Line of Sight?!

[8bitbytes]

Wow Information overload! LOL. I will be sure to ask my technician about all this stuff. I don't really care about getting locals because I plan on hooking up an antenna to my 722. I drove around my complex and a bunch of people have dish network dishes, and they seem to have a worse view than me. (I know that just because your neighbor has it doesn't mean that you can get it) I just hope the supervisor/lead tech is more willing to work with me than just say "eh, it can't be done". Thanks for all your input.

If you go to the DishPointer website, you can zoom right to your building on Google maps satellite view and the webpage will allow you to pick the 61.5 satellite and will then draw a line from your location to the satellite. That line will show you whether you are actually able to put a 61.5 dish up. Go check it out:

DishPointer.com - Satellite Dish Pointer / Alignment Calculator with Google Maps

 

[joden80]

SO I called Dish Network and they told me that the supervisor had already come out and confirmed that I didn't have a line of sight... I don't know how he climbed to my 3rd floor apartment and figured this out but oh well. I told them to come out again...

 

[8bitbytes]

What did the DishPointer.com map show you?

 

[joden80]

The Dishpointer.com map showed me that all of the Echostar satellites easily beam onto my balcony.

 

[8bitbytes]

Hmmm... I wonder if someone managing the complex has told the installers to stop installing.

Keep at them and I'd print off a copy of the map showing your line of sight and tell them you have proof that you have LOS.

It's a great planet - except for the people...

 

[joden80]

Thats a will do. The people on the phone told me Dish has a new policy that if they can't secure the Dish into the ground that they won't install either. I figured that was gobbledy goop.

 

[8bitbytes]

Thats a will do. The people on the phone told me Dish has a new policy that if they can't secure the Dish into the ground that they won't install either. I figured that was gobbledy goop.

That's the worst line I've heard yet. Guess Dish will be pulling all rooftop dishes and making techs polemount everything. Good luck! Keep us informed!

Edit: Maybe I was reading it wrong, maybe they meant ground line. Plenty of ways to do that too.

 

[LordKron]

I signed up for Dish with Claude a couple days ago. My apartment has a balcony that faces South so I figured installation would be no problemo. The technician pulled out binocular looking things and was looking around, and apparently my roof blocks the line of sight for HD (i'm on the 3rd floor). He said that I couldn't hang the dish off the balcony which I have now seen to be true unless I get permission. I live in an equity apartment has anyone installed a Dish bolted to the balcony at an Equity Apartment? Are they cool with it? What are my options? Am I going to have to not get the HD Package? Will the non-HD channels be okay? If I do still go with Dish without the HD Package can I still get a 722 tuner? I would like to be able to hook up an antenna to at least get the local HD channels. Do I have a better chance for line of sight with DirecTV? Sorry if I am rambling, but I am frustrated and don't want to have to get Comcast. They are bloody awful!

Just so you know, NO GROUND SOURCE NO INSTALL. if the installer does install it with out a ground source. better call dish.

 

[8bitbytes]

Just so you know, NO GROUND SOURCE NO INSTALL. if the installer does install it with out a ground source. better call dish.

Unless the apt bldg was built 50 years ago and does not meet code, there is a ground in that building. If you are saying that all dish installs MUST be tied to the primary grounding rod, there are millions of dishes that need to come down now.

 

[dishcomm]

Normal channels and HD are off the same satellites, generally.

they are?.....go to Dish Network Channel Chart (Unofficial) ..study the sat locations of Dish servcies....then rethink that post....

 

[dishcomm]

The Dishpointer.com map showed me that all of the Echostar satellites easily beam onto my balcony.

That's fine..the images however are two dimensional...So while you can see the angle to the bird, you can't tell wheter or not there are obstrcions. Only by using a compass inlclinomter can one determine line of sight.
if the bottom of the soffit above your apt is less than 8 feet above the flooring of your balcony, you might have a problem.

 

[dishcomm]

I live in atlanta and have recently lost view of the 129 satellite. I recently had a second dish installed pointing at the 61.5 satellite. As of right now, if you can see 61.5, you will get all the national HD channels (Discovery, TLC, TNT, ect.) but you will not get the locals in HD (ABC, NBC, ect.) Right now, the locals are only on 129... which is stupid because 129 is a crappy satellite that sits low in the sky, and why they put the locals for the city with the most trees in the country is beyond me... it is a very common problem for people in the Atlanta area... LUCKILY, rumor has it that the locals will soon be mirrored on the 61.5 sat. They are currently uplinked to 61.5 but are not available yet.

My advice to you would be, if you have sight of the 61.5 sat, let him install one for that (you will have to have 2 dishes total... one for 61.5 and one for 110/119). With that setup you will have all the SD channels (including locals) and all the national HD channels. You can also hook an OTA antenna up directly to your 722 reciever and get the locals in HD (they will show up in yellow on your guide and you can record them just like any other station). And then hopefully in the near future they will make the locals available on the 61.5 sat!

As a side note, anyone know when this may happen? Thanks!

you think that's bad....try Erie, PA..these poor slob's locals are also off 129...

 

[rcdallas]

Sure I may get burned others may not agree with me regardless of the opinions, however I've done many installs in apartments with no grounds... not many approved nec grounds available when doing a balcony type bucket mount install. Each area/person may operate different, my ultimate superior just wanted it done.

Sounds like you may have to toy at the install probe for an installer, at the same time the installer maybe right, maybe wrong. Carrying dishes/coax/cable/tools/whatever up several flights of stairs is not for the chunky guy either.

 

[dishcomm]

Just so you know, NO GROUND SOURCE NO INSTALL. if the installer does install it with out a ground source. better call dish.

The GM for rthe DNS office here wants installs to get done. His superiros got tired of the high non complete numbers for apts. The number one reason for non completes was no ground available...
The procedure is to put them in if they can go in and not use the grounding issue as a road block. The QC guys have been told to not fail no grounds at apartments. In fact most apt installs are not qc'd. That's here . I cannot speak for other areas.

 

[LordKron]

My Gm sent the QAS out to this one complex and basically failed anything put in with in the last 2 weeks. lol lucky for me I I had line of site and a ground source. But yea rules of late state all dishes are to be grounded, federal law I believe now

 

[dishcomm]

My Gm sent the QAS out to this one complex and basically failed anything put in with in the last 2 weeks. lol lucky for me I I had line of site and a ground source. But yea rules of late state all dishes are to be grounded, federal law I believe now

Well if every system has to be grounded, then there will be a lot of very pissed off Latinos around here. And a alot of incarcerated techs.
I have not heard of any such federal law.
That grounding rule has to be local. WE are not required to ground apt jobs. If that were the case few would go in. The DNS office wants them done. They want the numbers to look good.

 

[pabeader]

what's the issue? you find a pipe and you attach to it.

 

[navychop]

AH! You are confusing what works with what is required.

 

[topcat0399]

what's the issue? you find a pipe and you attach to it.

LOL! and you've been installing for how long? you make it sound so simple.




Anyway.


The National Electric Code - as supplemented by LOCAL codes, are not LAWS. They are industry codes that are expected to be followed for safety reasons. Don't do it and law suits are possible and winnable.


The requirement that ALL exposed aerial Antenna's be grounded is nothing new.

 

[pabeader]

but if you ground an antenna, the tv stops working. the signal goes to ground instead of the tv