Request for new WIRING.

[IBID]

There are some specialized tools that make fishing wires easier (magnets, small chains, fiberglass rods, flexible drill bits) You can use craigslist or a local wiring supplier to try and locate a low voltage wiring installer. No electrician necessary. Figure around $250-$300 to get someone out to your house and do the work, more for materials.

.
About 10 years ago I was living in a 200 unit Condo complex and the Cable Co (Darkhouse) decided to update/replace all the wiring in every unit ( everyone had cable as part of the monthly Fee).
So they had a crew of 5 or 6 go from unit to unit to run the new cable (did not even bother to remove the old one)... and a few weeks after they were done, I went to the attic for something, and found a " home made" 9'-10' fiberglass rod with a hook taped at one end with Duct tape... I should have it somewhere around ...which can come in handy...
3Years ago I was having problems with the old wiring and the cable guy went to the attic and replaced wiring going to 3 locations "wall fishing" in less than 30min... without even asking and the charge was $0.
So I don't see what is the big deal doing it with Dish TV... One doesn't need a PhD to do that!
I am reluctant to use the same wiring used for Broadband Internet and VOIP because in the event of a direct lightning strike to the outside dish, I can lose every thing (Internet/Phone/TV)... like putting all the eggs in one basket!

 

[Dr.Pepper]

.
About 10 years ago I was living in a 200 unit Condo complex and the Cable Co (Darkhouse) decided to update/replace all the wiring in every unit ( everyone had cable as part of the monthly Fee).
So they had a crew of 5 or 6 go from unit to unit to run the new cable (did not even bother to remove the old one)... and a few weeks after they were done, I went to the attic for something, and found a " home made" 9'-10' fiberglass rod with a hook taped at one end with Duct tape... I should have it somewhere around ...which can come in handy...
3Years ago I was having problems with the old wiring and the cable guy went to the attic and replaced wiring going to 3 locations "wall fishing" in less than 30min... without even asking and the charge was $0.
So I don't see what is the big deal doing it with Dish TV... One doesn't need a PhD to do that!
I am reluctant to use the same wiring used for Broadband Internet and VOIP because in the event of a direct lightning strike to the outside dish, I can lose every thing (Internet/Phone/TV)... like putting all the eggs in one basket!

Then go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy some RG6 cable and do it yourself.

It's real simple. Either the installation company will do it for free or they won't . If they will, then good for you. If not, then too bad, deal with it.

P.S. Don't do it yourself. It's real easy to get "lost" in the attic. It never looks the same up in the attic as it does down in the room(s). You could very easily damage something or injure yourself.

 

[Brisak]

I work for the Tampa rsp. I beg to come to your house

 

[Brisak]

I will wrap your house with black cable and punch it through the exterior walls

 

[chainblu]

LOL if you REALLY worked for the RSP in Tampa, you know you'll do a pole mount, dig a 150 ft trench AND wall fish every cable if need be... And it won't cost the customer a dime.

Which is precisely the reason I don't work for that RSP anymore!

 

[Tyralak]

$15 an hour is more than what the majority of unskilled labor get...

Yeah, calling technicians "unskilled labor" isn't likely to make you any friends around here.

 

[DNS_Tech]

Ok. Clearly electrician was overkill. In my opinion, it is best to pay the money and get it done correctly. Our office doesn't supply anything but glow rods and fish tape. Its a hassle to deal with.
I'll conceal the cable as best as I can but at the same time, I've got other criteria to worry about. I'm curious to know if the install happened.

 

[IBID]

Thanks everybody for the help... I decided against having a Dish installed for the time being.

 

[Tyralak]

Don't take it personally... it was not meant the way you think it means.
Unskilled Labor refer to any position that does not require formal training like going to school/college or apprenticeship for many many years.
One has to learn the mechanics of any given job and thus becomes a pro at it... or a technician if you prefer.
A " laborer" on the other hand refers to a particular position that anybody in good health can usually do right away.
To all who feel offended by that term I say don't.

Then your definition is incorrect, and your ignorance of what is involved in this profession is beyond astounding. Your condescension is also noted. Since what we do qualifies as "unskilled labor" in your opinion, I'm sure you have no problem reading one of these:

In fact, how about you come with me to one of our commercial properties and help me rebalance the QAM system there. Maybe you'll be able to isolate what's causing some troublesome interference with our digital stacks in the 500MHz range. You, sir are far out of your depth.

PS: I decided that I will not have a dish TV installed after all... I will stay with the Cable Co for now!

That's great news! I'm sure we'd all be anxious to hear your experience with the cable company when that wiring you've been having such difficulty with stops working, and the "unskilled" cable tech comes out. Be sure you tape his response when you tell him you'll settle for nothing less than multiple free wallfishes. I see a house wrapped in brand new shiny black cable in your future.

 

[sA :: Shaggy]

Then your definition is incorrect, and your ignorance of what is involved in this profession is beyond astounding. Your condescension is also noted. Since what we do qualifies as "unskilled labor" in your opinion, I'm sure you have no problem reading one of these:

In fact, how about you come with me to one of our commercial properties and help me rebalance the QAM system there. Maybe you'll be able to isolate what's causing some troublesome interference with our digital stacks in the 500MHz range. You, sir are far out of your depth.

Hey man that's my Meter!! lol,

Oh and the issue at the QAM property was the fact that they started using a new cell tower and it was leaking into the wiring. Most likey from the crappy rg-59 between the wall and the tvs.

Also had a bad amp,

oh and a few bad tdts.

oh and.........

With Qam the list never stops.

Thank u Televes for keeping me Employed.

 

[Tyralak]

Hey man that's my Meter!! lol,

Oh and the issue at the QAM property was the fact that they started using a new cell tower and it was leaking into the wiring. Most likey from the crappy rg-59 between the wall and the tvs.

Also had a bad amp,

oh and a few bad tdts.

oh and.........

With Qam the list never stops.

Thank u Televes for keeping me Employed.

Yet another reason to hate rg-59. Amazing that I still see places like Home Depot selling rolls of the stuff.

 

[IBID]

Then your definition is incorrect, and your ignorance of what is involved in this profession is beyond astounding. Your condescension is also noted. Since what we do qualifies as "unskilled labor" in your opinion,...

If you read the whole thread it was about RUNNING CABLE in a home with no technical aspect discussed / involved: it was Wall Fishing Vs Drilling to run a cable; that's all!
Somehow the $15 an hour was mentioned as not being enough as pay to do that... and in essence my comment was directed at that aspect: Running Cable for $15 an hour , an amount which I think will attract a large crowd in search of a job in this weak economy.
You choose to make it something else … that is your opinion!
And since I no longer intend to pursue the installation of a TV dish , I don't think it serves any purpose to continue beating a dead horse.


Just a side note... last year I was looking into replacing about 1,200 square feet of carpet with Laminates... and was offered bids ranging from $3.50 to $5 per Sq Foot Labor only, plus of course the material. Which comes to $4,800 at $4 a sq. foot, just for the installation.
So I said to myself why not try it - even though I never used a cutting saw in my life (yep - I was unskilled labor myself!)... and if it doesn't come out right that is too bad!
… and guess what? I enjoyed every minute doing it! It came out great; saved myself a bundle; and it was a lot of fun!
Happy Holidays!

 

[Claude Greiner]

If you want the existing cable replaced, then remove the cable before the installer gets there and then there is no argument with the installer when you ask them to run new cable.

I did installations for several years, and I could understand why some customers wanted the cable completely replaced if they had issues with it in the past, or if they where keeping their existing provider. For those types of situations, I had no issue doing the extra work, but every once and a while I would run into some a$$hole who would want the cable replaced for the simple fact that it should be included as part of the installation, and since im not giving a discount on free install if I used the existing cable, then I should have to do more work.

As far as wall fishes, they are are not included with a basic install. Sometimes if there is an existing wall plate, I'll re-fish an existing wall plate because its easier than drilling another hole in the floor.

The whole issue with Wall Fishes is not how easy it is in some cases, but the fact of the matter your cutting out a section of the customers wall and if you screw up you can pretty much count on the customer insisting that you pay to repaint their entire room and repair the hole.

Not that I have ever screwed up a wall fish, but there is a certain amount of risk involved doing it and once you cut the hole in the wall you have a problem if you can't fish the wire if you run into heavy insulation or a fire stop. Or worse yet, you have to schedule a return service call to get a different fish tape, or special tool to finish a wall fish that you could not complete on your first visit.

 

[IBID]

If you want the existing cable replaced, then remove the cable before the installer gets there and then there is no argument with the installer when you ask them to run new cable.

I did installations for several years, and I could understand why some customers wanted the cable completely replaced if they had issues with it in the past, or if they where keeping their existing provider. For those types of situations, I had no issue doing the extra work, but every once and a while I would run into some a$$hole who would want the cable replaced for the simple fact that it should be included as part of the installation, and since im not giving a discount on free install if I used the existing cable, then I should have to do more work.

As far as wall fishes, they are are not included with a basic install. Sometimes if there is an existing wall plate, I'll re-fish an existing wall plate because its easier than drilling another hole in the floor.

The whole issue with Wall Fishes is not how easy it is in some cases, but the fact of the matter your cutting out a section of the customers wall and if you screw up you can pretty much count on the customer insisting that you pay to repaint their entire room and repair the hole.

Not that I have ever screwed up a wall fish, but there is a certain amount of risk involved doing it and once you cut the hole in the wall you have a problem if you can't fish the wire if you run into heavy insulation or a fire stop. Or worse yet, you have to schedule a return service call to get a different fish tape, or special tool to finish a wall fish that you could not complete on your first visit.

Thanks for the explanation!
What happened to the Tiger Stadium? I left MI 11 Years ago!

 

[Dr.Pepper]

If you want the existing cable replaced, then remove the cable before the installer gets there and then there is no argument with the installer when you ask them to run new cable.

I did installations for several years, and I could understand why some customers wanted the cable completely replaced if they had issues with it in the past, or if they where keeping their existing provider. For those types of situations, I had no issue doing the extra work, but every once and a while I would run into some a$$hole who would want the cable replaced for the simple fact that it should be included as part of the installation, and since im not giving a discount on free install if I used the existing cable, then I should have to do more work.

As far as wall fishes, they are are not included with a basic install. Sometimes if there is an existing wall plate, I'll re-fish an existing wall plate because its easier than drilling another hole in the floor.

The whole issue with Wall Fishes is not how easy it is in some cases, but the fact of the matter your cutting out a section of the customers wall and if you screw up you can pretty much count on the customer insisting that you pay to repaint their entire room and repair the hole.

Not that I have ever screwed up a wall fish, but there is a certain amount of risk involved doing it and once you cut the hole in the wall you have a problem if you can't fish the wire if you run into heavy insulation or a fire stop. Or worse yet, you have to schedule a return service call to get a different fish tape, or special tool to finish a wall fish that you could not complete on your first visit.

You're a hypocrite. On more than one occasion over in the Installer Zone you've complained about installers being unwilling to do extra work for FREE on certain jobs with your reasoning being that on some other jobs we didn't have to do as much work due to either pre-existing dish, cable, etc., etc.

 

[Brisak]

If you cried enough we would have to.Plus I try to keep my new connect completion rate high so I probably would put up with your silly demands.

 

[jarvantgroup]

There is a reason why Dish has what is included in a "FREE STANDARD INSTALLATION" printed on the back of the service agreement and what is not. One wall penetration, cable burial up to 50', tripod-mount, etc. A technician will encounter hundreds of different scenarios where a customer will want him to do things that will be outside the scope of a standard install. Can't you just run the line down my chimney? How about mount the dish on the neighbor's tree and run an aerial over to my house? How about running your lines under my driveway with conduit included. You should have no problem mounting the dish on the roof of my three-story home and running the lines to my On-Q panel in my finished basement. I think we all agree that most technicians are fully capable of doing a wallfish. That is not the issue. But at some point, DNS doesn't want their technicians spending an inordinate amount of time performing tasks that are outside the scope of a free install. Especially at the risk of delaying or canceling another install scheduled later in the day. Or possibly risking a damage claim. You'd be amazed how a simple, event-free, wall fish can morph into a damage claim purporting damaged air ducts in the ceiling, a leaky roof that had to be caused from the tech because he was the last one in the attic, a crack in the ceiling of a 80-year old house blamed on the tech, etc. As for subcontractors, as long a DNS or the RSP continues to set a specific amount for the FREE INSTALLATION and will not allow a subcontrator/tech to charge for additional tasks, then you will see techs avoiding all the custom work, such as wallfishes, long burials, customer-requested pole-mounts, etc. More time, more materials, more risk of damage with no additional benefit to the tech. Most techs are professionals that will go above and beyond to accommodate the customer, but don't take our accommodation for stupidity.

 

[Tyralak]

If you read the whole thread it was about RUNNING CABLE in a home with no technical aspect discussed / involved: it was Wall Fishing Vs Drilling to run a cable; that's all!
Somehow the $15 an hour was mentioned as not being enough as pay to do that... and in essence my comment was directed at that aspect: Running Cable for $15 an hour , an amount which I think will attract a large crowd in search of a job in this weak economy.
You choose to make it something else … that is your opinion!
And since I no longer intend to pursue the installation of a TV dish , I don't think it serves any purpose to continue beating a dead horse.


Just a side note... last year I was looking into replacing about 1,200 square feet of carpet with Laminates... and was offered bids ranging from $3.50 to $5 per Sq Foot Labor only, plus of course the material. Which comes to $4,800 at $4 a sq. foot, just for the installation.
So I said to myself why not try it - even though I never used a cutting saw in my life (yep - I was unskilled labor myself!)... and if it doesn't come out right that is too bad!
… and guess what? I enjoyed every minute doing it! It came out great; saved myself a bundle; and it was a lot of fun!
Happy Holidays!

When you're in a hole, the best course of action is generally to stop digging. The guy who hauls rocks from one side of the yard to the other is unskilled labor. Low voltage telecommunications workers (cable, satellite, telephone, alarm, CCTV, etc) most certainly are not. Plus you seem to be under the impression that there are two types of satellite technicians. The ones who "just run cables" and the "technical support" kind. There are not. There are technicians with different levels of expertise, but all of them are trained to install and troubleshoot most if not all types of systems.

 

[Dishman1978]

I find it funny that i just read this yesterday and this morning in out uptraining class they pass out handouts for what is now standard/custom work. And anything under custom will have additional charges appllied, and points will be given.

"Fishing cable beyond what is required to route cable from the attic/ unfinished basement to the reciever outlet". = custom work.'

 

[UnSat]

I don't believe that DISH wants people in Canada and Mexico (or any other country for that matter) subscribing to their service.

LET ME CLARIFY There isn`t an area in the USA that Dish does not service.