It was time for another shopping trip and we once again were going to need to go all the way to Odessa (226 miles) to get access to everything we need. The weather forecast was calling for afternoon wind so we stowed the satellite dish before departing.
After 14 hours of driving and shopping we returned home in anticipation of watching the late news and getting to bed. But when the button was pushed to raise the satellite dish, nothing. It was late so I only checked the easy things with no luck. The harder things will have to wait after a nights sleep and some daylight.
By 5:00 the next morning my mind was racing with what I could do to track down what the problem is. As soon as the sun came up I started tracing every line and component, finally ending up on the roof with the conclusion that the problem has to be, once again, the electronics in the base of the dish. After two hours on the phone with Winegard technical service they too were convinced of the same thing. For the second time they are going to send me a whole new system. This time the difference is that I will have to do the install.
Good to their word, Winegard delivered a 75 pound box of equipment by Friday (they shipped it within hours of our phone call on Tues). Now all I have to do is figure out how to get that heavy thing swapped out. Fully disassembled, the rotary drive and dish mount get no smaller than 53 pounds. There are no good options for tying a rope to the base and hoisting it up the 13 feet to the roof, the chance of bending something critical or carving paint off the side of the rig are too great. Using the vertical ladder on the rear of the rig is not going to work, not while holding the heavy and bulky base in one hand and trying to climb with the other. I'll have another day to think about it. We have to work Saturday, if the weather holds (meaning no wind) Sunday will be our first chance to try whatever strategy we come up with.
I guess we are living right because come Sunday there was not a whisper of wind, and that is strange for around these parts. By the time the sun was up I had my folding/retractable ladder extended to its fullest length and anchored firmly in the bed of Big Gulp, which I had backed up to the front end-cap. I positioned the truck so that the ladder would have a shallow angle and be more like stairs than a ladder.
Up on the roof I disassembled the dead antenna and carried it down on my own but it was clear that going up with the new antenna was going to take more than me. Cyndee came out and just as we were about to begin a dry run of going through how to make the lift, a neighbor, a volunteer working in the fire department, appeared and asked if he could help. Still living right I guess.
The neighbor and I got everything bolted in and connected, including replacing every single component between the antenna and the receiver. Pretty sure it took me two or three times longer than the guys that do this sort of thing for a living, but it got done. No way was a certified Winegard tech going to drive for eight to ten hours to do it.
RV's, even brand new ones, need a lot of work. Things break, frequently. Living in remote areas compounds the difficulties of getting the fixes done. My hopes of living life carefree of home maintenance is not working out as I had planned. Sure, I don't mow lawns or do carpentry anymore but there are a lot of systems that are subject to the equivalent of a class II hurricane and magnitude 7.0 earthquake (that lasts for hours) every time you move and that takes it's toll.
From on the roof I called down to Cyndee to hit the power. For several anxious moments, nothing. Then to my relief, whirring sounds and movement. It took it a few minutes to locate itself in space but once it did, it locked onto the three satellites it is assigned to and started streaming signals to the receiver. We are back in business but with trepidation. The first dish never worked from day one and the second dish suddenly failed for an unknown reason. Will the third dish be the charm?
No comments:
Post a Comment