Lost signal due to snow

[rslevine]

During a snow storm and even heavy rains, I lose signal. Is this common? Also snow on the dish is a problem. Does all the snow cover have to disappear for the dish to work? The HD signals are worse.

[bonscott87]

Snow should rarely be a problem unless it's the heavy wet stuff. We just got nearly 2 feet (yes feet) of snow since Friday here in Michigan and never lost signal once. Even had about 3 inches covering the whole dish. But then again it was fluffy. Signal strength went down maybe 10 or so. Quick brush off and back to normal.

Now a couple weeks ago we had really wet snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain. Just a half inch of that stuff and I was losing some stations. Again, quick brush off and back in business. If you can't brush you dish off then a supersoaker with warm water will take care of it right quick. :)

If you keep losing signal easily in snow or even rain then you need to get your dish peaked. You should have 90+ signal on a clear day, especially on 99c and 103c and you should only lose signal in most heavy rain or if enough ice/slush gets on the dish.

[crrscott]

snow on the dish will be a problem. You can buy a heater and apply it to the dish. A hot shot dish heater has a thermostat and will turn off and on by itself.
Rain fade can also be a problem especially if you are using a slimline dish. Maybe it can be peaked higher but with the slimline the focal points for the HD signals are so small that it can be a problem with heavy rains, Electrical storms, and snow.

[gwar28]

Spray some PAM on it. It works like a champ.

[PatrickGSR94]

Our 5LNB dish also loses signal in even moderate rain showers. It's pretty darn annoying.

[BattleZone]

Spray some PAM on it. It works like a champ.

No!!! No sprays or chemicals on the dish!

[litzdog911]

Our 5LNB dish also loses signal in even moderate rain showers. It's pretty darn annoying.

It shouldn't. Check your signal readings. Most likely your dish alignment is a bit off.

[RobertE]

Spray some PAM on it. It works like a champ.

Works like a champ collecting dirt, dust and bugs. It does little to nothing for snow buildup.

It is also hard on the plastic feedhorn caps.

And generally gets washed off after a couple of rain events.

Don't waste time with sprays. If you have a snow issue, do yourself a favor and get a dish heater.

[Dansport]

A dish heater is really the best idea. Other than that, Rain-X is better than any other spray-on to keep even water (i. e. ice and snow) from sticking. Made of Teflon so it's non-stick and lasts a year or more...Available at auto parts stores.

Please...PLEASE...don't use other chemicals on the dish or LNB's! Most don't work or even damage the components and will wear off before you know it, anyway.

[m4p]

I didn't know those sprays weren't good to use. I used a silicone spray last year. We've had a ton of snow here in the last few days and I never lost signal. So the snow stopped early this morning and a couple of hours later, I completely lost signal. My dish is on my roof (we have a one story house). So I trudged out there and found the brush we have for our swimming pool that has a 12 foot handle on it. I very, very gently used the brush to scrape off the snow on the dish. Went inside and checked the signal. Most were back in the 90's.

[bonscott87]

The key overall is a properly peaked (and plumb!) dish. We're going to get a blizzard here tomorrow night into Tuesday. Not worried one bit that I'll lose signal because I have a super peaked dish and only heavy/tornadic thunderstorms causes me to lose signal, even HD.

Seriously, if you lose signal in even moderate rains your dish is not properly installed/peaked.

[PatrickGSR94]

What is involved in "peaking" the dish?

[bonscott87]

What is involved in "peaking" the dish?

Adjusting it's elevation, azimuth, tilt and dither adjustments to get the highest signal possible (should be getting 90-95+ on conus transponders). Also the pole/mount must be plumb before anything (many installers don't even do this, they just slap it up there).

[Maverickster]

The key overall is a properly peaked (and plumb!) dish. We're going to get a blizzard here tomorrow night into Tuesday. Not worried one bit that I'll lose signal because I have a super peaked dish and only heavy/tornadic thunderstorms causes me to lose signal, even HD.

Seriously, if you lose signal in even moderate rains your dish is not properly installed/peaked.

Bonscott, I live in the same neck of the woods you do and I haven't had so much as a blip over the last few days of ridiculous snow (California transplant, so I hate it; if it adversely impacted my TV -- which is the only thing to do during the winter from my perspective -- I'd be quite irritated). My installer did a great job, though; generally I have quite good signal strengths. We were over at a friends house last night, though, and he had nothing but problems and signal strengths in the 60s with snow built up significantly on the dish. Unfortunately, given his dish location, and the nearly 2 feet of snow, there was no fixing it. He has a HR21, I have an HR20, but other than that, the setups should be basically the same. I'm convinced this is an install issue. It's fine normally. Should he get it "peaked" or install a heater or both?

--Mav

P.S. Are we really supposed to get MORE snow?!!

[m4p]

The key overall is a properly peaked (and plumb!) dish. We're going to get a blizzard here tomorrow night into Tuesday. Not worried one bit that I'll lose signal because I have a super peaked dish and only heavy/tornadic thunderstorms causes me to lose signal, even HD.

Seriously, if you lose signal in even moderate rains your dish is not properly installed/peaked.

You're definitely right about that. Last year I was losing signal quite often when it rained. Had them come out and the guy said my LNB was bad so he replaced that, and also peaked the dish and tuned everything in properly. I very rarely lose signal from rain now. However, if we have a bad snowstorm like we did this past weekend, I will lose signal. But with all the snow we've had this year, I've only lost it twice.

[bonscott87]

P.S. Are we really supposed to get MORE snow?!!

Must be your first winter here. ;) The snow has barely begun, it's only January. Snow and cold is common until mid March and we've had snow storms in April and even snowed once the week before Memorial Day one year. But then again it's just as easy to have temps in the 70's by end of March and mowing the yard already. All depends.

Supposed to get 6-12 inches over the next day and a half or so with near blizzard conditions tomorrow. Then the bottom drops out of the temperature and with NW winds over the lake I wouldn't doubt some areas get another 2-3 feet in lake effect mid-week. Welcome to a real winter! :D

[TomCat]

No!!! No sprays or chemicals on the dish!

Huh? What's the worry? You can even paint a dish and it will not attenuate the signal at all. I hardly think Pam will change anything relevant to reception or aiming (that is unless Pam is your 300 lb. girlfriend :D )

And we're talking about the dish, or reflector, itself. You would have to be a very bad aim to get any on the feedhorns (which also can be painted without worry).

[bonscott87]

Huh? What's the worry? You can even paint a dish and it will not attenuate the signal at all. I hardly think Pam will change anything relevant to reception or aiming (that is unless Pam is your 300 lb. girlfriend :D )

And we're talking about the dish, or reflector, itself. You would have to be a very bad aim to get any on the feedhorns (which also can be painted without worry).

I think he's referring to the fact that Pam will attract bugs and can stink. :D

[BattleZone]

Not only that, but it's nasty if you have to work on the dish later on, and really doesn't do much to mitigate the type of snow (heavy, wet snow) that causes the problem in the first place.

[Lowkey]

I just had to clear the snow and ice from my dish last night. This was after talking with a CSR and being told that snow buildup would not cause me to lose only HD channels as I was experiencing. After clearing the dish I was back in business in time for the Red Wings game. Now I have to call and cancel the tech visit scheduled to fix my problem. I can't wait to climb up there again later this week when the sub zero temps get here.

[paulman182]

I just had to clear the snow and ice from my dish last night. This was after talking with a CSR and being told that snow buildup would not cause me to lose only HD channels as I was experiencing. After clearing the dish I Iwas back in business in time for the Red Wings game. Now I have to call and cancel the tech visit scheduled to fix my problem. I can't wait to climb up there again later this week when the sub zero temps get here.

You're probably losing the HD channels because they are ka-band from the 99 and 103 satellites, and your dish is not peaked on those birds.

I am in the same situation, due (I think) to my pole mount not being perfectly vertical. I can lose the HD channels and keep SD from 101 just fine.

[bonscott87]

I just had to clear the snow and ice from my dish last night. This was after talking with a CSR and being told that snow buildup would not cause me to lose only HD channels as I was experiencing. After clearing the dish I was back in business in time for the Red Wings game. Now I have to call and cancel the tech visit scheduled to fix my problem. I can't wait to climb up there again later this week when the sub zero temps get here.

This is why I would never put a dish on a roof unless there is no other choice. As to snow build up...I've said it a lot: Supersoaker, warm water, snow is gone. ;)

Either that or a well placed snowball. :D

[ChiWavDave]

I'm digging the supersoaker idea, but I can't seem to get it up the the dish (2 story house, I tried the garden hose didn't reach either. My question is will DTV come out and do a service call with snow/ice on the roof. And they wouldnt install a heater would they and if not them, who can install one. I am in Chicagoland if that helps. We have been without TV for 3 days now!! ARgh!!!

[bonscott87]

DirecTV certainly isn't going to install a heater. Only place I know to get one is on the Internet and you're on your own for install unless you find someone local to do it. I also doubt very much that a tech is going to go up there with ice that could cause a fall. Get that thing on a pole in the backyard if you can, it makes things so much easier. :)

[Lowkey]

You're probably losing the HD channels because they are ka-band from the 99 and 103 satellites, and your dish is not peaked on those birds.

I am in the same situation, due (I think) to my pole mount not being perfectly vertical. I can lose the HD channels and keep SD from 101 just fine.

What values should I be gettng on 99 and 103 when the dish is peaked? 99 looks good...all upper 80's and 90's but the 103 tops out at 82...going as low as 57.
Is it likely that Dtv would send a tech to relocate the dish from the roof to the back yard in the spring? That is at no cost to me? I do have the protection plan.

[erosroadie]

I'm digging the supersoaker idea, but I can't seem to get it up the the dish (2 story house, I tried the garden hose didn't reach either. My question is will DTV come out and do a service call with snow/ice on the roof. And they wouldnt install a heater would they and if not them, who can install one. I am in Chicagoland if that helps. We have been without TV for 3 days now!! ARgh!!!

As a 5-year subscriber to D*, I never had a problem with show fade until yesterday. Looked at the dish and the bottom third had a layer of show crusted on it. This explains why I was losing HD channels progressively over the last two days (first the ESPNs, then MLB and GOLF, then finally all of them last night). All of the SD, and MPEG 2 channels were fine. One trip to the roof with the brush and scraper and everything came back strong.

While I may live on the other side of Lake Michigan from those folk in the Lake Effect Snow Belt, we do get our share of snow in the Chicago burbs (especially this winter!).

[erosroadie]

Our 5LNB dish also loses signal in even moderate rain showers. It's pretty darn annoying.

I've had D* for 5 years and only occasional rain fade, only during strong storms. My sister in CT would have problems even if it was moderately windy. I told her to have a tech come out and realign the dish. After getting so frustrated at not being able to watch television on a regular basis, she finally subscribed to the Protection Plan and had a guy come out. Seems that the dish was misaligned and that the cabling was not the best. Now, everything is rock solid and she couldn't be happier.

Might want to have your Dish looked at. A minor tweak could have a major impact...

[paulman182]

What values should I be gettng on 99 and 103 when the dish is peaked? 99 looks good...all upper 80's and 90's but the 103 tops out at 82...going as low as 57.
Is it likely that Dtv would send a tech to relocate the dish from the roof to the back yard in the spring? That is at no cost to me? I do have the protection plan.

That really does seem like a similar situation to mine. I have peaked the dish myself, and what you've got is pretty close to my maximum.

Frankly, so far I haven't lost signal often enough for it to be an issue. From what I have read on this forum, it is hard to get them to do anything unless signals are weaker than this and channels are lost even in good weather.

[bonscott87]

What values should I be gettng on 99 and 103 when the dish is peaked? 99 looks good...all upper 80's and 90's but the 103 tops out at 82...going as low as 57.
Is it likely that Dtv would send a tech to relocate the dish from the roof to the back yard in the spring? That is at no cost to me? I do have the protection plan.

Check your tilt. Try adjusting it up or down just slightly and see if you can get those 103 numbers up. I have low 90s on pretty much all transponders on 99 and 103.

[TomCat]

What values should I be gettng on 99 and 103 when the dish is peaked? 99 looks good...all upper 80's and 90's but the 103 tops out at 82...going as low as 57...Many will be low as they are spot beams for other areas, which you are out of the footprint for. But at least one and possibly two of them should read 96-100. Use the attached excel file to search for stations in your market and this will cross-reference which should be reading high (obviously, none of yours seem quite high enough).

There is a simple way to check alignment. If you can reach the dish and see readings at the same time (or have a stooge with a cell-phone who can read it to you off your TV) go to the signal level meters for 103/99 and then (without loosening anything) press backward on the very top of the dish until it moves a half-inch or so. Hold that for 10 seconds. If the numbers go down, good. If they go up, you are misaligned. Try the same thing for the bottom of the dish, and for the left and right edges. The specific transponders on the pages that list all transponders do not update as do the meters. Determine the transponder for your location and move to the meters and set the sat and transponder accordingly before trying this.

[Maverickster]

Must be your first winter here. ;) The snow has barely begun, it's only January. Snow and cold is common until mid March and we've had snow storms in April and even snowed once the week before Memorial Day one year. But then again it's just as easy to have temps in the 70's by end of March and mowing the yard already. All depends.

Supposed to get 6-12 inches over the next day and a half or so with near blizzard conditions tomorrow. Then the bottom drops out of the temperature and with NW winds over the lake I wouldn't doubt some areas get another 2-3 feet in lake effect mid-week. Welcome to a real winter! :D

Ha! No, I've been here 14 years now, but I'm assured by all the locals that it's been the mildest 14 years on record (every year "they" say what a calm winter it was!). I just don't remember it being this bad. By the time all is said and done, we'll have about 3' of snow over the course of a week and it was friggin' 3 degrees on my way in this morning.

--Mav