We have a house with a few D*TV recievers in it (Samsung SIR-TS160's) and they lock up on a fairly regular basis (every 90 days or so). Lately, we have been doing more of the LG LSS-3200A' which have the reset button on the front. Because of this, we don't get the service calls for the 3200's but we still want to know how often these receivers need to be reset. What model is everyone using for HD DSS and how often does it need a reset?

Jason

Every ****ing day. Seriously, we get more service calls on DSS receivers locking up then any other component and I would estimate that it is by a large margin, perhaps 10:1. All the more ironic considering none of us make any margin on them, we waste hours on the phone with customer service reps getting the damn things activated, yet we have to support them because there is no way to tell the client "sorry, you have to call the satellite dish company about that". And that's not counting all the times they shut off our clients service because they have overlooked installing the new cards that they have sent out etc..

Sighhh...but I guess that's why our customers are willing to pay for our services.

The rule to eliminate service calls is:
NEVER install a satellite receiver without installing them on a 17"/19" wide surge protector that allows you to kill power from a front panel button so you can perform a reset. I recommend something similar for the multi-switch and in fact for EVERY component in the system. This way your client can easily reset the system.

The Samsung receivers have been the worst receivers I've ever put in just because of this fact. We have been putting in UPS surge protectors that have momentary power buttons on them and then putting another small momentary switch inline (requires opening the UPS), and then mounting that button towards the front of the cabinet. This allows the customer to reset the receiver themselves.

This is also what we do when installing a Niles Intellicontrol since they have a tendencie to do the same damn thing.

Please don't overlook the effect heat has on these satellite receivers. I have found that proper attention to cooling has reduced my service issues with satellite receivers by at least 50%.

I agree with Diesel. It's not necessarily all DSS receivers. Its the DSS receivers that start with SAM and end in SUNG.

We've been using these for years...

[Link: doityourself.com]

Top 10 Problems with satelllite receivers:

#10 Unless you're a major retailer or a shop that does nothing but install satellites, it's impossible to make money selling them.

#9 Having to put your customer on the phone so that they can try to sell them an extended service plan.

#8 Dragging a 30 foot ladder through 2 feet of snow and -30 wind chill only to climb up on an ice covered roof and struggle to put an F connector onto a frozen RG6 cable and hoping that you don't die in the process.

#7 Having .05 percent of your business represent 95% of your service problems.

#6 Having to carry extra tools and supplies such as 30 foot ladders, signal meters, socket sets, roofing sealent, grounding rods, grounding wire, wall grommets, masonry wire fasteners and lag bolts.

#5 Having to unplug/reset a receiver that's firmly embedded into a rack mount cabinet.

#4 Off-air digital channels suddenly disapearing from the guide.

#3 Promotions such as "4 rooms FREE, DVR FREE, first 6 months FREE, blah, blah, blah FREEEEEEE, FREE, FREE, FREE!!!!!!!!!

#2 Receivers that put off enough heat to fry an egg.

and the #1 reason why satellite systems suck............(drum roll)

EVERYONE wants one!

Here, here AHEM!

We have experienced it with many different brands, though it sounds like the Samsung is the worst. Also, the RCA HD receiver (DTC-210) is a Samsung with the RCA name on it.

*Takes a bow, loses balance and falls off of roof.

Customer is quite upset by the incident and wants to know who's going to be able to finish the job because they're having a party in 5 hours and need to have the satellite working.

I couldn't agree more with AHEM, but would like to add one thing to his list.
How about the old Sony's that would lock up the phone line line until you unplugged it and then plugged it back in?

Around here, the only way to get high def is from sat. I used to install a ton of them until DTV took over. Now they send out there "new" installers to do the installation, and I get called to make it work with the rest of the system. Unconveniant for the customer, but I stay alot warmer.And it pays the same (hourly, no profit on equipment).

How could I forget that one. I recall one evening having to drive 40 miles in a blizzard to fix one after a Dr. customer called me up chewing me out that nobody was able to call them and they had the phone company out to fix the line only to determine that it was the DSS receiver that was causing the line to go off hook.

Makes you happy, doesn't it?

For some strange reason, I always give the client my personal cell phone number in case they have a problem operating there system. 99% of the time, its because of stupid things like this!

The sad thing is that we as professionals strive to do the best work and use the best and most reliable materials available to avoid callbacks.

I take it personal when someone calls after they've settled down for a long night of TV watching and their system's not working right.

Fortunately, with most products, we have a choice. If receiver Brand X constantly breaks down, we don't sell it anymore. If we have 5 out of 10 Brand Y DVD players failing, we can go elsewhere for product.

This isn't the case with satellite product. We have exactly 2 brands to choose from, and if they had their way, we'd be down to one brand right now.

I guess that if there's one thing to feel good about it's that you're not alone in having these types of problems.

Thats EXACTLEY what I'm talkin' about. If I could design the product, life would be good!

Ofcourse, It probably wouldn't meet the budget!