Trees blocking Sat 119!

[Ranzak]

:( Well two Direct TV guys just showed up and used their little device and determined no HD signal reception at my location without putting Dish on a pole in Front yard about 40 feet from house. Super bummer. They said I could call for a 2nd opinion, but they seemed certain. Any reason to think they were wrong??

[JFHughes08088]

Drop the tree. 2 benefits. 1 = HD. 2 = firewood. I had to fell a tree when I went HD. Got 2 cords

[tcusta00]

There's always a chance of them being wrong, sure. It seems that installers are reluctant to do any installation where there's a chance that it could fail in the future.

Why not do the pole mount in the front yard? Mine's about 75 feet from the house at the end of my driveway. The pole mount and trenching cost me about $200, but your mileage may vary depending on the installer. May be included, maybe not. I had to call a local satellite shop for the install though, DirecTV couldn't/didn't want to find that spot in my yard.

Welcome to DBSTalk! :welcome_s

[paulman182]

My pole mount 100 feet from my house and trenching were included.

Pole mounts are the norm in this area for HD customers and are included in the free install.

[Ranzak]

Drop the tree. 2 benefits. 1 = HD. 2 = firewood. I had to fell a tree when I went HD. Got 2 cords


I should have been more clear ... not just a few trees but heavy woods. They definitely said the pole and trenching would be extra, at that point I basically canceled the install. I didn't think my wife would agree to dish in front yard.

I drive up the street to my Charter Cable store and pickup a HD receiver (they were out of HD DVRs) go home and for $6.00 more a month I have about 20 HD channels.

Wife gets home I show and tell her what happened and she says, " Why don't we get the dish in the front yard?!" :D

I haven't read over any of the DIY installation info here, is there some flexibility in doing some or all of the installation yourself before DirecTV gets here?

[putty469]

There is an excellent thread in this forum by an engineer who built a great pole mount. Search on "former engineer" or "pole mount". He had some pretty cool ideas and estimates about how to prep it.

Also, you can buy Slimline dishes on eBay or from retailers like www.solidsignal.com.

I had Charter prior to DirecTV and never would have considered this much work to get a dish, but after seeing the PQ and channel count it is all worth it!

[Mertzen]

I haven't read over any of the DIY installation info here, is there some flexibility in doing some or all of the installation yourself before DirecTV gets here?

You can always dig+cement+pole your front yard. And run conduit with cable. The tech will thank you.

[Athlon646464]

:( Well two Direct TV guys just showed up and used their little device and determined no HD signal reception at my location without putting Dish on a pole in Front yard about 40 feet from house. Super bummer. They said I could call for a 2nd opinion, but they seemed certain. Any reason to think they were wrong??

Our house is surrounded by trees. The Sat position is at about 45 degrees off the left front of my house (to the left). There is a hill directly to the left with trees (heavily wooded). So - the height of the trees along with the hill was a problem.

The 1st installer said we could 'get over' the trees by sticking the dish on the roof. I did not want holes in my new roof (2 months old), and the wife did not want it on the front of the house like that (so viewable from the street). I sent him away.

The 2cond installer had 2 suggestions. His first was to remove 2 foundation plants and put it on a pole right in front of the house to the left of the front steps. It would have blocked half of the dining room window. I thought he was kidding at first, be he was serious! His second was to do what your guy said, put the dish out near the road in the front yard just past the last few trees in the left front corner of the front yard. I sent him away. It may have pissed the neighbors off as much as my wife.

The third guy out was awesome! He said he would put it on the left side of the house high enough to 'get over' the trees, and he did! (We have a two story house.) Perfect - you can barely see it from the street, and everyone is happy!

BTW - we got along great, as I helped him a lot. He gave me a SWM too.

Sometimes a second or even third opinion can't hurt........

:D