It wasn't meant to imply anything about you. The thread with you just reminded me of that conversation because of the way it was structured, not the actual content and its brilliance or not. :-)
I admit it. I have never had a house with any equiment like that on the roof. Swamp coolers would not be common in MN except to cool livestock barns during our short but intense summers. I know what they are like though.
We had a window unit when I was a kid. We lived down south. From what I know they are essentially cool water misted or dripped over or in front of a fan. They cool the space but would add a lot of moisture to what already may be very humid air, depending on your climate. They are cheap to run though, esp compared to A/C! But as soon as we had the money, I remember, we got an A/C.
I also admit I am surprised you have a swamp cooler and didn't think they were common anymore in residential situations. In what general part of the world are you in? Are swamp coolers common there? Do other houses in your neighborhood have swamp coolers on the roof?
Never have I seen a swamp cooler in a Minnesota home. In houses up north, mechanicals like air conditioners will have the compressor outside, from what I know. Other type of mechanicals are either in a basement or in a room or closet designed for that purpose. Lots of people have window units for the dog days. I suppose it all means that I could have been wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.
It doesn't change the situation however. You still need to have the roof fixed properly under any scenario esp considering it is brand new. In your case, I think that means hiring someone to come and fix it. Everthing you have described is fixable so don't get too bent out of shape. If yu ever have that house roofed again you will know not to hire them guys and to ask about it with whomever you hire.
I can see that, thanks. And thanks, Eigenvector.
Right. It's been a learning experience, and those are seldom free.
R
All I can tell you is that in my area (where AC units are generally on the roof), this is the standard way of doing it. I have never seen it done as he described.
Again, all I know is from personal experience, I am not a tradesman. In my city, this is the way it has always been done and it will not pass inspection if done like what the OP said.
I don't know the definition of "re-roofing", but that is not the term he used. He said he had to have the old roofs torn off and a new one installed. Again, I can just tell you in my location, a permit is required for that.
Now you are assuming. We don't know if the work was completed yesterday and the inspector can't get there until the end of the week.
It will accomplish not having a leaky roof! Let met clarify my original statement,though. I meant AFTER all was said and done with this current roofer. My point was not about lawsuits, I was just saying that after this guy finishes, I would have a reputable roofer look at it to see if there are any problems that should be addressed. Assuming it is not a huge amount, I would not bother with legal action. I would just take it as a learning experience and pay a more skilled roofer to fix it. I did the exact same thing last summer.
-- John
As it turned out the guy apologized profusely and he did correct everything. In fact, he was even good enough to patiently endure my little temper tantrum.
Here's an interesting little side-note to the story. As a result of my complaints he brought an industrial magnet with him to clean up the nails. Then believe it or not, I got a nail clear through my shoe (no blood) before he even got the magnet out of the truck.
Swamp coolers (also called desert coolers) are probably popular wherever water is cheap and the humidity is low. Cities like Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque and Phoenix are examples. Every once is a while, in Utah, for instance we have some freak weather where the humidity does go too high. I would say that happens perhaps once every
5 years or so and lasts maybe a couple of weeks. The rest of the time, they work really well. The biggest problem with evaporative coolers is that you have to climb up on the roof and service them twice per year; once in the spring and then again in the fall. There's a chart at the following website that provides swamp cooler performance versus temperature and humidity.
In the case of swamp coolers, the legs remove with a few screws. So, it's easy to lay shingles underneath them and then replace the legs. In addition, swamp cooler parts are extremely cheap and it's hard to imagine any liability issues.
In the case of satellite antennas, especially the latest Ka/Ku antenna from DirecTV, installation is highly technical and requires an expensive meter. So, roofers are going to have to learn to coordinate their work with a dish antenna technician in the future.
Actually we both assumed the same thing. The contractor admitted it was a huge mistake on the part of one of the workmen and apologized profusely and he has now fixed everything.
I'm curious why this is. What I gather from their site is that these dishes have to be adjusted for altitude, azimuth, and tilt, as opposed to just altitude and azimuth. So, that's one more parameter to fiddle with, but I don't see why the same techniques wouldn't work that worked with the dishes that don't care about tilt: point it approximately with a protractor, and then make small tweaks in each adjustment until you get the strongest signal. Is there something that makes this method not work for these?
(For dishes that are used for their two-way service, and so transmit to the satellite in addition to receiving, it is an FCC requirement that you have a professional installation).
the lord works in mysterious ways :-)
Take away any setting and the antenna has to be made larger to accommodate. You can't have a wider pattern (lower gain), keeping the same size.
Only makes sense. You really don't want people tromping on other satellites.
"Tim Smith" wrote in message news:reply_in snipped-for-privacy@news.supernews.com...
I'm on my third DirecTV dish now and I was able to install the first two myself. With the first two, my technique was to use the audible signal strength meter on the TV by putting the telephone next to the TV and then calling myself on my cell phone. Another technique I have used is to have an assistant watch the meter on the TV while talking to him on the cell phone.
As DirecTV adds more satellites, though, the margin for error in pointing the dish becomes smaller. Speaking hypothetically, the very first dish might have allowed for a margin of error of 3 or 4 degrees in the azimuth setting, but the new "Ka/Ku" antennas probably only allow an error of a small fraction of one degree. This antenna, incidentally, receives signals from 5 different satellites over a
20-degree span.Another problem (obviously) with the new antenna is that it has to be mounted so that it's very solid and very stable and it typically requires 2 separate braces to hold it in place. This means that not only is the pointing of the antenna critical, but the mechanical installation is also. In addition, the LNBs are probably relatively delicate and the dish itself obviously isn't going to work if it's bent even slightly.
In short, roofers are going to have a significant problem with these antennas and I'm betting that most of them don't even know it yet.
Incidentally, the previous generation of DirecTV antennas also required a tilt adjustment, but that wasn't really a problem. The problem is with degree of accuracy required and not the number of adjustments that have to be made.
I installed my dishes myself, until I got HD service (I did NOT need a
5-LNB dish). Then the installer (which I didn't need at all, at least if they'd send me the receiver) replaced my working 3-dish setup with a 3-LNB dish (that did NOT improve anything).Mine was closer, so I didn't need the phones. I just turned up the TV volume and left the door open.
BTW, I suppose you had a headset for your cell phone.
Actually 5 different satellite locations. There are 4 satellites at the main (101) location, and there will me multiple satellites at the new (Ka) locations.
Of the 101-degree satellites, 3 are older ones with 16 transponders each (since there's a limit of 32 transponder channels, some must not be in use), and the new spotbeam satellite with more transponders (I'm not sure of the exact number, although I think that information is available somewhere). 6 transponder channels (4,12,18,20,26,28) are used for spotbeams.
When I had my roof replaced, the roofer failed to replace the dish properly. It's better if you can avoid putting it on the roof.
The "previous generation" being 3-LNB dishes. Tilt is for multi-satellite dishes (and did not apply to the original 1-sat ones).
BTW, the dish isn't the antenna. It's just a reflector. The antenna is very small, and located within the LNB housing.
Damn! You know I do have a headset that I use for my cordless phone that would probably work, but I was too dumb to think of it. Actually, I just spend an hour or two yesterday trying to adjust my Ka/Ku antenna with no luck. I'm not sure if it's broke after the roofers got through kicking it around or maybe there's a small blip on the signal strength bar on the TV that I'm not hearing with the audio. I have a technician coming out Friday morning. It only costs $49 and I've decided that it's worth it.
I didn't know that. I suppose it makes sense, though.
Yah, I know. My neighbor has a big wall of trees, though, just south of my house. When I originally signed up for DirecTV, I build a triangle, with the proper angle on it, out of some scrap pieces of wood and stuck a level on it with some tie wraps. Then I aimed along the top of the triangle to insure that I had clearance. I'm guessing I have about 20 feet on clearance, but there's no place else to put it.
That's true. The tilt adjustment on the new Ka/Ku dish, by the way, is the only adjustment that doesn't use a fine-threaded screw for the final adjustment. Adjusting the azimuth and elevation on this new one is a little bit like adjusting the idling speed on an old carburator.
I'm not sure if I agree although you might be right. With the well-known Yagi-Uda, VHF antennas, for instance, there is a reflector on the back and then a bunch of directors on the front that focus the waves onto the receiving or driven element. However, the entire assembly is still called an "antenna". I wonder what the antenna inside looks like and if it just consists of one element or some sort of an array? I suppose it's mounted on a small circuit board.
That's true. Leviticus 15:19-30 comes to mind for instance.
It's been awhile since I looked at one, but I seem to remember it's just a few printed circuit traces (4, 2 dipoles one for each polarization).
Yes.
BTW, I don't personally agree with that quotation, never having been in a position to BECOME atheist.
And DBS is what kind of waves?
If it was my roof, I wouldn't allow any unnecessary holes. Any tenant of mine will face a bit of wrath if they contract a screw-it-to-the- roof cable/dish installation, and so will the company that forgot to ask the homeowner for permission to screw-it-to-the-roof. Attach that sucker to the chimney or rake/fascia. Tom
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