HD locals for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA timeframe??

[sdschramm]

As a rule, amplifiers only help if the signal is strong enough at the antenna, but not strong enough to make it through the cables/switches/connectors/etc. to the normal receiver location.

What size dish were you getting the 76 and 51 readings on? I never even get the national HD channels that high on 61.5 on an 18" dish.

This morning, I now I have a signal of 3. Sometimes its really high, sometimes its really low. I just don't know.

As for the installer coming back, they never did, nor did they call. I called Dish explained this situation and they were disappointed that we've had all this trouble. They then set up an appt. for next weekend with a "field manger" who "won't leave until its working"......yeah right.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

As a rule, amplifiers only help if the signal is strong enough at the antenna, but not strong enough to make it through the cables/switches/connectors/etc. to the normal receiver location.

What size dish were you getting the 76 and 51 readings on? I never even get the national HD channels that high on 61.5 on an 18" dish.

Me either.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Interesting, I just checked again today and I got 76 the first time, the second time 0 for a while and then it went to 51. And that's for T7 on 61.5 today.

If you want a list of all my signal strengths from a few months ago, look here:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/2056229-post358.html

Make sure its says LOCKED 61.5 Becuase if its not locked is most likely giving you a reading from the 110

 

[amoni]

OK, now I'm not confused but totally confused. Not being a techie I have read all the threads about the new HD. I don't receive them and I still don't get the locals HD, just the lovely blue screen of my avatar. So if I change dishs I will receive not only the new HD's but the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton locals in HD also? But I read that some lose some local channels too. Does the new dish affect All American channels? So has anyone in the area actually made the change?

 

[sdschramm]

Here is a short video showing my SD locals and my the (lack of) my HD locals:

 

[Jim S.]

I have no idea what the heck is going on with your WOLF-SD signal, but I can assure you that it's NEVER done anything like that for me!

 

[penst8grad]

Lurked and tried, but no luck

I've been following this thread for a while and thought the bigger dish sounded like a great idea. I got a junked Primestar dish from a friend and set it up. No luck! All of the TP's show good strength, but TP7 only bounces between 7 and 11.

Any word on Echo14 helping us out?

 

[penst8grad]

I've been following this thread for a while and thought the bigger dish sounded like a great idea. I got a junked Primestar dish from a friend and set it up. No luck! All of the TP's show good strength, but TP7 only bounces between 7 and 11.

Any word on Echo14 helping us out?

Good news, sorta.

Since the LNB isn't built for the Primestar dish, when I moved the LNB around I got it to stay at 12. At 12, locals work...at 11 they don't. Looks like I'll have HD locals on crystal clear days.

Hoping E14 makes a difference for us 2nd class subs. I've got 1-1/2 years left on my sub or I'd be back to DirecTV again already.

 

[Jim S.]

My Dish 300 sometimes gets up to 12 on the locals. It has been since about December, and nobody knows why. But it's not reliable enough even on a clear day that I'd change my timers to HD or anything.

I would've thought a Primestar dish would've been an improvement. I seem to remember reading that some models of them had feedhorns designed to match the shape of the dish, but I could be thinking of some other kind of dish.

 

[penst8grad]

I would've thought a Primestar dish would've been an improvement.

I thought it would have been better too. Majory PITA for no gain. took it down because it wasn't worth gettting excited to have HD basketball only to have it pixellate and freeze.

 

[hopton]

I called Hans Cedardale a couple of weeks ago to ask about the 30 inch dish. the tech there told me that it's a dish they had specially made for them. It's not available from Dish Network or anywhere else. Since they weren't the ones that installed my dish, they won't put one up for me (only for existing customers). He did tell me, though, that I could save myself the trouble, though because since I live in Cogan Station the 30 inch wouldn't help anyway. They only get good results with it in a very small area (I think it was somewhere over in the Hughesville/Muncy area, but I am not sure). The only thing he could recommend is calling to complain to Dish.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Here is a short video showing my SD locals and my the (lack of) my HD locals:
YouTube - Dish Network - Crappy SD Locals, No HD Locals

Your SD fox 56 should not look like this when using the 110/119/61.5 Setup.
You need a dish ajustment. The SD locals come off the 119 for Scranton Wilkes-Barre. That spotbeam more the covers the Entire viewing area. Most likly the Entire state.
So either you have a signal issue or Bad equipment somewhere.
That almost looks like the OTA version of Fox 56

 

[sdschramm]

I called Hans Cedardale a couple of weeks ago to ask about the 30 inch dish. the tech there told me that it's a dish they had specially made for them. It's not available from Dish Network or anywhere else. Since they weren't the ones that installed my dish, they won't put one up for me (only for existing customers). He did tell me, though, that I could save myself the trouble, though because since I live in Cogan Station the 30 inch wouldn't help anyway. They only get good results with it in a very small area (I think it was somewhere over in the Hughesville/Muncy area, but I am not sure). The only thing he could recommend is calling to complain to Dish.

+1

Dish is clueless about this "30 inch dish" and it looks like the only people that have one is Hans Cedardale - and I didn't buy from them either. I bought directly from Dish Networks website.

 

[czarqwerty]

A friend just moved to a new house and get the HD package from dish. The person who did the install said we should have HD locals in 1 to 2 months... hopefully he is right.

 

[hopton]

A friend just moved to a new house and get the HD package from dish. The person who did the install said we should have HD locals in 1 to 2 months... hopefully he is right.

First off, thanks for letting us know what the most recent word on the street is. I am in no way discrediting you or your friend and really do appreciate you posting.

That being said, while I REALLY want this to be true... I was told the same thing when I signed up for HD several months before starting this thread (late Fall 2007). At that time Wilkes-Barre / Scranton wasn't being transmitted in HD (by E*). They kept saying one or two months, then changed it to the frequently used 4 letter word "soon". The first HD local was uplinked in Sept. '08 with the rest to follow in Oct. '08. That's when a lot of us discovered that the "one or two month" wait was for WB/Scranton locals to go HD on a spotbeam that doesn't cover us! Fast forward to April '10 and we still don't have the HD locals we were told we'd have. It's been two and a half years since I was first told. I am not keeping my hopes up, but I really WANT to believe it!

Thanks again for keeping the dream alive!

P.S. There was some discussion of WB/Scranton locals in the uplink report thread for this week. We may be forgotten about by E*, but not by SatelliteGuys!! :up

 

[digiblur]

P.S. There was some discussion of WB/Scranton locals in the uplink report thread for this week. We may be forgotten about by E*, but not by SatelliteGuys!! :up

I'm still holding on to the hope that this is for you guys. But with Dish wanting to do the pure arc thing of 61/72/77 or 110/119/129 I'm not sure if it is. If they put the HD locals on 119 they'd have to leave them on 61.5 for the folks who can get them, and sometimes you receiver will pick the 61.5 beam to get the locals. So I don't know what they are going to do. The easiest thing would be to move them to 77, but then the 110/119/61.5 setups are without HD locals. Damned if you do...damned if you don't. Curious to see how this plays out.

EchoStar14 119W TP 01 Spotbeam A15 21500 8PSK 2/3 added

 

[hopton]

If they put the HD locals on 119 they'd have to leave them on 61.5 for the folks who can get them, and sometimes you receiver will pick the 61.5 beam to get the locals. So I don't know what they are going to do. The easiest thing would be to move them to 77, but then the 110/119/61.5 setups are without HD locals. Damned if you do...damned if you don't. Curious to see how this plays out.

Digi,

Thanks for your interest and input! It's nice that you are interested in this scenario because your comments speak directly at our situation. A lot of the time I have a hard time telling what information applies to us or not because we are apparently the exception to the rule!

Since you have pretty much the most educated guess of anybody on the site, what's your prediction? I just figured that they decided long ago that we are a small enough number of customers that it wasn't worth fixing.

I somewhat understand the pure arc thing. How can I tell if I can see the 77 bird or is it safe to assume that I will be able to see it (zip code 17728)?

Also, any guesses on timeframes on when (if ever) they might move stuff around? I moved a long time ago and really want to move back (especially since I can't call about not getting the new HD channels while I am moved)!

 

[czarqwerty]

It's been two and a half years since I was first told. I am not keeping my hopes up, but I really WANT to believe it!

Oh, I completely agree with you. I've been waiting since that long as well and have been fooled on the one, two month, soon, etc. stories as well. So I'm hopeful but doubtful anything will be different 2 months from now.
Like you said, just wanted to pass on what technicians were telling people right now.

 

[Barry Erick]

I thought I was looking at old posts saying WB/Scranton HD's aren't on dish because they ARE and have been for quite a while. And none of them look like the Fox SD on UTube shows.
I do know the SD chanells look poor compared to the HD channels (which are the very same channels but dish drops bandwidth on the SD's by downconverting.

 

[hopton]

Your mileage may vary

I thought I was looking at old posts saying WB/Scranton HD's aren't on dish because they ARE and have been for quite a while. And none of them look like the Fox SD on UTube shows.
I do know the SD chanells look poor compared to the HD channels (which are the very same channels but dish drops bandwidth on the SD's by downconverting.

You are right. WB/Scranton locals are in HD and have been for a while... but the spotbeam that covers WB/Scranton doesn't cover the whole DMA area. There are a lot of us in the Western part of the DMA that aren't covered by the spotbeam that gives the HD, so we are stuck with the SD versions only. :down