Installer couldn't get a signal. Thoughts?

[mboogey73]

Well, my dreams were dashed on Saturday. The installer shows up to install the 5 lnb slimline. After several locations, he says I can get the signals, but one of them goes right through some big ass palm trees. The wind was blowing and he showed me the meter. It was fluctuating between 94% and 77% with the gusts. He said I'd end up with a lot of channels fuzzing in and out. He said he could get a better signal at the top of the house, but at that area the house is wood covered by concrete, as opposed to solid concrete at the base of the house. He said that wood wouldn't support the weight of the slimline. Bottom line, I took his word for it, and said no dice. Does this sound right? Also, D* called back and said they would send a supervisor out for a second opnion.

Thoughts?

 

[boba]

With your 2 posts we have no idea where yo live so we have no idea of look angles. Best I can say is don't hold your breath.

 

[mboogey73]

Miami, FL
33156

 

[joed32]

It's not that much heavier than your old dish, I wonder why he thought the wood wouldn't support it? Maybe you should get a second opinion.

 

[skyviewmark]

It's all relative to what you are willing to do.. I have never been to a house that couldn't get Satellite if the customer was willing to work for it. Sometimes it's more work than you might want to do.. But It always can be done.. If I couldn't get my Sat TV, there isn't much I wouldn't do to make it happen.. Wife might disagree though..

 

[iwc5893]

It's not that much heavier than your old dish, I wonder why he thought the wood wouldn't support it? Maybe you should get a second opinion.

Yes it is. The 5 LNB dish weighs about 25 pounds, and the triple sat weighs about 5-10. Also, wood covered by concrete is not a good surface to mount the dish to. How is the installer supposed to install the lag screws that hold the dish into place?

 

[mboogey73]

The installer said one of the smaller dishes would be supported fine. Can I get ANY HD channels without the 5 lnb dish? I'm desperate. The local cable company is Atlantic Broadband, and they're a joke. Maybe 10 HD channels and they won't be getting more.

 

[Joe Diamond]

The 3 LNB dish will give whatever is on the 101,110 & 119.....and a analog antenna will give you locals.
There are some HD channels on these sats. How about cutting the trees? What the installer showed you on the meter seems accurate. Been there & done that.

Joe

 

[dishcomm]

Well, my dreams were dashed on Saturday. The installer shows up to install the 5 lnb slimline. After several locations, he says I can get the signals, but one of them goes right through some big ass palm trees. The wind was blowing and he showed me the meter. It was fluctuating between 94% and 77% with the gusts. He said I'd end up with a lot of channels fuzzing in and out. He said he could get a better signal at the top of the house, but at that area the house is wood covered by concrete, as opposed to solid concrete at the base of the house. He said that wood wouldn't support the weight of the slimline. Bottom line, I took his word for it, and said no dice. Does this sound right? Also, D* called back and said they would send a supervisor out for a second opnion.

Thoughts?

you must be in FL....Any way I would have not given up on the roof mount so quickly. The dish is OT too heavy.IS the roof pitched? How thick is the concrete on the roof?. Is it the concrete tile?

 

[dishcomm]

It's all relative to what you are willing to do.. I have never been to a house that couldn't get Satellite if the customer was willing to work for it. Sometimes it's more work than you might want to do.. But It always can be done.. If I couldn't get my Sat TV, there isn't much I wouldn't do to make it happen.. Wife might disagree though..

true If you want to take your life into your hands and scale roofs with 45 degree plus pitches while 30 feet or more off the ground. We have large homes here. Some of them have ridiculous roof pitches. 12/12, 14/12 some even greater. I am not going on a roof like that. No dice. My health is far more important than HGTV. Sorry.
You can do all the hazardous jobs you want. Be my guest. I don't get battle pay.

 

[dishcomm]

Yes it is. The 5 LNB dish weighs about 25 pounds, and the triple sat weighs about 5-10. Also, wood covered by concrete is not a good surface to mount the dish to. How is the installer supposed to install the lag screws that hold the dish into place?

if it is a concrete veneer and not tile it can be done. That concrete is more than like ly a mortar type product and not regular concrete like one would see in a drive or walkway. In that case depending on the thickness and how it was applied ,tapcons or concrete anchors may ,I said may work. It's worth the look to see if the job has any chance. If the roof is accessable and safe to work on, hell yeah I'd take a good look to see what I could do. Better than walking away empty handed

 

[kingofku]

The installer had a number of mounting options available including a non-penetrating roof mount (basically a pole held down by cinder blocks). However given that Florida is prone to high velocity winds (hurricanes, etc.) perhaps he could have gone with a ground mounted pole mount.

 

[mboogey73]

you must be in FL....Any way I would have not given up on the roof mount so quickly. The dish is OT too heavy.IS the roof pitched? How thick is the concrete on the roof?. Is it the concrete tile?

It wasn't the roof. Just the upper part of the side of the house. Not sure how thick the concrete is.

 

[dishcomm]

It wasn't the roof. Just the upper part of the side of the house. Not sure how thick the concrete is.

I would have taken a long look,. If it was skecthy if the anchors would hold I would have asked you if could drill say, a 3/16ths diameter test hole to see how thick the concrete is and to test the material for strength. If it was no good I could have repaired the small hole with silicone.

 

[randyk47]

I was wondering if there is any way to get to the mounting point from an attic area? Even if you had to drill through the concrete and wood you could install some kind of blocking or bracing internally that would support the dish. I know that my installation was beyond the capabilities of the D* installer. Granted it was too high and too steep of a roof pitch for them. Took me a couple of weeks but I finally came up with the idea of calling a local firm that advertised they did home theater design and installs including custom cabling, satellite, computer wiring, etc. Figured they might have or know a private installer they used and trusted. Bingo! They referred me to Bob and a week later I had my new Slimline up and running. Among his many talents he does stuff like replacing navigation lights on television and radio towers. Heights don't bother him and he has the equipment. Yes, it cost me $400+ for parts and labor (had to buy my own Slimline) but I'm set. After it was installed I went back to D* and we worked out a package to offset some of the expense I went through to stay with D*.