VOOM and OTA reception in Cleveland, OH

[Ilya]

Ilya,

I took your advice and called Prostar today. My Cleveland Metro install is set for May 3 afternoon. It will be done by John or Jason according to the Prostar lady.

I would call them again Monday morning. Also, see if you can get the installer's cell.phone number - this way you will be in full control. I personally prefer morning installs. They are usually more predictable, as they do not depend on how long the other installs take. Good luck! I hope everything goes fine.

 

[dtsfanohio]

Cleveland Area Voomers.... My install is tomorrow, May 3. Have any of you Cleveland Voomers had a problem with rain fade where the larger (greater than 18") dish was necessary ?? It seems some parts of the US have this issue and some dont.

 

[Ilya]

I had a signal loss (for a minute or two) during Matrix yesterday. It was rain and thunderstorm. Such short-term signal loss happens once a month or so during heavy rains. If this will be happening too often, I will consider upgrading my dish to a bigger one. I also had a couple of prolonged service interruptions in winter time due to ice and freezing rain. Don't know if a bigger dish would've helped - I am thinking about a de-froster.

 

[dtsfanohio]

Ilya,

Thanks.. I have the 18" DirecTV dish and I have seen slight interruptions during heavy rain, etc. so it sounds like it will be a similar experience with Voom (which is not big issue for me). I would not think Voom would be any more suspectible to rain, etc than DirecTV or DishNetwork... ?? Am I missing something or uneducated in this respect?

 

[fayrich]

dts--

Have had V* since mid-november, and can remember only about 2 instances when signal was lost due to weather. The 18" dish is more susceptible to this than a larger dish would be. The bigger the dish, the more signal gathering power it has. When I purchased and installed my own D* system, I went with the larger eliptical dish, and never once had a signal loss in approx. the 2 years I had it before switching to V*. Will stay with the 18" dish for now and see how it performs over the long haul. Good luck with your install tomorrow, and happy Vooming!

 

[dtsfanohio]

Thanks Fayrich,

Sounds like the 18" VOOM dish will be just as good as my DirecTV dish. A signal loss few times a year due to weather is not an issue. Heck my cable would go out a few times a year too...

I am looking forward to Vooming! Finally.

 

[fayrich]

dts---
Let us know when you are up and running and what you think. Don't forget that you will initially have the old software and that it may take a day or two to upgrade.

 

[dtsfanohio]

Another NEW VoOmer in Ohio!

My install was yesterday. All went well. The installer was terrific. I love the HD PQ. I find the SD channels to be equivalent to DirecTV. I got the new software download overnight. The stealth antenna picks up all OTA channels but one (Channel 3) strangely enough, even though all the channel towers are less than 11 miles away.... At any rate, without question, Voom Customer Service has all ready ordered an antenna upgrade for May 8th! Their CS is terrific.

I have my Harmony 659 programmed and ready to go. I really look foward to Voom continuing to grow and morph into a really terrific DBS provider!

For those sitting on the fence, like me, fall off down on the VOOM side!

 

[vurbano]

wow, its nice to here about a good install. I have a harmony 688 and love how it works with voom and the other av equipment. You'll probably want an upgrade on the 18" dish as well after it rains. Im still debating if im going to or not.

 

[wasch_24]

Welcome home brother.

P.S.
Go Michigan

 

[dtsfanohio]

Vurbano,

Actually, He used my current elliptical D* dish and the LNB,,, just turned the dish to the southeast... and bingo...works great!

 

[vurbano]

dang I got one of those, just replaced one of the lnb's?

 

[dtsfanohio]

He never replaced any LNBs... used the same ones.....

 

[vurbano]

?????? used the same 3 that are in the D* dish? I thought they were specific to certain birds?

 

[dtsfanohio]

They are.. but the LNB(s0 that needs to bring in Vooms bird works and others are "blind"... works great!

 

[vurbano]

hmm I may be putting the old d* dish back up then. I had heard of people doing this and asked the installer about it but he said the end of the arm was different in construction. I guess he didnt know that the lnb was the same

 

[dtsfanohio]

It works for me. My signal is 89-90.

 

[mkatts]

dtsfanohio, what city are you in?
I am being installed tomorrow. Reynoldsburg, OH.
Outside of Columbus.

 

[dtsfanohio]

I am in Brunswick, OH a SW burb of Cleveland. ProStar Digital did my install. George was terrific.

 

[dtsfanohio]

I forgot to mention..... the DD 5.1 audio on Voom is significantly better on my system vs. DirecTV. A nice surprise!I love great PQ and great audio.