That’s Just Embarrassing

 

As I wrote last Sunday - DTV Woes – the DirecTV receiver in our 5th wheel had died (would not turn on) and the company had sent me a reconditioned replacement. 

I could not get the new one to work either – it would turn on, but could not find a satellite – and the set-up screen that should have been in color was a grainy black and white.  After several calls and what seemed like forever on the phone with tech support, DirecTV agreed to send out a technician.  They don’t normally make service calls on systems in RVs, but since we are parked at home, the agreed to send a tech.

I had literally spent hours trying to diagnose the problems.  Yesterday, in less than an hour, the DirecTV technician had both problems fixed, had even double-checked our system in the house and was finishing up his paperwork.

The no color problem was because I had the TV set to the wrong input!  We use the input button on the remote to switch back and forth between broadcast TV and satellite, but I had no idea the satellite receiver signal could feed more than one TV input – after all, it only plugs in to the TV in one place.

The no satellite signal problem was even worse!

We use a portable dish like this one to get our signal -

Over the years, I have used it to receive DirecTV in dozens of locations all over the US (and southern Canada) and thought I had become an expert at setting it up.  You just have to find a spot with an unobstructed  view of the sky, adjust the dish to the proper elevation and point it in the right direction.  Input your current Zip code during setup and the TV screen will give you the correct azimuth and elevation.  You may be looking for something up in space, but it ain’t rocket science.

The DirecTV tech took one look, then picked up the dish, moved it about 50 feet and voila! we had a signal like gang busters.  In my own defense, when the dish didn’t work in the location we’ve always used at home, I  moved the dish to several other locations – I guess that I just never got it completely out from under the trees.  The only thing wrong was that our trees have gotten taller and thicker since the last time I set the dish up at home.