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VR work & Hughesnet or WildBlue

Posted By: Do they work together on 2008-01-29
In Reply to:

I am looking into Hughesnet or Wildblue satellite to use with VR work.  Does anyone use either for VR work and do they work well together?  Thanks


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no - don't check out wildblue. check out hughesnet. sm
i was on wildblue. i absolutely HATED it. i paid $400 for install and equipment and bill was $51.51 a month for smallest plan. no bills, had to be direct debit from credit card or bank. wasn't a lot faster than dial up and i frequently went over my download limit so i had to upgrade to the $80/mo plan. speed was no faster on their "fastest plan". they had a 1-yr contract and only 1-yr warranty. well 20 days (kid you not) out of warranty my tria (the eye on the dish) went out and it cost me a total of $275 for replacement and tech call (had to wait a week and a half before tech could come and then he no showed and rescheduled for the next day stating he didn't have the equipment he needed to fix me and the repair order had been in for over a week by that time. no call to say he wasn't coming either, just no showed). they TRIED to sell me the entire package all over again to get me locked into another 1-yr contract and i declined. it was best in their book so your warranty and equipment would be "new". i had to tell them for 5 months to change which credit card to debit from, never could get it right. had to tell them for 3 months when my phone number changed. i could not wait until the day my 1-yr contract was over. have heard really good things about hughesnet. i think it is a tad more a month, but supposedly a lot faster than wildblue and not near as many problems from what i have heard from others. wildblue was down for an entire week at one point throughout the year i was on it. always got lost signals and page cannot be found multiple, multiple times throughout the day. i used wildblue with VPN (with transtech) and could not keep a connection enough to get a decent line count as i was dropping signals too much and it did slow it way down. i finally got clinic work rather than acute care where time and speed wasn't a factor. research message boards for complaints about wildblue and hughesnet before deciding. also hughesnet i think told me a 2-yr warranty rather than only the 1-yr with wildblue.
Hughesnet
I did an archive of this, but did not get a really good answer to my question.  I am considering satellite interneg, as that is the only high speed option where I live.  I do not dial into a network, but download my dss files as e-mail attachments.  I have Directv already and only lose service temporarily during heavy rain.  If anyone is working with this already, how much faster than dial-up is it?  I have an office where I have DSL 10 miles from here, but I would love to move everything totally from home. 
Hughesnet is NOT down but beware
their customer service STINKS  big-time.  But, hey, if you live in the wilds like I do, with no cable or DSL - what choice do you have?  Never heard of Wildblue - it must be a small starter company.
Anyone in the NE having Hughesnet problems?
Our service has gotten slower and slower recently and a lttle over 2 weeks ago it got to the point where I could run DocQscribe, but beyond that no search pages would load and IM wouldn't work. I called customer service and a tech from India tried a bunch of things including resetting our modem and by the time he was done, we couldn't even connect. The modem is not in my office and I specifically asked him if I should check it and he said no.
I called again in 2 days and talked to advanced support and he tried some things and then started wanting me to disconnect cables, etc, so I told him my husband would call back because all that is in his office. He called the next day and no one could figure it out, so they wanted to send a dish tech out to check the dish.
He came and said the dish was fine and when he looked at the modem he said it had been decommisioned and he got online and got it restarted, which we could have done over the phone if we had known, and the techs on the phone should have known it. And now they wonder why we have a problem with paying 125 bucks for the guy to come here.
We have been on the phone for hours trying to settle this. Billing won't take it off the bill without "documentation from tech support" and tech support in one breath will say that it was a phone techs fault and in the next breath say that they can't document it.
The whole system should not have been touched in the first place because it is a problem with the satellite we are aimed at, not a problem with our dish or modem and evidently we could be aimed at a functioning satellite, but no one is offering us that option.
Sorry to vent, I really just wondered if anyone else in this area is having a problem. I am in upstate NY near the VT border.

I've had Hughesnet for over a year
First of all, it is expensive.  $60 a month ($65 if want them to mail you a bill instead of having it taken directly from your checking account)  You have to purchase the equipment, which can run $600-$700 installed.  This dish weighs 75 lbs, so if you don't want all that weight on your roof, then it's an additional $125 to put it on a pole.  If you do that, I suggest you have some PVC pipe available so the installer can run the line through that before burying the line from the pole to your house.  Now, if you let the installer bury the line, he charges another $3.25 per foot for burying ( I just had him run it on the ground and I buried it myself with a shovel).  There is rain fade-out and it fade or drop quicker with the internet dish than with your TV dish.  Their customer service, in my book, stinks.  The first customer service reps you have to go through cannot speak English and do not know that okay means yes.  ( I help you Susan, yes? Okay.  Yes? Okay. Yes? OKAY!!!!!)  If you have problems and they get you up and running for even a second then everything is "Good".  You have to keep calling and beg and beg and holler for advanced tech, where you get an English speaking person that knows what they're doing.  But still, I have had to beg and beg with advanced tech to get a repairman out.  And I don't know where you live, but the closest installer/repairman to Jacksonville, FL is in Georgia and if there is a nonwarranty problem then I have to pay $125 trip charge and it takes them a week to come out.  Right now I have only intermittent internet service, which is not enough to work, after waiting 3 weeks for a repairman, he says the problem is a warranty part - but guess what? He doesn't have it so now it's another 1-2 week wait.  I have been fighting with them since this thing was installed.  I can't get cable, and DSL was supposed to be up and running here over a  year ago - all the lines and boxes are in, we're just waiting for someone to 'flip the switch'. But, hey, when this thing is working, it is as fast as DSL.  A girl I worked with has it and has never had a moment's problem.
Wildblue
I have used Wildblue since September and really like it.  In my opinion, it is well worth the money.
Wildblue
I know someone who just got it and says when it's stormy out, it always goes off. I was supposed to get it where I live but decided to go with wireless instead (I live on a farm where nothing else is available except for dumb ol' dial-up...been there, done that). That's all I have heard about Wildblue.
Wildblue
I personally do not use them, but I have several family members who live in rural areas and they have used them for a couple of years without a problem as far as I have heard. They were just thrilled to finally have access to DSL and as far as I know, they are reliable. Have never heard them voice any complaints. Hope this helps. Good luck.
PS to Wildblue
If you click on "related messages", there are older posts that overall sound favorable.
love WildBlue
I've had WildBlue for several months and love it. It does go out when it's stormy, but stays on longer than my neighbor's DirecWay. I do have problems with certain VPNs, but I've been told that's a satellite issue - not a WildBlue issue.
i use wildblue - email me nm
;
Wildblue satellite - does anyone have this - sm
and if so do you like it?  Is it reliable, etc.?  I only have dial-up where I am (nothing else is available) and just started a new job and without DSL or cable it is very difficult to make any money.  So as satellite is my only option and I have heard that HughesNet stinks, I found this option through Directv and is available in my area, and half the price of HughesNet to boot. So putting out feelers to those of you that may have this service.  TIA.
Wildblue, dialup, etc. sm
How far are the trees away from your house? I have some trees to the south too but probably 500+ away. I had considered getting Wildblue. I'm stuck with dialup too and have lost accounts because I can't get high speed. It really limits things, but on the other hand a lot of companies don't allow satellite and I hate to invest that much money and then not be able to use it to work.
anyone using or tried Wildblue satellite internet? sm
they are cheaper than directwav but i know sometimes you get what you pay for too so i am wondering if anyone out there is using it or has in the past and what you thought about it? 
Company is Wildblue - anyone heard of this nm
nm
I use WildBlue and it works just fine for me.
x
I just signed up for WildBlue thru Directv- sm
There have been no complaints on the board with regards to them; I will know in a few days they come out Saturday to install it. Cannot wait; my modem has been acting nuts in this heat. I believe WildBlue is cheapter than HughesNet too - it was $249 for the equipment (think HughesNet is $600, or at least it used to be)-- got the $70 a month package (they have $50, 70 and 80 I think)--higher the price the faster the connection in theory. At the rate I am going anything would be better.
I use wildblue as well, no problems. my speed says 100 mbps.
;
i have wildblue and connection is very reliable to me with no trees, but sm
especially if you will be going through VPN, it won't be very productive for you cuz the VPN slows down the download rates. i am connected at 100 mbps but that is nothing. download rates are extremely slow, sometimes as slow as dial up.
Horrible experience with Wildblue ~ I would recommend Hughes sm
over Wildblue. I use AT&T wireless, much cheaper start up, about the same monthly, and much more reliable. If it will not work with wireless, I doubt it will work well with Satelite either.
I get my work from an FTP site that they load the work to, however I don't have pool work so to
speak, but I tell them how many minutes a day I want.  The work is generally put in my box by 5 pm every day, then I have until 10 am the following day for some priority work, or 3:30 pm for the rest, so TAT is not too bad. I would like to work less at night though, but I working on that. My downside is I do not get the same dictators day to day, there are a few I do on a semi-regular basis though, some generate great lines but take longer to do that other doc's and are not "money-makers", I also do not get paid for spaces so that hurts a bit too.  This is WP5.1 too.....so very antiquated but that is what the hospital uses, so not much choice there. But I understand what you mean about the C-phone. I was just doing another job with C-phone recently...they incidentally did not tell me how to get off of the system, which was very simple.  I'd finish a job, then hit stop and hangup if I wanted to get off or quit working.  That is what you need to do if you want to sleep, eat, etc.  Don't feel guilty, do what you signed up for, believe me they watch the pools and will get others to do the work you don't finish.  If they get on your case remind them that you are only PT and only want 500 lines a day, etc.  It's not worth killing yourself over.  Good Luck.
You go by your schedule and have no work. Everytime I get on to work, there is always work.
x
Then you would have no life at all except work, work, work if you did that. I wouldn't do it. nm
.
Same thing with nationals. You work all the time to keep the account caught up when others dont work
and then when they decide to put a whole lot of extra people on your accounts and run you out they could care less about how much you worked.
Have a hospital I work for and they consistently change work types and do line counts. (sm)
Management just doesn't understand in order to crank out the work you need to be proficient by typing the same accounts. Go figure, they just don't get it ??
Usually work "live" on a Cphone, while connected. There are ways to record & work off line, bu
s
steady work...gearing up to start new account....but there was no work on Tues as it was a holiday
Be patient with your eyes open....
I work for Warminster at MQ and I am sick to death of being jerked around with no work all the time.
I would like a job where I can depend on the work and it does not seem to be in this office of MQ.
Speaking of offshoring MT work, who does not directly send work offshore?
Just curious.  Has anyone got a list of companies who do not send work offshore?  Precyse?  MQ?  Spheris? 
Becky you work in a great place. With no one hovering, I bet you get a lot more work done w/o agoniz
wants what. The only people qualified to do QA on my reports are the dictating doctors and the rest is just pure waste of money and time. If I have a question fine. But this random QA bites and hurts everyone. BTW, I don't have random QA for those who seem to think I may have an ax to grind. No dog in this fight. Just common sense.
Good. Why dont you send some our way. What office do you work for so I can call and get your work.
:
Before needing to work, I did volunteer work through the Junior League where I am from in Texas. lm

Junior League was like a full-time job sometimes, but I loved it. Now that I have to work, even though it is from home, I still volunteer through my son's school.  I am a school teacher in my previous (pre-MT) life, so I volunteer my tutoring services for children who need the help beyond what the schools are able to provide but whose parents cannot afford to pay for private tutoring. I also know how you felt about being afraid.  I was strangely afraid before I joined the Junior League.  It was just the unknown. But I was SO blessed by being able to help.  Honestly, I am sure that it helped me just as much, if not more, than I helped others.  Go for it.  You won't be sorry.  (Just remember that you have to say NO when you have to say no, okay?  Remember that and you will be richly blessed by the experience!)


nm would you mind if I asked where you work and what type of work hosp, clinic ?
x
All I know is it caused the company I work for to be unable to do all work due today and the rest
:+
Just return the work, submit your bill, the scurry and find more work elsewhere. sm
They will never meet with you before next week. It is Thursday, already. Be prepared to sue for payment, because you will probably need to. But, most of all, find other work elsewhere, because I have a feeling this final payment will be a long time coming.
I work on Escription platform and the adapter didnt work for me. I tried it on my laptop though
and the foot pedal would just not play correctly with the adapter. I think others have tried it and done it but it just didnt work for me.
IC sets their own hours. As long as the work is done by the deadline, you decide when to work.

Glad I work somewhere where you cannot cherrypick....our work is divvied out by minutes and - sm

the office manager (who does not normally transcribe) dishes out the work, so some days are easy, others are a mix.  So no cherrypicking is possible.  You type up what is given to you, period.  She will alternate the tough one's out so no one person gets him/her all the time unless they want him/her and are used to that doc, or everyone gets a little piece, etc. There are days when I ask for easy work (tired, chemo day, Jen sick, or a lot going on, etc.) but not often, generally I get a mix but they all get easier the more you do them.  I am not working as much as I should be of course, every week is different here so I adjust my limited work schedule accordingly, so sometimes it hard to get better at certain docs.  I used to have a lot of blanks with the Trauma ER unit, but I have been doing that a lot lately and now and very good at it, still a time consuming account but at least I am improving. -----------------------  But I believe the OP was stating she did it to clear out the log, not to make more lines, and only when she was asked to do so.  At an old job I had #s meant everything, everyday we would get report (2=4 x a day) of the backlog, and emails pleading us to work, work, work.  The QA rules sucked  (MQ probably is basing their new plan loosly on this one), however we did not get penalized, just chewed out if you sent in too much work to QA (over 5%, and was 80% ESL), I would imagine eventually fired if you continued to do it. They were a great place to work for until they re-organized....it all went downhill from there.  This is why I prefer smaller MTSOs, it's not all about the #s, yes, they want production too but at least it's not so cut-throat. 


i used to work for a company that divided the work types up and i loved it. sm
there were only 4 of us working a major teaching hospital. someone was assigned surgery, different assigned discharges, different admits, etc. we all had the backup work type in case the original assignee wasn't available and were cross trained. it made us much more efficient, ability to get used to dictators, set macros, and in the long run we were all much happier.
Used to work in Cooperstown, NY - and on the way to work is a huge turkey farm
It made me never want to eat turkey again - seeing them all cramped up against the fence and cages, packed tightly, no room to move. Actually, it made me want to do some harm to the farmer who found this acceptable.
Do not work for Amherst if you can work for any other office in MQ. It is terrible. They overload
accounts terribly. We are always running out of work or need to have 8 or 9 backups to get lines in. This is the way it is. There may be a few out there that it is different but I do acute care and was just transferred there along with my office and everyone in my office is in the same boat. Not a good deal at all.
An MQ recruiter told me yesterday if work is low they "cut off" the work

SEs are doing it.  She also told me that it is written in MQ policies


that MQ can let go EMPLOYEES without notice (I'm not saying statutory employees here, I'm saying employees).


 


You're lucky they work for you. I've never gotten a refill to work right, ever.
x
Has anyone breast fed while trying to work at home, can you do this and still work full time?
It seems like the more literature I read on the subject, the longer it seems to take, especially in the beginning when you are breast feeding every two hours, or does it really just depend on the baby?
HAHA! Yes! I have those daily! But it's not really work as I work nights, it's little things l
turning on the pool filter in the morning and then in the afternoon running out there because I thought I forgot to turn it on. Or preheating the oven and then 5 minutes later saying "shoot! I forgot to preheat the oven!" It's really bad. And I'm only 31. I'm not 90!

I don't know if dementia or Alzheimer's runs in my family, but this could be a sign of something to come. Or as my husband says - you jut don't pay attention to much. He's probably right!
I work Sun.-Thurs. normally and will work on Fridays to get Sunday off if I need it. Works
s
The company I work for said cable phone wouldn't work, just FYI.
nm
Easy to work with. You can look up old reports. Your own word expander will work
s
I just work with ShortHand minimized. Smarttype doesn't work the same way? nm
s
Work for 1 hour, then count your lines of the completed work - sm
either check you total characters in word (with spaces) then total them all up and divide by 65, and you get your total lines per hour. 10,000/65 is 153 lines. Or if you have a line counting program us that to figure you count, either way will work quite well. Maybe do it a few times and then figure an average over 3 hours or something like that, it will vary with the ease/difficulty of the work you are doing.
Sounds like where I work. Everyone morning I wake up to not enough work. I'm quitting
This has been going on for a few months so I don't know if they have overhired or just sent a lot of it to India. I just know I can't sit here everything day waiting until "volumes build up." I'm looking elsewhere.