About Kafka

Relocate my Hughes satellite service or buy local telco offering?   I slipped and fell on some ice late last fall and eventually couldn't reliably make the trek back up and down the hill to my old place where I was living and have my satellite dish and equipment. I have recently moved into an old folks' home. I haven't been able to use my hughes satellite internet service for the last few months but I have been paying the bill as agreed.   I'd like to find out what it would cost for me to move my hughes satellite service and keep the hughes service versus buying the local telco monopoly offering which appears to cost about half as much per month as my hughes satellite internet currently costs.   I bought, up-front, all of the hughes equipment since I was too poor to have any credit, so I own all the equipment. The new location is about 20+ miles north of the old place. It is much lower in altitude, and has some areas of nearly flat land. The climate is nicer. I am told that I can obtain a letter of permission from the property owner of the old folks' home for professional installation of a dish on the roof where I now live. There is currently a dish network satellite TV dish there for which I have no use. I don't know if the mounts are the same for the dishes but that dish is there already. It may be an easy job.   I still have about five or six months left on my original comittment to hughes service, which was for two years. I would like to balance cost/benefit to moving my hughes service versus abandoning it and going with the local telco monoplly which claims to cost about half the monthly cost for relatively similar service to what I get through my hughes satellite service.   I had some nice interaction with Liz last time I was here and would like to deal with her if possible. Thank you.   ... View more

Hello. I need some assistance.   My signal strength has been rapidly falling over the last couple months.   After installation last summer, it was up around the mid 80's and everything worked OK. Just over the last month or two it has been steadily falling, down to 70's, then 60's, then 50's, then 40's, then for several days it held at 31 and I had trouble using the internet connection. Now it has fallen below 30 which is near where the signal drops during rain/snow storms and I cannot connect at all.   This is a fairly remote location, I have no telephone service, and must rely on internet and email for connection to outside world. Right now I am writing from a cafe in a not-so-nearby small town.   Currently, and since yesterday around noon, there is a wildfire burning near my location and it is very smoky, so that may be why I am down to below 20 in signal strength and have no useable internet connection since yesterday afternoon. BUT the signal strength has been fading as I mentioned above and I think I need some technicnal assistance.   NOTE: My equipment is currently powered down. It will take me a few hours to get back and turn it back on. Could someone like Liz maybe take a look at it from the satellite end and help me?   Thanks. ... View more