Ken Salisbury
12-02-2003, 9:42 AM
This weekend my Direct TV/TiVo system went tapioca. While watching the news Friday afternoon I got a “searching for satellite” error message. Since this happens periodically when there is bad weather to the South – I wasn’t too concerned and shifted to watch local TV. A couple of hours later the error was still there. I went to my computer and checked the weather radar and -- lo-and-behold no bad weather in sight. Called Direct TV and after many recordings finally got a technician. Now I get walked through all kinds of troubleshooting steps (about a half hour or more) with the result that “your receiver must be defective”.
Step 1 (Saturday): Go to Best Buy and purchase a new receiver (no Sony in stock so bought a Hughes). Came home, removed old receiver and hooked up the new one to system. Guess what? -- same error message. So much for Direct TV’s tech support. Called Hughes tech support and after awhile the guy decides that one of two things is defective. "Either the cable or the LNB on the dish".
Step 2 (Sunday): Since my receiver has the option of 2 inputs from the dish so you can watch one channel and record a different channel at the same time (requires a dual LNB), I decided I needed a dual LNB anyway. Youngest Son comes by and mentions that he has a spare dual LNB at home that I could have. Great ! you say ??. Up to Son’s house and retrieve the dual LNB -- get home and install the LNB on the dish. Guess what ? - same error message. Which tells me that the only thing I haven’t changed is the cable.
Step 3 (Monday): Go to Radio Shack and buy two 25’ coax cables. Come home and temporarily connect the 2 cables to the dish and run through the front door rather than through the garage wall and the living room wall (just to check it out). So now I know I am in business - right? -- wrong !. Now I am getting no signals at all from the dish. Previously with my single LNB I was getting a signal on just a few of the 32 transponders. Now getting zero. So, I put my old single LNB back on the dish and hook up 1 cable - get some signal on only a few transponders.
Step 4 (still Monday): Sit and contemplate the situation - drink multiple BL’s. Come to the conclusion that everything is now new on the system (receiver, cables, LNB – what could be wrong???
WAIT ! ! ! – the LNB from Son is NOT NEW. Back to Radio Shack - buy new Dual LNB ($49.00). Back home – install NEW LNB - and WALLA !! – everything works as advertised. So – now I am out $100.00 for a receiver, $50.00 for cables and $52.00 for LNB. Maybe I will be able to return the receiver to Best Buy for a refund – since the old receiver works fine.
By this time it is 6:00pm Monday -- 74 hours of absolute frustration requires a couple doses of Jack Daniels before retiring for the night. At least I was able to record Monday night football and watch Don Imus at 5:00 this morning.
p.s. To make matters worse – on one of the trips to town I had a fender bender and broke an old lady’s Mercedes.
PLEASE – NO LAUGHING – THIS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER :D :D
Step 1 (Saturday): Go to Best Buy and purchase a new receiver (no Sony in stock so bought a Hughes). Came home, removed old receiver and hooked up the new one to system. Guess what? -- same error message. So much for Direct TV’s tech support. Called Hughes tech support and after awhile the guy decides that one of two things is defective. "Either the cable or the LNB on the dish".
Step 2 (Sunday): Since my receiver has the option of 2 inputs from the dish so you can watch one channel and record a different channel at the same time (requires a dual LNB), I decided I needed a dual LNB anyway. Youngest Son comes by and mentions that he has a spare dual LNB at home that I could have. Great ! you say ??. Up to Son’s house and retrieve the dual LNB -- get home and install the LNB on the dish. Guess what ? - same error message. Which tells me that the only thing I haven’t changed is the cable.
Step 3 (Monday): Go to Radio Shack and buy two 25’ coax cables. Come home and temporarily connect the 2 cables to the dish and run through the front door rather than through the garage wall and the living room wall (just to check it out). So now I know I am in business - right? -- wrong !. Now I am getting no signals at all from the dish. Previously with my single LNB I was getting a signal on just a few of the 32 transponders. Now getting zero. So, I put my old single LNB back on the dish and hook up 1 cable - get some signal on only a few transponders.
Step 4 (still Monday): Sit and contemplate the situation - drink multiple BL’s. Come to the conclusion that everything is now new on the system (receiver, cables, LNB – what could be wrong???
WAIT ! ! ! – the LNB from Son is NOT NEW. Back to Radio Shack - buy new Dual LNB ($49.00). Back home – install NEW LNB - and WALLA !! – everything works as advertised. So – now I am out $100.00 for a receiver, $50.00 for cables and $52.00 for LNB. Maybe I will be able to return the receiver to Best Buy for a refund – since the old receiver works fine.
By this time it is 6:00pm Monday -- 74 hours of absolute frustration requires a couple doses of Jack Daniels before retiring for the night. At least I was able to record Monday night football and watch Don Imus at 5:00 this morning.
p.s. To make matters worse – on one of the trips to town I had a fender bender and broke an old lady’s Mercedes.
PLEASE – NO LAUGHING – THIS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER :D :D