Consequences on Buying Receivers Online?

MathDaddy

New Member
Original poster
Dec 17, 2003
4
0
So Dish Network has canceled my 811 install for the third time and now tell me that they won't get any 811s until the END OF JANUARY OR EARLY FEBRUARY. I'm so frustrated with them, and so I am considering several options.

One of my options is to buy an 811 online and install it myself. I know that I will pay upwards of $200 more than if I were to wait for dish network to pull their head out, but I'm wondering if there are any other disadvantanges...(I DO have the ability to install this receiver myself, by the way) Specifically I wonder whether the next batch of receivers will have updated hardware or whether all of the upgrades be software?

So, other than cost, can anyone think of a reason why I shouldn't buy online and install myself?

Also, if I do install myself, does anyone know whether my SW-21 (legacy) switch will be sufficient or will I need to upgrade to a dish pro switch.

Thanks for any feedback you can give me.
 
The only consequence I can see is if you have a problem the local dealer will be not as eager to offer help.

Oh, and you'll be $200 poorer. That's a lot of beer :)
 
Seeing how there is such a long delay it would cause some to get uninterested in purchasing one at all and perhaps go other routes to get HD such as cable, DirecTv, Voom, where there are no such delays.
 
I did what you are suggesting. I ordered an 811 from dishdepot and paid full retail (399). Then I found an installer out of the yellow pages who charged 175 and came to install one week after I called. I also upgraded to a DISH 500 as I've had my original system since 1998. I used my old dish to point at 61.5 for CBS-HD. Since I keep my original 1998 receiver for another TV (SD) I used Legacy switches throughout. I also installed a Channel Master UHF antenna. I'm 65 miles from the OTA digital channels source in Boston and I'm getting a 75% to 90% signal strength. Everything seems to work fine.
 
The 811 can use Legacy and Dish Pro switches. Using the SW21 depends on the number of satellites you will use and the number of receivers. I'm not sure, but I'm 99.9% sure that the SW21 will handle no more than 2 satellites and no more than 1 receiver for each switch.