Installer only grounding 2 of the 4 cables

[jacmyoung]

After he left I began cleaning after the mess, and noticed only two of the 4 cables coming from the dish were connected to the ground block and then to the house ground in the panel box, the other two cables went straight to my bedroom downstairs. The worst thing was it would have been such an easy thing to do right in the same box.

I don't think it is right but just want to check here before I call DirecTV again, because I am tired of calling.

[jacmyoung]

...and if the guy has to come back out for that he'll probably compromise the system to fail after a few months

What did you mean?

[HDTVsportsfan]

He's saying the installer will be pissed and sabatoge your system in some way so that it will fail. Installers get charged back for having to return if a job wasn't completed properly. That's how I understand it anyway.

Don't pay attention to that comment. It was uncalled for. And if it's not all grounded then it's not OK.

[armophob]

The cables he connected to the ground had a solid wire molded into the dual cable right? Although I would prefer both were tied down if it were my home, in effect he grounded the dish using that wire.

[jacmyoung]

The cables he connected to the ground had a solid wire molded into the dual cable right? Although I would prefer both were tied down if it were my home, in effect he grounded the dish using that wire.

The dish is not grounded. He used a two-port grounding block to connect two of the cables then the block is clamped to the ground wire. The other two cables go straight into the house without any grounding block.

[armophob]

The dish is not grounded. He used a two-port grounding block to connect two of the cables then the block is clamped to the ground wire. The other two cables go straight into the house without any grounding block.

So the 2 coax's that are connected to the block are not a composite that has a strand of solid core ground wire in it? If not, you can call them back to do a proper job, or run a ground yourself from a bolt on the dish to the block they installed.

[jacmyoung]

Will call, thanks.

[bt-rtp]

Each of the four coax cables must be connected to the ground block. There is no exception, or alternative. Call DirecTV and report this problem.

It is very doubtful that the same installer will return. If the same installer does return to resolve the problem, take charge and manage them to do the job right. It is possible that a DirecTV employee will be dispatched to resolve the problem and inspect the overall quality of the installation. That is what has happened to many others here at DBSTalk.


After he left I began cleaning after the mess, and noticed only two of the 4 cables coming from the dish were connected to the ground block and then to the house ground in the panel box, the other two cables went straight to my bedroom downstairs. The worst thing was it would have been such an easy thing to do right in the same box.

I don't think it is right but just want to check here before I call DirecTV again, because I am tired of calling.

[jacmyoung]

Each of the four coax cables must be connected to the ground block. There is no exception, or alternative. Call DirecTV and report this problem.

It is very doubtful that the same installer will return. If the same installer does return to resolve the problem, take charge and manage them to do the job right. It is possible that a DirecTV employee will be dispatched to resolve the problem and inspect the overall quality of the installation. That is what has happened to many others here at DBSTalk.

Thank you. I was told a "supervisor" will call and come to inspect the work.

[aim2pls]

technically, grounding a single coax will ground the system completely .... there is a mechanical connectors of the ground side of all coax's (at the lnbf) .... for the purest ... it's only a static ground .. so it really doesn't matter at all

[jacmyoung]

Thanks for all the explanations. Earlier I spoke to retention on the grounding issue, they immediately opened a "damage claim" then transferred me to tech support, after talking to a lady there she had no idea how the grounding should be done but since a claim was open she said just have someone look at it.

Now I have called back asked to close that "damage claim" but open a work order under 90-day warranty for "quality check." There is another issue than the grounding, but hopefully by doing so the installer will not get into too much trouble. He probably did what he could under a difficult line of sight condition.

Of course I have no idea how things work there, if someone has to correct the dish mount setup he might still lose his pay.