If you have DirecTV or Dish, go into the menu on your receiver and check the signal strength of your signal.  If you have DirecTV, check Sat 101, Transponder 3.  If your signal strength on this transponder is less than 70%, then your dish is not aimed properly, and you *could* lose signal in high winds or heavy rain/snow.  Properly pointed, Transponder 3 should be in the 80%s, and the other transponders should be higher.

A common cause for a dish's signal strength to be too low is if the dish was poorly mounted in the first place.  If the foot for the base pole isn't solidly attached to the house, it will sag, wiggle, or pull free from weight and the force of the wind, and will change its point of aim.  You should have a minimum of 4 5/16" lag bolts securing the foot of the dish.

Of course, it may be that the installer simply didn't point the dish well, or (and this is amazingly common), didn't tighten down the bolts on the dish well, allowing it to move.

As an installer, I have a number of custom mounts available to solve most dish mounting problems.  I've helped design a couple of the ones I use, and they are manufactured by a small family-run business for us.  Custom mounts are NOT standard equipment, and so if one is needed, the customer is required to pay for it.  The advantage is that they allow a dish to be solidly mounted in places/situations where mounting a dish would be nearly impossible, or would needlessly damage the building.

I leave my business card with my customers, and ask them to call me if they lose signal.  Literally the only call I've ever gotten was one customer who *needed* a custom mount, but insisted I do the install without it, despite my strong recommendation otherwise.  He was calling me to admit he was wrong, and that I should remount his dish using the custom mount (in addition to the service call charge, since I had to go back to his house again).

Short of Cat 3 or better hurricane winds (or ravens on the LNB), you should NEVER lose your small-dish satellite signal.  If you do, there is a SOLVABLE problem with your installation.

-Troy

Quoted: The phone line thing is the one thing that pisses me off about DirectTV. You don't need a stinking phone line connected to the receiver to receive the sat signal but they sure try to make you believe you do. All in all I would take DirectTV over any cable company. And I have. Screw cable!

DirecTV is pushing their installers HARD to connect EVERY receiver to a phone line.  I'm required to have at least 70% of my receivers respond to a request (sent over the satellite to the receiver) to "phone home."

There are two reasons for this:

- Pay-Per-View: with a phone line connected, a customer can order PPV easily and instantly with their remote control.  Without it, they must either go online and use their DirecTV.com account (or create one) and order the move, or they must call DirecTV and either order with the IVR (computer) [$1.50 surcharge) or order via an operator [$5 surcharge].  Obviously, PPV makes a lot of money, so DTV wants it to be easy for customers to order PPV.

- Audits: It has become quite common for people to have 5, 6, or even more receivers on their accounts, as people are putting receivers in every room of their house.  But what also happens is that people figure out that a receiver can be plugged into a dish ANYWHERE and receive programming (locals will only work in the "home" service area, though).  Some people then get a bunch of receivers on their accounts, and then install them other places, like their parent's house, their vacation home, or whatever.  And instead of paying a separate bill, with full programming fees for the first receiver on each account, they are only paying the $5/month "extra receiver" fee, in violation of their license agreement.  Having phone lines connected to all receivers tells DTV that this isn't happening on your account.

You CAN disconnect the phone lines from your receivers if you wish, but for the installer's sake, try to leave them connected for at least a week or so, so they "phone home" at least once each.  As long as they've called in at least once, it doesn't count against the installer.

Also, if you have cellular service only (i.e., no land-line), you (and the installer) are exempt from connecting the phone lines, BUT DTV will call you (eventually) on the primary number on your account and ask you if it is your home phone or cell phone.  If you don't say "cell phone", you (and the installer) will lose the exemption.  The consequces to the installer are potentially big, but almost nothing to the customer, unfortunately.

Yes, the policy sucks, but so do the people who cheat the system.

-Troy