Ice storm misaligns dish

[nbpc]

Hi,

I'm the poor sap who's lost service during the snow/ice storm that hit Cincinnati this past week (see http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=79650. I thought it had to be a bad LNB or Multiswitch since we lost the signal.

D* techs had me remove the ice, try re-aligning, reboot boxes to no avail. Still got 0's on all the transponders.

When D* finally sent somebody two days later, they said the dish was out of alignment and sure enough, a few minutes later I had a signal.

He said the original installer didn't put a screw and a bolt in to hold the dish in place (I've had the dish since August) and that the 5LNB dish's sweet spot isn't that big.

My questions are: how can I do an alignment myself? What tools do I need? Anything else I should worry about?

[Mertzen]

For the 5 LNB you'll need a 1/2 open ended wrech and a 1/2 nut driver. And most important of all a signal meter. Manuals can be found online [ not sure if linking is allowed ]

If the tech fixed everything now you should leave it alone though.

[litzdog911]

The AT9 dish installation videos are available at http://www.solidsignal.com, but their web site seems to be down right now. These videos show the exact steps required to align this dish.

[HDTVsportsfan]

Did D* say if you were going to get charged a service call?

[Quank]

I just called DirecTV for the same thing and they wanted me to:

a) Pay $70 for a service call

or

b) Sign up for the "Protection Plan" at $5 a month and pay the discounted rate of $15.

Isn't this kind of BS? If my signal goes out with cable TV after bad weather, they don't make me pay to get their line back up.

[bonscott87]

All I can say is have your dish installed in a location that you can realign it yourself if at all possible. It's really easy, baby stuff.

Cable (Charter anyway) *will* charge you for a service call if it's in your house...unless you pay their protection plan. Hmmmm, sounds familiar. :)

[veryoldschool]

I just called DirecTV for the same thing and they wanted me to:
a) Pay $70 for a service call
or
b) Sign up for the "Protection Plan" at $5 a month and pay the discounted rate of $15.
Isn't this kind of BS? If my signal goes out with cable TV after bad weather, they don't make me pay to get their line back up.
Cable, like the phone company, supports the cabling to your house. D* supports the signal to your dish. Like the phone & cable, if you have problems beyond this point, it's your responsibility. You have the option of doing it yourself or paying for it [plan or not].
While we all may like to have a free service plan, you won't find this [for the most part] anymore, anywhere.

[paulman182]

Cable, like the phone company, supports the cabling to your house. D* supports the signal to your dish. Like the phone & cable, if you have problems beyond this point, it's your responsibility. You have the option of doing it yourself or paying for it [plan or not].
While we all may like to have a free service plan, you won't find this [for the most part] anymore, anywhere.

Which is not exactly fair on the part of D*, because most TV cable and telephone line systems in a home are simple to troubleshoot and cheap to fix, while satellite systems are much more complex (multiswitches, lnbs, etc.) D* should support the signal to the point where the cable enters your home, IMHO.

But I do pay for the protection plan!:)

[veryoldschool]

Which is not exactly fair on the part of D*, because most TV cable and telephone line systems in a home are simple to troubleshoot and cheap to fix, while satellite systems are much more complex (multiswitches, lnbs, etc.) D* should support the signal to the point where the cable enters your home, IMHO.
But I do pay for the protection plan!:)
Well I've been in RF, microwave, SAT systems for oh... thirty+ years now, so...
I know I'm not normal anymore [if I ever was].
If I can't fix it, I don't need it. :D

[nbpc]

Did D* say if you were going to get charged a service call?

I have the $5.99 service plan. Seemed like a wise move considering how much dough I put in for HD DVR, 2xDVRs, etc.

The service guy didn't charge me a thing.

As for the $5.99 for cable vs D*, my thought is you pay for it one way or the other. Nothing is free.

[taylor_s2]

I too lost my signal for 2 viewing days (February 12 & 13) because of the ice storm in the Cincy area. I deiced my LNB with the garden hose to no avail. My HR20 just flat out didn't work - period. It would not let me watch recorded shows! Though DTV is making the HR20 better, I still think it is a piece of crap. My HR10-250, SAT T60 and SAT A55 worked sporadically. I wasn't sure what to think. I called DTV. The advanced service tech said my problem was my multi-switch. I thought that was a load, but not knowing what was wrong I decided to schedule a service call. They put a gun to my head - $70 one time or $5.99 monthly ($72) for a service plan (that can't be canceled). Valentines Day was sunny and whadaya know my signal was back. I called and canceled the service call and the service plan. I was told I could, but I will believe it when I don't get billed for it.

I don't know if my dish alignment was proper to begin with, was changed by the ice storm, or is the same as it has always been, but it is working fine right now. I know my dish and LNB were clean so it must have been the heavy cloud cover.

[HarleyD]

I had a similar problem many years ago and it turned out to be a faulty grounding block that water had gotten into. Once it got wet inside I didn't get a signal. The signal came back when the weather dried out.

Water was getting into the grounding block because the installer (me) didn't put a drip loop into the cables to make water run down the loop instead of into the grounding block.

And yes, I paid for the service call.

[greenie95125]

Hi,

I'm the poor sap who's lost service during the snow/ice storm that hit Cincinnati this past week (see http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=79650. I thought it had to be a bad LNB or Multiswitch since we lost the signal.

D* techs had me remove the ice, try re-aligning, reboot boxes to no avail. Still got 0's on all the transponders.

When D* finally sent somebody two days later, they said the dish was out of alignment and sure enough, a few minutes later I had a signal.

He said the original installer didn't put a screw and a bolt in to hold the dish in place (I've had the dish since August) and that the 5LNB dish's sweet spot isn't that big.

My questions are: how can I do an alignment myself? What tools do I need? Anything else I should worry about?


Follow the videos from a post above, and get a good sat meter. I did my own install over a year ago and haven't had to touch it. As they say, if you want something done right.... That, and I didn't have to wait for a tech to show up. :D

--Mike