to this day with 90+ signal strength.

I recently upgraded one TV to a HDTV so I wanted to go with DIsh because they will give me more equipment and HD programming at a cheaper rate than DirecTV. Well I experienced a bit of dejavu when the Dish installer came out and took one look and said he couldn't do it. He said he didn't want to take down the pole only to have to put it back up with DirecTV. To be fair to the guy there is a tree problem which is solved by the long pole. Are the Dish birds in a different location where there may be a tree problem or did I just get another unmotivated installer ( He did tell me he has only been doing this for a month). When he called dish for me to talk to them he made sure to be right there listening. So I didn't say the guy didn't even try. I've read on here and other internet sites about a two dish solution. Couldn't he have tried that? I think I'm going to call a local installer (The Dish guy drove in from out of town). Any advice would be appreciated. :(

Thge dish network birds are farther to the west and in my case here are much lower in the sky....in your location...I looked up your zip...the sats are higher than they are here in NC....so you may have better shot at it...Good luck
 
chadzx11 said:
Unmotivated. I love it. As a general rule of thumb, we don't get paid if we don't do the work. We have the opposite problem around here, with aholes putting satellites in where they should be walking away. Chaps my ass, because if I can't fix it, I won't get paid!

Also, we have to guarantee these things, which makes me (personally--not speaking for everybody) a lot less willing to do swapouts where something was self installed, non-standard, and/or generally rigged up. I'd prefer to start over from scratch. I mention this because you didn't specify what type of mount you used for your D*.
Run into this crap all the time....
I leave no stone unturned when I get to a job..most cuusts are understanding whern I explain why sat recption is not possible...But sometimes.....GRRRRRRRRR...
i see garabge installs all the time....I have relocated a bunch lately and it is either this one particular sub contractor or the DNS guys...The DNS guys are for the most part new and most are novices...The subs are generally experienced and are under tremendous pressure to put the systems in no matter what..or they are just plain neglectful..in all cases it usually results in a loss of a cust for Dish....
 
dishcomm said:
Thge dish network birds are farther to the west and in my case here are much lower in the sky....in your location...I looked up your zip...the sats are higher than they are here in NC....so you may have better shot at it...Good luck

Thank you!
 
dishcomm said:
Run into this crap all the time....
I leave no stone unturned when I get to a job..most cuusts are understanding whern I explain why sat recption is not possible...But sometimes.....GRRRRRRRRR...
i see garabge installs all the time....I have relocated a bunch lately and it is either this one particular sub contractor or the DNS guys...The DNS guys are for the most part new and most are novices...The subs are generally experienced and are under tremendous pressure to put the systems in no matter what..or they are just plain neglectful..in all cases it usually results in a loss of a cust for Dish....

The guy pulled out a compass that showed a tree would be in the way in my driveway which is about six feet from my DirecTV dish. I know enough about pulling in a signal that a few inches and altitude can make a world of diference. He never pulled out a dish to get a signal and questioned if I was really getting DirecTV. I invited him in and showed him my signal was at 95 on one of the birds. He seemed to me to be a nice guy that didn't want to tackle the job which was one of several probably easier jobs on his list that day. After learning on here they get paid by the job I don't blame him. He was looking at tackling a four room install plus getting a signal without a clear shot. I have a tech question for you Dish people. How do they get one reciever to produce different channels on other tv's? I can't figure that out from a DirecTV history.
 
Paid by the job or paid by the hour if it looks way to close and theres no other options techs are more likely ( those of us who actually are in the know and dont want to loose our job ) to cancel a job than to try and fool around with it.

If he pulled out a compas finding the los would be through the tree and was shocked to see that your getting a good signal off your directv setup then tree must be right on the los for the directv 101 sat.

Take a look at the atached image, it will give you an idea as to how a line of site (LOS) works on fixed points such as an established mount and potential mount locations and how obstacles can come into play such as a tree.
 

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Van said:
Paid by the job or paid by the hour if it looks way to close and theres no other options techs are more likely ( those of us who actually are in the know and dont want to loose our job ) to cancel a job than to try and fool around with it.

If he pulled out a compas finding the los would be through the tree and was shocked to see that your getting a good signal off your directv setup then tree must be right on the los for the directv 101 sat.

Take a look at the atached image, it will give you an idea as to how a line of site (LOS) works on fixed points such as an established mount and potential mount locations and how obstacles can come into play such as a tree.


That must be the case. BTW The local company did want amounted to a bait and switch. They had told me they could install Dish for about 100.00 including equipment. They then told me today that it would cost me 700.00 to set it up so I told them to take a hike. They had told me they were official Dish installers and that is why they could give me the same deal. All of sudden they weren't affiliated with Dishnetwork and I would have to pay for the equipment. I'll see Friday what the DirecTV installer tells me.
 

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