Voom satellite too low in Eastern sky to get!

[emtownsend]

Voom not available in most parts of Coeur d'Alene /Post Falls Idaho! (Perhaps even Spokane Washington too)

I had an install scheduled for this morning. The installer was very prompt, but had bad news:
Only 1 of every 4 installs are possible in my area of the Pacific Northwest. I guess the satellite is too low in the Eastern sky to get. Well, needless to say, I am very bummed.

I am off to find an alternative. My 57" Toshiba Cinema Series is going to waste. I currently have Dish Network. Been with them for 6 years now. They won't let me get HD without paying a high price for the receiver so I am going to investigate DirecTV. My local cable company, Adelphia, does not offer HD in my area yet. According to the installer, I can only get about 4 OTA HD channels. BUT, I need a box for that too!

Any suggestions for my "next best thing"?

 

[Voom Voom]

Who was your installer?

When my install date came around he drove up the drive way, steped out of his truck, looked east, pulled out compass, and said "you cant get voom and I dont want to waste my time trying because I wont get paid if I cant get it working"

well i called voom after he left, another person came out and found a spot where it would work, and after a bit of work (cut down a few trees) i've been Vooming for about 5 months now

So call voom again and explain to them what happend and see what they say

Also you can grabb a compass aim for about 105 degrees (just a guesstimate) and if you can see the sky with no obstructions that will provide a little hope

 

[emtownsend]

Hummmm, really? I will do that. Sounds like we might have had the same guy come out. He said we have too many trees, primarily. He said one of the mountains might be in the way too... (We live close to the river) He also said he "didn't want to spend a bunch of time for nothing"...
Well, I won't give up yet...
On a positive note, Dish is going to allow me to upgrade one of my receivers to HD for nothing. I know they are no Voom, but at least I have something!
I will post what I hear from Voom.

 

[keno]

Hummmm, really? I will do that. Sounds like we might have had the same guy come out. He said we have too many trees, primarily. He said one of the mountains might be in the way too... (We live close to the river) He also said he "didn't want to spend a bunch of time for nothing"...
Well, I won't give up yet...
On a positive note, Dish is going to allow me to upgrade one of my receivers to HD for nothing. I know they are no Voom, but at least I have something!
I will post what I hear from Voom.

Va Va Vooming in Post Falls. No problems with the satellite here. On the river in Post Falls. Have 30" dish. Was installed 6 months ago. The dish is on the roof.

 

[emtownsend]

You are? OK, this blows... I am calling them now...
Keno, where are you located? I am just off Ross Point Road in the Hunters Glenn development...

 

[Neutron]

You may be disappointed with DISH's HD. According to it's CEO they won't add any HD content that they don't find "Compelling"

 

[emtownsend]

You may be disappointed with DISH's HD. According to it's CEO they won't add any HD content that they don't find "Compelling"

Double Doht! I have Voom on the line now. I am on hold while they locate a different installer to do a better site survey. (The Voom call center is in Spokane, oddly enough)

 

[emtownsend]

OK... Voom is sending a different company out for another, more complete, site survey. If they can get the signal, the original install company will come back out. I'm OK with that. So... I'm just waiting, again.

 

[Voom Voom]

Ya Voom outsourced to West Telemarketing Corp. Who owns Dakotah West (formally Dakotah Direct) they have 2 offices that deal with Voom one In Spokane (the Holly Mason Building) off 2nd and howard, and the other one is in San Antonio TX

Just a little useless info

 

[Voom Voom]

OK... Voom is sending a different company out for another, more complete, site survey. If they can get the signal, the original install company will come back out. I'm OK with that. So... I'm just waiting, again.

Thats good news. how long do you have to wait?

 

[keno]

You are? OK, this blows... I am calling them now...
Keno, where are you located? I am just off Ross Point Road in the Hunters Glenn development...

Riverside Harbor Development, less that 1/4 mile away. So, it should work for you.

 

[emtownsend]

Re-re-schedule

Well, I hadn't heard from Voom yet, so I called them this morning.... Turns out they cancelled my re-schedule because they thought it was a duplicate request (sine I called them the same day I guess).
So, I got them to re-re-schedule for Saturday August 7th so I could be there. They tried to tell me I would be charged $45 if the can't get a line of site. I told them "no way" since the first guy shouldn't even count as a visit/install attempt. They agreed and had someone call me to set the appointment.
So, this company (Direct Broadcast Satellite Center, Inc. ) calls and sets up for the 7th. They again try to tell me it will be $45 if no line of sight. Again I fought with them on the issue and so far so good. They assure me a different installer is coming.

In the meantime, I replaced one of my current Dish receivers with the 811 (HD) and the picture is amazing. Only 5 channels though! Dish is out as soon as Voom is in! Wish me luck!

Thanks for the info Keno...

 

[keno]

The only thing that should block you is a tree. But, you may have to have the dish on the roof. Also, because of the rain and snow in our area in the Fall, Winter and Spring, and becasue the satellite is so low in the sky, you will have to have a 30" dish (or the newer oval 29" dish). The small dish will not work in Northern Idaho. I had the small dish for 1 week, and then had it replaced because of rain fade.

Another thing. The OTA channels come from three (3) different directions. ABC is on Mt. Spokane (North), NBC and CBS are in Spokane (West), and PBS is East in Coeur d'Alene. I opted to just receive the major stations (NBC, ABC and CBS). Voom installed two directional anntenna for this purpose. However, you have to make arrangements ahead of time to get the two antennas. NBC, in our area, is currently not broadcasting in HD. But, in 3 weeks they will, for the Olympics. Also, try to talk them out of the diplexor and instead run a seperate cable for the antennas.

Good luck

 

[emtownsend]

OTA antenna

Keno,
What antennae did they install for you? You said two directionals... I assume they were also on the roof? (as opposed to indoor or attic mounted).

Voom is my last hope for HDTV for the near future...

I checked with Adelphia Cable and they do not offer HDTV in our area yet. They have been saying "soon" for the past 6 months... They are still in bankruptcy proceedings I think, so that is no surprise. HD will never happen in our market with Adelphia.

Dish network only offers 5 or 6 HD channels... Not worth the extra $10 a month to me... I only watch a couple of them, some of the time.

DirecTV is the same as Dish for HD content.

So, if no Voom, no HDTV! :-( I can try OTA antenna, but without a HDTV box of some sort, I can't get that either... What was that HD deadline for the USA again? hehe 2006 I think...

 

[DarrellP]

Take a protractor and make a line of sight at 11 degrees toward the sat. If you stand facing South and extend your left arm to about the 48 minute mark on a clock, you will be in the ballpark, see if you have any obstruction in that direction.

 

[Dvlos]

Mount your dish on some mountain.... run 500 miles of coax.

 

[keno]

Keno,
What antennae did they install for you? You said two directionals... I assume they were also on the roof? (as opposed to indoor or attic mounted).

Voom is my last hope for HDTV for the near future...

I checked with Adelphia Cable and they do not offer HDTV in our area yet. They have been saying "soon" for the past 6 months... They are still in bankruptcy proceedings I think, so that is no surprise. HD will never happen in our market with Adelphia.

Dish network only offers 5 or 6 HD channels... Not worth the extra $10 a month to me... I only watch a couple of them, some of the time.

DirecTV is the same as Dish for HD content.

So, if no Voom, no HDTV! :-( I can try OTA antenna, but without a HDTV box of some sort, I can't get that either... What was that HD deadline for the USA again? hehe 2006 I think...

Voom mounted two antennas on the roof. Then they connected them together. One is on top of the other. I'm not sure of the brand names, but they are large. I get ABC, NBC and CBS. I think DirecTV, in the future, will be the major competition for Voom bacause "they say" their going to add more HD channels....but I've heard that before. Will not switch based on promises and speculation by a satellite provider...

 

[Seawaves]

I called Voom, the CSR told me that Voom will move the satellite higher in the Eastern Sky.

 

[emtownsend]

Moving satellite...

I've heard that too, but they have been saying that for some time now (months)... I hope they do soon!

 

[emtownsend]

Mount your dish on some mountain.... run 500 miles of coax.

I would if I could...!