DirecTV or Cable? I'm sure an arborist can help me.

[marcus139]

DirecTV or Cable? I'm sure an arborist can help me.

Hello,

I live in the Philadelphia area and when I moved to this house 5 years ago I installed a DirecTV dish in the only spot I had a clear view of the satellite, even though I knew the tree in front of the dish would eventually grow and affect my reception. Well, I think that time has come. My reception has slowly worsen and I think it is because it is affected by the tree that has grown in the path. Moving the dish to another location is not an option. It's a small house with many trees around it and two separate DirecTV guys confirmed my assessment that there is just not another spot that could work.

So that brings me to what I think are my options:

• Cut the top of the tree to clear the view for the dish and keep DTV

• Switch to cable and forget about this dish inconvenience.

My personal bad experiences with the local cable company make me really consider trimming the tree. The only way I could go back to cable is if I hear any advise here against having the pine trimmed. Of course me not knowing anything about trees, I don't even know what happens if you trim the top of a pine. My guess is that its characteristic conical shape will be ruined for life as the top may never re-grow straight up. Is this the case? Is it a common thing to cut pine trees tops? What happens to the top after that? Does it re-grow in a natural look of is it going to fork many new horns from where it was cut?

Here's some pics...

 

[fwf]

Get cable and leave the tree alone.

 

[Dadatwins]

Picture 3 looks like only a few small pole clips are needed to clear the signal. dish signal is very tight and I have found that even a few tree leaves can throw out the signal. Lot of people cutting out main leads of trees when it is not necessary. A few clips should solve the problem. I would not advise cutting the top out of the pine, it will probably send up muliple leads and create a larger problem. I have Direc TV and feel it is much cheaper and a better service than cable.

 

[notahacker]

Please. Switch to cable. It would be a shame to touch the evergreen. It is a Hemlock or a Spruce? I can't tell in the photo.

Something else to consider: What is a tree doing that close to the house? Is that your tree, or the neighbor's? I also see lines in the photo. Is there a power line near? If so, some guys from the big orange A company will butcher it anyway. This may not be friendly, but have you considered removing the tree? My opinion is that it is a "wrong tree in the wrong place." It may be a hazard in the future anyway.

Guys reading this; correct me if I am wrong.

 

[xander9727]

IMO it's a nice tree in a bad location. Eventually this tree will either need to be 1) removed or 2) pruned to an unnatural shape. That is not a good location for the tree. I would recommend removal rather than pruning........unless you'll be moving in a couple of years.

 

[treeseer]

Eventually this tree will either need to be 1) removed or 2) pruned to an unnatural shape.

1. All urban trees need to be removed eventually.
2. The shape it's pruned into may be fairly natural, if it's done right.

My dish is on a 10' pole. Yours could be on a 10' pole attached to the chimney, or some other place.

Is cable really that bad? They're gonna tax dishes more soon, costs will go up.

Dada I don't know what tips you're talking about, but you may be on the right track if all else fails. Little cuts may not mess up spruces (?) too bad, but still that's gotta be the last option.

Judging by the pictures, removal should not even be a consideration for a satellite signal. This is a slow-growing tree that is a big asset to the property.

 

[Elmore]

I vote for removal. This Cedar will get huge and I think that it is too close to the house anyway. Remove it now and enjoy late night TV till your eyes bug out or wait till later when it is so big it will be more work and/or more expensive. Shame, it's such a fine looking tree. I wish people would learn more about the right plant for the right place before they install material that will become problematic where planted.

 

[woodchux]

Remove the tree before it does damage to the house. Plant a more appropriate species.

 

[treeseer]

Dan I nominate you King of Forum Forensics. I always wonder about posters that ask and then disappear, and your theory seems to hold several gallons of water.

Marcus, come out, come out wherever you are, or consider yourself exposed.
I feel so...so...Violated!

I got no argument with the right-tree-small-place opinions; a Japanese maple would fit better there.

 

[Ekka]

Am I missing something here?

Does it matter if he was from a cable company?

Sheez, I don't get it, and what's the suspicion all about, every first poster needs to be sussed out or something ... I think homeland security has got to some of you.

Marcus139 it's simple, if you cannot move the dish and do not want to live with crappy reception and dont like cable then cut the darn tree ... because it's the way life is, the story goes like this ... there is 3 options in life

1/ Can you change it?
2/ Can you live with it?
3/ Neither of the above then leave.

Now you can change it by either going to cable or cutting the tree. If you choose to cut the tree well then cut as little as possible ... end of story.

Oh, and if the cutting a little bit means cutting the whole top off to get better reception, so what, that's better than cutting the whole tree down isn't it? And if it resprouts, cut them off too. And if it doesn't resprout,
good for you ... and if in 5 years time the thing is looking pretty tatty, then cut it all down.

By the way, I don't care where you're from, who you work for or anything, it makes no difference to me or the answer ... take care and post some more if you like, its free.

 

[Darin]

I can see that he may be a troll. This may be true, but he opens up an interesting topic so I feel it should stay.

 

[trimmmed]

I would give the cable a shot, especially if it's been 5 years or so since you have had it. The whole cable sector has gone through a consolidation in that time, and currently one of the big buzz words coming from the CEO's is "Customer Service"

Plus you will probably get a real good introductory deal from them, moving to them from satellite (their enemy). And in some area's you can add your phone service to cable and that alone, depending on your phone bill, might save you money.

 

[Elmore]

tree ID

Ahh, but what's important here?...What Kind of tree is it? Elmore says Cedar. What do you say?

 

[treeseer]

A couple moved into a $600k house. hubby got the idea that the lopsided water oak shading their patio was blocking the one and only signal access and wanted it cut down. Ponted to its poor form and said it was no good and in the way. Wife called arborist, who found a spot on the garage for the dish and pruned the tree.

2 yrs later wife came to her senses and ditched hubby and moved on. New owners prize the water oak; it was a big reason they bought the house.

Moral of the story: Think long and hard before removing a tree.

 

[Dadatwins]

If we could get a count on how many trees are being abused by excessive pruning and removed for the purpose of entertainment via television the true magnitude of the dish conspiracy would be shocking.

Dan

Lot of trees are being excessively cut, when the truth is only a few leaves can block a signal. I put up my own dish after 5 years of my cable company increasing bill 3-5 % per year and removing channels as well. While installing my own dish I found that it only takes something as small as a hand to block the signal. I did trim the side of a tree on my property to allow the signal on the advice of the dish installer, but later realized it was not necessary.
Dish signal is very tight and 1 degree of misalignment can alter signal.
Not sure if it a dish conspiracy, just a lack of education by the installers about their product.

 

[Trinity Honoria]

i suggest you implement the decision i made: no TV in the house.

therefore, the tree needn't be mutilated... and there is serenity in the home.

i vote: No TV...

 

[Newfie]

Mount the dish on top of the tree.

 

[marcus139]

Wow! what an interesting array of replies ( and accusations ) all are very well appreciated though as I don't think anything said is bad intended.

I'll just go with a few quick replies just from what I noticed after reading some of the replies. Later in the day I'll re-read and be more specific with my answers, and I might have more questions based on what's being discussed.

To <b>TreeCo</b> that said I might be related to a cable company simply because of the name Marcus, I can only think... BWWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! that's pretty funny. I'm related to a cable company yet I have a DirectTV dish installed in my house. Unless you are implying this is not my house, but reality is, this is my house, and any of you guys are welcome for BBQ any (non rainy) day. ( of course I can't extend the offer to watch Football because the signal is not too good And the topic of the message? now I regret not using the usual "Newbie needs advise about trimming a tree" <b>!retteb nwonk evah dluohs I</b> (that's just in case you are reading this whole thing backwards looking for more conspiracy clues)

<b>Notahacker</b> asked about the kind of tree... <b>Elmore</b> says that's what's important... I don't know what kind of tree it is, I can post closeups so some of you can help me with that. I love all (5) trees in my house and of course this being not my field, you can expect some of these to have some issues. All trees were already here when I moved in, and me not knowing any better, I will always have preference for not removing them.

<b>treeseer</b> said I posted and never came back, dude! it hasn't even been one day since my post. Sorry this is not my field and no, I don't sit at this forum 24 hrs waiting for a reply. When I checked after I posted, all I saw was a quick <i>Get cable and leave the tree alone.</i> which although not too engaging of a reply it is highly appreciated and taken as an expert's opinion.

To <b>Ekka</b>, Thanks mate! I guess I'm not the first first-poster that is almost sent off to Guantanamo.

m.-

 

[RedlineIt]

Marcus,

It certainly looks like an Atlas Cedar to me.

Converse to Ekka's advice, I would not lop the top off. Atlas and Deodoras go screwy when topped. Not only does the single top try to make five new tops that you have to look at in a few years, half of the bottom tries to go for the sky as well. Don't create a problem for yourself.

Clip back the growth that interferes with your dish. You can head back side growth on an Atlas with no problems at all. Some smart pruning back to strong growth that is heading in the right direction is what you need.

I do this all the time, create a window for view or for sattelite, no need to top the thing off. A smart arborist will find the cuts that suit your needs and won't harm the tree.

Tree is in a tight spot though. But no tighter than what I see every day.


RedlineIt

 

[Marky Mark]

Why not move the dish to the chimney.