Tag: Satellite Internet

Day #122

May 22, 2020 – After the first canceled HughesNet satellite internet installation I had to go home and reschedule the appointment. I spoke with the third party installation company to make sure that I didn’t have the same guy that screwed us over last weekend. They assured me that it would be a different installer. Once again I set the appointment up for between 11 AM and 2 PM. Since today is Friday I was hoping that it would be okay and turn out well.

As an extra precaution I actually came down to the cottage last evening and spent the night.

While I was waiting for the installer to show up I moved a section of scaffolding around to the back where the closet bump out is. The exposed roof joists in this area are visibly rotted. Beyond that I do not know the extent of the situation so it needs investigated.

Well, 11:00 AM – No Satellite Installer

12:00 PM – No Satellite Installer

1:00 PM – No Satellite Installer

2:00 PM – No Satellite Installer

Now I am really pissed off! At 2:30 PM I gave up on the whole idea of satellite internet.

Somewhere around 3:00 PM the installer comes down the lane and parks in the driveway. As a precaution, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I had a mask on. When the guy gets out of his truck he gets a look at my mask and tells me, “it looks like we won’t be able to do the installation today.” I said, “why not.” He said, “you know, because of your mask. I’m not afraid for me but my mother is immunocompromised.”

WTF…?

I had to explain to this dumb ass that just because I had a mask on didn’t mean I had the virus. I actually had to convince him to do the installation.

So he agrees and proceeds to march around the property with his Inclinometer and Compass Satellite Angle Finder Tool. We already have Direct TV so I didn’t think it would be much of a stretch to get satellite internet. I was wrong. The guy was struggling to find an area of open sky where he could see the satellite. We had 13+ trees removed but that didn’t help.

After giving up on a good location he agreed to install it temporarily on the same pole that the Direct TV satellite was on. He removed the Direct TV dish and got it installed. At that point he was not able to get signal on the newer of the two HughesNet satellites. He switched the positioning to the older satellite and was able to get about 80% signal strength.

Next he proceeds to show me that there are two trees in the way of “clear sky”. If these trees grow much more we will not have any signal at all. At that point the signal will be blocked and we will not have support because he has to note the tree interference on his installation report.

FML!

He tells me that the decision to leave it installed is up to me. If he leaves it, I have a two year commitment, I will probably not get tech support if I need it, and I will eventually have to cut the two, 100 feet high Oak trees that stand in the way.

FML again!

Well, I did not want to be on the older satellite anyway nor did I like anything about my experience so far with HughesNet. I told the guy to take it off, put the Direct TV dish back on and get out of here.

So much for getting satellite internet. Ugghhhh!

Day # 120

May 16, 2020 – The title for this blog post, as you can see, is Turn On Water and Demo Last Overhang. I did get the water turned on and the last overhang removed. The bigger story is the Hughes Satellite Internet debacle that we went through. More about that part later.

With the Memorial Day Holiday quickly approaching I decided that it was high time that I fired up the water for this season. It is a whole process. First I install a new filter and connect the filter pipe. Next I install the pressure gauge. After that I install the plug in the bottom of the pump housing and prime the pump chamber. With the pump fully primed I throw on the electric and prey that there are no leaks. Most years there are leaks. This year I lucked out, No Leaks….!

When the water system is full and the pump shuts off, we confirm that the water heater works and then we are good to go. With that work out of the way I set into removing the last old overhang along the gable end at the back bedroom. This overhang is not framed correctly and must be fixed to allow for the installation of aluminum soffit.

The old white fascia is shown in this picture. I was pretty rotted.

HughNet Satellite Service

For years we have been hoping that cable internet would be extended to the cottages along our lane. Unfortunately, this has not happened. Our internet options severely limited. One of the only viable options is Satellite Internet. A couple of weeks ago I contacted HughesNet Satellite Service and signed up for satellite installation. Our appointment was scheduled for today, between 11 AM and 2 PM.

Yesterday I received a call from the installer who works for a third party installation company. He was pissed off because “he” doesn’t do installations on Saturday and never that late. I explained to him that we live a couple of hours from the cottage and we could not be there any earlier. I scheduled the installation with HughesNet and as far as I’m concerned his problems are with his employer, not me.

This morning, at 7:00 AM, as I was packing my truck, still in Harrisburg, I received another call from the same asshole. He told me that he would be at the cottage in 30 minutes. I replied, “that’s very nice but our appointment is scheduled between 11 AM and 2 PM. I am still in Harrisburg and cannot possibly be there in 30 minutes”. Well, he was even more pissed off and he took it upon himself to simply cancel the installation. So there you go. Awesome first experience with HughesNet. At least I was able to turn on the water and demo the last overhang. More on this whole internet saga to follow. Stay tuned.

Metal Roofing Estimates

As a side note, the third roofing contractor was supposed to meet us to measure the roof and prepare a cost estimate for new metal roofing. We found out later that he had been to the cottage, did his takeoff and left before we arrived. He called later with his pricing.