Complaint Review: Dish Network - Vancouver Internet

The picture you've shown even I wouldn't do that. I see more and more installs with the drip loops exposed to the elements. In order for them to work water has to run over them. I used just about everything to protect the connectors. The rubber boots, silicon compound, connectors with rubber O rings insdie them . The problem is water will over time get into the connector and cause a failure and disruption in the signal and voltage. I have found from experience it is best to place the ground block with the drip loop either under the eave of the home. Or place the  ground block in a plastic box to protect it from the elements.

In the early days of Directv , Primestar and Dish Network. We've all have followed their instructions on grounding of the equipment. Over the past few years the push is on in doing the NEC way. Come to find out the training manual I got from Directv back in June of 1994 was wrong. It was what we were taught back then.

I've also have ran a single wire from the dish to the grounding block and onto the ground source. What you are referring to is you can not double land a screw . So if the grounding block has only on screw you can not attach more that one wire . But if the grounding block has more that one ground screw then you can attach a single wire to each grounding screw. The same thing goes for the inside of a meter base and a disconnect . You can not double land a ground lug and a breaker with more than one wire .In my life time I've repaired Tv's, Satellite Receiver's , Satellite Antenna Positioner's, LNA's, LNB's Actuator Arm's and have installed Tornado Siren's. Before I would tell someone without even looking the installation over. That their Tv blew up because the satellite wasn't grounded. What exactly was the damage inside the TV and then I would open the Satellite Receiver up to see the damage in it. Usually if the Motherboard and or the Power Supply had damage . Then the electrical surge came thru the AC line. If the Phone circuit of the Satellite Receiver was damaged . Then the surge came thru the Phone line. If there was damage to the tuner , Lnb, the MOV's protecting tuner and Lnb . Then the surge came down the coax. Before I made such a statement . I would want to look at all the evidenece before I came to the conculsion about what caused the tv to go out . If it turned out the Satellite was properly grounded. Then someone was wrong in blaming the Satellite installation.

One of the observations I would also like to see. Is if any of the equipment that was attached to the Tv had a grounded power cord. The Tv, Vcr , Stereo, DVD Player and the Satellite Receiver. If any or all have a power cord that has the ground lug. Then the all the equipment is grounded thru the cabling to each other. I could make the argument that the equipment was grounded inside at the equipment. But this wouldn't be to the NEC standards for grounding the equipment outside.
The problem I have is Tech's telling the customer that they are grounding the equipment to protect it from lightning damage. The customers are believing what they are being told. I have a Dish Net and a Directv customer whose both of the installs were grounded to the service. Both got hit by lightning and damaged the satellite equipment. The Dish Net customer said to me, that the installed insisted that he had to ground to the service to protect form lightning. If I had know that I was going to go thru all this damage during storms . I would have told him not to ground the system. The Directv customer lost both his Receivers and his equipment was grounded .

I have three customers who are Ham radio Operators. They ground all their equipment that and they still get struck by lightning .They still get damage to their equipment. Sometimes the damage from a lightning strike can be big and at other times be small.

I have a friend who has a 346 foot Radio Tower and it has ground rods everywhere. To each leg of the tower and every guide wire . I was out at his place the night after a storm. One of the companys renting tower space from him . Stopped by to see what equipment got damaged by the lightning storm that night.

I have a ex cable customer who got off cable. Because her cable box was damaged by lightning and also took out her tv. I asked how she new it was caused by the cable system. According to her it was because the cable went out and thats what blew up her tv. I said you do realize the cable grounds all their stuff from one end to the other . Why haven't you blamed the electric company . She wanted to know why she would do that since it was clearly the cable company's fault. I said weren't both your tv and the cable box plugged into the same electrical outlet. If your going to use the guilt by association also include the electric company. But they also ground their equipment . She couldn't prove how the surge entered the tv.
I also work on a Radio station satellite equipment. While I was their inside my contacts office. They ran a speaker to his office so when it would stop playing . He could tell when they had a problem . It was raining outside the day I was there and the radio would cut out. He explained to me they had a device attached to the tower . That would sense when the tower was about to struck by lightning. Even with that device he told me they still have been knocked out of service.
Part of my duties while I was installing Tornado Sirens. Was to mount the equipment, connect the power AC and Battery backup. But also I had to ground everything that was metal . From the top to the bottom of the pole. The transformer, radio antenna, control cabinet, the siren head , the electric service. Even after all that grounding the siren equipment still has parts fail in lightning strikes. Funny how others who also ground their equipment. Understand that grounding wont protect the equipment from damage.

I haven't seen it written down anywhere . That grounding the equipment protects it 100% from lightning damage. If you read the warranty on your electrical devices you buy . It states that your equipment is not protected by acts of God under the warranty clause. It doesn't say if your equipment is not grounded it's not covered under warranty. If your equipment is grounded it is covered under warranty. It says the equipment is not under warranty for acts of God. Even Surge Protectors don't give 100% protection against electrical surges. I haven't seen in the NEC where it says 100% protection.

The question then becomes why do we ground if not for protecting the equipment. For the same reason all your appliances, the electric service are grounded. Everything is grounded to a single point to give everything the same ground potential in the event of a electric shock hazard. If that be a discharge of lightning , or when a customer rewires their eletrical outlet wrong, to a piece of equipment that fails and or has a bad design flaw causing the coax shield becomes hot.

I've had 3 ungrounded systems which had 110 volts AC on the ground shield of the coax. Because the customer decided to rewire their eletrical outlet themselves. I've had a satellite receiver send out 60 volts AC on the coax shield before I grounded the system. Three to four months later the manufacturer of the receiver . Decided to replace the 2 prong power cord with a 3 prong power cord. They had a flaw in the design of the power supply .I had a customer who put a filtering device on the AC outlet. The filtering device failed and send 110 AC out the ground shield of the coax. The system wasn't grounded and it was a pole installation. I touched the pole with my arm and got shocked. This is why Directv and Dish Net tell us that a pole installation is not a grounded system. You see electricity can flow both ways on coax in an ungrounded install.

Grounding the equipment is to protect the customer and the Tech from electrical shock hazards. I'm not saying we shouldn't ground the equipment . But when someone says they doing so to protect the equipment from lightning . When their are several ways the electrical surge can enter into the home. The Phone, the Electric Power, thru coax from Tv Antenna, Cable or Satellite .

The last test I took for Directv before they started charging us for it I got 100 on it. The time before that I got an 80. Almost 2 years ago I took the first 2 test that Dish Net had online . I didn't even study for the test and I got an 80 on both test. A couple months after that I brought it up to the Rep at the meeting they held here locally. The questions I had missed concerned paperwork that their own Tech use and had nothing to do with me . Their reply was they just wanted to be fair with everyone. So why quiz me on something I don't even use. I don't mind going to class to learn something.

When it comes right down to it. The only one that have a right to call us Tech's is the customer. We come into their home as guest and we should treat them with respect. They don't need to hear from the Tech they know what they are doing and argue with them about it. The customer can usually tell this. The only pet peeve the Tech should have is doing the whole install right. Not just pick out parts of the install as their pet peeve .

I do not expect laypersons to notice these mistakes but I do expect anyone who claims to be a professional installer for Dish Network, Direct TV, or other DBS provider to know better.  If you have DBS service, I urge you to examine the cables near the entry point of your building and determine if the DBS cables are grounded.  If they are not grounded, you should insist that the DBS provider send a professional installer to properly ground the DBS antenna and cables at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE to you.  Grounding will prevent electrical hazards and premature failure of your antenna, receiver, and interconnected equipment.

1.   Antenna and coaxial cables are NOT GROUNDED.  This is an electrical hazard and a violation of two sections of the NEC.  The antenna and the coaxial cables MUST be grounded to prevent damage to the LNB, receiver, connected TV and other interconnected devices.  Special note:  The DBS industry has a habit of piggy backing the cable and antenna grounds from the grounding block to the grounding electrode via one wire-this is NOT IAW the 2008 NEC although it is better than NO ground at all.  This particular antenna and cable installation IS NOT GROUNDED (except possibly via the receiver-a hazardous arrangement.)

2.   The cable is up against a sharp metallic object on the brick.  This metal object may cut into the cable over time allowing moisture into the cable.  In addition, if this object contacts the cable shielding, this will cause an improper ground path to the cable.

3.   Cable bend radii are LESS THAN 6 TIMES THE OUTSIDE DIAMETER of the cable.  This is a violation of ANSI cable stress relief standards.  This causes a change in cable impedance and may cause signal degradation.

4.   Cables connecting to grounding block are at an angle that will allow water to flow INTO the connector instead of away from the connector.

5.   Open grounding block connector should have a cap to prevent water from entering the connection.  In addition, the threads of the connector are against the white cable, which may cut into the cable and allow moisture to enter the cable.

6.   Cable ties are not cut flush which creates a sharp edge, which may cut folks who brush up against them.

7.   Cable clamps are attached to mortar between bricks, which is causing the cables to be pressed against the sharp edges of the bricks.  This may eventually cut into the cables allowing moisture to enter the cables.  Additionally, the nails used are aluminum wood nails that do not anchor well in mortar and may eventually pull out.  Although not shown in this photo, one of the cable clamps on the VERTICAL run to the roof has already pulled out (due to winds) and the cable flaps around against the bricks on breezy days.

8.   The cables are pressed against the ledge where water collects and people congregate.  This may cause the outer insulation to abrade away enough to allow moisture to enter the cables.

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Pop Quiz for any "professional" Dish Network/Direct TV installers!  What's wrong with this picture?

There are at least 3 significant problems with the installation shown in this photo. Any competent antenna installer will immediately recognize what is wrong with this HAZARDOUS installation.

Bonus points:  there are 2 more issues with the installation shown in the photo.  These bonus points separate the truly professional technician from the fly-by-night installer.  Hint:  this installation faces the street and is at the ground level of a busy corner where pedestrians often sit on the ledge.

This "professional" Dish Network installation was performed a couple weeks ago a few doors down from my home.  It was performed by the same bozos who installed an UNGROUNDED dish network system on the side of my house without our permission in 2009.  I sent numerous emails to Dish Network and the installer about the hazardous installation on our home and now, almost 2 years later, the SAME installer is still installing UNGROUNDED DBS antenna systems.

What irks me the most is that these bozos do not ground the system, then later when the receiver craps out, they will charge the customer for sending someone out to fix the system (unless of course the customer is paying the $6 per month "insurance" premium.)   THIS IMHO is the ripoff.  If they install the DBS antenna system properly, there probably wouldn't by any issue to fix later on.

Earlier this year, my brother-in-law's Visio 52 inch TV died.  Fortunately, the TV was under a 3 year extended warranty and the warranty company sent a rep to replace the power supply for the fluorescent backlight.  However, when they turned the system on, the TV functioned but the Direct TV receiver was dead.  Probable cause (IMHO):  high voltage spikes on the DBS antenna cable connected to the DBS receiver and the TV (pass-thru on the receiver) because the antenna system was NOT GROUNDED.  Direct TV sent a rep who replaced the receiver but he was going to charge for the service.  Fortunately, I was present at the time the Direct TV rep was there and when I pointed out the HAZARDOUS UNGROUNDED antenna system to him, he made a cell phone call and this service call was changed from a billable call to a "complimentary free service call" by Direct TV.  In addition, he corrected the antenna installation so that NOW the system is grounded (Not IAW the NEC, but at least it is grounded.)  Please note that it was approximately 23 months after the installation of Direct TV and the entertainment system that the DBS  receiver and TV died.

Lets see if any dish network "internet damage control representatives" will comment about this.

I invite our favorite "one year warranty" installer from Guthrie to take this Pop Quiz.

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At times it's hard to repair equipment over the phone or internet. You never know what it's going to be. Just hoping that it's just a simple fix. To be honest I don't know why Dish made that statement about the 124 volt. I haven't look inside one of the 622's . So I don't know it's designed. Electronic parts come in different ratings. I've seen the 24 ,20 , 18 , 15 , 12, 9, and 5 volt regulator . Can take up to 35 volts on the input. Now a days they take less voltage on the maxium input. I've seen a dual output regulator have maxium input voltage of 60 volts and some IC's can take up to 15 volts on the input. Most electronics use switching power supplies. Instead of a step down transformer. If they use a 117 volt regulator in them I couldn't tell you . Then the 124 volts difference shoudn't be a big problem .
When it comes to designing eletronics . In the past the rule was to double the rating on the part. If circuit had 10 volts in it. Then you installed a 25 volts part. If the circuit drew 1/2 amp and then you used a 1 amp rated device. If it required a 1/2 watt device then you used a 1 watt device.

As the parts get smaller and some draw less current. Naturally they requirements for the parts will drop. But I don't think they are using the double rule much anymore. I have a computer video card on my work bench. All the capacitors show signs of over heating. The voltage rating on them are close to line voltage and in my opinion should have been at least 25 volts.

The biggest problems are improper design, customer abuse , surges and heat. Heat is a real problem for electronics components. If you increase the voltage to them or they draw more current . The unit will produce more heat. That is why you see computers, some satellite receivers and now tv's with fans built into them.
Most people and tech's don't think about it. But the real nice entertainment centers . Are nothing more than a oven for your equipment. I've seen the 622's will post an onscreen if they are getting to hot. I bet the 722's and 922' do the same.
The eletronics components inside and electronics is only rated minimum and maxium temperature range. When I'm out at a customers house . I will advise them of the potential heats problems . That might harm the equipment that is place into their entertainment center. Sometimes a extra fan has to be placed inside. Or leaving the doors open while the equipment is in operation. The last customer I went out on. I went down to Radio Shack and got peel and stick rubber pads. I stuck them on the inside of the door. To keep the doors open just a little more.

I've on seen one entertainment center with it's own built in fan. I've also had a customer who installed a fan in his entertainment center. Without the proper ventilation the equipment will eventually break down from overheating . I would say Uniden satellite equipment at one time. Had the worst overheating problem and I repaired a lot of them.
The other thing about 124 increase to the eletronics is. When it comes to the built in surge protection. The MOV's ( Metal Oxide Varistors ) come in 130, 150, 180, and 240 volts . I don't know how new your electronic equipment is. But if your equipment has the 130 volt MOV's installed in it and was made before the 124 AC line voltage increase. Now line voltage is now 6 volts away from the 130 volt rated surge suppression. All it will take is 6 volt increase with a long enough duration. To either short out and or blow the MOV apart. If it shorts out then the AC trace on the circuit board with also blow . Then your components will no longer turn on and function. I haven't seen a fuse inside a switching power supply yet. I've seen them use a resistor in place of the fuse. But since then MOV's are soldered in before the resisitor and close to the AC power cord. Their is going to be a light show for sure.

I pluged in a device here awhile back . Where the cord plugs into the wall. Their was a plastic box that had the MOV"S inside it. When I plugged it into the electrical outlet. Their was a pop , flash , smoke and it cracked the plastic box in three places. The MOV inside the box blew apart. The more surges the MOV's take the weaker it gets over time. But increase the line voltage to the MOV and it will fail sooner.

So it may not be the new equipment in your house you have to worry about. But the older equipment your still running.
I always tell my customers to get surge protectors for the house. They have them now that look like a circuit breaker. But you must get a licensed electrician to install them in the breaker box. Also I would recomend still using surge protection at the equipment.

I always recomneded Panamax Surge Protectors . They not only protect from surges, but also over and under voltages to your equipment. But now that the line voltage as increase. You must check the clamping voltage on the specs. I know in the past that Panamax used the130 volt MOV's as their suppressors. But I have't looked lately at what they use now. In the specs under clamping voltage you might see it in 2 rating RMS or PK to PK ( peak to peak ). 130 RMS will be about 180 PK to PK . But instead of 130 volts clamping I would op for the 150 volts RMS clamping .
Now about grounding. It has it pros and cons. I guess the only con I can thing of is. I just mounted a possible lightning rod on your house. Now after 27 year I have never seen a satellite dish take a direct strike. But it is always possible. IAW the NEC I can use 12 gauge wire for grounding up to over 250 feet. But Dish Network and Directv want us to stay with in 20 feet. Of either electrical service or the disconnect for the Air Condidtioner unit. Some of you might have noticed this . When A tech from either Dish or Directv refused to do the install . Because they couldn't properly ground the dish . Then you got mad because you didn't understand why the dish needed to be grounded. Then you finally found someone who did the install without grounding.

Even Ham Radio Operator understand that after all the grounding they do on their equipment. Is still going to surged by a lightning strike. That most of the internal repairs I've done on satellite equipment. I've seen more surges come through the AC line than the satellite coax. Their are times you can't tell the damage. But most of the time their will be blown parts and black soot inside the equipment. The power supplies take most of the beating from the electrical surge . Then if the surge is big enough then onto the other circuit boards in the equipment.

I've seen grounded telephone SNI ( Service Network Interface ) box. Blown off of a customer's house and thrown 60 away.Grounded or not if the surge is big enough and or close enough. Something is going to blow you just know what. Even the NEC stays away from the word lightning and for ground block . The NEC calls it the Static Discharge Unit . I've been around enough Electrical Inspectors to know they wont use the word lightning. About ten years ago a friend copied the page in the NEC about grounding antenna's . It said that this was done for static discharge.
Understanding the EMP from a lightning strike can travel for miles and produce EMI with wires along the way.If you read the NEC about the grounding of electrical outlets. It says that the ground was never meant to carry any current. The same ground that is used to ground the coax and dish with. Any static discharge has current and voltage.
A friend has a 346 ft radio tower in his yard. One evening we were outside watching the lightning flashes in the clouds . They were about 3 to 4 miles to the south of us. At the end of the guide wires was a ground rod . It was about 2 feet out of the ground a 1/4 inch from the guide wires. Every time we saw a flash of lightning. WE heard a snap and when I looked down the electrical charge was arcing over to the ground rod. This should show you how far the energy will travel from a lightning strike.
By grounding and using surge protection. Your trying to lesson the surge and damage to your equipment. I haven't ran across anything yet that guarantees 100 % lightning protection yet.
Another problem that might be coming down the road. Is the copper clad ground rod. Because in the rise in cost for copper. Ground rods and coax cable now have copper clad. I have a friend who is a Master Electrician. He was having a problem with the electric on one of his metal buildings. Come to find out when he pulled on the ground rod. He pulled out a 3 foot piece of the 10 foot ground rod. The steel was gone caused by electrolosis . The copper ground rod looked like a copper tube. This is why I wont use copper clad coax. The ground rod was only in the ground 10 years.
Every community can pick a different wiring standard for the meter base and disconnect from the NEC. This is why I use a fiberglass ladder. If any metal objects are grounded. If the house ground and the ground on the power transformer let go at the same time. Chances are very small this will happen. Then the ground and neutral wires become energized. I've seen this happen at a customers house. It damaged one tv an done satellite box. From what I've read over the years. That the Neutral and also the ground wire if happens to be tied together. You shouldn't have anymore than 2 volts AC on them. Then you need to call a licensed electrician.

The wind blowing causing the static build up on the dish. Will that all depends on what the dish is made of. Plastic injection , fiberglass and metal with a paint coating. Jet planes traveling thru the air can have a static build up electricity . That is why their are probes on the trailing edge of the wings to discharge the static buildup. Also helicopter blades. Aircraft being refueled on the ground are grounded. The fuel being pumped in so fast that this to can have a static buildup. Car driving down the road. That is why th esign at the gas pumps . Ask you to use your hands to ground your car to the gas pump. Some powerful RADAR's can have this effect on aircraft close to the RADAR. That is why some RADAR's have a 10 mile no fly zone around the RADAR.
So some plastic can have a static buildup, I don't know about fiberglass . The metal dishes if only bare metal and depending on what the paint is made of. After 27 years of handling satelltie dishes. Grounded or not I've never been shocked caused by a static discharge . Even when I used a metal ladder.Not impossible but highly unlikely.
When it comes to pole installs. I've seen ground rods used to ground the equipment. Those of you in mobile home I've witnessed telephone installers drive a ground rod to ground the phone equipment. But IAW the NEC if a ground rod is installed and used. Then all ground rods must be tied into the main house ground rod. This also goes for lightning rods that are installed on a home. In order to have this done a licensed electrician must hired to do this kind of work.
I'm not perfect and I've made mistakes along the way. I'm only required to give a 6 month installation waranty. But I give my customers a 1 year installation warranty. They're experienced Satellite Dealers out their . Did anyone here think about picking the phone and calling them. When you were considering a satellite system.

I was a Air Traffic Control RADAR Repair in the Air Force. I repaired tv's for PTS Electroincs. For 27 years now I've been int he satellite business. I've done component repairs to satellite equipment . Not only for my customers , but also for other Dealers around the state. I've been a Dish Network dealer for alsmost 14 years now. While doing Dish Network installs I've helped a friend install Federal Signal Tornado Sirens for 12 years now.My expertise is in setting up 2 dual tuners in one location. When I get done the customer can watch . On every tv in the house all 4 Dish Net tuners, DVD Player and their Local TV Antenna. Not all installs are the same , but I try to customize it to the customers needs. Some electronic equipment including Dish Network and Directv. Might still use 2 prong power cords. If plugged into a 3 prong outlet wont be grounded . A 3 prong power cord wont plug into a 2 prong outlet. Breaking off the ground lug on the power cord is not advised. Especially when your leasing the equipment. I know everyone tried to save their money. But if you don't know what yoru doing when wiring up outlet. Please get a professional to wire the outlet.

In the early days of Directv I have had two customers who wired the outlet wrong. Even when I used my tester and volt meter the outlets checked good. I got shocked on one job. The other I asked the customer if he had any electrical work done and he told me no. I checked the two outlets where the receivers were going. They checked good and when I plugged everything in. Both receiver burned up and dish switch smoked. Then the customer replied that he and his father rewired the 2 outlets. Now I also use a glow stick along with every thing else . Both homes were older ones that use the old 2 wire eletrical system. If your going to rewire your outlets . Just make sure your home owners insurance is paid up. Never know who might sue you. The job I got shocked on the old boy worried for a week. The 2 wires were backwards and the hot was touching the ground lug . I'm in this to make money the old fashioned way. I work for it.

The issues you are having with MULTIPLE receivers is consistant with the following:

1.  The dish antenna system is NOT properly grounded per the National Electrical Code.  This can cause damage to your receiver by static electricity that is generated by wind blowing across the dish.  The receiver can also be damaged by high voltage spikes caused by INDUCTION when there is a nearby electrical storm.  This can cause the symptoms you describe as well as total receiver failure.

2.  The receiver is NOT pluged into a 3 prong (3 wire) grounded wall outlet.  If it is plugged into a 2 prong receptical, any static discharge (from someone touching the receiver) is discharged through the circuitry of the receiver rather than through the case and the grounding wire.  If you have a three prong receptical, you need to remove the cover plate and confirm that there are 3 wires (black, white, green) and that they are connected correctly, otherwise, it's really a 2 wire system (or reverse polarity) and the static will discharge through the receiver circuitry instead of the receiver case which can cause the symptoms you describe.

Have your antenna system grounding checked and if it is NOT IAW the NEC, demand that the satellite company have it corrected at their expense.

If your oultet is not a correctly wired 3 prong grounded receptical you should consider re-wiring the outlet.

James:
It is on a line regulator, but thanks for the input!

Flynrider (Hope I remembered that right!}:
I wholeheartedly agree with you.  The product itself is a known heat producer, it needs to be built to withstand what it's it's supposed to do.  But they make them cheap because then they stay in business.  If they were built to last we wouldn't need to pay $6 a month to keep techs coming out to fix the problem.

I did finally get a receiver shipped out to me a week later, but the resolution specialist who is paid to keep customers happy did not for one second hold up his end of the deal.  Fist off he scammed me by telling me I HAD to have a sling adapter for the vip722 to work, and I needed to pay $99 for it.  When I refused he back stepped and told me I didn't NEED to have it, and he never once explained what a "sling adapter" was...even after I asked repeatedly.  Once I researched it and realized that even if I HAD paid for it, I couldn't have used it, really didn't make me feel any better about Dish and their lying, cheating, scamming ways.  I don't have DSL or Broadband, so it would have been a useless T.V. ornament for me.

My "helper", who promised to keep me updated, didn't once email me without me prompting.  I didn't know he had put in the order for the receiver to ship until I emailed him, again, late Thursday night.

So in the end I got the replacement receiver, hoping I won't have the same issues with it that I did the vip622(s), and I didn't have to re-up my contract.  But I waited a week without any communication from my "helper", and was told getting a technician out here to hook it up (even if I paid the insurance), somehow wasn't possible.

I don't feel better about Dish, and can't wait to get out of my contract in a year.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions everyone!

"  If it does have over 124 volts not to connect the receiver to it. If your AC is over 124 volts You might consider a Line Conditioner / Regulator. "

  If this unit is so poorly engineered that 124 volts would negatively affect its operation, I'd suggest tossing it out and getting something that was properly designed.  Buying a power conditioner solely to make up for amateurish engineering is absurd. 

I went over your posts, Tracy, and would enjoy assisting you in getting that resolved!  I can definitely see how aggravating that can be to go through the trouble of constantly rebooting the receiver.  What I'd be happy to do is get a technician sent out to your home for no charge to assess the situation you've been having.  Please email me your account number so I can get that set up for you if you haven't already gotten this taken care of.  My email address is [email protected].

        I have customers who have both the VIP 622 and the VIP 722 . Ive only seen 5 of the receivers failed and usually its the hard drive. Dish told us to make sure the AC power doesn't have more than 124 volts on the line.  If it does have over 124 volts not to connect the receiver to it. If your AC is over 124 volts You might consider a Line Conditioner / Regulator.

        The VIP 922 is the lastest receiver and I've installed one for a customer this past April. But their is another receiver to come out soon . They haven't told us a lot about it. From what I've read about it It's going to be a triple tuner HD DVR.  It looks like it's going to be MoCA compliant. No more HDMI cables. Just have to wait and see.

        Also Comcast along with the other cable providers . Gets most of their programming off the big satellite dishes. Comcast especially has their Head End in orbit. They call it H.I.T.S. . Which stands for Head End in The SKy. They use the Motorola 4 DTV satellite receiver. Even on SD the receiver has an good picture. When the electronic market was trying to standardize the DVB. The Motorola DVB wasn't pick as the standard . CBS also used the Motorola DVB during their HD testing on C band. The satellite Comcast uses is W5 and the channels are on a  Mega Pipeline . 

        I have a 7 1/2 SAMI dish that as 3 LNB's on it. One C band, One KU Band and a old style Directv / Dish Network LNB . This allows me to get all the satellites from 55 degrees W to 148 degrees W.  I would like to install a fourth LNB for KA Band. 
        As you have seen first hand all tech's are not the same. Directv and Dish Network both have the final say in things. As a tech I can only control what I do. Dish requires us to give a 6 month installation waranty and I give a 1 year waranty on my installs.
        

Thank you, yes I do understand the mechanics of the receiver...
It's completely open and has all the ventilation in the world.  I also understand that they get hot, and I don't stand around touching it every 5 minutes...but when I can barely leave my hand on it because it's so hot....that doesn't seem right.

I finally made my way up to the Executive resolution specialist who finally agreed to give me the newer receiver without re-upping my contract, but then informed me that to get the 722 receiver, I "had" to buy a sling adapter for $99.  Something that not ONE of the other techs told me.

After I said I wouldn't pay that, and getting no answer to "what is a sling adapter", he finally said... "here's what I'll do...I'll email my boss and see if I can get you the 722 without re-upping your contract...if it's ok'd then we'll ship it out to you, you switch them and send the old one back. Then everything's settled"
I restated that I wouldn't pay for the sling adapter that he JUST told me I HAD to have to run the 722, so I would be stuck with the same old receiver, and I would just deal with it.
He then said..."Forget about the sling adapter, you don't need it"....  Doesn't that seem very scammy and shady to anyone but me?  He lied and told me that I HAD to have this adapter, that turns out to be a small piece of equipment hooked to the DVR that allows ,e to watch my recorded or streaming shows remotely. COMPLETELY unnecessary to the running of the machine. Also useless to me because I don't have DSL OR a phone line connected to my DVR.

So in the end it MAY be resolved without re upping a contract, I won't know until later in the week,  but I'll walk away pissed that even as he was trying to resolve my issue...he was trying to scam me also....

Satellite receivers do generate a fair amount of heat,  be sure the vents aren't blocked on the bottom or sides....there MUST be airflow or it may overheat and malfunction.

Also, if it's in an enclosed cabinet it may overheat...there's a lot going on inside these HDTV, DVR receivers. 

Hope all works out for you.

no problems.

I wasn't even aware there were problems with this receiver.  It's been rock solid.

Good luck in getting your service how it should be.

I have no regrets and No, I don't work for Dish Network, I'm happily retired from an entirely different type of job.