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£100 for reconnecting an aerial!

  • 15-11-2012 6:55pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,081 ✭✭✭


    My father in law had a couple of aerial men out this week to ensure he got stable reception on a new TV he had bought. The indoor aerial he was using wasn't adequate to receive breakup free reception. From what he has told me the 2 men simply reconnected an aerial in the roofspace that had been disconnected. He was charged £100! This seems quite high for such a small job. I guess £100 is close to a minimum call out charge these days but still seems a bit of a rip off. What do others think?


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,743 ✭✭✭blatantrereg


    I think that he could have tried fixing it himself.
    They spend the same sort of time travelling out to fix a trivial issue as they do fixing some issues requiring some sort of actual expertise. Why should they charge less just because the issue was a loose plug.


  • Site Banned Posts: 14 cluelessgent


    My father in law had a couple of aerial men out this week to ensure he got stable reception on a new TV he had bought. The indoor aerial he was using wasn't adequate to receive breakup free reception. From what he has told me the 2 men simply reconnected an aerial in the roofspace that had been disconnected. He was charged £100! This seems quite high for such a small job. I guess £100 is close to a minimum call out charge these days but still seems a bit of a rip off. What do others think?

    I think the fellow your father employed was an imbicle, character of all trademen, may i crave a query? Howcome thou didnt do the favour for him, even for a token price?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 719 ✭✭✭12 element


    I don't mean to sound smart but if it was so simple why didn't you or your father connect it up? Why was it disconnected in the first place? Are you sure there's not more to it?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,081 ✭✭✭Digifriendly


    12 element wrote: »
    I don't mean to sound smart but if it was so simple why didn't you or your father connect it up? Why was it disconnected in the first place? Are you sure there's not more to it?

    No problem in your question. My father in law is 82 and lives on his own so thought of going into roofspace was not in his mind. I know I should have checked this myself but I have no expertise in these matters and am not exactly the most comfortable in roofspace as I'm a bit clumsy to be honest. Still I think I could have saved him a £100.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 745 ✭✭✭Extinction


    What price would you put on the installers knowledge and ability to fix something you cant fix yourself? A lot of people forget that there are only so many hours in a day and an installer has to allocate time to a job without knowing what he's going meet when he arrives at your door. For a service call he could have allocated up to two hours for both on site and travel time. The time the job took to actually do is irrevelant as its the time he allocated from his working day that counts. €100 sounds about right for two men on a call out.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 875 ✭✭✭More Music


    I spend 3 hours driving to a fault at a transmitter site.
    The fault turns out to be burned out RF connector due to arcing.
    I spend 3 hours driving back.
    The station is back on air.

    Do I charge less for my time and knowledge if that happened to be a blown fuse instead?

    I was sent to fix the problem and get the station back on air. Not my fault if the problem has a simple fix. It still takes the same amount of time and diesel to get there.

    Now if they're con men and didn't give an indication of cost, that's a different matter.

    BTW, would you have preferred if they lied? If they said they replace the masthead amp and cable when they didn't to justify the cost.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭STB


    More Music wrote: »
    I spend 3 hours driving to a fault at a transmitter site.
    The fault turns out to be burned out RF connector due to arcing.
    I spend 3 hours driving back.
    The station is back on air.

    Do I charge less for my time and knowledge if that happened to be a blown fuse instead?

    I was sent to fix the problem and get the station back on air. Not my fault if the problem has a simple fix. It still takes the same amount of time and diesel to get there.

    Now if they're con men and didn't give an indication of cost, that's a different matter.

    BTW, would you have preferred if they lied? If they said they replace the masthead amp and cable when they didn't to justify the cost.

    You not on a maintenance contract ? :)

    With all due respect for legit installers there are rip off merchants in every walk of life. In this case I think its more the thin line in the OPs thinking is that they could have done it themselves. And perhaps they could have. For those that cant they must pay the going rate.

    Nobody works for nothing. You would be out the door with work if that were the case.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 974 ✭✭✭paultf


    From what he has told me the 2 men simply reconnected an aerial in the roofspace that had been disconnected. He was charged £100! This seems quite high for such a small job. I guess £100 is close to a minimum call out charge these days but still seems a bit of a rip off. What do others think?

    I understand what people are saying about time & expertise when doing a job, regardless how small.

    As a comparsion, I had a problem with my reception earlier this year. I got a local installer to have a look. The amplifier in the attic for distributing the signal was broken. He fixed the problem, installed a saorview box (worth €85 retail), and tidied up the cabling. All-in-all he was there for the guts of an hour. Charged €130 - I thought that was a good price. He did a good job and knew his stuff. (In saying that he literally lived around the corner so that could have been a factor.)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,001 ✭✭✭Peanut2011


    My father in law had a couple of aerial men out this week to ensure he got stable reception on a new TV he had bought. The indoor aerial he was using wasn't adequate to receive breakup free reception. From what he has told me the 2 men simply reconnected an aerial in the roofspace that had been disconnected. He was charged £100! This seems quite high for such a small job. I guess £100 is close to a minimum call out charge these days but still seems a bit of a rip off. What do others think?


    OP, the £100 price tag was not for what they did, it was for what you and your father in law could not do.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 875 ✭✭✭More Music


    Peanut2011 wrote: »
    OP, the £100 price tag was not for what they did, it was for what you and your father in law could not do.

    Excellent way of looking at it. Must quote that from now on!


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,235 ✭✭✭lucernarian


    I think a £100 minimum callout charge is a little steep myself. And why were two men involved?? Any aerial installers I know would work by themselves, certainly for the first callout? :confused:

    Then there'd be someone else brought out for the second visit. Only the most serious of jobs would really require a second pair of hands (as opposed to an electrician, roofer etc.) and such a job would probably already be expected to involve more than one visit to complete. Like someone planning to put up a mast 10 metres or more high etc.

    I've seen work done involving the entry of attics and wiring a TV in a different room to an aerial or sky box RF out distribution around a house and for smaller jobs of that variety, I've not heard of a price approaching €120 yet.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭watty


    It's actually best practice to have a team of two.

    €100 seems high for a basic charge, but depends how far they had to come too.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 745 ✭✭✭Extinction


    I'm open to correction on this one but as far as I know, under health and safety requirements attic work is comes under confined space guidelines as there is only one point of access and exit. As far as I know a second man is required to be present as in the case of accident the ability to self rescue is limited. OP did say the aerial was reconnected in the attic so €100 euro for two men on a service call is reasonable.


  • Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 3,585 Mod ✭✭✭✭St Senan


    Does anyone know how much does it cost to get a guy out to service an oil boiler or a guy out to service a washing machine or a dishwasher. What would an electrician charge to call out to someones house and setup a light in an attic. What would a plumber charge to call out to replace a ballcock in an attic. Until the Minister for Communications and the government does something sensible and set up a RDI body which would properly train and regulate guys in the Aerial/Dish Installation business then genuine Aerial riggers and installers will always be ridiculed on what they know,supply and charge. I fear that its probably to late for any regulation now that Miriam pressed the big red button on 24th Oct


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭watty


    RTE NL and DCENR messed up.

    But it should have been done in 1950s as soon as big masts for BBC started going up.

    Absolutely 1961 at latest. Shame.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,688 ✭✭✭winston_1


    Navarre wrote: »
    Does anyone know how much does it cost to get a guy out to service an oil boiler or a guy out to service a washing machine or a dishwasher. What would an electrician charge to call out to someones house and setup a light in an attic. What would a plumber charge to call out to replace a ballcock in an attic. Until the Minister for Communications and the government does something sensible and set up a RDI body which would properly train and regulate guys in the Aerial/Dish Installation business then genuine Aerial riggers and installers will always be ridiculed on what they know,supply and charge. I fear that its probably to late for any regulation now that Miriam pressed the big red button on 24th Oct

    I recently contacted a fridge manufacturer re a problem and was told a callout was £120 plus parts. I decided to buy a new fridge but on defrosting it discovered what the fault was, a defective defrost heater. Still cost me £42 for the part but I was a happy bunny.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,235 ✭✭✭lucernarian


    Extinction wrote: »
    I'm open to correction on this one but as far as I know, under health and safety requirements attic work is comes under confined space guidelines as there is only one point of access and exit. As far as I know a second man is required to be present as in the case of accident the ability to self rescue is limited. OP did say the aerial was reconnected in the attic so €100 euro for two men on a service call is reasonable.
    Having read the HSA website and also the S.I.s covering the matter, attics in general shouldn't be regarded as a confined space unless they were so well insulated and sealed from draughts as to be excessively hot. Attics do appear to be covered under the Working at Height regulations, S.I. 318/2006.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 745 ✭✭✭Extinction


    Having read the HSA website and also the S.I.s covering the matter, attics in general shouldn't be regarded as a confined space unless they were so well insulated and sealed from draughts as to be excessively hot. Attics do appear to be covered under the Working at Height regulations, S.I. 318/2006.

    A lot of older attics have been newly insulated over the past few years with the grants that have been given out. This time of year isn't a problem but from spring to autum they can be extremely hot, I have once refused to go into a very small attic during summer because it did seem extremely hot when I opened the hatch. There are other hazards in attics such as protruding nails, some insulation can irratate the skin etc. Today I was working on a commercial premises where there was open containers of mouse and rat poison along with a few victims. I have a few times met wasp nests in attics that the householder was not aware of and once I met a 4 ft tall bee hive. They can be pretty awful places to work in so its no surprise that they come under health and safety legislation and I couldn't see any fault with an installer who has a second man with him in case of accidents.

    In answer to the post above questioning the need for a second man and suggesting a return visit with a second man if it was needed, I would see that as two call outs and two charges, its surely cheaper to just pay for one call out.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,081 ✭✭✭Digifriendly


    Just to make clear the price was £100 Sterling and not 100 Euros.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17 jimbowilson


    My father in law had a couple of aerial men out this week to ensure he got stable reception on a new TV he had bought. The indoor aerial he was using wasn't adequate to receive breakup free reception. From what he has told me the 2 men simply reconnected an aerial in the roofspace that had been disconnected. He was charged £100! This seems quite high for such a small job. I guess £100 is close to a minimum call out charge these days but still seems a bit of a rip off. What do others think?

    That's shocking what you paid for that!
    I got a neat job done for £100 which was 2 heavy duty chimney brackets and wire lashing, a Triax aerial and from i could make out another called a Diamond which has a cradle type fixing. A triax diplexer and about 10ft aluminium pole which he said is 5mm wall, he said would be better than the vacuum cleaner type tubing.
    Only thing i was concerned about was he was going to use brown WF100 satellite cable instead of proper tv cable, But it seems to work ok and good.
    Was going to tackle it myself but at that price. The picture says 98% signal and 100% quality with RTE and the BBC's etc are 93% percent and 100% quality. All done in about 2 hours. Would have taken me 2 days.


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  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,285 ✭✭✭Peter Rhea


    Only thing i was concerned about was he used brown WF100 instead of proper tv cable.

    :confused: What do you define as 'proper tv cable'?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17 jimbowilson


    Peter Rhea wrote: »
    :confused: What do you define as 'proper tv cable'?

    Maybe i'm wrong but the proper cable to me is the thinner cable for tv aerials. and the satellite would be a bit thicker. He told me that it was for satellite when pulling it down the conjunct, and telling the other guy to watch in case it kinked and to go easy. I thought there was a difference as the it said satellite WF100 brown on the reel. But it seems to work ok.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,235 ✭✭✭lucernarian


    Maybe i'm wrong but the proper cable to me is the thinner cable for tv aerials. and the satellite would be a bit thicker. He told me that it was for satellite when pulling it down the conjunct, and telling the other guy to watch in case it kinked and to go easy. I thought there was a difference as the it said satellite WF100 brown on the reel. But it seems to work ok.
    You are quite mistaken on that, the stuff branded as "TV cable" would be inferior in general to cable specced for satellite use, and WF100 would be the the highest standard used for general household TV and satellite dish installation. Sky insist on using equivalents to WF100 cable but try telling some of their installers... Some even have a habit of reusing aged TV cable for an aerial which had one layer of screening only.

    Sounds like the guy above was a professional and knew what he was doing to provide you with a lasting TV aerial install. I'd recommend him to friends and family if I were you, it's the best way to beat the cowboys in the trade.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭watty


    Any Coax can be any colour.
    All Coax for RF is damaged by a kink, even if unkinked later.
    Fatter cable is usually better than thinner cable.

    Coax as well as "quality" comes in different impedances. 50 and 75 are common, but there are others. Baseband Video, FM Radio, DAB, TV, Satellite IF is 75 Ohms, no matter if thick or thin. Cable for GSM, 3G, LTE, CB, Amateur Radio, GPS aerials is often 50 Ohms.

    The cable Impedance in Ohms is the ratio of internal wire outer diameter and outer screen inner diameter, not the resistance in Ohms measured with an ordinary meter.

    There are THREE quality factors to Coax cable:
    1) The loss at higher frequencies.
    2) The screening, not just to keep out interference, but stop strong signals from Satellite Dish LNBF or Cable TV/Broadband leaking out. Needs Braid with no gaps AND solid foil
    3) Weather proof grade. Indoor only in conduits, Plenum grade (not aiding a fire, needed to lay cable loose on suspended ceiling, rain /UV proof or even can be directly buried in soil.

    Much "TV coax" sold isn't even suitable for TV!

    Satellite IF grade can be used for Cable TV, FM Radio, DAB or TV.

    No sharp bends either. The fatter the cable the larger the minimum curve.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17 jimbowilson


    You are quite mistaken on that, the stuff branded as "TV cable" would be inferior in general to cable specced for satellite use, and WF100 would be the the highest standard used for general household TV and satellite dish installation. Sky insist on using equivalents to WF100 cable but try telling some of their installers... Some even have a habit of reusing aged TV cable for an aerial which had one layer of screening only.

    Sounds like the guy above was a professional and knew what he was doing to provide you with a lasting TV aerial install. I'd recommend him to friends and family if I were you, it's the best way to beat the cowboys in the trade.

    Well that sounds even better with the cable being of a higher standard. Just as well i never said anything like asking him to use the proper tv cable lol. :o


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