[Mthrboard]

I have an installer scheduled to come on Saturday morning, and I want to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as it can. I also want to get everything I can out of the "free" install that I had to pay $21.95 shipping for. The website says a free install includes mounting the dish, drilling one hole in a wall, and hooking up the receivers. I can't figure out how they can install 2, 3 or 4 receivers only drilling one hole...or do most installs usually end up costing money? My basement is unfinished, and I already have holes in the joists, so running the cables won't be an issue. I can drill another hole through the floor to get the cables up into the wall, and the wall is uninsulated, so grabbing the cables is no problem at all. I'm using Leviton wallplates with keystone inserts, and I have plenty of extra RG6 inserts. I'd do all the wiring myself, save for the wires from the dish to the grounding blocks, but with the price of copper these days, I don't want to do anything I don't have to.

 

[bobnielsen]

The amount you would pay for sufficient RG-6 is much less than the labor cost for the custom work if you had the installer do it. I suggest that you run all the cables from a common point in your basement to the various receiver locations and let the installer run cabling from the same point to the dish and connect it all together. I did that in my crawl space.

 

[Newshawk]

The website says a free install includes mounting the dish, drilling one hole in a wall, and hooking up the receivers. I can't figure out how they can install 2, 3 or 4 receivers only drilling one hole...or do most installs usually end up costing money?

That's one hole per receiver.

 

[Mogo]

The last two times I have moved and had installs where I wanted "special trement" I have done as much (like you predrilled holes) of the preparation myself. I make a point while I am expalining where the installs are going of pointing out all the work I did they would of had to do.

I offer to help, like pulling wire or whatever.

Both times the installer was so happy they gave me anything I wanted. Both times the ran extra wire to rooms for "future use". And this last one they ran 150 ft cable from the house to my workshop for a "future" TV and help me pull some cat 5 cable to the same rooms.

It is sort of a gamble , you may get a jerk, but in my case I got way more at no extra charge just for doing some easy prep.

(TIP FOR FOLKS THAT HAVE TO BURY CABLE: Go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy a roof/floor scarper. The type used to remove shingles. It looks like a hoe but the blade comes straight out of the end of the handle. With your foot push it into the ground all the way [about 5 inches] rock it back and forth a few times, press the wire in the gap you just created. Makes burying cable easy). It is slow but you never break a sweat or your back.