High winds the last 2 days

[jimmyv2000]

Any one in the northeast states having issues with high winds
I'm Down on all sats and cant get fixed until wednesday.:D

[Piratefan98]

Any one in the northeast states having issues with high winds
I'm Down on all sats and cant get fixed until wednesday.:D

Sorry that you have to wait until Wednesday. Just to piggy-back on this thread (it's windy here in PA today too) .... I was wondering how common a problem wind is as far as dish realignment goes. I mean, it seems like people discuss it pretty often, and I'm wondering why these dishes seem to go out of alignment so easily. OTOH, maybe the threads of this subject only represent 2% of dish owners. It's hard to get a sense of magnitude, because there aren't any threads titled "My dish is still perfectly aligned".

Jeff

[litzdog911]

Sorry that you have to wait until Wednesday. Just to piggy-back on this thread (it's windy here in PA today too) .... I was wondering how common a problem wind is as far as dish realignment goes. I mean, it seems like people discuss it pretty often, and I'm wondering why these dishes seem to go out of alignment so easily. OTOH, maybe the threads of this subject only represent 2% of dish owners. It's hard to get a sense of magnitude, because there aren't any threads titled "My dish is still perfectly aligned".

Jeff


It's actually probably much less than 2%. But those areas have had some mighty strong winds. And any dish that's not mounted REAL SECURE can move a bit in high winds. Typically the dish gets pushed and rotates on the mast, or the mast itself rotates from the wind load. So the first adjustment to check is the dish's azimuth.

[cforrest]

Was at my parent's house last night, no issues with gusts up to 42 MPH. My weather station at their house: http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/wxpage.cgi?call=CW0028&last=12

My dish is on top of my 5 story condo building, no issue here either! Sorry to hear you have to wait until Wednesday.

[jimmyv2000]

the funny part is this dish has been up there 14 months now without an alignment issue at all(LNB replaced in january).And has seen MUCH STRONGER STORMS without an issue.I do have 2 monopoles up there.The only thing that i can think of is maybe when the lnb was replaced 2 months ago a bolt wasnt fully tightened?

[TigersFanJJ]

Had some high winds here in the southeast a couple of nights ago. The winds picked my gazebo up (which was tied down to 6 of those auger type tie downs) and dropped it in my field about 300 feet away. Directv still in the high 90s to 100.

[Dr_J]

I'm having problems, and if it's the wind, it's the first time ever. We've had a lot of wind storms this winter, and today the HD channels have been going in and out for the first time under clear skies, and all 103 satellite transponders range from the 10's to the 50's and are fluctuating minute to minute. The 99 is down to the 40's and 50's. The odd transponders on the 101 are down at least 10-15 points, with a low of 57. The dish was supposed to have been really secured last June with the realignment.

I call customer service, and the CSR says that I should check the multiswitch to see if any cables have come loose. My response was something like "oh." Then I sat there for 5 minutes thinking he was setting up a service call when in fact he thought I was outside checking the cables. When I finally realized that, I said "Gee, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was supposed to go out there right away. It's dark now, and I wouldn't be able to see a thing." So he said there's no choice but to set up a service call. Well, yeah, that's why I called in the first place. I shouldn't have to be fiddling around with stuff if I got the protection plan. It's about time I got some value for it. Someone is supposed to come Monday morning, 8-12.

I think it's an alignment problem. The question is, have installers learned to align using the 103 over the past few months? This could end up being a good or a bad thing, as my old 103 signals were consistently in the 70's and 80's, never in the 90's. If it can be realigned properly, it would be a good thing. If the tech makes matters worse, then it would be a bad thing. I can't be home for the service call (I have to have someone not technically savvy deal with him), so I'll have to cross my fingers and hope for the best. I took digital screen shots of the signal strengths which I'll leave, I'll do a comprehensive write-up of the problem, and I'll leave my phone number if there are any questions. I mean, how hard can it be to realign and tighten a dish if the tech knows what he's doing? I just can't help but feel uneasy after my dish alignment fiasco a year ago. I can only hope the techs are better trained to align with the 103 (which hadn't even been launched at this time a year ago).

[litzdog911]

... The question is, have installers learned to align using the 103 over the past few months? ...

I think the vast majority of techs still align by maximizing 101 and 119, then dithering the azimuth and elevation settings to "peak" those readings.

[venisenvy]

I havent had sattelitte long(probably since about the end of october) and I am shocked that I havent had problems with the dish. I havent checked to see if my numbers are in he 90s like always but my signal never once wavered and last night those winds were crazy.

[Ed Campbell]

Had DirecTV for 14 years. Moved the dish once - when the courtyard trees interfered after the 3lnb install. Same roof-mounted stanchion holding a sidecar, since they came available.

We're on prairie SW of Santa Fe and it's always windy - here at 6500' altitude.

Never had a problem.

Replaced the 3lnb dish on the guesthouse with a Slimline a year ago. Same solid-as-a-rock performance.

[trainman]

My dish is attached to concrete blocks on the roof of my apartment building (not to the roof itself). No problems from the Santa Ana winds that blow strong through here every so often.

[Scarpad]

Pretty High winds in Western Mass but so far no problems.

[Dr_J]

I think the vast majority of techs still align by maximizing 101 and 119, then dithering the azimuth and elevation settings to "peak" those readings.

That's unfortunate. :(

This morning, the strength numbers on 99/101/103 are still down, and on 103 some of the transponders are fluctuating minute to minute between 0 and the 30's and 40's under clear skies and light winds. (110 and 119 are still solidly in the 90's.) The wind had to have moved the dish a little, though to the naked eye it looks unchanged, and I'm not going to mess with the cables and multiswitch.

[TigersFanJJ]

That's unfortunate. :(

Not really. I don't get any higher readings using the Accutrac III to align to 103 than I did using my old Digisat meter and dithering on the 101. It doesn't make a difference which method you use, as long as you do it correctly.

[egould]

We have had very high winds here in Bangor, Maine for the last two days. Yesterday a 45 mph gust blew the roof off our local PBS affiliate building. My signal strengths have remained rock solid, however. My dish is mounted on my garage roof under a tree and I have never had any problems with my 5 lnb dish or my old 3lnb dish.

The odd problem I seem to have in high winds is with my OTA reception. I have an HR20 and get my locals OTA. In high winds, I often have pixelization and loss of signal primarily on our NBC local. I use an indoor antenna, so I can't figure out why winds would have any effect on OTA reception. Does anyone know why?

[jimmyv2000]

Ok got my spare dish set up.the winds died down to a respectable level to go outside.
Nothing special here just my old dual LNB dish c-clamped to my metal railing by the front door:D MY Girlfriend isn't to happy about the set up.:)
The down side is i just SD on the 101 but its better than nothing until wednesday.

And thank you litzdog youre site worked!
i marked a few spots last fall.

[litzdog911]

....

And thank you litzdog youre site worked!
i marked a few spots last fall.


You're very welcome!

[Dr_J]

Not really. I don't get any higher readings using the Accutrac III to align to 103 than I did using my old Digisat meter and dithering on the 101. It doesn't make a difference which method you use, as long as you do it correctly.

That's good to hear. :)

I got the computerized telephone recording confirming the appointment for the morning window tomorrow.

[Clarkson TV & Appliance]

First of all, wind CAN affect OTA HD signals by moving a tree near you. Second, anytime signal level drops below 50 on 103, it is an alignment problem, case closed. Third, wind will never affect a correctly installed and aligned dish. I install them every day, and in Nebraska, the wind blows every day.

[Ed Campbell]

First of all, wind CAN affect OTA HD signals by moving a tree near you. Second, anytime signal level drops below 50 on 103, it is an alignment problem, case closed. Third, wind will never affect a correctly installed and aligned dish. I install them every day, and in Nebraska, the wind blows every day.

Welcome aboard.

Now, when are you going to return to winning football?

[ChrisPC]

We had a tornado go over a couple months back, but my signal was fine the next day. We had a day of constant wind gusts last week, (50 MPH!) and my signal went to 0. Fortunately, I had marked my dish with a little dab of paint, so putting it back in place took no time. The odd thing is, I get a better signal than before, especially on 103!

[Dr_J]

I got a call from the office at 7:40 a.m. that the tech would be out between 8 and 8:30. He arrived at 7:58, so I was able to be there for the whole process. The tech was gushing with praise over my detailed note explaining the problem, complete with screen shot photos of the abnormal signal strengths. He said no other customer had ever done this.

I figured he would climb up on a ladder, dither the dish, make sure everything was tight, and that would be that; it would be a 10-15 minute job. He was here an hour and a half, as long as the original installer. He said every thing was bad with regard to how it was installed--not grounded properly, multiswitch connections loose, yada yada yada. He said some installers just throw stuff up to get in and out quickly, but he wants to be extra careful because he doesn't want to see the customers again (even though he likes them), because it means he's done a bad job. So I ended up getting new wiring, new ground block, new multiswitch, and new connectors, and the dish was aimed such that right now every single transponder on every single satellite (except for out-of-town spotbeams) is in the 90's or 100. That has never happened in the entire nine years that I've been with DirecTV. Amazing. I'm just giddy. :hurah: I gave him $20 and cup of orange juice for a job well done. He took my note with him to the office to show as an example of proper communication. He was supposed to put silicone over the wiring to help seal it better, but I had to go to work, so I didn't stick around to see if he did it.

This time, the wind was my friend. Now that the dish is "nailed" to the sats, and everything is properly connected and grounded 11 months after the original installation, please, no more wind!!! :D

[TigersFanJJ]

I got a call from the office at 7:40 a.m. that the tech would be out between 8 and 8:30. He arrived at 7:58, so I was able to be there for the whole process. The tech was gushing with praise over my detailed note explaining the problem, complete with screen shot photos of the abnormal signal strengths. He said no other customer had ever done this.

I figured he would climb up on a ladder, dither the dish, make sure everything was tight, and that would be that; it would be a 10-15 minute job. He was here an hour and a half, as long as the original installer. He said every thing was bad with regard to how it was installed--not grounded properly, multiswitch connections loose, yada yada yada. He said some installers just throw stuff up to get in and out quickly, but he wants to be extra careful because he doesn't want to see the customers again (even though he likes them), because it means he's done a bad job. So I ended up getting new wiring, new ground block, new multiswitch, and new connectors, and the dish was aimed such that right now every single transponder on every single satellite (except for out-of-town spotbeams) is in the 90's or 100. That has never happened in the entire nine years that I've been with DirecTV. Amazing. I'm just giddy. :hurah: I gave him $20 and cup of orange juice for a job well done. He took my note with him to the office to show as an example of proper communication. He was supposed to put silicone over the wiring to help seal it better, but I had to go to work, so I didn't stick around to see if he did it.

This time, the wind was my friend. Now that the dish is "nailed" to the sats, and everything is properly connected and grounded 11 months after the original installation, please, no more wind!!! :D

WOW! That guy truly went above and beyond.

[jimmyv2000]

all fixed, way out of alignment AZ was pushed by almost 4 inches to the east(LEFT)
I am happy now and the spare is put away:D

[eandras]

all fixed, way out of alignment AZ was pushed by almost 4 inches to the east(LEFT)
I am happy now and the spare is put away:D

Now go out and mark the dish Azimuth, Elevation and Tilt on the mount, and mast using a permenant marker so that if it happens again you will have reference point in the future. Also it you ould mark a landmark this will enable you to adjust the dish if it happens again.

[jimmyv2000]

Now go out and mark the dish Azimuth, Elevation and Tilt on the mount, and mast using a permenant marker so that if it happens again you will have reference point in the future. Also it you ould mark a landmark this will enable you to adjust the dish if it happens again.

not that simple for me.see signature
I cant get up on my roof.
Setting up the spare for the 101 is no problem i c clamped that to my porch rail.:D
The slimline i cant do a ground mount due to the 110 and 119 being blocked.:(
Thats why i have the Protection Plan.It paid for itself already this year.:hurah: