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Thread: 3rd Cancellation

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    Default 3rd Cancellation

    Techlife cancelled the Vast install due for Tuesday 13th of March.
    That is the 3rd Cancellation.
    In one way I wasnt too surprised as it may have been they have been reasonably delayed by the recent bad weather experienced in NSW but after their first story that the 'Installer didnt have the necassary euipment to do the installation', it does make me wonder.
    I wasnt home when they rang twice, (Wed and Thurs) and from what my Son tells me it 'Maybe this Saturday (17th)'.
    He said no time was mentioned and I have heard nothing from them to date and I point blank refuse ring them and sit and wait for that bloody message system to take a recorded message.

    My friend is waiting untill Friday (16th) to ring them to inquire about his and if it is still on 'Hold' and if so, why?

    The Saga continues, Tune in regularly to see if VAST arrives and beats the June deadline.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!



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    Default

    Hmmmm, no good Gordon. Is this a government subsidised install you are waiting for?

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    Yeah, I was going to ask the same as newy. Can't you just self-install? I had my dish up, RG6 run and box/pics installed in a couple of hours and it was my first install.

    Plenty of us here to help you through it if you encounter issues.

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    Yes, it's the govt household assistance scheme Gordon is getting his VAST installation through... costing him nothing.

    I was in his area a fortnight ago and could have installed it for him if he was paying for it... and he's probably able to set it up himself anyway... but... being a freebie, he's at the mercy of the govt scheme installers.

    I could have registered as an installer for the scheme, but they pay the installers so badly it's not viable for me.

    This is probably a large part of the delay Gordon is experiencing.. regardless of the excuses he's been given, as the installers are probably waiting for a few more installation jobs in Gordon's area so they are not out of pocket with travelling, etc.

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    Quote Originally Posted by gordon_s1942 View Post
    Techlife cancelled the Vast install due for Tuesday 13th of March. That is the 3rd Cancellation..
    Another Federal Labour Government initiative. How can we complain. They have such a consistant record with their "schemes".

    Anyone with anything positive to say about these schemes is obviously a labour government minister. If you see one, just point and laugh.
    "the one with the sugar coating is the one that would otherwise taste worst".

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    As MTV says it is the HAS program I am waiting for and as for 'self' install, I have more than sufficient equipement (unlike the Techlife installer) to do several dish's from what I have bought, scavanged, collected etc.
    Also for those aware of 'How', VAST works well on a working Austar installation.

    MTV, I have been thinking that your thoughts re 'Volume' is on the mark with the four nearby 'Self Help' areas (SAS) due to convert by June 5.
    It makes sense from a business point of view to combine them for a 'single' program as they are all in a 20 km radius of Lithgow.

    I am not going to blame the Federal Govt for these delays because all they did was offer out the Tenders and selected one but where they seem to have gone amiss is to not put more requirements into the Tender details as to time between acceptance and completion of an installation except perhaps that they be done by the local 'switchover' date.
    Last edited by gordon_s1942; 14-03-12 at 03:58 PM.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    Quote Originally Posted by beerman View Post
    Another Federal Labour Government initiative. How can we complain. They have such a consistant record with their "schemes".

    Anyone with anything positive to say about these schemes is obviously a labour government minister. If you see one, just point and laugh.
    Not to get overly political but it'd be the same no matter who was in charge, lets face it governments of all descriptions have poor records when it comes to managing the finer points of any scheme.

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    Another hiccup for consideration is my friend who is also waiting and was told recently he was on 'HOLD' had a message left on his answering machine today to advise they would be 'Installing a Terrestial STB on the 5th of April'
    The problem there is he isnt in a Digital Terrestial area and has got a 'Pre Approval' from MySwitch to get VAST because of the acknowldeged reception difficulties.
    He is going to ring them tomorrow I believe and see what happens.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    Let them come I say, just make sure he doesnt settle for anything less than perfect terrestrial. Either he'll get it, or they'll get him VAST anyway

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    Quote Originally Posted by nbound View Post
    Let them come I say, just make sure he doesnt settle for anything less than perfect terrestrial. Either he'll get it, or they'll get him VAST anyway
    He's near 60 miles from the nearest transmitter and its always been rather hit and miss even on analog with it varying hour by hour.
    Some of the Digital channels were available after a fashion but in recent weeks his reception has realy worsened to the point where you nearly dont bother to see whats on.
    Myswitch lists him in a problemsome area and when I did the Pre application earlier this year, he was approved for VAST.
    All we can do is wait and see what happens.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    New date for the installation is Monday March 26th March between 1 and 4pm and when I commented on the reason it was cancelled the first time(Installer didnt have equipment) she replied not all of their installers are satelitte qualified !!!

    Sheeeeze, if it wasnt a 'Freebie' i would be telling them where to shove it.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    They say patience is a virtue, unfortunately there is an endless stream of people testing it & most of them seem to be bureaucrats.

    Have a beer & relax, it will be done soooooooon.
    Cheers, Tiny
    "You can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
    The information is out there; you just have to let it in."

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    Quote Originally Posted by gordon_s1942 View Post
    .... when I commented on the reason it was cancelled the first time(Installer didnt have equipment) she replied not all of their installers are satelitte qualified !!!
    Then it wasn't that the installer didn't have the equipment, it was that they didn't have a 'satellite' installer available.... or... not only did the installer not have the equipment, they also have NFI what they are doing... no real surprises there either.

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    NFI? thats mild compared to what I have been thinking.

    Yes MTV, that does now appear to be the case from what the operator told me today, she said she had 'Only started recently with this Company' (she'll be sorry) so I think she might let the 'cat of the bag' as none of the others I have spoken to before made that comment.
    So it appears Techlife has 2 'grades' of 'Installers' running around the countryside.
    I wonder how many will arrive ready to do a Terrestial Install only to find out its a VAST only area as they dont appear to have those details in the applications.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    Quote Originally Posted by gordon_s1942 View Post
    So it appears Techlife has 2 'grades' of 'Installers' running around the countryside.
    I wonder how many will arrive ready to do a Terrestial Install only to find out its a VAST only area as they dont appear to have those details in the applications.
    Unfortunately, there's also a real risk of having a 'terrestrial-only' installer discovering terrestrial signals at a job are insufficient and VAST satellite needs to be installed there.

    Yep, you guessed it.... customer goes to the back of the queue again waiting for a satellite installer.

    Whilst I understand the difficulty for the installers with low pay rates etc... the level of service (not) being provided by this mob is pathetic.

    They are still being paid for the work, even though it's from the govt, not directly by the customer.

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    MTV has pre-empted me with an Update on my friend who I advised earlier was on 'HOLD'.
    It seems the lamebrains running this circus put the 'Hold' on him as a previously analog 'Self Help' site in the town of Oberon, NSW is now being upgraded by the 'Broadcasters' (not the local Council I believe) to Digital with an early switchover date of April 5 2012.
    Because of this they believe this will affect him but he is 28 kilometres away and the Myswitch site doesnt show him being even close to being in the range of this transmitter.
    No one has ever had a signal from this translator in his area in analog let alone digital.
    But, they are going to send 'someone' out to TEST his location on the 5th of April and go from there apparently from what he told me this morning.
    The whole area gets an intermittant quality Analog signal from Orange over 100 kms away not Oberon, and Digital is really erratic.
    Telefix claim that they have been waiting for Information from the Government regarding this Upgrading at Oberon and thats why he was on HOLD as they are still waiting.
    Last edited by gordon_s1942; 16-03-12 at 11:19 AM.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    In fairness, it's impossible to accurately predict likely digital reception results in marginal signal areas until transmitters are 'on-air' and even then, results can vary considerably from one address to another, even next door to each other.

    I've seen both excellent digital reception in previously-poor analogue areas and poor digital reception in previously-good analogue areas, so it's really an unknown entity until digital signals are available in the area, to determine reception suitability.

    Personally, I'd prefer terrestrial reception, as you can tune it on any digital terrestrial tuner, without the need for additional STB's etc (eg: 1 VAST decoder for every TV in the house).

    Whilst this situation is no doubt frustrating for your friend, he's not alone, as there are numerous transmission site upgrades happening/planned nationally, by both broadcasters and self-help installations.

    It's actually fortunate that it's a 'broadcaster' upgrade, as there's often a lot of issues/complications getting self-help upgrades happening.

    Another bonus is the timeframe of early April, compared to another year of waiting for some areas.

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    The way my friend put it was they are comming out the day the Switchover occurs (5th of April) and if they get a signal well and good BUT if the 'Installer' isnt/doesnt have any Satellite euquipment, he just goes 'Black'......................
    Now I understand for numerous reasons the anaolg may have to be switched off to allow the full instalation/operation of the Digital service but unless their going to hit the town 'en masse' on THE Day sounds like their going to be very busy boys indeed.
    Oberon is the home of Tmbind Industries that makes Pineboard and housing timbers and prebuilt frames which is why I think its the 'Broadcasters' upgrading what was a Council run site origionaly.
    Now to wait.

    Other friends in the Hartley area who qualify for the SAS program have told me their Dish and STB is in and running but unless I misheard, they have a PVR with HD version installed so I am going to see for myself in the next couple of days.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    Quote Originally Posted by gordon_s1942 View Post
    The way my friend put it was they are comming out the day the Switchover occurs (5th of April) and if they get a signal well and good BUT if the 'Installer' isnt/doesnt have any Satellite euquipment, he just goes 'Black'......................
    Now I understand for numerous reasons the anaolg may have to be switched off to allow the full instalation/operation of the Digital service but unless their going to hit the town 'en masse' on THE Day sounds like their going to be very busy boys indeed.
    Oberon is the home of Tmbind Industries that makes Pineboard and housing timbers and prebuilt frames which is why I think its the 'Broadcasters' upgrading what was a Council run site origionaly.
    Now to wait.
    Most people will not experience any problems with the switch to digital, if they have a reasonably clear analog service then digital is likely to work with little or no problems.

    Has he tried for reception from Orange (Mt Canobolas)? Some areas around Oberon get reasonable reception from it. While the upfront cost is usually rather high (mast + high gain UHF and VHF aerials), you save in the long run as once you have signal its easier to split to multiple TVs, while VAST boxes are ~300 a pop. It is a very high powered transmitter, even half of Crookwell uses it.

    Quote Originally Posted by gordon_s1942 View Post
    Other friends in the Hartley area who qualify for the SAS program have told me their Dish and STB is in and running but unless I misheard, they have a PVR with HD version installed so I am going to see for myself in the next couple of days.
    Its definately possibly to get VAST boxes with PVR functionality, the Hard Drive is connected via a USB port on the abck of the box. If u get a standard box though you need to send it off for a firmware upgrade.

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    nbound, if you read back you will see he currently gets his reception from Orange, NOT Oberon.
    No one in his location has EVER received a signal from Oberon.
    Apart from actually knowing his area well, Myswitch shows his 'actual' location as 'Poor' although those around him do much better but their more elevated than he is.
    His current phased array was installed a few years ago by a local TV installer and where it is was the best spot found using a FSM.
    Several years ago at a farm I got an excellent signal from Orange (Mt Canobolas) which does have a huge coverage range but they are at least 300 metres higher along the Dividing Range line than where this other fellow lives down near a River in the valley.
    As they say, Location, Location, Location.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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