Eastern Arc Dish Info & Install Guide

[dishcomm]

How do I get my local instaler to make the effort to get me HD off of 61.5? I tried getting new service and the low LOS of the western HD sat. prevented the instalation. When I took to reciever bach and said something about "Eastern Arc" they just said "you can't get that yet". They never mentioned maybe using 2 dishes or made any effort to get me service. I was like "oh well, see ya". Bad sales force not making any effort to attract subscribers! Would I have better luck calling DishNetwork directly to arrange hook-up?

Depends on which DMA in which you reside. If your HD locals are available from 61.5 the two dish solution will work. We do that here all the time. So your DMA is?

 

[shamsway]

I tried to find it in this thread but I'm not having luck. I'm sure this question has been asked before so I'm sorry for the repetition. My locals (Lexington, KY) were just uplinked on 77w. Once they're live and "official", what will it cost me to get them to change me over to EA so I can get my HD locals?

 

[navychop]

If Dish drops them from the current sat (110), and you can only get them from EA (77) then you won't be charged. You will, of course, have the nuisance of having to meet the installer for the changeover.

 

[titleist]

I have about a 75 foot run through my front yard to install Dish Network on the eastern arc. Can anyone tell me how many coaxial cables I should plan to run through the conduit to make sure I'm all set. The installer that came by recently stated for dig safe issues he could not bury the cable. I was also told by Dish customer service that all that was necessary was one coaxial cable which did not make any sense to me.

 

[JonUrban]

I have about a 75 foot run through my front yard to install Dish Network on the eastern arc. Can anyone tell me how many coaxial cables I should plan to run through the conduit to make sure I'm all set. The installer that came by recently stated for dig safe issues he could not bury the cable. I was also told by Dish customer service that all that was necessary was one coaxial cable which did not make any sense to me.

This confused me big time. Probably because I've been around too long!

In the Dish 500, you had 119 and 110, so you needed a coax for each satellite. The EA dish has 3 satellite outputs, so I thought thinking old school that I needed 3 coax cables to a switch. WRONG. HEck, you don't even need the switch!

You need one coax for every receiver! So, if you have one receiver, you need one coax. Two receivers, 2 coaxes. And it does not even matter where you plug the coax in (except for alignment, they prefer one favored port).

So yes, it's one if you just have one receiver (and you do not need a switch)

 

[titleist]

JonUrban, thanks for the quick reply. I will only have the 722 hd/dvr (which I beleive has 2 tuners ) in my main room and then run a cable to my bedroom tv for just a standard definition feed. Would it be better to run a conduit even with 1 cable or will it be fine just putting it 6 inches ubder ground?When the installer was here last week he mentioned something about the fox local channel not being available on the eastern arc...is there any truth to that? For my programming I just want the 200 plus locals in hd plus the silver for an additional 10.00...Is this possible with the eastern arc? I don't have much confidence in those I have talked to at dish...They all seem to say someting different. Anyone out there have a list or link to the available programming?...Thanks in advance for your help

 

[Fitzie]

Here's a great information site. You may find what you want here.

EKB: Dish HD Locals

Fitzie

 

[dishcomm]

I have about a 75 foot run through my front yard to install Dish Network on the eastern arc. Can anyone tell me how many coaxial cables I should plan to run through the conduit to make sure I'm all set. The installer that came by recently stated for dig safe issues he could not bury the cable. I was also told by Dish customer service that all that was necessary was one coaxial cable which did not make any sense to me.

Depends on how many receivers you have or plan to have. Anyway, redundancy is your friend. Bury three lines.. One line per receiver is necessary. But there is np harm in running extras as long as it's in your budget..
BTW that excuse the tech gave to avoid burying of the cable was just that. An excuse. We bury only a few inches down. There are NO utilities that shallow to worry about.

 

[rich88]

Depends on how many receivers you have or plan to have. Anyway, redundancy is your friend. Bury three lines.. One line per receiver is necessary. But there is np harm in running extras as long as it's in your budget..
BTW that excuse the tech gave to avoid burying of the cable was just that. An excuse. We bury only a few inches down. There are NO utilities that shallow to worry about.

That's bullcrap.

It IS Dish Network's policy that Digsafe is required before a pole mount is done. According to a "safety blast" from a while back, not even the IMs or GMs have the authority to overide this.

Now do we bend that rule if we're certain that NOTHING runs along the path, yes.

But, if there is any question, we don't do it.

You don't need to be on here telling people that their tech screwed them unless you're absolutely sure. You're not as "all-knowing" as you think you are.

 

[dishcomm]

That's bullcrap.

It IS Dish Network's policy that Digsafe is required before a pole mount is done. According to a "safety blast" from a while back, not even the IMs or GMs have the authority to overide this.

Now do we bend that rule if we're certain that NOTHING runs along the path, yes.

But, if there is any question, we don't do it.

You don't need to be on here telling people that their tech screwed them unless you're absolutely sure. You're not as "all-knowing" as you think you are.

No, you are incorrect.
You go ahead and produce the evidence that supports your claim.
And I'll give you ONE BIG reason why that evidence is crap. it's called COMPLETION PERCENTAGE.
Your rule may be local. But I can tell you if we start blowing off jobs to get locates, we'll be losing jobs to other subs that WILL do them.Plus a lot of pissed off customers. Put it this way. If we suspect a nearby buried utility we choose another site. The object is to get the job done....11 years in this business and I have had to ask for a locate ONCE....And that only because the dish had to be placed near a power pole that had a dip to buried electrical service to the house. BTW the local utility denied the placement.
I am wondering why your style of disagreement has to be so aggressive....But then again, it isn't important.
I'll post what I know to be true. And that refusal to bury nonsense is exactly that. You complete the job. Period.

 

[dishcomm]

That's bullcrap.

It IS Dish Network's policy that Digsafe is required before a pole mount is done. According to a "safety blast" from a while back, not even the IMs or GMs have the authority to overide this.

Now do we bend that rule if we're certain that NOTHING runs along the path, yes.

But, if there is any question, we don't do it.

You don't need to be on here telling people that their tech screwed them unless you're absolutely sure. You're not as "all-knowing" as you think you are.

TW I never stated the "tech screwed" anyone. I stated he made an excuse to not do his job.
I used to locate utilities. I know the rules. Cable and telco are minimum 12" below grade. Gas is 24". Power 36"..
This is not an argument. this is me telling you that while you may have a set of rules to follow in your area, we do not have those rules here.
Whatever, sunshine.

 

[Mark0]

Here in MA it's the LAW to call Digsafe. It doesn't matter if you are digging only a few inches. The last ime I had a cable buried they used a ditchwitch that went down about a foot. They like to go down this far b/c some people (self included) like to aerate their lawn, and or till it when necessary.

FWIW, I work in the civil engineering field and I've personally seen high pressure gas lines with less than a foot of cover. For this reason, whenever I am using machinery when digging, I ALWAYS CALL DIGSAFE! There are huge liabilty issues.

 

[titleist]

Depends on how many receivers you have or plan to have. Anyway, redundancy is your friend. Bury three lines.. One line per receiver is necessary. But there is np harm in running extras as long as it's in your budget..
BTW that excuse the tech gave to avoid burying of the cable was just that. An excuse. We bury only a few inches down. There are NO utilities that shallow to worry about.

I will have only 1 receiver so burying one cable will not be a problem. Being new to Dish Network would you suggest that once the tech has the satellite up that he just run the cable through the front door and test the signal strength before he completes the install. I just want to make sure I have a strong signal before he spends all the time tacking up the cable through the garage. Also, what should I expect for signal strength with a clear view to the Eastern Arc. A signal strength of 95 is great through Directv but what would would be a solid signal through Dish to make sure I have no rain fade issues. Thanks for all your help.....

 

[dishcomm]

Here in MA it's the LAW to call Digsafe. It doesn't matter if you are digging only a few inches. The last ime I had a cable buried they used a ditchwitch that went down about a foot. They like to go down this far b/c some people (self included) like to aerate their lawn, and or till it when necessary.

FWIW, I work in the civil engineering field and I've personally seen high pressure gas lines with less than a foot of cover. For this reason, whenever I am using machinery when digging, I ALWAYS CALL DIGSAFE! There are huge liabilty issues.

In NC is is NOT a law.
Questions for all; what do supervisors, FSM's and the like do when installs are rescheduled for locates?. Has there ever been pressure brought to bear on techs to get jobs done on the scheduled day and skip the call for a locate?

Around here there is no hard rule that mandates a locate be done on a job that requires a cable burial. The hard rule is get it done. Once again, if the cable burial could be in conflict wiht buried utilities there are two options. One is find a different path for the burial. Or find another way to mount the dish. Both point to the primary objective which is completing the job.

 

[dishcomm]

I will have only 1 receiver so burying one cable will not be a problem. Being new to Dish Network would you suggest that once the tech has the satellite up that he just run the cable through the front door and test the signal strength before he completes the install. I just want to make sure I have a strong signal before he spends all the time tacking up the cable through the garage. Also, what should I expect for signal strength with a clear view to the Eastern Arc. A signal strength of 95 is great through Directv but what would would be a solid signal through Dish to make sure I have no rain fade issues. Thanks for all your help.....

SOme techs ahave the latest and greatest meter that shows the actual signal strength at the dish. If you tech does not have one of these he ceratinly has a meter to assist him in peaking the antenna, he may run a temp line to the receiver to check his work. Most of us are pretty sharp and can tell by using our equipement if the location is viable.
Dish's signal strength meters are calibrated differently from Directv. There is no reasonable comparison......
Signal strengths can vary by location. Ask the tech if he thinks the siganls are good.

 

[titleist]

Well, they did the eastern arc installation yesterday and all went well. I decided to go with two 612 receivers so I could continue to take advantage of the 5.1 setup in the bedroom. The dvr will take some time to get comfortable with and from what I can see the recording options are not as extensive as tivi for ex. w/tivo you can create a wish list with a favorite actor and it will auto record anything they are in. The Dish dvr may also have something like that as well but I haven't had the time to fiddle with it too much. From what the tech said I have a unobstructed view of the eastern arc but the signal meter only gets to a high of 52. With that signal strength am I going to have more issues with rain fade, overcast conditions, or snow (I'm up in Maine) or is 52 an acceptable signal strength? By the way the high def feed looks amazing while the standard defintion feed looks much softer than what I had with Direct.

 

[Lbeck]

it'

s called COMPLETION PERCENTAGE.

Kind of unrelated to the current discussion, but are you saying that techs get kudos based on the number of visits? I suspected that when it took 6 visits to get my 1000+ dish installed, and several of those could have saved themself a trip and me time off work if they had read/understood what I explained to the CSR. It seemed like they only wanted to make the visit and then explain why they couldn't do what I wanted (and what I eventually got).

 

[parp]

What transponders do you guys use when peaking 72 & 77? In other words, what are the "home" transponders for those satellites? I think it's T29 for 61.5... Thanks!

 

[Derwin0]

A friend of mine is doing a Dish Mover to his new house at the end of the month. With Harrisburg locals supposedly being turned on Wednesday, and him having a 622 & a 522 (an additional 722 is being installed with the move), will/should the install go as follows?

Dish 500 - pointed to 110/119
Dish 1000.4 - to get 61.5 & 77, but 72 left disconnected
DPP-44 - 110, 119, 61.5, and 77 inputted.

 

[ptmowery]

That's bullcrap.

It IS Dish Network's policy that Digsafe is required before a pole mount is done. According to a "safety blast" from a while back, not even the IMs or GMs have the authority to overide this.

Now do we bend that rule if we're certain that NOTHING runs along the path, yes.

But, if there is any question, we don't do it.

You don't need to be on here telling people that their tech screwed them unless you're absolutely sure. You're not as "all-knowing" as you think you are.

I second this we call digsafe before anything we do in the ground even if the only utility is the septic tank.