Some Installation Questions

[CapeFish]

Hello,

OK....so my struggles with getting Dish Network in Tallahassee continue. I want to make sure I have everything figured out before calling for an install.

1) Which satellites am I looking for? (I think it is 110 & 119 like down in South Florida, but is this correct for AT200 & Tally locals?)

2) How strong should the signals be on a clear day in order for an installer to feel comfortable about making the installation? (What would be the comfort zone on a cloudy/rainy/foggy day like most in Tallahassee are?)

Thanks!

 

[Van]

if your getting standard mainstream channels plus locals then 110 / 119 are the sats you want. Clear day or overcast the tech should be able to easily get %100 if he knows what he is doing on both sats. The minimum signal you will want is %90 though dish calls for %85, however some sats outside of 110 / 119 will have lower signal strengths due to signal type and strength from the sat and your location in the world.

Cloudy will be roughly the same as sunny unless you have one of those days where lights that are run by photo cells pop on.

Foggy is also similiar to heavy cloud cover but rarely causes an outage unless the dish is out of tune.

Rain is a diferent story, if your dish is peaked to the max then you stand little chance of loosing the signal unless there is a large mass cloud out away from your home in the line of site of the dish to the sat.

From what Ive seen in the news lately there isnt much rain anywhere in Florida so maybe this year you have little to worry about but in all honesty as long as the dish is peaked right and your not having to use one of the newer 1000 or older superdishes then you should be fine.

 

[CapeFish]

Thanks for the answers! I may consider setting it up myself if I cannot get an installer to do it comfortably.

However, it seems to me like there should be no issue for a good installer to get me service.

As for the rains, this is dry season. Come June and July, the switch flips and it pours. Now we have a Tropical Disturbance moving in from the south which should give most of the peninsula a good soaking.

 

[Van]

I think there is a DNS shop in Naples so you may get an actual Dish tech but from what I remember the only DNS shops I found were in the Miami area atleast as of November of 06. One of the things that I have learned though about the subs in the Miamia area is that they never ground a Dish or Directv system so do your research and call Dish up to see who does the installation work down there and then check with the local bbb and applicable offices to see what their rating is.

 

[CapeFish]

In Tallahassee, I am still debating how to proceed on the installation. I would love to be able to call Dish Network directly and get the local installer who lives in the neighborhood. I found his website and have his phone number, but can Dish Dealers take ClubDISH cards? I'm willing to give the 18 month commitment if he can get it installed properly with the excellent level signals you said above.

Well, in Cape Coral we've got Dish Network. Our Dish 500 is very well grounded here. The guy who did the install was pretty professional and even handled the installation of a 322 box well enough to use all of the house's internal video equipment. He only had to replace the jack in the room with the 322 with one that allowed 2 cables to pass through to allow one cable to go back up to the attic to connect to the board up there for delivery into the second bedroom through an existing jack.

This is for a second home in Tallahassee that I use while going to FSU, which would require the use of a pole to install the Dish. The pole would be grounded in the earth to hold it up. The setup is for only 2 TVs which are located in adjacent rooms and will only require one (likely DVR) box.

 

[Van]

Oh if you have a second home then just have a second dish installed at the home and take your current receiver(s) with you, this way your not paying a whole new additional bil ( $75 x 2 ), this would be your best bet and all you will probably have to do is just run a check switch after moving the receiver(s) each time.

Grounded is when you provide a path way in the system for static charge and lightning to pass through the system to the earth, Im thinking your talking about the pole being cemented.

What I would do is call dish to have the addition of a 625 dual tuner dvr to what you have now at your main house, this will also allow you to get more of the tv's in the home independant programming if you have more than two tv's hooked to the 322 now. Your monthly bill will go up by about $10 or $11 so thats not a bad thing as compared to paying for a whole other bill plus a few extra dollars a month, plus you would have to cheat the system to get it installed as your name and info is already in the system. Without cheating the system the moment the installer goes to activate he will get shot down by the automated system when it catches your info.

 

[CapeFish]

I considered it, but doing it legally since the home in Tally is manufactured, but Dish's requirements for an RV waiver are different than the tag my home has from the State of Florida. Plus, the Cape House belongs to my parents and the Tally House belongs to me in the tax deeds. I accept the fact I will have to buy and pay seperately. I do give them referrals whenever I can to help them out whether it be Dish or Embarq. I will check the RV form again just to make sure. UPDATE: I can't seem to find that RV form anymore.

Plus, my parents already have 4 leased tuners (two 811s and a 322) so adding more would take CEO escalation. We are considering trading up the two 811s in for a 625 and a 211 possibly which would give them a total of 5 tuners.

At least with Dish I can get AT200+DVR+locals in DVRAdvantage which comes out over $25 cheaper than Comcast Tallahassee for similar. The only things Comcast has going for it are ease of install since cable is pervasive in Tallahassee and the fact they can exchange equipment/cancel service easily due to a lack of contracts. But not buying a third of Marlins games from FSN and being that expensive makes Dish a much better option, not to mention Dish is much more user friendly.

 

[Van]

If your going the hd route with dish though it may not be as cheap as you think with a hd dvr.

The other thing to consider is with that being a single residence with an active account its pretty difficult to get a second active system installed there so again your looking at having to cheat the system to get what you want. With there being a system already there your still better off looking at having the local guy come out and updating the system by adding a dpp44 switch to the mix, your coming out better at this point and not having to cheat the system.

 

[CapeFish]

Just to be clear, there is no system in Tallahassee. Just at my parent's house in Cape Coral.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Van]

Ok, then what I would do is have a system installed at Tallahassee minus the receiver, if the current system has two 811's and a 322 I would look at swapping out the 322 and one 811 for two 625's, with two 625's your looking at $20 extra a month give or take. Three tv's will have hd if you have a third hd set and you will be able to take one of the 625's to the Talla home. Theres variations of receiver combinations that you can look at but I would look at this first before committing to another full bill, however if the Cape Coral system is in your parents name then you wont have any issues with getting a system installed at the Talla house, just make sure that the Bill goes to that house or to a PO BOX wich Dish will do as I did it before when I had them.