thats a technician, the network engineers are the ons you never see because they are paid a lot and there time is very valuable usually they only deal with cabinet faults on your street
Virgin Media Engineer. Really?
- Thread starter TruffleShuffle
- Start date
thats a technician, the network engineers are the ons you never see because they are paid a lot and there time is very valuable usually they only deal with cabinet faults on your street
The reason they need to send an "engineer" out is because:
The V+ box has 3 internal tuners that can affect the signal level and quality (thus potentially needing adjustments the user can't make).
The 50mb needs a much tighter signal level, across a wider frequency range (it uses 3 or 4 sets of frequencies depending on your area), thus it needs an engineer to check and adjust.
A normal TV box has a single tuner, so no major loss of incoming signal and will work with almost any properly installed connection.
The 20 again uses a single frequency at a time, and is much less fussy about the signal conditions.
It's basically because the V+ and 50mb are more demanding about a clean signal or a certain strength (too high and it won't work properly, likewise too weak, or too noisy).
The V+ box has 3 internal tuners that can affect the signal level and quality (thus potentially needing adjustments the user can't make).
The 50mb needs a much tighter signal level, across a wider frequency range (it uses 3 or 4 sets of frequencies depending on your area), thus it needs an engineer to check and adjust.
A normal TV box has a single tuner, so no major loss of incoming signal and will work with almost any properly installed connection.
The 20 again uses a single frequency at a time, and is much less fussy about the signal conditions.
It's basically because the V+ and 50mb are more demanding about a clean signal or a certain strength (too high and it won't work properly, likewise too weak, or too noisy).
Soldato
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Because it'll probably take you a whole day of tinkering trying to get it right and then ring up VM and complain cos it doesn't work. Where as it'll take an 'engineer' 20 minutes to get it all setup for you.
I've never understood why people get so uppity about the term "engineer".
My friends back home always take the **** if I refer to myself as an engineer - they tell me I'm not a "proper" engineer and should stop claiming that I am
I don't see what the big deal is... It's not like there are many instances where an "engineer" and a "technician" will have their roles confused.
My friends back home always take the **** if I refer to myself as an engineer - they tell me I'm not a "proper" engineer and should stop claiming that I am
I don't see what the big deal is... It's not like there are many instances where an "engineer" and a "technician" will have their roles confused.
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I now have an image of Peter Venkman walking round my house squeezing a little pump 
aka Youtube Linky
aka Youtube Linky
I've never understood why people get so uppity about the term "engineer".
My friends back home always take the **** if I refer to myself as an engineer - they tell me I'm not a "proper" engineer and should stop claiming that I am
If you're not sure whether you're an engineer or not, I think you're not an engineer.
If you're not sure whether you're an engineer or not, I think you're not an engineer.
I have a BA in mathematics (Cambridge), an MSc in aeronautical engineering (Imperial), and a PhD from a mechanical engineering department (Nottingham). Does that make me a "proper" engineer in your eyes?
My point is simply that it doesn't really matter whether you call yourself an engineer or not - the roles of engineer and technician are rarely confused. And it isn't just people from the "proper" engineering side that get uppity about their title... Welders and fitters (such as my friends from back home) don't like "proper" engineers referring to themselves in that way either.
I hate stupid/pointless installs.
Moved into a new flat last year, with gf transferring her sky over, had it set up with sky to install it a day or so after we moved in. First day when we moved in I noticed that there was an inbuilt satellite plug and there was a shared dish in the building. Phoned up sky to cancel the install, but the women on the phone convinced me that they would have to to some fiddling with the service box to set it up, as sky hadnt been used in that specific flat before, and I didnt have the wire to connect the box to the wall so couldnt check it out.
Guys turned up the next day, said the woman on the phone was speaking crap, took a 'spare' 2ft cable from their box, screwed it in and it worked straight away. Couldnt get the £20-30 (?) back for doing nothing as sky argued it had been a legitimate install and then found out that the flat service was only single channel and in order to get dual channel (for sky proper plus etc) it would involve faffing about with the flat servicing company and more install fee's. Not sky's fault but just rubbed in the pointless install charge even more.
Then found out a week or so later that I got further wrong information when I asked, and they said yes, to if I could use my own router/modem since the GF had gotten rid of her sky internet and router a year previous. Day comes when the internet activates, phone up sky to get the login details to find that they hardcode them to the mac address of their router (cue hilarious argument of me getting angry when the person on the phone doesnt explain this well and just says she cant give me the details as sky doesnt have the details) and I have to fork out for a new sky router.
Minor rant over
Moved into a new flat last year, with gf transferring her sky over, had it set up with sky to install it a day or so after we moved in. First day when we moved in I noticed that there was an inbuilt satellite plug and there was a shared dish in the building. Phoned up sky to cancel the install, but the women on the phone convinced me that they would have to to some fiddling with the service box to set it up, as sky hadnt been used in that specific flat before, and I didnt have the wire to connect the box to the wall so couldnt check it out.
Guys turned up the next day, said the woman on the phone was speaking crap, took a 'spare' 2ft cable from their box, screwed it in and it worked straight away. Couldnt get the £20-30 (?) back for doing nothing as sky argued it had been a legitimate install and then found out that the flat service was only single channel and in order to get dual channel (for sky proper plus etc) it would involve faffing about with the flat servicing company and more install fee's. Not sky's fault but just rubbed in the pointless install charge even more.
Then found out a week or so later that I got further wrong information when I asked, and they said yes, to if I could use my own router/modem since the GF had gotten rid of her sky internet and router a year previous. Day comes when the internet activates, phone up sky to get the login details to find that they hardcode them to the mac address of their router (cue hilarious argument of me getting angry when the person on the phone doesnt explain this well and just says she cant give me the details as sky doesnt have the details) and I have to fork out for a new sky router.
Minor rant over
Last edited:
Soldato
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Oh no, not this whole "Engineer" issue again...
I hate stupid/pointless installs.
Moved into a new flat last year, with gf transferring her sky over, had it set up with sky to install it a day or so after we moved in. First day when we moved in I noticed that there was an inbuilt satellite plug and there was a shared dish in the building. Phoned up sky to cancel the install, but the women on the phone convinced me that they would have to to some fiddling with the service box to set it up, as sky hadnt been used in that specific flat before, and I didnt have the wire to connect the box to the wall so couldnt check it out.
Guys turned up the next day, said the woman on the phone was speaking crap, took a 'spare' 2ft cable from their box, screwed it in and it worked straight away. Couldnt get the £20-30 (?) back for doing nothing as sky argued it had been a legitimate install and then found out that the flat service was only single channel and in order to get dual channel (for sky proper plus etc) it would involve faffing about with the flat servicing company and more install fee's. Not sky's fault but just rubbed in the pointless install charge even more.
Then found out a week or so later that I got further wrong information when I asked, and they said yes, to if I could use my own router/modem since the GF had gotten rid of her sky internet and router a year previous. Day comes when the internet activates, phone up sky to get the login details to find that they hardcode them to the mac address of their router (cue hilarious argument of me getting angry when the person on the phone doesnt explain this well and just says she cant give me the details as sky doesnt have the details) and I have to fork out for a new sky router.
Minor rant over
When I asked Sky for the login details for one of my customers, they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. He tried telling me there wasn't a username and password and that I shouldn't try to use my own router on the Sky telephone network.
Deleted member 651465
Deleted member 651465
When I asked Sky for the login details for one of my customers, they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. He tried telling me there wasn't a username and password and that I shouldn't try to use my own router on the Sky telephone network.
Which is technically correct. The username and password are coded in to the router so you only have to plug it in.
It's possible to decode them (done it for my parents), but they won't give them out over the phone because it's dependant on the WEP key and serial of the box itself which they don't have access to in the call centre
I have a BA in mathematics (Cambridge), an MSc in aeronautical engineering (Imperial), and a PhD from a mechanical engineering department (Nottingham). Does that make me a "proper" engineer in your eyes?
My point is simply that it doesn't really matter whether you call yourself an engineer or not - the roles of engineer and technician are rarely confused. And it isn't just people from the "proper" engineering side that get uppity about their title... Welders and fitters (such as my friends from back home) don't like "proper" engineers referring to themselves in that way either.
I'm not questioning your qualifications, you could have engineering qualifications and not be an engineer because you're not working as one. It sounds like your friends are trying to make themselves feel better though, I wouldn't call a welder and engineer really.
we had loads of problems with this in the end the cable monkeys had to replace all the amps in the green box this was after they replaced all our intenal cables, fine tuned our amp, replaced our amp, replaced the outside cable to our house. all sorted now though