For heaven's sake! Call the company (or write them) and tell THEM about the incompetent person they hired. Demand that they come out and repair everything he did wrong (on their dime, of course) and get someone to do it right. Why are you taking the brunt and paying for it yourself?

Well, mostly because I don't trust them. "If you want something done right, do it yourself" and all that.

Altho I live in NE PA, the installer came from a company in upstate NY. I've seen the same company truck in Scranton recently too. Which indicates that they're the only installer in this area. I certainly don't want *them* showing up to 'fix' anything. The cure might be worse than the disease.

As for Direct TV, I have a feeling that if I call them to complain they'll send out the same company. One thing the installer said (when I asked about running extensions into adjacent rooms), which I wholeheartedly believe is true, is that "Direct TV will tell you anything." He said they told one lady that he'd dismantle and remove her 14' satellite dish for free. Of course, they get paid a flat rate for the install, so they don't do stuff for free. DH used to work for Sears, and the Dish network did the same thing. So I don't really expect to get this resolved thru them.

Of course, I will call to complain (actually, I'll let DH do that) but I'd rather wangle a discount or something than a promise to 'send someone' to fix it.

you say the cable lines are installed properly, was there a reason he did not use them? if they are RG-6 they are the same thing he is using.

i do not allow the "pros" to install my feeds. they cna install the dish if required, but i usually do that myself too. it made me mad when i upgraded to HD this year and they refused to allow me to install my own dish. i let him put the new dish in, hand ME the twin coax and i ran it inside to my switch. i talked to guy for a few minutes before he got started, and since i knew more about how to hook up the stuff than he did, i decided against letting him do anything but install the dish itself. he even went to all the troble of cutting the twin coax and installing a lightning suppresor inline. problem was, he did not GROUND IT! he said it works better without a ground!

I wondered that myself. He did poke around the basement looking for them, and he did find where the thingy is that splits the one incoming line into 3 lines for the 3 different rooms. It certainly would have been a lot simpler. I thought maybe they're not allowed to use them because they 'belong' to the cable company, but that's not true? We are still using the cable internet, maybe that makes a difference.

I'll have to use that line sometime--"the lightning suppressor works better w/o a ground." Heh. When I want to seem like the 'dumb girl.' Not that I actually ever do; I get that treatment enuf w/o encouraging it.

I caulked around the wires last night. I can't believe he left the bloody things just sitting there, a gaping hole to the elements. Sheesh. I'm going to have to climb up on the roof and seal that too. I'm sure he didn't.

I would go through the mortar and wood. While I was at it, I would run 4 coaxial cables from the dish to a pre-determined location. This will allow for any future upgrades (you need 4 cables to run any size splitter/multiswitch). Run cables to each room needing service from that location. If you have RG6 coax in the wall for cable you can disconnect this and use it (except for the line need for internet). If you think you'll ever want a DVR in a room, go ahead and run 2 cables to that location. Also, consider running cables to connect your boxes to the internet for video on demand and phone lines to use the caller ID functions.

I would also use a lightning arrestor block for the cables and ground the mast/dish. Make sure the ground is bonded to the electrical system ground. Idealy you can just use the same rod.

Chris, thanks for the info. I was thinking that the mortar/wood would be the way to do it; I stopped by my neighbor's (his father built our house) and that's how he has it. He seems to know what he's doing around the house.

I'm afraid that running a ground line and lightning arrestor is probably going beyond my expertise. Unfortunately, the electric lines go in on the other end of the house too. We have an electrician coming in a week or two to do some work; I'll ask him about doing the ground.

Thanks again.

don't just drive a rod for it, the ground must go to your existing house ground. if they are not bonded together you will open yourself up to ground potential issues which cna easily lead to lightning in teh worst case, and equipment issues in the best case.

No, I'm not going to try to do that myself. I can drill thru concrete and run cables into the house; grounding the line is not something I know anything about. It should definitely be done, yes? You don't just put a satellite dish on the roof and not do that, right? Maybe I should call Directv and complain about the fact that he didn't do it.

Incidentally, I had the cable guy in on the same day to fix our internet--he said it looked like a charge had come along the line and hit the 'ground block.' (That wasn't the source of the problem, but he did replace something there.) So, it's definitely not just a hypothetical issue.

Thanks for all the good advice.

It's good to understand your skill limitations, although its really not too complicated. Maybe your electrictian can easily do it for you or provide the necessary info so you can do it confidentally.

Although grounding the system is technically required by the National Electric Code (NEC), which I think every state has adopted to some degree, I have never seen a new install that meets these requirements. Unfortunately, you would probably be "rolling the dice" again trying to get a DirecTV sub contractor to do it correctly. In the end, it is probably wiser just to make sure its done correctly yourself.

Keep educating yourself and you'll save yourself a bunch of time, frustration, and money.

I once heard the qoute, "Contractors make money by not doing things they are suppose too". Unfortunately, this is the case far too often as contractors are squeezed to improve efficiency.

Direct TV has more than one contractor in the same areas. Definitely let DTV know about the bad job and ask for another contractor. Cables through the windows is wrong beyond any install. It sounds like he attempted to use the same opening as your net which added problems. I wouldn't let them off the hook and would watch like a hawk when the next guy shows up. Even the same contractor needs to know and/or send a knowledgable installer out. It is obvious a rooky got your install.

Housenewbe, I just waited all day for a Directtv tech to come out and after calling me 4 days in a row to check to see if i were going to be home. He did'nt show up. Boy was i mad. When i called the Directtv people i got $100 off toward the next couple of months.
I'm afraid a skilled Direct tv tech does'nt exist. However next time you'll probably get a differant company. i suggest calling several times till you get what you want. I think they're losing customers that can't pay right now.

Doesn't that just suck? You wait around all day, afraid to even use the bathroom, and then nothing. Or, they show up at 7:30 pm, after you've given up and gone out.

Thanks to all for the good advice. We have an electrician coming out next week; i'll ask him about doing the ground.