Question

[SBacklin]

Does anyone know of any third party sat installers for D* in Seattle? D* installation schedule seems to be 2 weeks in the future. I'm trying to find something sooner.

[Jhon69]

Does anyone know of any third party sat installers for D* in Seattle? D* installation schedule seems to be 2 weeks in the future. I'm trying to find something sooner.


Suggest looking in the Yellow Pages in the Phone Book.;)

[Clemsole]

This time of year two weeks is not very long. They get a lot of requests just like every on else around the holiday season.

[carl6]

Try calling magnolia audio/visual. Beyond that, yellow pages for low voltage electrical work (telephone, data wiring, etc.).

If you spend enough money, I might even do it (joking).

[Italia]

Does anyone know of any third party sat installers for D* in Seattle? D* installation schedule seems to be 2 weeks in the future. I'm trying to find something sooner.

Wow! Two weeks is nothing. I had a international dish installed and a DVR upgraded receiver installed from D*. I called up and requested it in August. They made the appt. one month out. The installer never showed. I called up and D* cancelled the order by mistake. So they rescheduled me another month out. I was fuming. The day came and guess what...the installer called me during the last hour of the installation window to say they were cancelling the appt. and would reschedule me. They now put the appt out a month later. I was so mad, I got no where with the installer or the Directv. So, I wrote to Vice President of Operations. I wrote confidential on the envelope so he would personally get it. Guess what? He never took the time to respond back. The dish was finally installed in November. (That's August to November for installation, a little unacceptable if you ask me). Two weeks into the international programming....they informed me (on the channel) that in two weeks the channel would no longer be offered. I was furious and wanted to cancel. However, they pulled a too bad and told me I was stuck with them for two years because of that DVR upgrade (contract) or I would have to pay hundreds of dollars to cancel. So...in a nutshell...I wish you the best but don't think two weeks is bad at all.

[SBacklin]

Wow! Two weeks is nothing. I had a international dish installed and a DVR upgraded receiver installed from D*. I called up and requested it in August. They made the appt. one month out. The installer never showed. I called up and D* cancelled the order by mistake. So they rescheduled me another month out. I was fuming. The day came and guess what...the installer called me during the last hour of the installation window to say they were cancelling the appt. and would reschedule me. They now put the appt out a month later. I was so mad, I got no where with the installer or the Directv. So, I wrote to Vice President of Operations. I wrote confidential on the envelope so he would personally get it. Guess what? He never took the time to respond back. The dish was finally installed in November. (That's August to November for installation, a little unacceptable if you ask me). Two weeks into the international programming....they informed me (on the channel) that in two weeks the channel would no longer be offered. I was furious and wanted to cancel. However, they pulled a too bad and told me I was stuck with them for two years because of that DVR upgrade (contract) or I would have to pay hundreds of dollars to cancel. So...in a nutshell...I wish you the best but don't think two weeks is bad at all.
I got an installer coming out next week. So I'm good. The only thing I'm now trying to figure out is why are they telling me I need a 5LNB when everything I'm reading is that I will need the 3LNB. I live in Seattle, 98106, ordering Premier Package w/ HD. My SD Locals come of 101...not sure about HD locals. Anyone have any input?

[joe diamond]

Wow! Two weeks is nothing. I had a international dish installed and a DVR upgraded receiver installed from D*. I called up and requested it in August. They made the appt. one month out. The installer never showed. I called up and D* cancelled the order by mistake. So they rescheduled me another month out. I was fuming. The day came and guess what...the installer called me during the last hour of the installation window to say they were cancelling the appt. and would reschedule me. They now put the appt out a month later. I was so mad, I got no where with the installer or the Directv. So, I wrote to Vice President of Operations. I wrote confidential on the envelope so he would personally get it. Guess what? He never took the time to respond back. The dish was finally installed in November. (That's August to November for installation, a little unacceptable if you ask me). Two weeks into the international programming....they informed me (on the channel) that in two weeks the channel would no longer be offered. I was furious and wanted to cancel. However, they pulled a too bad and told me I was stuck with them for two years because of that DVR upgrade (contract) or I would have to pay hundreds of dollars to cancel. So...in a nutshell...I wish you the best but don't think two weeks is bad at all.

Italia,
This won't help you but I have seen help wanted ads on other sites. Subcontractors want to pay bottom rates for DTV installs. CT is a place with real high road costs...........see what a local motel runs IF you can find a vacancy.

The NE is just an expensive place to do business. McDonalds pays more than doing installations.


Joe

[SBacklin]

Well, I found out that they are sending me the slimline 5lnb so I hope everything goes well.

[bobnielsen]

I got an installer coming out next week. So I'm good. The only thing I'm now trying to figure out is why are they telling me I need a 5LNB when everything I'm reading is that I will need the 3LNB. I live in Seattle, 98106, ordering Premier Package w/ HD. My SD Locals come of 101...not sure about HD locals. Anyone have any input?

Either one will work, unless you have a line-of-sight problem. Just like the DVRs, there is probably no choice--you get what the installer brings. The 3LNB Slimline is pretty new and may not be available in all areas yet.

[BattleZone]

The Slimline-5 remains the standard dish for all installs. Many of us predict that the Slimline-3 will eventually become standard, but that's just a guess and probably won't happen soon.

[joe diamond]

The Slimline-5 remains the standard dish for all installs. Many of us predict that the Slimline-3 will eventually become standard, but that's just a guess and probably won't happen soon.

IIP,

We gotta find what that "all" means. I ran across another post that seemed confident the the SWM3 was going to be IT. Folks who should know better still confuse the Ka/Ku Slimline with the Phase III in the dish selection menu.

The SWM stuff just adds to the mix. Is there a SWM5 as well as a SWM8?

I predict color coded LNBs.

Joe

[terron]

my install was set for end of november when I first called.. in September lol

[curt8403]

IIP,

We gotta find what that "all" means. I ran across another post that seemed confident the the SWM3 was going to be IT. Folks who should know better still confuse the Ka/Ku Slimline with the Phase III in the dish selection menu.

The SWM stuff just adds to the mix. Is there a SWM5 as well as a SWM8?

I predict color coded LNBs.

Joe

there was a swm5 but it died early

[SBacklin]

At one point when I had a tech out here for troubleshooting, he did a site survey for me and said I was ok. I left notes with the installer people that some kind of pole mount is required as it cannot be attached to the building.

[carl6]

I got an installer coming out next week. So I'm good. The only thing I'm now trying to figure out is why are they telling me I need a 5LNB when everything I'm reading is that I will need the 3LNB. I live in Seattle, 98106, ordering Premier Package w/ HD. My SD Locals come of 101...not sure about HD locals. Anyone have any input?

All you need is 99, 101 and 103. An SL3 will work just fine, as will an SL5. SD locals are on 101 and HD locals are now on 103 (I think - they moved recently from 99). Regardless, you need 99 and 103 for conus HD also.

[BattleZone]

IIP,

We gotta find what that "all" means. I ran across another post that seemed confident the the SWM3 was going to be IT. Folks who should know better still confuse the Ka/Ku Slimline with the Phase III in the dish selection menu.

It makes logical sense that the SL3 (or SL3-S) will eventually become the standard for everyone who doesn't need foreign language programming or have SD locals coming off of 119. This hasn't happened yet, though, as production of the SL3/SL3-S is still ramping up. Maybe 4-6 months from now, things will change. Today, SL5/SL5-S is the "standard."

The SWM stuff just adds to the mix. Is there a SWM5 as well as a SWM8?


The SWM5 and the SWM8 were both external SWM switches.

In 2004 or so, when SWM was being developed, it was thought that SWM was too big to fit into an LNB pack, and so using external SWMs would be necessary. At the time, it was also assumed that "most" homes would have 5 tuners or less, meaning 1 DVR and 3 standard receivers, as this was the most common configuration at the time. DVRs were fairly new, and were expensive, and few people had more than one.

By mid 2007, when the first field trials of the external SWMs was taking place, the world was a very different place, with most houses having more than 5 tuners, and quite a few having more than 8, which was almost unheard of in 2004. While the SWM5 was field-tested, it was canceled as "obsolete" before it ever went into production. The SWM8, being needed for commercial/MDU work, was put into production, but by this time, it had become possible to integrate the SWM switch into the Slimline LNB pack, so the decision was made that SWM8's, being considerably more expensive, would not be provided in the residential environment. Instead, residential installs would get SWM-LNBs ONLY, and those who needed more than 8 tuners would either need to buy SWM8s on their own or change back to a legacy system.

There are 3 SWM devices available:

SWM8 (external SWM switch; commercial/MDU or self-purchase only)
SL5-S (Slimline 5-LNB pack with integrated SWM switch)
SL3-S (Slimline 3-LNB pack with integrated SWM switch)

The non-SWM Slimline LNBs are the SL5 and the SL3.

[DarinC]

Suggest looking in the Yellow Pages in the Phone Book.;)

What is this phone book you speak of?

[curt8403]

It makes logical sense that the SL3 (or SL3-S) will eventually become the standard for everyone who doesn't need foreign language programming or have SD locals coming off of 119. This hasn't happened yet, though, as production of the SL3/SL3-S is still ramping up. Maybe 4-6 months from now, things will change. Today, SL5/SL5-S is the "standard."



The SWM5 and the SWM8 were both external SWM switches.

In 2004 or so, when SWM was being developed, it was thought that SWM was too big to fit into an LNB pack, and so using external SWMs would be necessary. At the time, it was also assumed that "most" homes would have 5 tuners or less, meaning 1 DVR and 3 standard receivers, as this was the most common configuration at the time. DVRs were fairly new, and were expensive, and few people had more than one.

By mid 2007, when the first field trials of the external SWMs was taking place, the world was a very different place, with most houses having more than 5 tuners, and quite a few having more than 8, which was almost unheard of in 2004. While the SWM5 was field-tested, it was canceled as "obsolete" before it ever went into production. The SWM8, being needed for commercial/MDU work, was put into production, but by this time, it had become possible to integrate the SWM switch into the Slimline LNB pack, so the decision was made that SWM8's, being considerably more expensive, would not be provided in the residential environment. Instead, residential installs would get SWM-LNBs ONLY, and those who needed more than 8 tuners would either need to buy SWM8s on their own or change back to a legacy system.

There are 3 SWM devices available:

SWM8 (external SWM switch; commercial/MDU or self-purchase only)
SL5-S (Slimline 5-LNB pack with integrated SWM switch)
SL3-S (Slimline 3-LNB pack with integrated SWM switch)

The non-SWM Slimline LNBs are the SL5 and the SL3.


I've seen a few installs where the tech gave the customer an external SWM8 but they are totally rare

[SBacklin]

I already have two lines running to each of the places where my dual tuner dvrs are going to go. How would they wire the new hd dish for that? I heard that they changed the wiring or amount of wires needed for that kind of setup? Of course I couldve misunderstood what I read too.

[BattleZone]

I've seen a few installs where the tech gave the customer an external SWM8 but they are totally rare

Those would be very, very rare, except for the few areas where the SWM field tests took place. Obviously those customer got SWM-5 and SWM-8s back before any customer knew what they were.

I'm sure there are customers who called up DirecTV and demanded a SWM-8 and for one reason or another got one (likely after a series of screwed up installs which led the customer to do his own research), but that's very much the exception.

IMO, folks here already "recommend" SWM-8s (among other new/limited availability items) to people FAR too often and never bother to mention that they aren't standard residential equipment, and this sets a false expectation that anyone can call up DirecTV and request one for their install. Then 200 people read the thread, and 50 of them call DirecTV to get themselves a SWM, only to come back here and complain, or worse, badmouth DirecTV to everyone they know.

One thing I learned long ago about good customer service is to set the proper expectations from the very beginning. The second you imply that the customer might be able to get something extra, the customer is going to expect it, and will be disappointed or even upset and angry, if they don't get it. I know folks are honestly trying to be helpful and offer people solutions to their problems, but sometimes they only make it worse by not taking the time to relate the "whole truth."

[JLucPicard]

I already have two lines running to each of the places where my dual tuner dvrs are going to go. How would they wire the new hd dish for that? I heard that they changed the wiring or amount of wires needed for that kind of setup? Of course I couldve misunderstood what I read too.
If all you've got is the two dual tuner DVRs, then the four lines you've got run to them should just be connected to the dish's LNB assembly (or maybe more rightly, the grounding block?). There are four outputs on the LNB. If you were to need more than four feeds, then you would need a multi-switch (Zinwell WB68 would give you 8 outputs).

If the two DVRs are it for now, you should be good to go.

[joe diamond]

What is this phone book you speak of?

Darin,
There was a time long ago and far away where each house had a
T E L E P H O N E, can you say telephone? Each telephone had a telephone number. people would "dial" these numbers and speak through the connected system. In our town the number my wife and mother-in law had for years was "12".

In this century the list of numbers.......the "phone book"...is meaningless. The last statistic I saw was in a New York times piece........they stated one in six addresses had no land line phone and no plans to get one. Near here in the town of Annapolis, MD they took a scoop out of the bottom of the harbor and came up with thousands of cell phones that had been thrown away.

So, to answer your question.......a phone book = the list of people who used to have a phone. One could make a buck or two listing the phone numbers of all who have a phone in their pocket.

Joe

[BattleZone]

Darin,
a phone book = the list of people who used to have a phone.

That reminds me of my favorite line from the movie "The Way Of The Gun":

"A plan is just a list of things that don't happen..."

[carl6]

The last statistic I saw was in a New York times piece........they stated one in six addresses had no land line phone and no plans to get one.

Well, let's see now. One in six had no land line, which means an overwhelming 83% DO have a land line! We've got a ways to go before POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) is gone.

I will admit though, I'm down to one land line now (from 4 I once had).

[DarinC]

Hmmm, does VoIP count as a "land line"? If so, does that still stand if you get your internet wirelessly?

[joe diamond]

Well, let's see now. One in six had no land line, which means an overwhelming 83% DO have a land line! We've got a ways to go before POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) is gone.

I will admit though, I'm down to one land line now (from 4 I once had).

Carl,

It is the direction of the trend I watch. POTS isn't growing.

Businesses need it with switching systems. FAX users need it.

But, in suburbia it is just easier to get some kind of cell. I see new home buyers move in with the cell they used in college and at work..........the new telco stuff gets coiled and forgotten. They have no plan.

Many remodeling plans and the repair plan for old copper become just "get a walk around or do like the kids and get a cell."

Try to find a pay phone.......they are just about gone. As the junkies got to them they were not replaced. Nobody missed them. The underclass that used to rely on the neighborhood pay phone near the local store has found ways to get cells & DTV if they want them.

Joe