I can't take much more of this!!!

[kawdog]

I am one of the more patient people around. I have put up with a half-assed install where the guy had never installed VOOM, or taken the VOOM class. He didn't install the OTA, didn't ground it, no drip loop, cables running through my yard un-buried, he charged me $40 dollars for the multiswitch, I didn't get all my remotes, He left me with a signal quality of 84 and said "that is plenty good to get a picture". Well it isnt and I lose signal every time it is cloudy. So I emailed Wilt about the OTA and said I wanted it mounted and please send a different installer, the guy really does make things happen, I will give him that. Well the other installer came today, late as they usually are, and said it was hooked up all wrong to receive locals, I knew that. But he would not mount my antenna on my old Dish Network mount on the roof (two story), he said they have to mount it to the VOOM dish (yeah right), well my VOOM dish is seven feet off the ground on my fence. I said what about when I get the upgraded antenna (cause I knew the Winegard wouldn't do it) and I have this huge antenna basically mounted on the fence it my front yard? Anyway he didn't seem to care about that, mounted it and set it up "correctly" to get the OTA antenna powered through the multiswitch, but still no locals. Anyway, now I am home wanting to watch Monsters, and it is just black, some chanels are just gone, some are not. What happened? Also there is major syncing problems with the audio on some chanels. I asked him to peak the dish, it is now LOWER than it was before at 71. AGHHHH!!!!! I am sorry for ranting, but I had to shout to someone. I am going to call and cancel unless they talk me out of it, it has been that bad a day.

kaw

 

[Ilya]

kaw,
You said that your VOOM dish is seven feet off the ground on your fence. How solid is your fence?

Since it is not on the roof, you might be able to repeak it yourself using the signal tone (beeper) in the service menu. It is loud enough, you can hear it through the open window.

 

[kawdog]

Yes, you are probably right. The fence post is cemented in the ground so it is a sturdy place to mount and not a problem for me to get too. I will do that if I have too, I guess I just don't have the time to fool with it right now. I just don't see why they won't mount the OTA antenna where I want it and not on the dish that is not that far off the ground. I am calling VOOM tonight and something positive will come out of it I hope. I am not trying to be difficult, I just don't know why these installers don't know what they are doing. Monsters and the other channels worked fine until this new guy came to fix the OTA, now they are gone. That was my favorite channel and the one I watch 90% of the time, maybe that is why I am so upset. Thanks for listening,

kaw

 

[Ilya]

And what is the message you are getting on those channels that "are gone"?

 

[kawdog]

Nothing, they are just black. That is what is so weird. Just flipping through the HD channels, Monsters and Equator are black, the guide shows I am on the channel and what is playing but there is no picture.

 

[Ilya]

You can try rebooting (unpluging) your STB, but be patient: it may take long time to get the PG back, especially if the signal quality is so low. And it's better not to switch channels for 10 minutes after the reboot.

 

[LOBO2999]

Check to see if your STB is set for 720P if so switch it to 1080i its the red buttton on the right side of the stb under the lid on the right.

 

[kawdog]

I will try those suggestions, thanks guys. I also called VOOM and they are going to try to get someone out here one day. I requested a weekend because I have missed a few days of work already due to this and cannot miss anymore, she said they did not have any weekends available but if they could get one they would call me. She also said something strange to me, I requested the antenna upgrade (I'm around 42 miles from the antennas) she said she would request it but if it was up to her it would not be worth the extra money for the upgrade if I can only go from getting no channels to maybe gettting one? What does that mean? How does she know I won't get any channels? Oh well, I will keep y'all informed, thanks for listening to my whining, it made me feel better

kaw

 

[kawdog]

By the way, it is the same way on the other two (non-HDTV's) receivers. Those channels are black on all of them. Why couldn't Devine be blacked out, I never watch it, it had to be my favorite channel.

kaw

 

[Slick]

Hey there new Voomer sorry to hear about your situation, if I were you I woud take matters into my own hands and get that baby hooked up.. I did the same thing with my OTA antenna, I went and bought a tripod from Radio Shack and a pole to go with it,, My Wingard sensor 2 but I think it looks more like a 2' wing..

To get the best picture you can with your OTA antenna you need to push the big Voom button on your remote, then hit the little round green button on the remote, then another screen comes up and it says system setting scroll down and hit that then a warning thing pops up and wait for it to disapear and then use your down arrow button till you get to the third page it shows OTA quality and power numbers, the bigger the numbers the better and there is the same for the dish as well..

You will need two people to do this so one person can watch the numbers and see if there getting higher or lower and you on the roof with the antenna..

My Winegard antenna is picking up all but 2 channels right now and the farthest away I am from the tower is 47 miles.. Well I hoped I help just a little bit.. You are going to love Moster HD channel it is worth the whole Voom set up, This is the first night there waent anything I cared to watch after three weeks with my Voom install.. Cya Slic

 

[kawdog]

I am sure I will get it all straightened out sooner or later. I was able to watch Monsters for a week or so before it went out, it is my favorite channel of all time now . Thanks for the tips Slick.

kaw

 

[juanl0b0]

Another message to Voom

Voomists: Do not flame me again. For any service organization, a complaint is a gift. Voom is your vendor, not your friend.

KD, My experience parallels yours. Jointly we probably agree that Voom needs to improve the following...

1. They've farmed these installs out to vendors that can't be meeting the Voom / installer SLA. Voom should be following up after the install to confirm satisfaction and address issues.

2. Their only advantage over their competitors is the HD delivery. When the competition catches up, customer satisfaction today will equal customer retention tomorrow. No one would blame KawgDog or I for switching to a content-equivalent vendor the minute one exists.

3. It's 2004 and we're back to rooftop racks and tinfoil. They need to get one affliate from each of the major networks on the bird. At least as a backup to poor OTA installs, even if it means SD. My installer suggested I go fetch basic cable as a backup. That's potential revenue taken from Voom's income statement. I would have paid a little more per month to have NBC, in 480i from day 1.

Does anyone from Voom monitor these posts?

Good luck KawDog, If it makes you feel any better, I'll tweaking my (so called) professional install this weekend too.