TV Changes in the Planning Stage -- Community Input Requested

We are now planning changes to the TV lineup, and are seeking input from all Lucas Valley homeowners. Unlike the exhaustive previous survey, this one should only take a few minutes and we are hoping for a good response rate. You will find the survey at www.lucasvalley.net/survey1.html.

The survey started on October 16. As of this writing (October 21), about 67 households have responded. If you have not yet participated, please do so today!

Wireless Upgrade -- You May Qualify for a Free Wireless Router!

There has been enormous interest in wireless laptops recently. Lucas Valley Cable has various options to give you the wireless performance that you need.

When you order a wireless upgrade from Lucas Valley Cable,

1. We will begin with a site survey to see what neighboring access points might cause you interference problems and will select the best channel for your system.
2. We will help you decide on the best wireless solution considering your coverage area (wireless router or separate wireless access point).
3. We will install and set up your system with an appropriate encryption method to protect your privacy.
4. We will replace any failed router or access point that we install as long as you continue your service.
5. We will maintain your wireless connectivity if you should start to experience interference problems after installation ($3/month optional add-on).

If you are presently using our Legacy or Basic plan, an upgrade to our Plus Internet plan or higher entitles you to a free wireless router. There is no special installation charge for wireless upgrades that can be accomplished by adding a router. If we recommend a separate access point and you agree with that recommendation, we will provide both the access point and a power-over-ethernet kit for a combined cost of $129 plus tax (wiring to the access point is extra if required).

Please give us a call at 259-5856 or email support@lucasvalley.net if you would like to discuss a wireless upgrade.

Sutro Tower Alert

The February 17, 2009 analog shutdown will force major changes to the infrastructure of TV broadcasters and companies like Lucas Valley Cable that depend San Francisco's Sutro Tower for the acquisition of signals. That's because the analog antennas are on the top tower extensions will shut down and the HDTV antennas, now located lower in the structure between tower legs, will move up to take their place. To make matters worse, many of the DTV transmitters and antennas are changing to new frequencies. These changes will take time, and we have reason to believe that some preparatory work is already underway.

Work on the tower will be an ongoing proposition with several temporary solutions, many of which will inconvenience our customers because transmitters are often set to lower power levels while work is being done to avoid hazards to personnel.

Unfortunately, there is no public schedule of tower maintenance activity, so we will experience unpredictable daytime signal loss in many cases due to below-normal transmitter power levels. But we do know that most tower work will be from February through August, 2009.

Interruptions that may occur during tower work are unavoidable, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The new antenna locations and power levels should provide ample signal once all the work has been completed.

Save with Digital Premiums

No matter what kind of TV that you may have, the new digital premiums can save you money.

Customers who have updated to digital premiums are paying $5 less than those who are still using old HBO, Show time and TMC (Channels 14, 16, 18, and 20). Of course you need a set-top box to receive the digital premiums, but the monthly savings for just these three premiums go a long way toward the rental of one set-top box.

Now consider the other advantages that the set-top box brings to those who have updated to digital premiums:

• Much clearer picture and sound. Analog premiums use a scrambling method that removes most of the detail from the picture--a problem that digital premiums solve.
• More choices. Rather than just one Showtime channel, you get 11 showtime channels, for example.
• A program guide that tells you what's on each channel -- plus a synopsis of each program. And the program guide works for all your channels! Not just the premiums.
• Free access to the 37 commercial-free digital music channels that are on the cable.
• Free pay-per-view movies. Pay only for movies you actually watch ($3.99 per movie).
• The ability to add the Digital Variety Pak for an additional $10/mo (44 digital-quality channels).
• An analog tuner that can extend the range of old TV sets not capable of tuning to channel 90 and above.

Savings are even greater for those taking advantage of our Max Pak, which includes all premiums plus the Variety Pak for a single price of $52/mo ($83/mo total when including the required Expanded TV service).

Internet Bandwidth Increase

Effective 1 PM, October 21, 2008, the bandwidth over the optical fibers that bring Internet service to our system was increased by about 40%. This should greatly relieve some of the congestion that has been evident in the late afternoons and evenings that manifested as below-normal speeds.

Users are encouraged to use bandwidth wisely. Avoid large downloads between 4PM and midnight; if you must download a huge file, we suggest that you do it after midnight or during the morning or early afternoon hours.

The bandwidth to our system is only one factor affecting speeds. For more information, please read our Internet Speed article.

LV Cable Offers Spam Solutions

Our servers provide spam tagging on all e-mail addresses. You can customize this with the appropriate web-based iManager application.

We also continue to offer the award-winning Cloudmark Desktop anti-SPAM product to Lucas Valley Customers at a slight discount.

See our anti-spam page for details.

Spoofing and Pfishing

We get inquiries all the time about mail purporting to come from Lucas Valley Cable which actually is coming from third parties trying to steal information. We have a separate web page that explains this problem

Surge Protecting Modems and Routers

Modems, routers, and access points are computers. Just like a desktop computer, they are vulnerable to power line surges that can damage them or cause them to lock up (a problem easily cured by unplugging them for a few seconds and plugging them back in).

Please be sure that these devices are plugged into a power strip that includes a surge protector. These devices are available from a number of suppliers.

Not Using an E-Mail Account?

In the event that you abandon an active e-mail account, please let us know so we can disable it.

Abandoned accounts still receive mail, creating a significant load on our server. This is especially problematic when the in box for the account become full and the server is forced to deal with bounced messages and re-try attempts.

When we see evidence that an account has been abandoned (failure to pick up mail for an extended period of time), we may disable it. To re-activate a disabled account, just let us know and we will do so. Likewise, if you plan to be away for an extended time and do not plan to pick up mail, please let us know so we can avoid disabling the account.