Likelihood of failure of non-burial grade coax?

Lemme ask you this, your customer says they want all their studs screwed together not nailed because nails are sloppy. You going to do that for free, mr.knowitall?
Prices to screw a house together would be in the thousands. Lay Piping would be less then $100 You have half the work done by digging the trench. And if you all claim you make no money ,get a new job! After I called Directv about laying PVC in the trench. They also said the installer are supposed to follow Township's rules and regulations. Explain to me why they didn't? Oh thats right that would cost money.
 
Prices to screw a house together would be in the thousands. Lay Piping would be less then $100 You have half the work done by digging the trench. And if you all claim you make no money ,get a new job! After I called Directv about laying PVC in the trench. They also said the installer are supposed to follow Township's rules and regulations. Explain to me why they didn't? Oh thats right that would cost money.

There you go you would not do free work either.

Lets just say it costs $20 to buy that PVC, that could be 40% of the pay for that install depending on what you ordered. It's not included in a basic install, if you want that you have to pay for it. It's no different then you having to spend an extra 40% to screw those studs together. Just because it would cost less than $100 does not mean we should just do it for free, we just work on a smaller scale. We are only at a job for a couple of hours, not months. You would not make any money doing the special build with screws because it would cost you thousands, get a new job. Your arguement makes no sense.

Direct did not say they had to do it for FREE. Did you decline them installing it in plastic because you declined to pay for it? I'll bet you did.

They are supposed to follow the township rules, still means you have to pay for it, does not mean you get it free. SO you have your answer why they did not do it. You did not want to pay for it.
 
18-24 month commitment is payment enough! I don't know about your town ,But Dishnetwork gets paid by the hour here.
You have your logic and you're still wrong. You want the tech to dip into hs pocket to supply optional equipment.
Now ,you go ahead and post these alleged rules your community has . And I want to see where they specifically mention coaxial comminicaytions cable. The bottom line is this. the counduit is NOT SUPPLIED by Dish nor it's employees or contractors. Nor is the installation of conduit part of a standard basic install.
And much to your chagrin, never will be.
If you want conduit, pay for it yourself.
The fees you pay are for programming. We don't get a dime of that. Mentioning commitments and programming costs only weakens your already aneorexic theory. Stow it.
Buy your own condiut.
I wil be waiting for that info on coax cable and it's required burial..BTW even if you are correct and your township requires burial, tell me, do your taxes pay for a cable burial enforcement officer? Does he have unfettered acccess to all private properties so he can dig up a homeowner's lawn to see if his satellite cable is surrounded in plastic?...With all that, are you insisting that someone else beside yourself supply material for an unfunded govt mandate?..And the guy doing the work who gets no compensation for the conduit should eat the cost?
yeah sure..that's gonna happen...
 
I would Gladly pay $100 for an Install . If I new It was going to be done right! Bottom line! If I never had to call D*or E* to come back for even 2 years would make me happy. I'm sure everyone would feel the same. The cable company charges $75 Reguardless. They Put PVC in as well if it calls for it too,sometimes they only screw a wire together.They also Don't have $299 upfront cost with 18-24 month commitments. You as the Techs aren't to blame and we all know that! Maybe your boss should recommend to D* that underground wire should be in a pipe. I don't know,But its still sloppy the way its done. Whats the pile of wires look like that comes out of the ground next to the house? I doubt it looks good! People that own $500,000 homes don't want wire comming out of every which way. So I did it my self. Plain and simple.They also don't want wires just hanging in thin air either. Where does it end! You make it sound like you not getting paid at all. I gotta tell you though ,maybe you 2 guys take pride in your work,But 1 out 3 Directv techs at my rentals did a nice job. The other 2 wanted nothing more but to mount a Satellite dish to front porch Railing post. And trust me there are no trees within 2 acres of house . E* Tech did a great job,I had the pipe there with him he even helped me put the wire in. While I was back filling ,he was hooking up receivers. Did a great JOB! Gave him $50 Tip as well.I said what I wanted to,So I'm done now! This could go on forever. But it got old now.
 
Last edited:
Its still shotty work whether its free or not.. I refused to let D* or E* bury any wire in my yard without being in some type of Pipe.So I guess if I wanted it done right ,I had to do it myself. So both companys left me the wire and they just mounted the Dishes ONLY!

I just told them both,If the wire isn't going into PVC I'll do it myself. Because its sloppy. So follow the rules pal. Just because D* and E* can get away with it don't make it right.

So I did it my self. Plain and simple. E* Tech did a great job,I had the pipe there with him he even helped me put the wire in. While I was back filling ,he was hooking up receivers. Did a great JOB!

It’s interesting how your story has changed now. At first neither would install it in PVC. Now it seems they will…HMMMM

The cable company charges $75 Reguardless. They Put PVC in as well if it calls for it too, sometimes they only screw a wire together.
 
It’s interesting how your story has changed now. At first neither would install it in PVC. Now it seems they will…HMMMM
What changed. That E* chose to help and D* said welp here ya go then!And if you read any of my posts,you would have seen there we a number of visits from both D* and E*. So whats your point? That they don't put wire in pipe,Yea we covered that! THEY WON"T! I have 4 rentals,and guess what ,They all have Wire in PVC! My house I DID,without D*or E* My rentals D* mounted Dishes only,E* mounted 1Dish and split.The other house the E* tech stayed and HELPED,By no means did he dig the trech or lay the PVC in ,But atleast he helped and didn't just say FU! With as much money as it cost me to supply my rentals with D* and some with E*,I'm sorry but some things are just not acceptable!
 
Last edited:
I would Gladly pay $100 for an Install . If I new It was going to be done right! Bottom line! If I never had to call D*or E* to come back for even 2 years would make me happy. I'm sure everyone would feel the same. The cable company charges $75 Reguardless. They Put PVC in as well if it calls for it too,sometimes they only screw a wire together.They also Don't have $299 upfront cost with 18-24 month commitments. You as the Techs aren't to blame and we all know that! Maybe your boss should recommend to D* that underground wire should be in a pipe. I don't know,But its still sloppy the way its done. Whats the pile of wires look like that comes out of the ground next to the house? I doubt it looks good! People that own $500,000 homes don't want wire comming out of every which way. So I did it my self. Plain and simple.They also don't want wires just hanging in thin air either. Where does it end! You make it sound like you not getting paid at all. I gotta tell you though ,maybe you 2 guys take pride in your work,But 1 out 3 Directv techs at my rentals did a nice job. The other 2 wanted nothing more but to mount a Satellite dish to front porch Railing post. And trust me there are no trees within 2 acres of house . E* Tech did a great job,I had the pipe there with him he even helped me put the wire in. While I was back filling ,he was hooking up receivers. Did a great JOB! Gave him $50 Tip as well.I said what I wanted to,So I'm done now! This could go on forever. But it got old now.

Yes..a change of tune on your part..
 
Maybe a change in tune, but maybe you all took it to personal! But I apologize if It came off that all techs are bad. I know its D*and E*. But your bosses allow it,so it will never change on your behalf or the customers. Good luck ,I hope they take care of you guys better then the way it sounds.
 
I have never seen or heard of satellite tv installers installing in PVC pipe. If someone wants it done in PVC pipe then that is out of the ordinary but it is the installer's/companies job to make the customer happy so it should be optional for an additional cost since it is not included in the basic installation. If a customer requires PVC pipe then the customer should call in advance to state that he wants it in PVC. I can see in some circumstances where the installer could come out and customer wants it in PVC and installer not have it on hand since he usually does not use it. I do carry PVC with me because of the possibility of driveways and I charge extra for that.

I saw a satellite broadband internet dish get installed at a post office and they used PVC on the outside of the brick of the building but I know that is different.
 
Can water infiltrate conduit pipes and cause even more long-term damage to the cables ? ...
Water can exist in the conduit, but not just from infiltration.

If you’re in an area of high humidity, the humidity will be 100% in the conduit since it’s in the cooler earth, and water droplets can form even if the conduit is leak-free. As Mike500 said, the best solution is to use direct burial cable inside the conduit.
 
Thanks for the replies. What's interesting to me is that both runs from the dish failed within a couple of weeks of each other.

Curious to see what these runs look like (presuming we pull them up) when the new (BG) coax goes in. Wonder if the installer complicated things with a splice somewhere along the way.

I've never seen one fail because it was non burial rated. I have pulled up many runs to find splices and chew marks from moles.
 
I called Directv right after and, yes bitched about wire just laying in Dirt.


Fellow techs, this is why you do not do anyone favors.

#1: The QC guy generally does not know the customer said he'd bury the cable. In my experience that rarely happens. I can't hide that in the pix for you, nor am I even interested in covering your ass.

#2: They stab you in the back for something you did at their request, causing a TC and a chargeback.
 
Prices to screw a house together would be in the thousands. Lay Piping would be less then $100 You have half the work done by digging the trench. And if you all claim you make no money ,get a new job! After I called Directv about laying PVC in the trench. They also said the installer are supposed to follow Township's rules and regulations. Explain to me why they didn't? Oh thats right that would cost money.

Most installs pay less than $100. So what? They should do it for free?
 
Can water infiltrate conduit pipes and cause even more long-term damage to the cables ?
Not if it's done right. Pipe should be fitted and glued like plumbing and be water tight. The ends above the ground should have fittings that prevent water from getting in if the pipe doesn't terminate inside a structure. If not, you will get water infiltration. Condensation shouldn't really be a problem since the ground is, on the average, warmer than the air above it. Unless something chews through it, it should be forever dry and last a very long time.

dishcomm said:
BTW even if you are correct and your township requires burial, tell me, do your taxes pay for a cable burial enforcement officer? Does he have unfettered acccess to all private properties so he can dig up a homeowner's lawn to see if his satellite cable is surrounded in plastic?
Taxes and permit fees do pay for inspectors who also act as enforcement officers where I live. As enforcement officers, our county inspectors even have police radios and are allowed to carry firearms. But unless the job requires a permit no one will come to inspect the work. If it did require a permit (or if there is a complaint of a code violation) you can bet they'd have an all-access pass to that site. However, even if it was covered they wouldn't have to dig it up. Just the fact that the wire comes right out of the dirt is enough to prove the job is not up to code. They're not stupid.
dishcomm said:
With all that, are you insisting that someone else beside yourself supply material for an unfunded govt mandate?
If code says you can't bury cable without conduit then you shouldn't. And if it costs more, then the companies contracting the job should take that into account when they bid. If you don't know the code how can you ethically bid on a job? This isn't an installer's issue it's an issue for the people who bid on the lucrative installer contracts. The problem is the companies bid the jobs so low they only make money if the installers go quick and dirty on the installs, so they don't reward the installer for doing a good job. They only reward the installer for doing a quick job. So when a customer makes them work longer to do the job right it doesn't exactly make them happy.

So who should pay for it? Ultimately the customer pays for it all in subscriber fees. But up front, if the customer is promised a free installation with no caveats they should get it regardless of the installer's cost. If there are certain things that cost extra, those need to be dealt with up front so the customer is an informed consumer. But the installer should have everything they need to do a good install including wire, connectors, clamps, PVC pipe, fittings, glue, etc. The customer should never have to supply anything.

Plus, I don't ever hear about someone getting money back from the installer company because their install was exceptionally easy. By the logic that extra costs should be borne solely by the customer, shouldn't the customer get a rebate if their install goes really quick? Let's say all their cable and connections are already installed and all the installer has to do is throw on the dish and hook up the box. Takes all of a half an hour. What kind of rebate does the customer deserve in that situation? And wouldn't all you 'techs' ridicule them for asking for one? The truth is you should make money on most jobs but not necessarily all. Unless you go to a structure where all jobs are bid individually (a very expensive way of doing business which would be very costly to the consumer), you aren't going to make as much money on some jobs as others, and on some you should expect to lose money. As long as you make a decent profit overall you shouldn't complain about the ones that cost more.

Otherwise, in the end no one is really happy. The customer is mad because he got a poor install or got charged for a 'free' install, the installer is mad because his pay is lower when he does bigger or better job, the company is mad because the installer didn't do as many jobs so they don't make as much money. The only winner is the satellite company because they negotiated a good deal for themselves.

Now personally, I think if you have to dig a trench to install a cable you've done 90% of the work and incurred most of the costs already. If digging the trench was included in the price of the install then so should the pvc. A couple bucks for pvc and a few minutes to put it together is really nothing after paying for a trench.

Steve
 
So who should pay for it? Ultimately the customer pays for it all in subscriber fees. But up front, if the customer is promised a free installation with no caveats they should get it regardless of the installer's cost.

First problem with your argument - No customer is promised a FREEE installation. There is a free BASIC installation included with the service. The BASIC installation does not cover everything.

If there are certain things that cost extra, those need to be dealt with up front so the customer is an informed consumer. But the installer should have everything they need to do a good install including wire, connectors, clamps, PVC pipe, fittings, glue, etc. The customer should never have to supply anything.

The problem here is people are unwilling to pay the extra fee. So they tell the tech they will do it. You expect the tech to do work for free? If the customer says they will do it because they don't want to pay that is their right. It's noted on the work order and in notes with the service provider.

Plus, I don't ever hear about someone getting money back from the installer company because their install was exceptionally easy. By the logic that extra costs should be borne solely by the customer, shouldn't the customer get a rebate if their install goes really quick? Let's say all their cable and connections are already installed and all the installer has to do is throw on the dish and hook up the box. Takes all of a half an hour. What kind of rebate does the customer deserve in that situation?

First this almost never happens. No job can be completed in 1/2 an hour. Even if a customer was replacing an existing system with an identicle system. The time to drive to the job, inspect the existing system to make sure it is ok, installing the reciever, waiting for the download, doing paperwork, and waiting for activation will take longer than this.

The customer should get something back for something that was FREE. Think about your statement here...come on

And wouldn't all you 'techs' ridicule them for asking for one? The truth is you should make money on most jobs but not necessarily all. Unless you go to a structure where all jobs are bid individually (a very expensive way of doing business which would be very costly to the consumer), you aren't going to make as much money on some jobs as others, and on some you should expect to lose money. As long as you make a decent profit overall you shouldn't complain about the ones that cost more.

This just shows you know nothing about being in business. No bussiness is going to do work and lose money, not for long anyway. You show me any business school that teaches this. This is not how the real world works, and I think you know this.

Otherwise, in the end no one is really happy. The customer is mad because he got a poor install or got charged for a 'free' install, the installer is mad because his pay is lower when he does bigger or better job, the company is mad because the installer didn't do as many jobs so they don't make as much money. The only winner is the satellite company because they negotiated a good deal for themselves.

Again there is what is included in the FREE basic install, then there is what is not covered. No customer should get charged for a free install, nor should a customer allow an installer to do poor work. It is always best that the customer knows what they are buying when they order a service such as a satellite system, as you stated being an informed consumer. No customer should expect to get more than what is included in the basic install free either. The problem is that people only here the word free, and you are one of them.

Now personally, I think if you have to dig a trench to install a cable you've done 90% of the work and incurred most of the costs already. If digging the trench was included in the price of the install then so should the pvc. A couple bucks for pvc and a few minutes to put it together is really nothing after paying for a trench.

Steve

Again you don't know what is included in the free BASIC install. It does not say that we will did a trench 12" deep or anything else. All that is included is a slit trench you push a shovel in the ground and spilt the sod and push the cable in. Digging a trench large enough for conduit is alot more work. Also you make it sound like PVC is only a couple of dollors, it's not that cheap just a 50' setup would cost over $20.00.

Steve why don't you go out and get an install job. Then tell me how you feel about your post after 6 months on the job.
 
Last edited: