H20 install - have tech run 2 drops?

[dervari]

I currently have only one IRD that is used in a multi-room setup. I will probably be getting the DTV MP4 DVR when it is available and I'm hoping it will have dual tuners. Would I be out of line asking the tech to go ahead and run two drops to my family room as long as he's fishing cables?

 

[Smthkd]

You can do that, but note, some installers will charge you for such an installation and some will not. It all depends on who you get and if you are will to pay extra for it. For instance, when I got upgraded, my installer was training to 2 other people and agreed to rewire my whole settup absolutely free in order to train his 2 new guys. So, ask and you might receive!

 

[Hogarth]

Wall fishes are non-standard installation.
Any installer worth a damn would be completely happy to do it, but as Smthkd indicates -- it's a matter of whether or not they charge you.

 

[dervari]

If they don't fish, how do they get the cable from the roof to the interior then?

 

[Hogarth]

They'll reuse existing wiring whenever possible.

They won't fish into interior walls as part of standard installation.
They will get wiring into the attic or multiswitch location as part of standard install, though.

I've seen them drill holes in ceilings to get wires from attics to rooms.
I've also seen them skip holes in ceilings and just drill a hole right from the outside through an exterior facing wall.

Considering you already have D* (I assume), all that the installer would have to do is change the outside mount and move the cable over from the old dish to your new dish.

Do you currently have a multiswitch? If so, that might require more interior work.

 

[dervari]

No multiswitch. The initial install (1995) was done using a diplexer, so there is no existing wiring to use. They ran a cable into the attic and then brought it down using the current CATV drop.

I have a "trough" that runs from the attic to the basement. All they'd need to do it pull it through there and go up through the floor into the family room. Hopefully they can do that. The wide would NOT allow the cable to just run down the side of the house and in through a hole drilled into the exterior.

 

[stevo/65]

If you want a proffessional install that requires custom work like wall fishing , then more than likely the tech would definetaly charge you. If you are willing to go that route, then you would want to wire a dvr system with 2 cable lines and if he is a true pro , he would suggest a phone line as well. Since the tech would be wall fishing he would probably give you a good deal to run all 3 down the same wall. Depending on a 1 story or 2 story wall fish would be a difference on the charge. a 2 story wall fish would be more difficult for the tech and more time cosuming he would charge you more. Usually double the price than a 1 story.

 

[dervari]

Already have a phone line. Just ran from a jack in the basement up through the drop ceiling and through a hole in the floor. Hopefully he'll cut me a deal since he was a no-show on Tuesday.