[pappasbike]

My receiver was installed two days ago. I have a problem with the receiver itself but that's another story. Today is a windy day in Baltimore and every gust that kicks up outside is knocking the signals out from both tuners. The dish was installed in the same spot as the original triple lnb dish o the roof of my sun room at the back of my house. It does have the two other support arms installed to the front and rear of the main mast.

I'm trying to get in touch with them now to have someone come out and fix this. I have read that some have had the slimline dish installed so I'm wondering if there's anyway to request that in hopes that it would be less of an issue in the wind.

Any advice would be appreciated,
John

 

[Earl Bonovich]

The slimline is not that much smaller then the AT9, and only a little bit lighter.

My guess is that the dish was not alligned properly.
My dish's backside is exposed to an open field next to my house (new subdivision and the house was just built next to me with in the last few months)

It get's the full brunt of heavy windows, and I don't lose the signal from wind bursts... and I don't have the extra two supports either.

 

[paulman182]

Mine is pole mounted and wind has not been a problem so far, and there have been some pretty strong winds.

I'd say it is misaligned also.

 

[BlueSnake]

It get's the full brunt of heavy windows, and I don't lose the signal from wind bursts... and I don't have the extra two supports either.

So...... How heavy are those windows?

Ha...Ha...Ha......

Sorry, it just struck me as funny.

 

[glennb]

My receiver was installed two days ago. I have a problem with the receiver itself but that's another story. Today is a windy day in Baltimore and every gust that kicks up outside is knocking the signals out from both tuners. The dish was installed in the same spot as the original triple lnb dish o the roof of my sun room at the back of my house. It does have the two other support arms installed to the front and rear of the main mast.

I'm trying to get in touch with them now to have someone come out and fix this. I have read that some have had the slimline dish installed so I'm wondering if there's anyway to request that in hopes that it would be less of an issue in the wind.

Any advice would be appreciated,
John

It sounds like the dish mounting bracket isn't mounted to something solid like a stud. Maybe it's just screwed into the thin roofing boards and is free to sway back-forth when the wind blows. Are there trees close by that could be blocking the signal when the wind blows the tree branches around ?

 

[TomF]

My AT9 dish is mounted on a 2x12 that's bolted into the side of my house (stucco) and it was mounted with the two additional braces. I'm on a canyon ridge and we've had Santa Ana winds here for the last three days, but the dish is rock solid. I can't see any sway even at the end of the LNB arm.

 

[pappasbike]

Thanks for the feedback guys. My original problem was an audio issue on the HD package channels. I got in touch with retention and tech support and they will be replacing the unit. Then today this wind thing and now we have no service at all and I'm told no one can get out here till Wed. My wife is not pleased and I'm not happy since this was my idea ( of course )!

I'm curious though. I've seen pictures here of someone's slimline dish installation. I'm not that interested in the dish itself but I noticed that it's mounted on a roof similar to mine on a fairly short support arm. The support arm/mast that my dish is attached to is 2 or 2 1/2 feet long. With a goose neck curve in it. I asked the guy if it had to be on such a long mast and obviously he said yes because that's what he mounted. The prior dish was fairly close to my roof also and I don't see why this one couldn't be on a shorter mast. There are no trees or anything else that can obstruct the signal. On this longer mast though it sways quite a bit with the gusts we've had today. The winds are supposed to die down this evening but since I'm not seeing any signal at all now I think it may have shifted enough that it won't matter.

Is everyone getting this dish with the long mast and is that necessary? Even with those support struts it seems like it would still sway a fair bit.
Thanks,
John

 

[paulman182]

My AT9 is mounted on a 2-inch galvanized pipe about 3.5 feet out of the ground, with no support arms.

You can take your hand and shake it quite a bit. You'd think signal would be lost, but it never is.

If the dish is aimed squarely, it can take a lot of jiggling without totally droping out.

 

[bonscott87]

Same here, mine is on a pipe/post 5 feet off the ground. We had 50 mph winds a couple weeks ago and it never moved. It's solid, only thing moving it would be a tornado.

Basically it sounds like your dish isn't installed properly:
1) It's not tight on the mast
2) It's not tight on your roof, most likely not on a main truss.

Bad install. It should never move in the wind.

 

[w6fxj]

My receiver was installed two days ago. I have a problem with the receiver itself but that's another story. Today is a windy day in Baltimore and every gust that kicks up outside is knocking the signals out from both tuners. The dish was installed in the same spot as the original triple lnb dish o the roof of my sun room at the back of my house. It does have the two other support arms installed to the front and rear of the main mast.

I'm trying to get in touch with them now to have someone come out and fix this. I have read that some have had the slimline dish installed so I'm wondering if there's anyway to request that in hopes that it would be less of an issue in the wind.

Any advice would be appreciated,
John

The two extra support arms should be installed so the mount is like a tripod. If the braces are installed in a line with the support mast, as you seem to describe, that will allow the wind to push the dish sideways. If you can reach the dish try moving the top of the dish to see if it can shift from side to side. If so the braces need to be moved so the mast is held steady.

 

[hadji]

Same problem with my mount as well. Signal strength went from high 90's to 60's. I got out my ladder and found that the majority of the mounting bolts were loose. I tightened those first and then adjusted the dish back into optimum range and then proceeded to tighten down EVERYTHING. The problem seems to be the two adjustable leveling arms. Those were actually tightend down fairly good, but even with that they still seem like they could move with a really good gust. We had winds overnight gusting to 45-50mph. I guess I can't complain much. As I was out today I saw a house that USED to have a metal roof. It was actually peeled back from the roof and ended up on the poor folks front yard. If they were home, it must have sounded horrendous. Just to put things in perspective.

 

[pappasbike]

Well as I posted elsewhere I was able to get out on the roof today and just by pushing back on the entire dish I got it into a strong signal range. So as long as there are no breezes , we're good here until they come out next week. But looking at the way it's installed - on a slightly sloping roof with a 2 1/2 foot ( maybe a little more ) mast that angles up with a curved bend at the end where the dish attaches, I don't see how it can't sway up and down. It's close to the side edge of the roof so the support arms do not form a tripod, essentially they're in front and back of the mast.

I know those of you who have the dish mounted on a pole in the ground may have a longer mast but being straight there probably isn't much back and forth motion, more side to side I would think. But mine's up on a second story roof I shouldn't need that much extra height. My original dish was on a much shorter mast and closer to the roof itself and never had an issue in the wind.

Anyway I was told by one of the retention reps that a "quality check" appointment scheduled with a supervisor of some kind because of the issues I'm having with the audio on the HD package channels as well as a Showtime HD channel. When I called in about the wind problem I was told that I was already set up for this appointment which no one had checked with me about. Glad that's one of my off days from work! So I'll discuss the dish mast with this person.
John

 

[mtnagel]

Are the support arms necessary? My installer didn't put any support arms on mine.

 

[cawgijoe]

Are the support arms necessary? My installer didn't put any support arms on mine.

They are definitely recommended, though if bolted down well, should not be necessary. Originally my dish was mounted without the support arms because they were not out yet. I had a second box installed later and asked the guy if he had any on the truck....he did and I installed them myself after the fact. Just a little extra insurance.

I believe you can order these on line seaparately also.

 

[mtnagel]

They are definitely recommended, though if bolted down well, should not be necessary. Originally my dish was mounted without the support arms because they were not out yet. I had a second box installed later and asked the guy if he had any on the truck....he did and I installed them myself after the fact. Just a little extra insurance.

I believe you can order these on line seaparately also.

I saw them on ebay, but I'm not paying $30 or whatever they are.

So if I call Directv and tell them they need to install the support arms, will they do it for free? Or I'd do it if they sent them for free.

 

[bluedogok]

The installer put mine on the roof right where I had installed my old Sony dish before, he did use 2 braces on the AT-9.

 

[paulman182]

"So if I call Directv and tell them they need to install the support arms, will they do it for free? Or I'd do it if they sent them for free."

The AT9 install manual says the customer must pay for them.

 

[mtnagel]

"So if I call Directv and tell them they need to install the support arms, will they do it for free? Or I'd do it if they sent them for free."

The AT9 install manual says the customer must pay for them.

Damn. What if my dish blew off my roof (leaving holes in the roof) and called up Directv, would they pay for the repairs and put the dish back up?

 

[bluedogok]

My dish was installed (today) with the supports without saying or paying anything extra. I just noticed they were on the dish when I looked at it.

 

[glennb]

Damn. What if my dish blew off my roof (leaving holes in the roof) and called up Directv, would they pay for the repairs and put the dish back up?

Who installed the dish ? If the installer didn't attach the dish mounting bracket to a framing member(stud) like he was supposed to and just attached it the the thin roofing boards I guess the installer better pay for any damages or else take the installer to court.