Bell TV Frustrations.... - Page 2 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Vulcan · 01-24-2009, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aepca

Its a SW21 switch.

I'm still thinking its something with the switch or the power adapter because when I unplugged it and and plugged it back in earlier today everything started working again for a couple hours.

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate the help.

Yeah, the SW21 works and combines both the 82 and 91 feeds but it will only be good for one receiver at a time. I'd try it and exchange the 91 cables on it, just to find if they are both working properly. This way with the SW21 you wouldn't have to be moving receivers and or TVs around.

For a temporary fix, if it is the switch you can use the SW21 on a HD receiver and just run a straight cable from the 91 feed from the dish to a SD receiver.

and you're welcome.

ken0042 · 01-25-2009, 10:42 AM

The other thing you might want to try- if the SW21 is working fine for you, be sure to try switching around the inputs from 82 and 91 into that switch. Losing one side (odd or even) of one satellite is sometimes a sign that you have a bad cable run or a bad LNB. It is just as possible that there is an issue with the switch though.

And if you need a new SW44, PM me before you go out and buy one. I have a brand new one that I'm not using that I would be willing to sell.

aepca · 01-25-2009, 10:59 AM

Thanks Ken, I'll let you know.

I unplugged the power inserter and plugged it back into another outlet just now just for the heck of it, and everything started working. Now I'm really confused. Its almost as it the issues with the switch are related to temperature outside because yesterday it worked from late morning till around 4 pm before it stopped working. I'll see if it once again stops working as the sun sets today.

ken0042 · 01-25-2009, 11:08 AM

Your switch is outside? I know they technically allow that, but I don't like it.

The one time I had a switch that was outside what I did was took a ziplock freezer bag and put it on upside down over the switch, and then loosely used twist ties to secure the bottom of the bag. So the wind couldn't knock it off, but there was also air flow too. That way at least some of the heat from the switch can be used to keep it warm.

Can you run 4 lines into your house from the switch? That would be ideal. Then you can keep it nice and warm and cozy; and if you ever need to move or add a receiver it leaves you with more options.

I think you may be right about the temperatures though- these switches are designed by Dish Network and may not be up to the continual pounding that a Canadian winter can throw at them. So maybe moving it inside could be on your summer "to do" list.

HOOT · 01-25-2009, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

Your switch is outside? I know they technically allow that, but I don't like it.

In Calgary I would not recommend this at all, I had horrible luck. However in Victoria it's been perfectly fine. I bet it is the low temps there.

aepca · 01-25-2009, 01:16 PM

yeah, the switch is outside right behind the dish. I live in Winnipeg where winters are brutally cold but you would think the local installer would realize that and install the switch indoors.

csnarpy · 01-25-2009, 04:15 PM

When i got my PVR last week (switched from a regular HD box) the technician switched out my 21's for a 44 and he straight out said that the quality of the 44's that have been coming out are hit and miss. He said that one of his fellow techs had to try 5 44's before he got a working switch. Basically its a "cross your fingers" that the switch will work.

So with that in mind, i bet your switch is bad.

HOOT · 01-25-2009, 06:48 PM

csnarpy is right. I would say it is a 50/50 shot with the SW44.

Vulcan · 01-28-2009, 05:23 PM

Speaking of the devil, I lost all signals to all my receivers yesterday so today I went and exchanged my SW44 switch with two SW21s I have around. I guess my switch or it's power are shot and it's been under cover inside my garage. At least I'll get the game tonight on my 9242 receiver.

Russic · 01-29-2009, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flip

Weird, when I called last week, I was never on hold. I got straight through. And as long as you don't hit #1 for technical support, you can get a real human in Calgary/Canada instead of some guy in india.

Is that how you do it? My parents have Bell and since I'm the go-to technical support guy I always end up calling customer service for them. I really like Bell, but I can't say I've ever gotten a rep that I could fully understand. Not their fault, I'm just horrible with accents. It's the same loop I go through every time: I miss something in their instructions, ask them to please repeat and then they get offended and short tempered with me.

flip · 01-29-2009, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russic

Is that how you do it? My parents have Bell and since I'm the go-to technical support guy I always end up calling customer service for them. I really like Bell, but I can't say I've ever gotten a rep that I could fully understand. Not their fault, I'm just horrible with accents. It's the same loop I go through every time: I miss something in their instructions, ask them to please repeat and then they get offended and short tempered with me.

Something like this. Both were during the day, so within regular 9-5 business hours, not sure what the non-India peoples hours are like.

But I called got tech support, India of course. Called back and chose activate new equipment or whatever and got a woman named Shauna who was obviously from around here.

It took her like 30s to help me because she wasn't just reading off protocols for troubleshooting. She actually knew how stuff worked and was able to deduce what the problem was.