World's Worst Installations

[Chris Blount]

I've seen threads with pictures of how people install their systems. Well how about the ones that don't go so well. Do you have a rushed job that you would like to show? Here is the place to do it.

First, my down and dirty installation of a recently acquired SW64. I have 4 receivers with 2 Dish's. I also needed to install a Diplexor to my Dish 6000 receiver to receive OTA HDTV broadcast.

Here is the overall system. You see the 2 Dishes (one Dish 500 and another pointed at 61.5 for HDTV) with the wires running to the house and under the eve. Check out the bricks on each foot of the tripod to keep one of the dishes from blowing away:

http://www.dbstalk.com/images/chrisinstall/install3.JPG

Look at this nicely coiled batch of wires. Doesn't it look great? :) Hey, what do you do when you have extra cable and don't feel like cutting them and attaching new connectors? You loop them and tie wrap them to the burglar bars! :)

http://www.dbstalk.com/images/chrisinstall/install2.JPG

..and how about this. The SW64 and the diplexor neatly attached under the eve but of course I didn't want to make it look TOO good so I had to do some sort of cable coiling.

http://www.dbstalk.com/images/chrisinstall/install1.JPG

Obviously this is a temporary installation but it's fun just to "show it off" about how NOT to install a system. The amazing thing is that it all works!

Can anyone top this?

[Richard King]

http://www.pbase.com/image/470194
Two Starband/Dish dishes to experiment with Starband on both of their satellites. Note that one is on a legit non-pen roof mount, while the other is the standard Starband mount on a custom base that I fabricated out of cinder blocks and perferated angle iron. It actually works quite well. I ended up keeping the real non-pen mount (swaped dishes) and I use the other custom mount when I infrequently talk to groups about satellite (DBS or internet). The custom mount is nice in that I can now pack up my complete Starband system, including the mount in the back of my Hyndai Santa Fe.

[James_F]

Chris, how much cable did you use on that install? I've never seen that much in one place except for Fry's Electronics.... :D

[Chris Blount]

RKing401,

Not bad! I think you are close to taking the cake on that one.

James,

Radio Shack only sells RG-6 in 25, 50 and 100 foot lengths. To get the cable from the Dishes to the switch, I had to use the 25 foot denomination. Needless to say, there was plenty left over since there had to be 6 runs to the switch.

We should have a contest or something on who has the worst installation. Any suggestions for a prize? :)

[James_F]

Originally posted by Chris Blount
We should have a contest or something on who has the worst installation. Any suggestions for a prize? :)

How about a User Title that crownw them as the worst installation? Won't be me since I'm to anal. I had to paint and hide all my cable....

[Richard King]

Not bad! I think you are close to taking the cake on that one.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I reserve that kind of installation only for my own house, on a system I am always playing with (sometimes). :D

[Nick]

This thread could be called "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". I am not
generally anal-retentive (other than conditions attributable to age) but I
do believe neatness counts.

That has got to be the ugliest mess of wires I've ever seen. One word for
you, Chris: cut-to-length! Ok, it's not exactly one word but you get the idea. :)

Richard, In this (http://www.pbase.com/image/330904) close-up pic it looks that Gecko could use
a little more health insurance, especially for his toasty gonads. :D :lol: :D:


Nick :smoking:

[Richard King]

I thought you might enjoy that one Nick. My customer had a severe case of Gecko fade that day until I was called in to clear it up. Ah, the sacrifices one has to make for customer service. I suspect we may have been witness to the end of his family tree. :lol:

[Jacob S]

I would think that something like that would be ok if it was used for travelling but not for someting permanent.

Can you take a Starband or Direcetway system travelling somewhere or will they only let it be turned on in a certain area?

Can they spotbeam with Starband or Directway?

[John Corn]

Shoot, I just went out and bought 500 ft roll of RG6 and redone mine......I could have been in the hunt. :(
If I get a chance maybe I can get a picture of the cable and satellite wires where they all come in my basement, now thats a nightmare.

[lee635]

My gosh Chris. Are you safe??????

Those burglar bars look serious. Do you have pictures of your pit bulls to round out the image in my head???? ;)

[DarrellP]

For a prize, how about we chip in $1 each and give the winner a real, "professional" intallation job?

[Nick]

Those burglar bars look serious...

Those bars covering that high, difficult-to-reach window are just for show.

The real danger to would-be burglars is the massive amount of rats-nest wiring,
cleverly designed to entrap and electrocute any fool attempting entry to Chris's castle.

Also, did you notice the extra-wide, ground-level patio door with no bars? Hmmmm?
Is that a welcome sign I see???

:lol:


The Nickster :smoking:

[James_F]

Good point Nick, think of the lawsuit when the burglar hangs himself on Chris' wiring.... :rolling:

[Dave Johnson]

Chris I`ve been playing with a 100cm dish in the yard trying to improve my signal for 119. The mount is just temporary until I cement a new post in.

[Chris Blount]

Originally posted by Nick
Also, did you notice the extra-wide, ground-level patio door with no bars? Hmmmm?
Is that a welcome sign I see???Actually there are bars on that door. I have them pulled back so I can get in and out.

Originally posted by Dave Johnson
Chris I`ve been playing with a 100cm dish in the yard trying to improve my signal for 119. The mount is just temporary until I cement a new post in.
Good one Dave. I almost considered doing that when I installed a 10' C-Band dish but decided against it because it was too big and heavy. Has your signal strength improved any?

[jrjcd]

i am thinking of making a calander of really bad install pics to sell to retailers-would anyone have any problem with me using any of the pics here???

[Nick]

Good idea, jr. Dealers could proudly hang them in their showrooms for customers to see. BTW, what year do you plan to use? :D

[Dave Johnson]

Chris I got the post cemented in last night and I finished the install this morning. The signal has improved about 15-20 signal points on each transponder.

The signal is still hard to get here in Canada since E-7 came online. :(

Here are a couple more pics of the finished installation if anyone is interested. I used conduit along side the post to hide the cables.

[Dave Johnson]

Another picture. Couldn`t see how to add more than 1 per post.

[Nick]

Nice install, Dave. What's your elevation in Alberta - 15 degrees or so?

[Dave Johnson]

Nick I can`t really tell from looking at the gauge on the side of the dish but I think it is somewhere around the 20 mark.

[Lightnin1]

Starband Install (http://www.procomplus.net/t0068.jpg)

This is my old starband dish that I use to pull my Dish 500 waves in with. I unhooked the internet portion of it when I replaced my roof. I used it at the time for my showroom unit. When I started contracting installing and troubleshooting DSL for the local telco, I disconnected it and went with DSL. I'm downloading at 1.5 Mb/sec and uploading at 1.2 Mb/sec. I added an 1-1/4" weatherhead for a nice looking install. I don't think I will get the worst install title, I just thought I would post a pic.

By the way Chris, do you mind if I post your picks on dishretailer.com?
Some of the guys on there would get a kick out of them.

[METRO25]

My 2 way Directway install probably topped them all. It was the middle of winter and the ground was too frozen to do a pole mount, so shovled a whole bunch of snow into a big pile to support a piece of galvanized pipe, and then got the garden hose and iced the entire thing down!

It worked out preety good, until it rained and the entire Dish fell over :)

Heres my antenna farm...

http://www.dishretailer.com/antennafarm.html

[Chris Blount]

Originally posted by Pro-Com

By the way Chris, do you mind if I post your picks on dishretailer.com?
Some of the guys on there would get a kick out of them.


Sure, go ahead. :)

[Nick]

Hi Claude, er....I mean Metro! :wave: Nice to see you, er....your dish farm again.

Does your 148 dish get skip off the Rockies??? :D


NIck :smoking:

[Dave Johnson]

In case anyone is interested I added another lnb to my dish today for the 110 slot. Attached is an updated picture. :rolleyes:

[Bob Haller]

My install 2 500s side by side on my deck to support a 721 that I cant afford, isnt bad. But gee the years of wires in my basement is unreaL. With remote thermostat wires left over from my disabled grandma, 2 way radio cables, all sorts of old DBS cables, remote control wiring from all sorts of old hobbies, and telephone wiring its a mess! I am planning on getting a new furnace with air and tearing up the basement floor for sewer work. At that time the entire mess is coming down. I am leary of removing anything right now because I honestly dont know whats active and whats not....:(

[Nick]

Your Grandma had a thermostat??? :eek:

[Bogy]

I may be mistaken, but don't I recognize some of you as posters on the last thread complaining about cable ads that say, "Don't let an ugly dish ruin the looks of your home?" :rolleyes:
You could make a bundle selling these pics to a cable company for their next ad campaign. ;) :D :lol: :rolleyes:

[Richard King]

You could make a bundle selling these pics to a cable company for their next ad campaign.
Thanks. Rushing out the door to my local AT&T broadband office with picture in hand. :lol:

[Karl Foster]

I thought this looked pretty bad. My wife got after me because she was always running into the cables that droop across the unfinishsed Laundry Room ceiling. Instead of cutting the cables and making it look decent, I took the lazy way out and just grabbed a handful of cables and clamped them to the ceiling. Looks pretty bad. Not exactly up to code.

[Nick]

:thats: I agree, that's pretty darn scary. :eek: :eek: :eek:

[DishDude1]

Are those twist on F connectors?? :eek:

[Karl Foster]

Yes they are. I am inspired now to clean the mess up. When I had the installation done, I only had two wires running, and since I now have five tuners on three receivers, there is much more wire. I didn't have a crimper when I put in the multi-switch and new cable runs, but I do now, so I'll clean it up this weekend. It's one of those "out of sight, out of mind things." Believe it or not, it all works great, just a bit unsightly. :):)

[AllieVi]

I think it's time to raise the bar a bit higher on this topic...

[MarkA]

I think I should take my digital camera upto the church one of these days and take some picks of the Sky Angel install I did up there:)

[Karl Foster]

Originally posted by AllieVi
I think it's time to raise the bar a bit higher on this topic...

I thought mine was a bit messy! :) Awesome!

[Tomsoundman]

AllieVi -

You rule! Love the picture!

My Dad stuck his head behind my entertainment center (A/V) and said "It looks like a dang recording studio back here!"

[Richard King]

A real recording studio mess....
This was the rear of the equipment rack of the studio I used to work in back in the mid '70's. The equipment is vintage mid '60's to early '70's. The song Liar Liar was recorded using the console and tape machines. The console had huge rotary faders rather than the nice linear faders used now. I'll post some pix of the studio later and refer to the posting site. I did NOT wire this mess. :D

The pix: http://www.pbase.com/rking401/studio_stuff
What small studios used to look like. :lol:

[Scott Greczkowski]

According to my scorecard, AllieVI is now in the lead. :D

[Richard King]

AllieVI is now in the lead
I hate to give up the "crown", but I have to agree.

[n0qcu]

This may not be the worst but I'm sure its the most complex.

[Nick]

Most complex award in the mail, along with the "most disgustingly neat" award. :D

Nice wiring/sw layout - tell us more about it.