Hughesnet - Changing Equipment

[GARYPSWANSON]

I am a current Hughesnet customer. I just upgraded to the HN7000S from the DW7000 (very pleased with downloads, not sure on uploads) Running .74M dish with 1 Watt transmitter and on small business plan (at least I am supposed to be). Bird is AMC3 (87W 1290 Mhz).

Here is the question I cant get a clear answer on. I would like to change the dish to the .98M with 2 watt transmitter. If I was able to purchase a used .98M (or other dish) and the 2 Watt transmitter, would I be able to change it with my current dish if I could repoint it, etc? The HN7000S would remain and is currently working and is already fully operational.

-Also - could I leave the .74M dish and change the transmitter from a 1 watt to 2 watt?

Thanks for the advice. I do not see why it could not be done but HughesNet will not give me a clear answer. HughesNet customer service states that you cant change the equipment or that I would need to purchase and install a new system. (Which makes no sense as I already have a system except that is now offered with the .98 dish and 2 Watt transmitter.

Gary

 

[dbirdman]

So they sold you Small Office without requiring that you buy a .98/2-watt? They aren't supposed to do that. Having said that, I have had Business or Small Office service with a .74 and a 1-watt with a 4020 and a 6000, and with a 7000 using a .74 2-watt. I did that because a mobile .98 wasn't available and I switched to the .98 when it became available a year ago. I still have the 2-watt .74 meter as a backup (farthest dish in my image).

If you don't have the Small Office plan, it won't do you much good to move to a 2-watt or a .98. If you do have Small Office, you probably aren't getting the upload speeds you should be getting using a 1-watt.

How to tell? Well, you can't tell the exact plan for sure, but you can tell if you are on one of the business plans by looking at the ranging statistics on the advanced pages. If you do not have a business plan you will not see a rate code above 256K. If you have a business plan, there will be a test showing for at least one 512K rate code. It may be failed, but it will be there.

The ranging statistics are in the main advanced left menu on the 7000. I don't know where they are exactly in the new expandable menus of the 7000s (don't have one - don't consider it an upgrade).

As far as adding a 2-watt to a .74, you can do it unless you have an old Chinon BUC (transmitter) which was a white, flat, pancake compared with the long bare aluminum of the isis or osiris current models. Straight swapout.

With a .74 1-watt, I never got 512K rates. With a .74 2-watt I got it most of the time. With a 2-watt .98 I get 512K always, and I've used it in 25 states from coast-to-coast so far.

 

[GARYPSWANSON]

Hughes Net Changing Service

Thanks for the information. The advanced ranging page does not show anything over 256K.

Interesting enough, when the modem was changed from the DW7000 to HN7000S, the signal strength jumped from 60 to 72 and my download speeds increased to about 1250 from 800 to 1000.


As to changing equipment, If I were to pick up a 2 Watt transmitter and .98 dish, as I do lose connectivity in heavy storms, would it be hard to change from my .74M and 1Watt to the new equipment? I also need to check on what plan I am paying for. It seems to keep changing.

Thanks for the help.

 

[dirkleearm]

I have never heard of someone having "small business" on a .74 dish??

As for upgrading to HN7000 on AMC3, my understanding is it will work "just as a DW7000" modem. Maybe you had a modem problem as far as speeds go?? As far as signal level, you can hook up 10 different modems to the same system and they can read diffferently.......allthough yours was a considerable difference which might also have been a modem problem???

As for changing to a .98 and 2watt tx on same sat etc.....I don't know...good ?

I have a feeling they put you on the professional plan.i.e. up to 1500k download.

 

[dbirdman]

Thanks for the information. The advanced ranging page does not show anything over 256K.

Interesting enough, when the modem was changed from the DW7000 to HN7000S, the signal strength jumped from 60 to 72 and my download speeds increased to about 1250 from 800 to 1000.


As to changing equipment, If I were to pick up a 2 Watt transmitter and .98 dish, as I do lose connectivity in heavy storms, would it be hard to change from my .74M and 1Watt to the new equipment? I also need to check on what plan I am paying for. It seems to keep changing.

Thanks for the help.

It does sound like you are only on a Pro or ProPlus plan. There are two possible reasons you got a higher signal. One is that the transponder changed, and no two transponders have the same power. Another is that it is purely a measurement change. "Signal Strength" in a Hughes modem has a strength component, but it is a complex algorithm that includes SNR and other components including data reception - which is why you can't get over a 29 by pointing at anything except your assigned satellite.

Hughes has changed the weighting of the algorithm many times, and it is common to have a 10 point swing from one version of firmware to another. Since the 7000 and 7000S have completely different firmware that could be the reason.

For speed variations, no two Hughes users get the same speed. Loading of the particular router gateway you are on is the biggest factor, and your gateway had to change when you changed modems. At least as many people have reported a drop in speed when moving from 7000 to 7000S as have reported an increase, which is why I say i don't consider it an upgrade. It gives Hughes more (3 bits per symbol instead of 2), but that is not passed along to the user.

I still lose connectivity in heavy storms with a 2-watt .98 meter. Probablyhas to be heavier, but it is hard to measure "how heavy." If you do decide to do it (and you should if you want business service), it should be pole mounted. If your current dish is on a pole it is a straight swap - normal 2-3/8'' OD pipe.

I'm on the 500/2000 business service, and typically see a full 2000 down but only average 350 up.

 

[HCI]

Thanks for the information. The advanced ranging page does not show anything over 256K.

Interesting enough, when the modem was changed from the DW7000 to HN7000S, the signal strength jumped from 60 to 72 and my download speeds increased to about 1250 from 800 to 1000.


As to changing equipment, If I were to pick up a 2 Watt transmitter and .98 dish, as I do lose connectivity in heavy storms, would it be hard to change from my .74M and 1Watt to the new equipment? I also need to check on what plan I am paying for. It seems to keep changing.

Thanks for the help.

How much do you pay per month? That is the easiest way to tell what plan you have. Your transponder more than likely changed from a vertical down to a horizonal down as I see it is common on most birds for H down's to have somewhat of a stonger signal.

 

[dirkleearm]

I had a Navy guy (engineer??) tell me horizontal polarity is less prone to "rain fade". That is why the navy uses horizontal polarity on the ship to shore radios. Never verified this but was interesting.

 

[GARYPSWANSON]

Well I spoke too soon...

Well I spoke too soon. Several hours after the upgrade to the HN7000s, my download speeds tanked. That is they dropped to below 100, some in the 50 range. (Yup, thats' download) My uploads have increased to over 150. After many hours with the folks from India, 2nd Tier, and finally 4th Tier, they want to point me to a bird that can handle the new HN7000S technology. They claim that AMC3 does not have the capability and is causing the problem.

If my current satellite does not have the capability to handle the new technology, then I do not understand why they would offer the upgrade other then to extend your contract.

*** Anyone recommend a good Satellite for a home based in Maryland that can handle the HN7000S signal properly. Tier 4 suggested Sat Max 6 or IA6-2. Your suggestions. ***

And yes, I am on the Pro Plan. Sad thing is my download was always at 1000 on the DW7000 and recently dropped to 800. Now the new system seems worse with the 7000S. On the bright side, my uploads did improve.

Thanks for all of the help and suggestions. I now have to wait for the installer to point me to a new satellite once again.

BTW, based on how its going, I doubt I will get anything near the 1500 down max they advertise on the 7000S but anything would be better then what I am getting now. The India folks stated that if your speed test registers 800, then that is acceptable.

I will post back with the results after I am pointed to the new Satellite. Perhaps using a satellite that is configured for the 7000S will improve things.

 

[dbirdman]

Now you are beginning to see why the 7000->7000S transition is NOT an upgrade. You will get roughly the same change, no matter what you do, as someone moving from one 7000 account to another 7000 account.

Hughes does not provide complete details (they operate under extreme secrecy, under which any given level has contact only with the level 1 above, and 1 below themselves), but as best we can glean the only satellites using DVB-S2 with 8PSK are IA6, SM6, and Horizons1. Only some transponders on H1, but probably all on the other two. That does not mean much to you. Hughes passes on the savings of the 3-bits per symbol on only one account, which is ProPlus, not Pro. Problem is that most ProPlus users aren't seeing 1500 either.

It is almost criminal that Hughes is promoting 7000->7000S as an upgrade. Add what I've said above to an unusually high failure rate for the 7000S and you just have to say "Why?" while pounding your head on your desk.

 

[GARYPSWANSON]

Update on HN7000S Woes

After speaking with Tier 4, they had an installer arrive yesterday (19 December) to check out my system. My Crosspoll was constantly failing and so he repointed the dish to corrrect it. He then did several speed tests and one download reached 800 so he said it was fine. He did not repoint to a new satellite.

Last night, my downloads were once again bouncing all over the place. Download tests ran anywhere from 500 to 800. Called tech support again and got to Tier 2. Apparently the installers' work order said to repoint to IA62 but he didn't do it and since I am still having problems, they are sending the installer out again.

One thing I keep getting is HTTP error 509 whenever I try to run Hughes Speed Test. Any ideas on what is causing this?

Hopefully, changing to IA62 will help the problem. I am on the pro plus plan with a .74 dish and 1 watt transmitter.

Other then the LCCU, anyone find any tweaks that actually improve performance?

My latest speeds were 582 down and 190 up.

 

[HCI]

Last I heard IA6 was full. It may be SM6.

 

[GARYPSWANSON]

Thanks for the info. My download speeds are still bouncing. Last night they appeared to be about 900 and this morning at 6am EST (which should be very low usage) they were at 250. Still waiting to hear back from Hughes Advanced Support.