question on a discussion i had with an installer today

1853 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by dswallow, Jul 9, 2007

upperdeck

Discussion Starter · Jul 8, 2007

after several calls I finally got directv to come out and fix a couple multiswitch issues I have been having.. In chatting up the tech a couple things came to light that I hadnt seen or missed the chat about.

one was the upcoming HD changes.. He sighted in my house and determined I will never be able to get HD because the new sats are way too low to get over more forest of trees.. not a total loss as I have no HD tv's yet, but someday it might have been nice. but what I was surprised to hear is that when the 150 channels comes out in Sept all existing HD dishes that are not of the 5 lnb type will need to be swapped out, any 3 lnb setups will stop working in sept when they flip the switch. In addition they will only work with one kind of multiswitch a 6x8 and the base install they will be allowed to do is for that one multswitch.. sounds like big issues for some people because of the lower sats and the lack of inputs that will be allowed.. Im glad I dont have HD now because my existing set up he said they would not be allowed to reconfigure as I need 18 outputs already..

any thoughts on this? does it sound right?

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JimSpence

· #2 · Jul 8, 2007

Your triple LNB dish now "sees" the 101, 110, and 119 satellites. Since the new sats are going to be at 99 and 103 I don't see where the installer says those are too low for you to receive. Also, the 3 LNB dish will still receive the sats at 101, 110, and 119.

He's totally misinformed or just trying to drum up business.

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wolflord11

· #3 · Jul 8, 2007

Sounds like BS to me.

You already receive Sats 101, 110 and 119. The New Sats are at 99 and 103, so theres no way they are too low.

Heres a good site with details about the Dishes, Sats and Multiswitches used by Directv:

Dishes, Sats and Multiswitches

Also, the information about only being able to use the 6 x 8 Multiswitch is wrong.

You can already get 4, 5 and 6 x 16 Multiswitches.

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upperdeck

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 8, 2007

the 101 is the only signal i recive right now the other 2 dont come in for me. but he claimed the 2 new dishes were more than 5 degrees lower in the sky.

whether he was making it up or not i dont know. but he showed me the new dish that he said they are now starting to install. its also different than the existing 5lnb models out there and I saw the new multiswitch as well. the main difference being it runs on a different band than the old switches so they are not compatible..

since he knew i couldnt get a signal why would he care about business with me?

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JimSpence

· #5 · Jul 8, 2007

The new sats are on either side of 101. If you're in the east then 99 will be slightly higher and 103 a little lower. The reverse if you're in the west.

To check for yourself, go to this site and select an appropriate satellite (use Galaxy 4R for the 99 and AMC 1 for the 103, use DirecTV 1R/2/3 for the 101 for comparison) and your zipcode.
http://emantechnology.com/lookangle.asp

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davidjplatt

· #6 · Jul 8, 2007

And this guy is a certified DirecTV installer? Yeah, right.

You only get the signal from one satellite? I find that really hard to believe. Even without HD on a single LNB dish or dual LNB dish, there are two satellites.

Do you actually think that DirecTV would put up the most important two satellites to the future of their service and have them in a position that would prevent 99.9% of their customers from getting signal?

No way.

I find that vitually impossible to believe.

I was also told that if I wanted to add one or two HR20-700s and keep all four of my TiVos that they would supply a new multiswitch with more than 8 outputs.

I would probably need 10 outputs since all 8 are in use now, but if I added two DirecTV DVRs, I would require one of my SD TiVos in all likelihood. Therefore, with five receivers I'd need 10 outputs. I was told not a problem and the multiswitch would be installed at no charge.

This is a multiswitch being sold at Solid Signal for $129:

Zinwell WB616 Wideband 6x16 multi-switch (250 - 2150 MHz), Ka 99-103 and Ku 101, 110 & 119

WB616 can be cascaded up to 64 satellite receivers for 101°/110°/119°W LNBs.

The FlexPorts are used to interface with the dish antennas of two additional DIRECTV satellites at 95°W and 72.5°W

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wolflord11

· #7 · Jul 8, 2007

davidjplatt said:
You only get the signal from one satellite? I find that really hard to believe. Even without HD on a single LNB dish or dual LNB dish, there are two satellites.

Not correct. The Phase I Satellite Dish Single Dual LNB only picks up Sat 101.

A standard 18" dish with one LNB connecting to satellite A at 101 degrees. DIRECTV started out with this dish in 1996. This dish does not receive HD programming.

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dswallow

· #8 · Jul 8, 2007

wolflord11 said:
A standard 18" dish with one LNB connecting to satellite A at 101 degrees. DIRECTV started out with this dish in 1996. This dish does not receive HD programming.

It can receive HD programming and does; just not all of it. At present the national HD channels are spread across the satellites at 101, 110 and 119 degrees. Though at the moment, www.lyngsat.com indicates that just WCBS, KCBS, WNBC and some MLB Extra Innings HD channels are using 101.

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JimSpence

· #9 · Jul 9, 2007

This thread took a decided wrong turn. The OP implied that he has the triple LNB dish and later that he only gets the 101 from that dish. His complaint was that the installer said that he wouldn't be able to get the 99 and 103 sats with the 5LNB because they are "way too low". This is decidedly a wrong statement and what was being discussed before taking a wrong turn.

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wolflord11

· #10 · Jul 9, 2007

dswallow said:
It can receive HD programming and does; just not all of it. At present the national HD channels are spread across the satellites at 101, 110 and 119 degrees. Though at the moment, www.lyngsat.com indicates that just WCBS, KCBS, WNBC and some MLB Extra Innings HD channels are using 101.

I am sorry I disagree. Take a look here:

Phase I Satellite Dish Single Dual LNB

JimSpence said:
This thread took a decided wrong turn. The OP implied that he has the triple LNB dish and later that he only gets the 101 from that dish. His complaint was that the installer said that he wouldn't be able to get the 99 and 103 sats with the 5LNB because they are "way too low". This is decidedly a wrong statement and what was being discussed before taking a wrong turn.

Maybe the OP could tell us which Dish he has. If it is the 3 LNB there are only Two possible dishes. If the OP could use the link given above, and tell us which Dish he has it may help.

But anyways, the Installer is wrong. if the OP can get Sat 101, then how can the New 99 and 103 Sats be way too low????

I beleive the Installer is just trying to sell Newer Equipment to the Op, when he does not really need it.

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dswallow

· #11 · Jul 9, 2007

wolflord11 said:
I am sorry I disagree. Take a look here:

Phase I Satellite Dish Single Dual LNB

I'm sorry you're sorry, but you're still wrong.

The specific type of dish and LNB's you have only control what satellites the receiver is able to tune signals from. If there's HD channels broadcast on transponders at the 101 degree position, the Phase I dish will, without exception, be able to receive those signals and any DirecTV HD receiver will be able to tune them (well, allowing for your subscription package including those channels).

As I said before, there are not currently that many HD channels broadcast in the 101-degree position, but there are some, and they are indeed receivable to any HD receiver connected to that Phase I dish aimed at 101 degrees.

And further, the new MPEG-4 HD channels come from the 99 and 103 degree positions, both very close to the 101 degree slot... always a very good chance they'd be receivable if someone can receive the 1010 degree satellite... unlike the 110 and 119 positions which are pretty far off, and thus have a very different look angle from the same dish mounting position.

For example, for me, the 101 degree satellite is at an elevation of 35.4 degrees, azimuth 217.1 degrees. The 99 degree satellite is at an elevation of 36.3 degrees and azimuth of 215.5 degrees. The 103 degree satellite is at an elevation of 34.3 degrees and azimuth of 220.3 degrees. That's essentially a window of +/- 2 degrees from the 101 degree satellite position. Almost no one is going to be able to discern visually if there's clearance of +/- 2 degrees from the current aiming position of a dish. Heck, most installers even don't know the look angle is offset from the dish and think the signal comes to the dish directly centered.

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