Dish coating to improve signal

[Tebbens]

Is there anything I can coat the surface of the dish with to improve signal reflectivity/strength ?

[Grentz]

As long as you are aimed in as well as you can be there should be no need. The dishes are optimized to get the best signal they can.

[Crimson]

If there was some magic coating I think DirecTV would use it.

[P Smith]

Mercury !

[idigg]

Brake fluid or Nair

[jimmyv2000]

Brake fluid or Nair

5W30 Motor oil:D
No Just kidding your dish should have 95+ on all CONUS sats on a clear day for best performance. I now have snow on my dish with snow still falling and i just checked and i have high 80's and low 90's on the CONUS SATS:D

[Tebbens]

If there was some magic coating I think DirecTV would use it.

I think it depends on the cost.

Anyone know what material reflects satellite signal best?
How much signal is reflected on a standard dish ... 60%, 80%, 100% ?

I can't find a site with the technical details.

[P Smith]

Told yea - mercury.

As to efficiency, it could be from 50% to 80% for bigger dishes.

[Athlon646464]

I put a coat on my dish, and all signals went to 0. (It was an old down ski parka - goose, not duck.)

Then I tried Nair, and all that happened was that the hair on my knuckles fell off....

:grin:

[P Smith]

He didn't ask for covering his dish !

[Tebbens]

Told yea - mercury.

As to efficiency, it could be from 50% to 80% for bigger dishes.

Besides being a toxic heavy metal I don't think it comes in a form you could coat a dish with. I was thinking more like a foil or paint that the dish could be coated in, like gold?

As to efficiency, 1 square foot of what substance would reflect the most signal?

[carl6]

...that the dish could be coated in, like gold?



Seems like a dish heating element would be more cost effective.

[ub1934]

They could put a "Teflon coating on the dish " then the snow may slide off. :D

[Tebbens]

Seems like a dish heating element would be more cost effective.

Probaby would be, but I was more interested in the technical details of what reflects a satellite signal, what is the best reflector material, and the efficiency of the current consumer dishes.

[CapeCodder]

5W30 Motor oil:D
No Just kidding your dish should have 95+ on all CONUS sats on a clear day for best performance. I now have snow on my dish with snow still falling and i just checked and i have high 80's and low 90's on the CONUS SATS:D

It would be nice to have a coating of some sort to keep the snow off, but, alas, I think the only solution is either a heating element or cover (which would also probably have to be heated). I would really have like something around nine last night when I had to go up a ladder and remove about 5" of heavy wet snow that was sticking to the dish and feed system. Fortunately, the antenna is only about 12' off the ground, so a step ladder and long handled soft bristled broom did the job. A quick sweep and we were back in business. If the antenna was at the top of my roof, it might have been spring before I got signal again! Incidentally, it was interesting watching the signal drop from normal 90+ down to 50s and finally some zeros as the storm progressed and the snow collected. Also, the HD channels went first. I flipped to SD duplicates to keep watching for a while longer, but ultimately lost them also.

[BattleZone]

If snow and ice are a regular occurance for you, and your dish isn't easily accessable in bad weather, then a dish heater is the correct solution. Coatings are worthless despite the old wive's tales here, and can cause problems of their own.

[P Smith]

Why we see continued speculations about ice/snow protection here ?!

The OP asking about "I was more interested in the technical details of what reflects a satellite signal" FIVE times !

[Tebbens]

Why we see continued speculations about ice/snow protection here ?!

The OP asking about "I was more interested in the technical details of what reflects a satellite signal" FIVE times !


I'm sure there is a lot that goes into getting a good signal including dish material, size, shape, lnb quality and more. I don't think many prople here are satellite and signal engineers who know those technical aspects. I'm interested in learning a little about it, but I can't find much information online.

[tcusta00]

I don't think many prople here are satellite and signal engineers who know those technical aspects.

I think you'd be surprised who you get around here. ;) :grin:

[veryoldschool]

I'm sure there is a lot that goes into getting a good signal including dish material, size, shape, lnb quality and more. I don't think many prople here are satellite and signal engineers who know those technical aspects. I'm interested in learning a little about it, but I can't find much information online.
I doubt very much is being absorbed by the metal [steel?] dish. This would mean what isn't, is being reflected. How well the dish is focused would determine the power "gain" at the LNB.
A standard Slimline dish with proper alignment should give you 95-100% levels, though some transponders are lower than some others.

[bobnielsen]

I looked at a couple of antenna texts and couldn't really find any useful information on this subject, but I think that the conductivity of the surface will be a factor here. In that case, silver copper or gold would be good choices, but not exactly cost effective. The increase in gain would probably be minimal compared to the dependency on surface area and shape.

[veryoldschool]

I looked at a couple of antenna texts and couldn't really find any useful information on this subject, but I think that the conductivity of the surface will be a factor here. In that case, silver copper or gold would be good choices, but not exactly cost effective. The increase in gain would probably be minimal compared to the dependency on surface area and shape.
I'm not sure with a reflector, that conductivity would come in to play as it would with a antenna.

[bobnielsen]

I'm not sure with a reflector, that conductivity would come in to play as it would with a antenna.

I hadn't considered this issue before, but was thinking that there will be some current flow in the dish surface as part of the reflection process and resistance would cause a finite degree of loss. I have a few antenna texts in the house (Kraus, Jasik) but they don't get into this (I have an E-M theory text which might help, but it is packed away in the garage). I've been retired since 1994 and haven't tried to solve a boundary condition problem in probably 45 years, so am a bit rusty on this stuff :D

[veryoldschool]

I hadn't considered this issue before, but was thinking that there will be some current flow in the dish surface as part of the reflection process and resistance would cause a finite degree of loss. I have a few antenna texts in the house (Kraus, Jasik) but they don't get into this (I have an E-M theory text which might help, but it is packed away in the garage). I've been retired since 1994 and haven't tried to solve a boundary condition problem in probably 45 years, so am a bit rusty on this stuff :D
I wouldn't say I'm any more of an expert on this than you.
I've been scratching my brain about all of the reflectors I've seen and even where cost wasn't an issue and performance was, I haven't seen gold used on a reflector [Aerospace, military, reconnaissance, etc.]
The only thing that I can remember is hearing about small gold radar targets used for testing by someone working for Varian back in the '70s.

[jhillestad]

Is there anything I can coat the surface of the dish with to improve signal reflectivity/strength ?

Vasoline or KY jelly will improve your signal... the electrons will have extra ' lube '