DISH Network: Our experience and important info regarding the Hopper / Joey system!

I was very excited to tear open my new DISH Network Hopper & Joey equipment and get it installed and activated!  For some reason I didn’t qualify for the “upgrade offers” from DISH, so I had to dump around $500 for a Hopper, 2 Joeys, a Solo Node and Splitter for my upgrade!

Although I have no regrets, I have learned a few things that I should have know prior to doing my upgrade but that I wasn’t told and didn’t know!  And since I’m a DISH dealer and installer, you would think if anyone would know about the details, I would right?  Well, that wasn’t the case!

First, the ”upgrade” went very well!  Took me all of 45 minutes or so to swap out my existing DISH equipment for the new equipment, node, etc.!  However, activating service and connecting the Joey’s wasn’t as quick or as easy!

It’s important to know that you need to install and activate the Hopper first before installing and connecting the Joeys at all, or the Hopper simply won’t find them!  Not realizing this, I spend an hour or so unplugging cords and cables from the Joey’s so I could make them “forget” what they were trying to do! And since you need to activate the Hopper first and actually see live TV on the Hopper before connecting the Joey’s, my next step was to call DISH and give them the Hopper and Joey receiver numbers and so on!

Now that went well UNTIL I mentioned to DISH that I wanted to keep my 211 active at my shop down the road!  “That won’t happen!” said the DISH rep!  I asked why not and he stated that DISH does not allow other older receivers on the same account as the Hopper and Joeys!  I then asked what I can do to keep service in my shop and he advised me that I would have to either set up another account or purchase another Hopper to use on the same account at my shop!  Well, this was a bummer, but fortunatly I don’t spend much time at the shop anyway, so I went ahead and cancelled service on that receiver!  Needless to say, after 15 – 20 minutes on the phone with DISH, I was ready to continue!

Now it was time to wait for “live TV” to appear!  About 10 - 15 minutes later, the reciever was showing live TV!  So now it was time to connect the Joey’s, but you can only do one at a time or that won’t work right either!  Master bedroom Joey took about 15 minutes to activate, and the spare bedroom / exercise room took another 15 – 20 minutes.

During this activation time, I couldn’t help but imagine myself sitting in someone else’s home all of this time waiting for all of this to complete.  After all, I was simply upgrading my existing DISH installation and I still have 2+ hours into this upgrade, so I can’t image how much longer a new installation would take!  And installers only make around $125 an install, course you have fuel, cable, and other costs that come out of that right away!

So, after my own experience I concluded that I’m glad to have other options for income that being a DISH Installer doing installations and upgrades at minimum wage!

I couldn’t help but wonder what all of the RV’ers and others out there with cabins, or vacation homes or even a shop 1/2 mile from their home that are use to using one account for both were going to do to get TV service?  After all, a new Hopper is around $350 – $400 + like $7 per month to have service on it or so!  And if you had to go with a second account for your vacation home or whatever, that would cost at least $25 – $150 per month depending on what programming you want!  So… what to do?

After using the Hopper and Joeys’ for over a week now, I can tell you that I love them!  The TruSound feature has eliminated those “annoyingly louder” commercials that drove us nuts, and it’s so nice to be able to watch our DVR recordings in HD in our bedroom and spare room now!  The guide is a lot faster at scrolling through channels and the DVR list shows an icon for each recording instead of just an old boring list!  We haven’t tried out the PrimeTime Anytime feature, although it does look like it would be a nice feature for some!  But the best feature of all is not having to hold the remote in various awkward positions, or sit up in bed or walk across the bedroom in order to get the remote to pause, stop or change channels on the living room DVR!  Since the Joey’s have their own remotes, and they use RF instead of Infra-red, that issue has been resolved as well!

Overall, it’s a great upgrade and something I would do again!  But for some that are use to tossing a receiver in their RV and hitting the road or using a receiver at their cabin or vacation home on the same account or whatever… it just might not be worth “hopping” into!

HughesNet Tips & Tricks – Troubleshooting a Slow Connection

We get e-mails and phone calls and see posts all of the time from HughesNet customers complaining about a slow connection!  Some are experiencing it off and on while others are experiencing slower than normal speeds all of the time!  We decided to put together a list of possible solutions for you!  It’s important to know that many speed tests do not work well and / or are not accurate with HughesNet, so we recommend using the speed tests at www.myhughesnet.com for the most accurate measurements!  Also, some anti-virus products can cause sporadic readings on many speed tests, so we recommend disabling your anti-virus temporarily prior to running a speed test!

FAP (Fair Access Policy) Violations will cause you to have limited speeds until your service is restored to normal speeds!  Believe it or not, this is the most common reason for people calling and complaining about slow speeds!  Every monthly service plan has a limit as to the amount of data you can download during a 24 hour period.  If you go over this limit your service is limited for 8 – 24 hours.  You can use or purchase a restore token at www.myhughesnet.com to get your service back up to speed, or it should return to normal after a day or so!  You can check your FAP status at http://192.168.0.1 or at www.myhughesnet.com !

Viruses, spyware, adware, malware, etc. are speed killers on any Internet Service! Make sure your computer has current updated anti-virus software and spyware utilities and regular scans to ensure it is not infected!

Router and Network / WiFi / Sharing issues can also affect speeds, so we recommend connecting directly to your HughesNet modem to make sure the speed issue isn’t the result of a router or network issue! Many people are using unsecured wireless routers or access points for connecting to the Internet.  If your wireless router or access point is not “secure” then other people could be using your connection which will result in poor speeds as well!  Router issues and poor quality or damaged network cables can also cause speed issues as well!  And remember… most HughesNet service plans are not intended to support more than 1 or 2 concurrent connections or users, so if you have more than 2 or 3 concurrent connections or users on your network, it will be slower than normal also!

Cabling and Connections can also affect your speed and performance!  If you have loose or corroded connections, or poor quality connectors or cable, or damaged cable  between the modem and the antenna, you will experience slow speeds!  Make sure your cable(s) have not been damaged and that your connectors are not corroded and are nice and tight at all connection points!  Also… your HughesNet system requires high-frequency (3 gig) cable and connectors!  If, for some reason, the proper cable, connectors, ground blocks and so on are not being used between your HughesNet modem and antenna,  this could easily result in slow or no speeds! We see this issue often when people are trying to extend a cable to reach a new modem location and use low-frequency couplers to do so!  Contact us or visit www.montanasatellitesupply.com to purchase the proper cable, connectors, fittings, couplers, ground blocks and more!

Grounding or a lack of grounding can cause speed issues as well and can also cause damage to your transmitter  / LNB assembly as well!  While we all know that grounding your antenna and transmitter isn’t REALLY going to protect you from a lightening strike… proper grounding DOES remove static electricity from the transmitter assembly which is important to keep the transmitter performing properly and protect it from static buildup that could damage the transmitter over time!  There should be a bare or coated copper wire running from the ground screw on your transmitter/LNB assembly to the antenna back plate and/or on to a common ground point!  If this ground wire is missing or damaged, it should be installed or replaced accordingly!

Antenna Pointing & Peaking can affect your speeds as well!  If your antenna is not pointed and peaked properly, the transmitter will have to struggle when it is sending information to the satellite.  If necessary it will slow down transmission rates in order to prevent errors in data transmission!  Having your antenna re-peaked for both receive signal AND, more importantly for crosspole (isolation) can greatly improve both speed and reliability!  With the DW7XXX, HN7XXX and HN9200 (Ku Band) modems… once your antenna is properly pointed and peaked and passing the crosspole tests, etc. you should “Force-Range” the system to make sure it is communicating with the satellite at the best possible data rates!  Click here to view instructions for “force-ranging” your HughesNet DW7XXX, HN7XXX and HN9200 (Ku Band) modems!

Feedhorn, Transmitter/LNB issues can also affect speed and performance!  After unplugging your HughesNet modem, check the feed horn on your antenna (the clear lens that faces the dish) for moisture, cracks, etc.  If the feedhorn lens shows signs of moisture or damage, you may need to have your feedhorn replaced or the O-ring seal between your feedhorn and LNB assembly replaced!  Moisture in the feedhorn means that moisture could have gotten into your LNB assembly as well, which can also cause issues!  Unfortunately, feedhorns have been known to crack and split, and HughesNet transmitter/LNB assemblies have been known to fail over time and replacements are available in our online store at www.montanasatellitesupply.com !

HughesNet issues and busy times can also cause slow speeds as well!  From time to time HughesNet experiences server issues that can cause slow speeds and even periods of down times. If you are only noticing slow speeds during prime times, chances are that the network is just busy!  After all it is a shared network and you will probably only see 70% – 80% of advertised speeds for your monthly service plan during these busy times!  However if your system is not communicating at all, you should contact HughesNet Customer Care to see if they are having issues at that time!

Power Source / Surge Protection Issues can also cause slow speeds!  Cheap inverters, generators, and other alternative power sources can cause slow speeds as can using cheap surge protectors on your modem!  Yes, no offense, but that $150 inverter or that $29 surge protector could be causing connectivity issues resulting in slow speeds!  HughesNet and most other electronic devices do not work well with “modified sine wave” inverters or generators and sometimes do not work at all with the cheaper “surge protectors” on the market today!  We recommend “true” or “pure” sine wave inverters and generators and the use of a good quality battery-backup (UPS) system to help protect your HughesNet modem and computer equipment from low-power or surge protection instead of the typical add-on surge protectors which seem to cause “noisy” power that results in slow speeds!

I hope this will give you some ideas anyway!  Feel free to contact HughesNet Customer Care at 866-347-3292 for more information, or contact us… Montana Satellite & Wireless at 888-608-2299 for additional assistance!

How to update the SBC File (satellite information) in a HughesNet HN7000s Modem

HughesNet changes the satellites and transponders (frequencies) used to connect to their satellites from time to time.  Because of this it may be necessary to download the latest satellite configuration file into your DirecWay or HughesNet Ku Band Modem in order for you to successfully point and peak your system in fact you may not get any signal or pass crosspole until you have the latest configurations!

Here is the process for updating the satellite configuration file in your modem:

1. Download the file from our website at www.montanasatellite.com/downloads 
2. Open the archive by double-clicking on the file and save it somewhere on your computer.
3. Open a browser and enter http://192.168.0.1/fs/registration/setup.html and click the “Config File Upload” link.
4. Browse to the file on your computer and continue.  You will get a confirmation message that the upload is complete.

Your modem should now have the latest satellite, frequency, transponder information and listings in the drop down satellite list in the modem.

How to Force-Range a HughesNet HN7000s Modem

This process will work on most DirecWay and HughesNet Ku band modems!

Force-ranging a DirecWay or HughesNet modem allows it to optimize the connection between the satellite in the sky and your satellite antenna.  HughesNet recommends that you force-range every new installation or after moving your system or re-commissioning.

1. Open your browser (Internet Explorer is recommended) and enter http://192.168.0.1/fs/advanced/advanced.html into the address bar in the browser.

2. Scroll down to find the Installation link then the Force-Ranging link and click “Ok” to Force-Range your modem.

3. When the status in the pop-up box shows TX 8 – Transmitter Ready, your system has been force-ranged.

4. You can close out those boxes accordingly and we recommend power cycling your modem to wrap up all of the changes.

How to RF (reset) a HughesNet HN7000s Modem

This process will work for all DirecWay and HughesNet Ku band modems and should only be used after all other troubleshooting options have failed as this process will de-commission your modem and require you to re-commission the modem in order to access the Internet.  You will need to know the satellite you were connected or are tying to connect to, and know your SAN and PIN in order to re-commission your modem once this process has been completed!

1. Connect a Windows based computer to your HughesNet Modem.
2. Open a Command or DOS prompt on your computer (Click the RUN command and typing CMD and hit ENTER)
3. Type “TELNET 192.168.0.1 1953″ and hit “ENTER.”
4. Then type “RF” and hit “ENTER.”
5. The modem should restart to factory settings

(NOTE:  if you get an error when you enter the Telnet command, you may need to install the Windows Telnet application from the Add/Remove Programs section under Windows Programs)

How to switch satellites for your HughesNet HN7000s Ku Band Satellite Internet System

We get requests all of the time from customers to switch their HughesNet HN7000s Ku band Satellite Internet system to use a different satellite.  Some lose service due to moving, or line-of-site issues, etc. and lately it seems failing satellites or changes at HughesNet are requiring satellite changes.  For example, coming up on Oct. 30th, 2011 HughesNet is cancelling service on the Horizon 2 Satellite @ 74 degrees West.  Customers on that satellite will not have service after that date.  So what are your options?

If you need to change your HughesNet Ku Band (HN7000s) modem to another satellite, due to a change of location, line-of-site issues, loss of footprint, failed satellite, etc.  you have a couple options.  You can contact HughesNet and they will send an installer out to assist you, usually for a fee… or if you feel comfortable re-pointing your system to the new satellite, we can contact HughesNet to complete that change for you for a $50.00 service charge.

It’s important to know that you will need to get pointed to the new satellite and pass signal and crosspole tests before we can ask HughesNet to change your satellite.

Here is an overview of the satellite change process:

• First, we recommend you visit our Satellite Change Request Form here:    http://www.montanasatellite.com/hughesnet/hughesnet_satellite_change_request_form.htm to get an idea of what information we will need to request your satellite change from HughesNet.
• Second, you will want to download and install the new HughesNet SBC File which contains the most recent satellite parameters for your modem.  This file is available for download here:   http://www.montanasatellite.com/downloads
  Just download it, unzip it, and save this file to your desktop or somewhere you can get to easily.
• Next, you will need to hook up and connect your HughesNet modem to your computer and power it up (if not already connected).
  
• Once connected, open a browser in your computer and go to the HughesNet Status page at http://192.168.0.1 and click on the System Info button on the top right. If you didn’t have this page in your bookmarks, it would be a good idea to bookmark this page as we will use it later.
•  You should print this page if you can as it has your modems’ existing account information on the left and satellite information on the right.  If you can’t print it, you will want to write down the Account # (SAN), Site ID, Modem Serial number, etc. from the left side, and the satellite longitude and satellite frequency on the right.
• Once you have that information, close that out and go to the HughesNet Setup page at http://192.168.0.1/fs/registration/setup.html .  If you didn’t have this page in your bookmarks, it would be a good idea to bookmark this page as we will use it later.
• Now you will click the Config File Upload link in the modem at the bottom left and browse to that config file you downloaded earlier and load it into your HughesNet modem.
• Once that completes just power down and reboot your HughesNet modem.
• When it comes back up, enter http://192.168.0.1/fs/registration/setup.html in the address bar of your browser to get to the “HN7000s Setup Menu” and click the Registration – Installer link.
• It will ask for your postal code, and if you are not within 50 miles of a post office, you will want to click on the “Enter Location Manually” option and enter your GPS Coordinates and continue.
• Click “ok” or “Next” or whatever to continue through… it may ask for an LNB type or radio type, select the correct options if you know, otherwise just skip that and continue.
• On the next screen you see a drop down box to select the satellite that you want to move to. It may list two or three options for your satellite, just pick the top one and try it, and if you can’t get signal or pass crosspole, we’ll have to come back and select the next one down, and so on.  Make a note of which one you selected.
• The next page should give you the coordinates for your dish.  At this time you will need to get your dish pointed to the new satellite.  (You can download instructions for doing so from our site at www.montanasatellite.com/downloads if you need to.)
• Once you have your dish pointed to the new satellite, have adequate signal quality and passed the crosspole test, you have now sent the signal to HughesNet so they know that your HughesNet modem can see the new satellite and now we can proceed with a satellite change. 
  As a side note, if you can’t get it to pass, start over and select a different listing (frequency) for your satellite from the drop down menu and try again until you get it to pass!
• Make sure to write down or record your frequency, signal strength and crosspole values as you will need it for our Satellite Change Request Form!
• Now from a computer with internet access you will need to go to our Satellite Change Request Form here:   http://www.montanasatellite.com/hughesnet/hughesnet_satellite_change_request_form.htm, fill it out and submit it.
• There is a link at the top of the page to go to our online store and submit the $50 payment for this service, or you can click this link here:  http://www.montanasatellitesupply.com/HughesNet_DirecWay_Satellite_Change_Request_p/hns_satchange.htm to submit the payment.
• Once we receive your form and payment, we will contact HughesNet and request the satellite change, and notify you once the change has been processed.
• Once we notify you that the change has been completed, you will need to go back to the http://192.168.0.1/fs/registration/setup.html page and click the Registration – Installer link and go through all of that again, picking the same satellite that worked in the drop down menu and continue through, pass the test, etc. and continue.
• As you continue you will see a Contract page that you have to agree to at the bottom and so on, and on one page you may need to enter your HughesNet Account Number (SAN) and PIN, and continue.  It will download some files to the HughesNet modem and ask you to reboot it.
• When it reboots it will have one more download to do but it should now show your new satellite information in the System Info page.  You can check the status on the modem by going to http://192.168.0.1 page and clicking the red, green or yellow button in the top left.  It should show signal strength and status, such as File List Changed, Downloading New Files, or something like that.
• When it’s done downloading it should reboot on its own and then it should come online.  You will want to check the modem status page at http://192.168.0.1 and clicking the status button to make sure it says “All Files up to Date” or something like that before you try getting online.
• At some point you should and may have to “Force-Range” the modem to bring it online at its best possible connection rate.
  That is done from this link:   http://192.168.0.1/fs/advanced/advanced.html  and by clicking Installation in the left-side menu, then clicking Force Range, then OK. When it says “TX 8, Transmitter Ready” it has successfully force-ranged and you should be back online on your new satellite.

For questions about this process, feel free to contact us at 888-608-2299 or send an e-mail to tom@montanasatellite.com !

Netflix over HughesNet ? Don’t count on it!

Why would HughesNet promote streaming video when that’s the last thing they want their customers doing, and when it’s something that their system cannot properly support?  Oh ya…  SALES!

While I am finding that most of the customers that we contact for installation of their HughesNet Satellite Internet System have been told the truth about what to expect with the service, there are still far too many people out there that are being mislead about the capabilities of HughesNet!  Some are being told that it will work fine with Netflix and other streaming video services, and some even say they’ve been told that it is better and faster than their existing DSL!

Well… you tell me!  According to Netflix, their high-definition movies use around 3600mb for a 2 hour movie, while their standard-definiation movies average around 500 – 700 megabytes each!  Even an 30 minute standard-definition TV show over Netflix uses around 400mb.  Well… current HughesNet monthly service plans only allow between 200mb and 500mb PER DAY for downloading!  So, even if you pay HughesNet $119.99 per month, you will only get 500mb per day of downloading before you violate your FAP and are slowed to dial-up speeds for the next day or so!  So, as you can tell, it’s probably not a good idea to count on using Netflix over a HughesNet system! And we won’t even mention the times your movie will pause for a minute or two to “buffer” the movie! (i.e. catch up on the download).

Why do they advertise being a “high speed” network?  Well they are if you compare them to dial-up?  Why would they tell you it works with Netflix?  Well it does if you pay them $120 plus a month and only watch a 30-minute SD TV show a day, but as you can see it’s just not very feasible to do so!

And now about the DSL comparison!  Most DSL connections in the U.S. offer speeds of around 2.5mb up and 2.5mb down!  The advertised “maximum” speeds on the HughesNet’s “Pro” Plan @ $69.99 per month is 1.2mb down and 200k up which is realistically more like 900k or so down and around 160k up.  DSL usually doesn’t have a cap or Fair Access Policy or Limit on what you can download like HughesNet does either!   And, DSL doesn’t have the latency (delay) that HughesNet has either which is what makes HughesNet a poor choice for online gaming, day trading, VOIP, VPN and any other “bandwidth intense” applications!  So, unless your DSL is performing like dial-up…  you probably aren’t going to be happy with HughesNet!

So before you get all excited when you hear “High Speed Internet” in a HughesNet commercial, you are probably going to want to make sure you can’t get DSL or Cable Internet or even Wireless Point-to-Point service at your location because HughesNet is and always has been simply a “better option to dial-up” and only a “better option to dial-up!”  It cannot currently compete with DSL, Cable Internet or Wireless Point-to-Point… or 3G for that matter… not yet anyway!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dissing HughesNet, because it is a wonderful choice for remote areas where DSL, Cable Internet and other options are not available!  The problem is that some over-anxious sales people seem to stretch the truth a bit to make a sale every now and then!

As I’ve always said, don’t buy from “someone, somewhere!”  Find local dealers of the products and services you are looking into because at least then you can hold them accountable for what they tell you and sell you, unlike some call center sales person from across the country that goes by “Sales ID 19730″ or something!

Happy surfin’!