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Switching To DISH

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JEBar
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Re: Switching To DISH

Post by JEBar » Sun Oct 20, 2019 7:06 pm

JEBar wrote:
Tue Oct 15, 2019 3:59 pm
while sitting in the shade of our campers awing while looking at the sky over the camper on the next site, I was able to get a much better picture of the screen on my wife's phone showing the DISH Satellite finder .... I found it reassuring to know that we would be able to lock onto a signal with our portable Carryout antenna placed only a few feet from an obstruction like the fiver shown in the picture

a little while ago we drove back in from spending two weeks at Chesapeake Thousand Trails .... prior to parking our camper in the back yard I walked around a bit holding my wife's phone with the DISH satellite locator app ... it didn't take but a a few seconds to find a place a few feet from our normal parking spot where it looked like it might be possible to lock onto a satellite .... danged if it didn't work .... historically we have to put out a portable dish when parked in the area bordered by a line of tall trees .... granted it isn't a super strong signal but it is locked on and I was able to watch the race while we were in and out unloading the camper ....this is exactly the type of use we wanted and are delighted that it can make a positive difference
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JEBar
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Re: Switching To DISH

Post by JEBar » Sun Oct 20, 2019 9:30 pm

in our pile of mail that accumulated during our 2 weeks at Chesapeake we found an interesting mailer from DISH .... in it they outline their referral program .... for the most part they are offering a few dollars a month off our the referring customer's bill or some free movie rentals, etc .... in looking at the benefits they will extend to the new customer, I don't see anything that we didn't get without being referred .. :?: .. so, if anyone is interested in being referred, let me know and I'll PM a number ... :?
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Re: Switching To DISH

Post by JEBar » Fri Nov 08, 2019 10:49 pm

JEBar wrote:
Sun Sep 29, 2019 3:29 pm
FIRST EQUIPMENT ISSUE :

earlier this morning I opened up our camper and setup our new CarryOut portable antenna .... my intent was to play around with various coax cables to determine which ones worked best and just how many feet of coax could be used .... a second goal was to set it up to record some movies .... beastly hot and humid .... much to my surprise, some things worked, some didn't .... when I got to the "Directory" I found it wasn't updating and still showing a screen from 5 days ago .... I rebooted the Wally receiver and everything else I knew to do .... knowing that with the volume of calls they are getting about their contract conflict with FOX Sports, I finally broke down and called DISH .... after being on hold for just under an hour my call was answered by a lady who I later learned is in the Philippines .... let me say right up front, she was a pleasure to work with .... for most of an hour she had me go to some screens that I didn't know existed, so from that point I did learn some things .... bottom line, our Wally (receiver) is bad .... when she told me she'd have one shipped right out and should be here in 4 to 5 business days, I told her that wouldn't do because we would be on the road in our camper .... she said she could have it to us in two business days but that would involve an extra charge ... I told her to go and check with the supervisor who'd she put me on hold to speak with several times and suggest that with week old equipment and a customer not happy with them for losing FOX Sports that the wave the $20+ fee.... she did and they did .... should be be here Tuesday and I have every intention of hooking it up and thoroughly testing .... with the campgrounds we will be visiting, I don't anticipate needing it on this trip but one never knows
JEBar wrote:
Tue Oct 01, 2019 7:42 pm
bottom line, the replacement Wally receiver arrived as promised, has been installed, and is working properly ..... after three calls to DISH customer support (one of which was to activate the Wally) I have come to realize that all DISH customer service folks do not possess equal knowledge/skill ..... the advantage of having spoken with so many different folks during this process is I learned a bit from each of them .... when trouble shooting one issue with the new Wally ended in the rep recommended me taking it to a local DISH authorized service facility and went on to try and send me to a Camping World .. :o ... in retrospect, I could of handled my reaction better but after spending well over a decade working in the RV industry, I don't want anything to do with them .. :roll: ... my only recourse was to end the call and start trouble shooting the issue from the basic install .... the solution turned out to be a Transponder setting .... back when we I was working with a support rep when we were setting up our home service, she told me how to handle this type of setting .... made a change and all's working as it should ... I now believe that there wasn't anything wrong with the Wally that I just UPS'd back to them this morning ....

SECOND EQUIPMENT ISSUE :

We haven't turned on the TV/Wally receiver in a couple of weeks or so .... shortly after arriving at our current campground we turned on our system .... the roof mounted antenna locked onto 3 satellites and we had a good picture .... a few minutes later, much to my surprise, some things worked, some didn't .... when I got to the "Directory" I found it wasn't updating and still showing a screen from 5 days ago....yep exactly the same failure a outlined in the first quote above .... tried the transponder change as mentioned in the second quote but this time it didn't work .... after spending a while on the phone with DISH customer service, a replacement Wally is once again on its way .... should be to the house early next week .... the good news is, all other functions are working .... right now watching the scene in The Good. The Bad, and The Ugly where they blow the bridge ....
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Re: Switching To DISH

Post by markiver54 » Fri Nov 08, 2019 11:06 pm

Huh!
Tell me that again... :lol: JK Jim, hope Ya get it right!
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Re: Switching To DISH

Post by cooperhawk » Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:18 am

I think I mentioned this before but if you make a request to only speak with techs in the US you will be flagged and that is what will happen from then on.
Of course the problem with that may be a longer wait.
I called Dish a while back and asked what it would take for a customer of many years to get upgraded equipment. Within a week I had all new Hopper
and Wally. There was no increase in my monthly cost but I did pay a shipping charge. The new Hopper is fantastic.
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Re: Switching To DISH

Post by JEBar » Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:25 am

you most certainly did and I promptly forgot it .... hopefully I won't next time
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Re: Switching To DISH

Post by JEBar » Mon Nov 11, 2019 8:18 pm

still learning .... I knew that Dish has what they call eastern arc satellites known as 77, 72.7, & 67.5 and western arc satellites known as 110, 119, & 129 .... there is also one named 118.7 that I still have no clue where it fits in .... as I understand it, the eastern arc satellites are need mostly by folks in the New England states ... the rest of the country is covered by the western arc satellites .... I've just learned that our Winegard Carryout G2 & G2+ antennas will only lock onto western arc satellites .... if the western arc satellites are blocked, it will not switch over to the eastern arc .... there are a couple of automatic antennas out there that can be reprogrammed to lock onto eastern arc satellites .... Dish does provide maps showing areas covered by the western arc satellites ===> https://www.manualslib.com/manual/11859 ... e=2#manual .... those maps indicate to us that the western arc satellites have good coverage in the area we travel .... that said, its unfortunate that should reception from those satellites be blocked, we do not have the option to lock onto the ones eastern arc
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Re: Switching To DISH

Post by cooperhawk » Tue Nov 12, 2019 10:34 am

We haven't been to Maine yet but we have traveled the East Coast from Florida to New York and have never had a problem picking up the Western Arc. We were up in Canada one time and couldn't get the satellites unless we put the dish on top of the Motorhome. Sometimes just a little elevation makes a big difference. Now of course the Dish is built on top.
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Re: Switching To DISH

Post by JEBar » Tue Nov 12, 2019 11:10 am

while there certainly may be others, the Winegard PA-6002 Company PA6002 Pathway Satellite Antenna ====> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G1XB8RO/ref=emc_b_5_t?th=1 <==== is the only RV automatic portable satellite antenna that is capable of picking up both the Eastern and Western Arcs .... if we planned to spend more time in Maine, we might have gone this route instead of selecting a Carryout G2+ as our portable antenna .... in looking at the signal coverage maps provided by Dish ===> https://www.manualslib.com/manual/11859 ... e=2#manual <=== and from talking to several of their customer service folks, Dish has made a strong effort to increase their signal in New England .... where the Pathway antenna could really come in handy is for use in settings where a clear view of the Western Arc's satellites is blocked but there is a clear view of the ones in the Eastern Arc
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Re: Switching To DISH

Post by JEBar » Thu Nov 14, 2019 9:36 pm

as noted, still learning .... our home Dish service antenna is a stationary, old style dish that's mounted on a pole in our back yard .... our camper is parked in the back yard and its automatic dome dish is mounted on it roof .... the home service is locked onto Eastern Arc satellites 61.5 & 72, the signal meter reads a very strong 71 .... our camper is locked onto Western Arc satellites 110. 119, & 129, the signal meter reads what is considered to be a good 35 .... when camping with a clear view we have seen readings as high as 60
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