Dish keeps going out with the rain, boxes reboot

[harshness]

I got retention on the phone and they are sending someone. I really think the dish itself needs adjusting, maybe the angle accumulates the rain, who knows.

Your angle in PA is much better than those who point much higher up in the southern states.

The multiswitch you guys are talking about, your saying it could be on the dish itself (I think it is, I dont see a switch anywhere else.)

Depending on how many tuners you have, it may be built into the dish. Do you have more than four tuners?

If I wanted to protect that from elements, how would I do it?

Protection from rain fade really isn't possible because it usually involves distant thunderheads that the signals are dampened/diffused by. For snow and ice you can install a special dish heater that should thaw anything that accumulates.

 

[jhferry]

Your angle in PA is much better than those who point much higher up in the southern states.Depending on how many tuners you have, it may be built into the dish. Do you have more than four tuners?Protection from rain fade really isn't possible because it usually involves distant thunderheads that the signals are dampened/diffused by. For snow and ice you can install a special dish heater that should thaw anything that accumulates.

I only have 2 tuners (2 HR-21's)

I do not get rain fade, I get complete lose of signal and both DVRs reset after a brief lose of signal message. There is no way to protect the multiswitch?

 

[mccoyrj]

When the tech came out there I assume you couldnt reproduce the problem because it wasnt raining. How exactly did he adjust the dish? In other words, he seemed to fix your issue but how did he know?

He disconnected it completely, took it down, broke it apart and reassembled it, adjusted the braces on the wall, then remounted it. He realigned it with a meter. Finally, he reset the DVR and performed a new setup. Problem went away. Not sure exactly what the problem was, but he covered it somewhere during his visit. I haven't had the fade and restart problems as severe as before. In fact, it only fades during a heavy storm.

 

[harshness]

I only have 2 tuners (2 HR-21's)

Each HR21 has two tuners so you currently have a fully populated HD capable dish. It is unlikely that you'll find an external multiswitch being used.

 

[Goots]

Hi everyone,

Love my D* however my wife wants to dump it for cable. The issue is when it rains, the dish goes out. I have 2 HR21's and when they lose the signal they reboot and it takes like 5-10 minutes to come back. Is there anything I can do to keep the signal?

Get Dishnet or Cable.I switched from Dishnetwork to Direct Tv on 4/18. since then lost signal 12 times (that we noticed) due to clouds or mild to moderate rain. Two tech trips. Now they tell me this is how it is. weather WILL make it go out. My neighbor is so angry he has to go out in the winter all the tiem and sweep his dish.. They will not let me out of contract. I will go back to Dishnetwork for an H-D Package. I will keep Direct for the contract with the cheapest package. I invested $497 for 3 H-D DVRS and 1 H-D Reciever. The 99 and 103 go out and 101 is still in the low 90s. Te CSRtold me to watch the SD channellswhen it gets cloudy. I am paying $90 month for this? do yourself a favor. Make the change.

 

[harshness]

I switched from Dishnetwork to Direct Tv on 4/18. since then lost signal 12 times (that we noticed) due to clouds or mild to moderate rain. Two tech trips. Now they tell me this is how it is. weather WILL make it go out.

So that a pattern might be established, could you share what area you hail from?

After two tech visits one would hope that the dish has been finely dialed in. Did either of the techs spend any time with aiming and did they do it in clear or inclement weather?

 

[Goots]

I live in PA, its not like I am in a hurricane area. This happens at least twice a month or more. It wouldnt be bad if I just got some fade, Its the total shutdown of all the boxes that is the killer. So if the CSR is wrong what are my options?

Agreed the problem is on the Northeast/ Dishnetwork can use one dish for most of the country but not the Northeast. I think Direct TV has issues with providing reliable Signal in the Northeast ( I am in Delware same problems) on 99 and 103

 

[Goots]

So that a pattern might be established, could you share what area you hail from?

After two tech visits one would hope that the dish has been finely dialed in. Did either of the techs spend any time with aiming and did they do it in clear or inclement weather?

Delaware right below Pennsylvania.

 

[Goots]

So that a pattern might be established, could you share what area you hail from?

After two tech visits one would hope that the dish has been finely dialed in. Did either of the techs spend any time with aiming and did they do it in clear or inclement weather?

Forst time the tech replaced the switch and put a meter on the dish and re-aligned it. The second time a tech came with his Supervisor and they replaced the dish, the LNB and the switch. They also re-aliogned (peaked the dish with a meter). Once again. Signals on a clear day 101 96.... 99c 92... 103c 94...

 

[Goots]

So that a pattern might be established, could you share what area you hail from?

After two tech visits one would hope that the dish has been finely dialed in. Did either of the techs spend any time with aiming and did they do it in clear or inclement weather?

Alsdo, alot of people at work complain of the same issues with Direct TV ,

 

[Ronnie-]

Alsdo, alot of people at work complain of the same issues with Direct TV ,

Just out of curiosity, what company did the install? If the OP vould answer this question as well

 

[cfb]

Based on empirical and anecdotal evidence, along with a long exposure to directv products I've come to the conclusion that the newer stuff is a lot trickier to install and the tolerance levels much narrower. In the old 2lnb round dish days, you could line up a dish with very little trouble and for the most part the receivers were all pretty solid and held a signal just fine.

The 5 sat setups are obviously a lot harder to align and the dish is much larger and heavier and harder to keep solidly in place.

I also think the receivers vary greatly in their tuner quality, tolerance ranges and software influence. I've seen people have the dish dorked about endlessly and then their signal problems go away when they change from one receiver to another, even where the two receivers are the same model.

I've also had signal issues and reboots related to signal issues that I was told was absolutely, positively an issue with the dish or cabling, only to have those problems dry up when a new software release came out.

Directv fanboys often note that the latest incarnation of directv's product offering is much more complex than the older products. That may be the case, yet its the technology that directv chose and rushed out to market.

All that having been said, if you have proper dish alignment, well made cables, and receivers that are working properly and within the proper range of tolerance, it does appear to work fine 99% of the time.

To be fully fair, my one brief experience with Dish network was that the equipment ran too hot and gave me trouble, they also had signal issues, and they gave me the worst customer service experience in my life.

Just to round it out, I get far more outages and signal problems with cable than I've had with either satellite provider.

 

[vurbano]

the CSR you spoke with could be wrong. A well-peaked dish won't go out all that often or for long enough to cause a reboot. Mine has done that once since last october.

GL, Eric

It will go out but long enough to cause a reboot? Thats bad. I have hardly ever experienced that.

 

[Ronnie-]

It will go out but long enough to cause a reboot? Thats bad. I have hardly ever experienced that.

It is not normal for sure.

 

[jhferry]

It is not normal for sure.

This is what I am saying, I am not complaining about losing the signal, I am complainging about the boxes shutting off which by the time they come back up the signal would have been back. I will get the contractor's company when they come out. Everyone has told me my signals I posted are good though no?

 

[Ronnie-]

This is what I am saying, I am not complaining about losing the signal, I am complainging about the boxes shutting off which by the time they come back up the signal would have been back. I will get the contractor's company when they come out. Everyone has told me my signals I posted are good though no?

No, the signal is ok from what you posted.

Have they replaced the boxes?

 

[jhferry]

No, the signal is ok from what you posted.

Have they replaced the boxes?

No they said they would but I didnt think it was the boxes. Why would they only do that in heavy rain? Seems to me it would be all the time If it was the boxes. I guess its worth a try but I think its something going on with wiring/dish like others posted.

Unless.. the boxes themselves are malfunctioning when losing the signal...

 

[cfb]

It could be the boxes. Some models of HR are more sensitive to signal loss than others.

It might also be something systemic like an ungrounded system thats building up static and discharging into both boxes at the same time, or a system installed with a ground loop.

Most directv systems I've seen were not properly grounded by the installer because its not an easy thing to do properly. I've also noted some anecdotal stuff that directv systems in the northeast have more issues than other parts of the country. Very dry air in the northeast in the winter months, and lots of wind that can help build static on a dish.

 

[jhferry]

Well D* was here. He said the dish was a little loose. He changed the LNB and added an additional bracket for support.