View Full Version : Other FL satellite customers
TiggerInFL
08-25-09, 07:54 PM
I just moved to Florida and currently have cable. We are thinking about switching to D* but are worried about losing reception during rain/storms. Are there any other Florida residents that can help me out with some questions?
How often do you lose reception and when does it occur? Are you happy with satellite or would you rather have cable? And why?
We are very interested in the NFL package that is offered by D* - cable doesn't offer any.
Thanks for your help.
Movieman
08-25-09, 08:03 PM
I live in Miami, Fl. So far no signal lose with all the storms that have been coming through here. This was also one of my biggest concerns when I switched from Comcast to Directv. The installation has changed a lot since back when I heard of a lot more problems. I cant speak for everyone i Florida but I have to say that other than a hurricane I dont see any problems. Just this evening a huge stormed rolled through here and nothing. Everything went smooth.
Mertzen
08-25-09, 08:03 PM
From what we hear often here; people in FL learn to live with the rain fade events during the thunderstorm season.
If you can receive OTA then use those as a backup for rainfade events.
A perfectly peaked dish will help a lot but if you're hoping not to have rain fade ever you'll be disappointed.
If you want to DIY stuff then look into getting the larger AK/HI dish which will give you some extra signal reliability, but as said that is 100% DIY.
rudeney
08-25-09, 08:13 PM
The worst situation for rain fade is when your dish points parallel or "long ways" into a storm front at a flat angle. In Florida, your dish will be aimed at a steeper angle and your storms tend to be less frontal boundaries and more like pockets of rain.
Where I live, all of our rain storms are frontal boundaries and they come in perfectly parallel to the direction my dish points. I get rain fade, but it's not that often and generally only lasts five too ten minutes. If I had to add is all up, I'd say I miss less than an hour a year of TV due to rain fade. Years ago when I was on cable, I missed a lot more than that due to "technical difficulties" with their wire.
RunnerFL
08-25-09, 08:28 PM
The only time I ever suffer rain fade here in West Palm Beach is when the rain is torrential and then I generally wind up losing power anyways so it doesn't matter.
Crimson
08-25-09, 08:32 PM
I'll lose the signal here in St Pete/Tampa area when it rains EXTREMELY hard.. also sometimes before it rains depending on the direction its coming from.. You'll have rain dropouts in FL pretty much anywhere I think.. Its not frequent enough that I care though.
SledDog
08-25-09, 08:50 PM
Another Space Coast person... Welcome! I can see the VAB, directly East Northeast, from my backyard. That should give you an idea where I am. I'm guessing you're in Viera. I only have a rain fade problem when it's coming down very hard...
Outages usually last 5 minutes or so. But, I have had a 30 minute outage. That was in July with VERY heavy rains that dumped 2.5 inches in about an hour.
All of my signal strengths are 95 or better. Most of the time I can switch to the SD version of a channel and continue viewing with no problem. The HD signals are a little more sensitive to rain fade.
As for Dim House cable... No way! Sure, you may have a little rain fade, but if a TS or hurricane comes thru, your cable could be out for a very long time. As long as your dish is up, even if it not you can put it back up, you can re-point if needed. Remember, if the power lines are down, so are the cable lines. So, if you have a gen set, you're good to go!
As for NFLST, maybe someone else will chime in. I don't subscribe to it.
:welcome_s
rudeney
08-25-09, 08:51 PM
I'll lose the signal here in St Pete/Tampa area when it rains EXTREMELY hard.. also sometimes before it rains depending on the direction its coming from..
Yep, that's what happens here. I can predict a torrential downpour about two minutes before it happens based on when my D* signal drops. A few weeks ago, I was at a local restaurant picking up dinner to go. While I was standing a the bar waiting on my order, I saw that their D* signal was pixelating and throwing 771 SFSS messages. I told the guy sitting next to me that we were about to get a good soaking. He said he doubted it as it wasn't in the forecast. Sure enough, just as I got my order and was safely in the car, it hit and it was a heck of a storm. That guy sitting in the bar is probably wishing he'd asked me for some lottery number picks! :lol:
I finally peaked my dish correctly and haven't had rain fade since in the same type of rain events I used to lose it every time on HD and sometimes SD.
I'm not in FL, obviously, but it goes to show how even if you have high numbers in clear weather don't under-estimate the importance of a peaked dish and how well it reduces rain fade.
Depends on where you live. When we lived way east (on the barrier island) we didn't have much rain fade because the ocean breezes tended to hold off many of the storms. Since we have moved west (about 5 miles) we now get them quite frequently...and as an earlier poster said they come about two minutes before a torrential downpour. They generally don't last long, but if you're an Oprah fan (like my wife) there's a couple of months of not being happy.
Our dish is aligned well with signal strength 90+ on all and most TPs 95+.
bobkvjr
08-26-09, 05:41 AM
As fellow Space Coast resident, I have had little problem with rain fade since I got the new slimline dish installed and properly aligned. I have a 100" antenna installed in my attic space for OTA viewing during storms and hurricanes. The NFL ST losses are few, it seems that once they know that rain is a issue in FLA they seem to adjust the spotbeam power to us. IMHO.
As has been said, when there is very heavy rain, I do get some rain fade issues. ONe of the key things is to insure that your dish is aligned properly, especially on the 99 and 103 sats, since those are the most sensitive to rain fade.
Even with the rain fade, it's a lot better than when I had Comcast and it went out for a half an hour a day, almost every day and sometimes longer.
bwaldron
08-26-09, 07:04 AM
As has been said, when there is very heavy rain, I do get some rain fade issues. ONe of the key things is to insure that your dish is aligned properly, especially on the 99 and 103 sats, since those are the most sensitive to rain fade.
Even with the rain fade, it's a lot better than when I had Comcast and it went out for a half an hour a day, almost every day and sometimes longer.
Agree with Marty on both points. Even with a well-aligned dish, you will get some episodes of rain fade during our "wet" season. However, they are brief and the total outage time per year is less than many (most?) cable systems.
JeffBowser
08-26-09, 07:57 AM
It's not that frequent, and a perfectly peaked dish will minimize trouble greatly. I had worse outages with Comcast.
I live in Central FL and have been with D* since 1998 and rain fade isn't a big problem.
Like others have said , you only lose the signal for a short time during the worst of the storm. I wouldn't worry about rain fade when deciding on sat or cable. but if a storm does damage the cable lines on the street , you will lose that cable signal a lot longer than sat rain fade.
HarleyD
08-26-09, 10:51 AM
I'm in Winter Haven, about halfway between Tampa and Orlando. I will occasionally lose signal during very heavy thunderstorms with high thunderheaders to my southwest (the LOS for my dish). The outage rarely lasts for more than 5 - 10 minutes and not every storm produces an outage.
Over the course of a year, I would guess I experience maybe 10-12 hours of cumulative loss of signal.
What cable customer can say they have 12 hours or less of service outage in a year? Nobody I know.
flyingtigerfan
08-26-09, 11:31 AM
I can't overemphasize how much a perfectly aligned dish helps. I was getting rain fade extensively in South Carolina when the installer left me with 99/103 signals in the 80s. I took it upon myself to get a meter (for tailgating) and just really tweaked it out. None of my signals are below 95 now, and I think I have had one rainfade event since I did that over a year ago. And we've been known to get a thunderstorm or two. :-)
I was getting rain fade extensively in South Carolina when the installer left me with 99/103 signals in the 80s.
I have another thread that I will post details in, but I think this is my rain fade issue. Recently I caught the HR2x at the very tail end of a shower, so the rain was quite light, but my 99 signals went from the 80's to the 70's and I was getting pixellation on a HD channel.
SledDog
08-26-09, 04:13 PM
I have another thread that I will post details in, but I think this is my rain fade issue. Recently I caught the HR2x at the very tail end of a shower, so the rain was quite light, but my 99 signals went from the 80's to the 70's and I was getting pixellation on a HD channel.
The rain may have been light at your house, but what was it like in the LOS to the satellites.
I've had the weather bright and sunny at my house, but to the southwest there were heavy thunderstorms. Those storms were in the LOS (line of sight) of dish. No LOS, no or low signal until the storms pass.
What are your signals strengths like when there are no storms in your area?
FlBillsfan
08-26-09, 07:02 PM
I live in Englewood between Tampa & Ft Myers. I agree with what others have posted & would just like to add a couple things. In addition to good alignment make sure they do a good job securing the dish so the winds don't knock it out of alignment. I also have OTA & if I lose the sat. I can still receive OTA signals. If the OTA from Ft Myers has rain fade, the Sat comes in. If watching a game in rainy weather I have 1 tuner to the Sat & the other to the same network OTA I rarely miss anything by doing this. I would also recommend a DVR, that way you are sure to have something to watch.
fl panthers
08-26-09, 07:26 PM
The only time I ever suffer rain fade here in West Palm Beach is when the rain is torrential and then I generally wind up losing power anyways so it doesn't matter.
You must have lake worthless utilities the worst power grid on earth.My cousin lives in Lake Osborne and installed a standby generator due to his constant outages not hurricanes like the rest of us:nono:
Movieman
08-26-09, 08:23 PM
I live in Englewood between Tampa & Ft Myers. I agree with what others have posted & would just like to add a couple things. In addition to good alignment make sure they do a good job securing the dish so the winds don't knock it out of alignment. I also have OTA & if I lose the sat. I can still receive OTA signals. If the OTA from Ft Myers has rain fade, the Sat comes in. If watching a game in rainy weather I have 1 tuner to the Sat & the other to the same network OTA I rarely miss anything by doing this. I would also recommend a DVR, that way you are sure to have something to watch.
Funny you mention that. I have been loading up my DVR just in case a big enough storm hits this hurricane season. That OnDemand is getting a workout.
RD in Fla
08-26-09, 08:25 PM
It happens here is SW Fla. but not enough to be concerned about or to discourage one from getting Directv IMO.
I would also suggest paying extra for a pole mount . I like it because the house can be wind block and when it's time for a new roof you don't have any problems.
Extreme2KEclipse
08-27-09, 07:42 AM
Looks like we have a few space coast residents here, so I'll add another to the mix!
I rarely see any rain fade issues, but when they do occur its because of a huge storm that is approaching. The rain fade tends to last for only a few minutes if that.
If you're not familiar with Florida's weather, Summers are known as our rainy season and you can almost count on an afternoon thunderstorm...they tend to move pretty quickly through the area though. If this is where your viewing time is, you may experience more rain fade issues than others, otherwise you should be OK.
I have the slimline dish, I do not have OTA and am not into sports so I can't comment on those items.
I currently have a choice between Brighthouse Networks and DirecTV. I'm choosing to stay with DirecTV for their picture quality (My neighbor who has brighthouse has pretty ****ty PQ). Additionally, I'm in an area that isn't built out as much, so in the event a hurricane roles through our area I'm pretty confident that my DirecTV service will be back up pretty quickly after the storm, where it may take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for Brighthouse to get their cable lines repaired/replaced.
I do use Brighthouse Cable for their internet package. They provide better speed at a better price point for me (Business line w/ 5 static IP's, 20MB down 2MB up for $65 a month).
JeffBowser
08-27-09, 09:08 AM
This is what I did. Plus it makes it easier to remove the reflector when prepping for a hurricane. It's the last thing I do before we batten down, remove the reflector. We're then on OTA until it passes.
I would also suggest paying extra for a pole mount . I like it because the house can be wind block and when it's time for a new roof you don't have any problems.
This is what I did. Plus it makes it easier to remove the reflector when prepping for a hurricane. It's the last thing I do before we batten down, remove the reflector. We're then on OTA until it passes.
Jeff, did changing your HD DVR out solve your Tuner won't come back after rain fade issue?
I live in S FL too and can tell you the once-an-afternoon style storms DO cause rain fade for me. In addition I also think wind plays a role as I've noticed an increase in HD pixelization when its very breezy.
My dish has been tweaked by DirecTV (twice now) and I've got signal strengths in the 95% range, so it could be better but the installer(s) said there was no way to get 99% across the board. They claimed 90 and up was "excellent" for all but the heaviest storms. However I think it fades out on even average storms... just keep in mind I've lived in S FL my whole life so my idea of "average" might not be the same as someone else's ;)
When a hurricane comes I take the curved dish part and only this part itself off the roof mounting system, this way the aiming doesn't get messed up. The mount survived Wilma in which my house received a direct hit of a the eye-wall (winds were over 80mph), but it need some slight tweaking afterward to get HD (SD came in fine). All my neighbors who had Comcast went THREE weeks without TV, so without a doubt DirecTV was clearly better then cable in this regard.
And yes I do have an OTA in my attic as backup for rain fade and hurricanes, in FL I'd consider it a must have.
JeffBowser
08-27-09, 11:54 AM
It appears it did. I saw my first single tuner non-recovery last night, but it self-cleared on a channel change. I still think it's a software issue, but perhaps one that is triggered by other hardware issues that may or may not exist on any given HR.
Jeff, did changing your HD DVR out solve your Tuner won't come back after rain fade issue?
JeffBowser
08-27-09, 11:55 AM
My rain fade is almost negligible. You should look into the wind issue - do you have the monopoles installed?
I live in S FL too and can tell you the once-an-afternoon style storms DO cause rain fade for me. In addition I also think wind plays a role as I've noticed an increase in HD pixelization when its very breezy.
My dish has been tweaked by DirecTV (twice now) and I've got signal strengths in the 95% range, so it could be better but the installer(s) said there was no way to get 99% across the board. They claimed 90 and up was "excellent" for all but the heaviest storms. However I think it fades out on even average storms... just keep in mind I've lived in S FL my whole life so my idea of "average" might not be the same as someone else's ;)
When a hurricane comes I take the curved dish part and only this part itself off the roof mounting system, this way the aiming doesn't get messed up. The mount survived Wilma in which my house received a direct hit of a the eye-wall (winds were over 80mph), but it need some slight tweaking afterward to get HD (SD came in fine). All my neighbors who had Comcast went THREE weeks without TV, so without a doubt DirecTV was clearly better then cable in this regard.
And yes I do have an OTA in my attic as backup for rain fade and hurricanes, in FL I'd consider it a must have.
jadebox
08-28-09, 08:29 AM
I don't think anyone else mentioned it, but the thuderstorms that produce rain fade generally ocurr in the afternoon. For me, at least, that's a time that I'm unlikely to be watching TV or recording something.
BTW, during the three hurricanes that hit our home in a six week period in 2004, we were able to watch satellite TV up until the time the power went out each time. And, when the power came back on, we had satellite TV right away. Those with cable usually had to wait a long time for their connections to be restored. :-)
Edit: I don't do anything to our dishes to prepare for a storm. They are mounted on the roof above our back porch and somewhat protected from the wind by our roof and our neighbor's homes. During 2004, our "side" dish for international programming was moved out of alignment, but the main dish was fine.
This discussion reminds me that I need to get a portable radio in case of a storm. In the past, we've used a battery powered TV to keep informed if the power goes off. But, I'm not sure if any stations will be broadcasting in analog if there's an emergency.
-- Roger
pmayo2002
08-28-09, 08:54 AM
My signals are in the 95 to 100 range, 5 LNB/side car dish is mounted to the side of our CBS home in the Treasure Coast. Have had cable and would never go back. After Frances and Jean -- cable was out for 2 weeks but DTV was working (no alignment needed) after I powered up the generators.
Rain fade is a minor issue, only when big storms over Martin or Palm Beach counties.
RunnerFL
08-28-09, 11:40 AM
You must have lake worthless utilities the worst power grid on earth.
Yup, unfortunately I do. Not only are they the worst but they are 40% more expensive than FPL. :(
I've lost power for hours on end on a perfectly sunny day.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that the HD channels tend to drop out sooner than the SD. It is because the higher frequency signals are degraded more by the rain. During Charlie (pre KA band) we were watching through everything but the heaviest rainbands.
Since then I have relocated the dish from the roof to a wall where it is now bolted to the stucco/cinderblock. I feel much better with that placement considering the size of the slimline over the old triple lnb.
Even considering the Ka band issues it still takes a significant rain event to block the signal and it usually doesn't last long.
If I do lose signal there's always the antenna in the attic or netflix streaming.:)
My rain fade is almost negligible. You should look into the wind issue - do you have the monopoles installed?
The side support poles are installed but the satellite is mounted at an odd angle on the eve of my house thus I don't think its ideal. If it continues to be a problem I'm going to ask an independent installer about relocating it to a higher point on the back of the house. Currently its on the side aiming over the neighbors house and tree, so it might be the tree blowing in the breeze that blocks the signal.
As others have noted HiDef fades first but SD will still be watchable during the downpour.
More often than in other areas of the country during the "wet" season, but it overall is not too bad.
It withstands most light rain fine, just every now and then there will be little spurts of signal loss when big storms roll through.
This is in Fort Myers at my relatives house.
Don Moe
08-30-09, 09:03 PM
We are thinking about switching to D* but are worried about losing reception during rain/storms. Are there any other Florida residents that can help me out with some questions?
As the others have mentioned, the rain-fade outages often last only a few minutes. The rain clouds could be several miles away to the south-west and not raining at all locally. You can check online for the radar images to see how large the storm is and its direction of movement.
On our condo building the dish is side-mounted to the elevator cupola and is thus somewhat sheltered from high-winds at least from the easterly side. During Hurricane Wilma in 2006, we watched without problem until the power went out and were back in operation as soon as the power was restored a couple days later. The dish didn't need any realignment.
An often bigger issue than rain-fade is the intense lightning in such storms, which will often interrupt electrical power briefly, depending on where it strikes. This is a very big problem with the satellite receivers, since they take 10-15 minutes to restart and resume normal operation. If the power outage occurs during a recording, the DVR will automatically resume the recording, but those several minutes of the program will be lost. Thus I recommend that everyone in Florida have a good-sized UPS unit (Uninterruptible Power Supply=surge-protector with battery) to protect their satellite receivers, TVs and computers from electrical surges and outages. Depending on the battery capacity of the UPS, the equipment could continue normal operation for several minutes up to perhaps 30 minutes, bridging most short outages.
Don
Jupiter, FL
Movieman
08-31-09, 05:53 AM
You can check online for the radar images to see how large the storm is and its direction of movement.
Don
Jupiter, FL
One of my favorite TvApps is the Weather Radar that. When I know its supposed to rain or I start seeing clouds rolling in from the window I launch the TvApps (free service) and I can see the radar and how large the storm could be. I have found this too be extremely useful. It does require to have the receiver connected to broadband internet connection.
mikeinthekeys
08-31-09, 11:23 AM
When I first went with DirecTV in the mid-90s I was in Orlando. Since then, I've lived in the Florida Keys and now in Cocoa Beach (Space Coast area). My assessment then, with the old dish, and now, with Slimline and HD is the same:
With Satellite the outage is brief and predictable. It will come back in a few minutes, guaranteed.
With Cable it goes out, you have no idea how long, nobody you call can tell you anything, you wait and wonder. It could be minutes, days, or weeks.
Give me predictability over uncertainty!
rudeney
08-31-09, 12:08 PM
Give me predictability over uncertainty!
You got that right, Mike! We had some storms this weekend and my wife was complaining about the D* signal cutting out. I asked what would she rather have: This brief problem that will go away as soon as the storm line passes, or a broken cable or piece of local CATV equipment that won't get fixed until Charter "gets around to it".
You got that right, Mike! We had some storms this weekend and my wife was complaining about the D* signal cutting out. I asked what would she rather have: This brief problem that will go away as soon as the storm line passes, or a broken cable or piece of local CATV equipment that won't get fixed until Charter "gets around to it".
When we had cable, it would go out for at least an hour a day... and you never knew what time it would go out... I'm much happier with rain fade, when it does happen that with Comcast.
If it matters, Comcast cable in Delray Beach has been much more reliable than DirecTV over the past couple of years. But, rain fade is something that can vary drastically depending on where you live.
Rain Fade is an issue we can live with in this area...although it is annoying during the rainy season. The constant DirecTV Brrrrriiiiippp problems live we've been seeing/hearing on a way, way too consistent basis on WFLX out of West Palm and many of the national channels are about to cause us to drop our subscription though.
The rain may have been light at your house, but what was it like in the LOS to the satellites.
I've had the weather bright and sunny at my house, but to the southwest there were heavy thunderstorms. Those storms were in the LOS (line of sight) of dish. No LOS, no or low signal until the storms pass.
What are your signals strengths like when there are no storms in your area?
Hardly anything in LOS; very light rain, sunshine all around. Signals went back to their regular low 80's very shortly thereafter but only a few minutes of a 30 minute HD show were recorded.
The installer "couldn't" get better than low 80's on the 99, but there are some 100's on the 101.
I'm tempted to try myself, but I strongly suspect I'll just make it worse!
Rarely more than 5 - 10 minutes maximum, even during this time of year......
Don Moe
08-31-09, 03:06 PM
One of my favorite TvApps is the Weather Radar that.
The DTV Weather Radar app seems to be unavailable too often and then it's really, really slow to display anything. It also takes over nearly the entire TV screen, which isn't a big issue, if I'm alone, but with others in the room, it is.
Therefore I prefer to use the WeatherBug app on my iPod Touch. It loads quickly and can display a 5-minute time-lapse sequence of radar images to reveal the storm's direction. Also I can quickly zoom into my local area to see better detail. The Weather Channel has a similar iPhone app, but it shows ads.
Don
SledDog
08-31-09, 05:05 PM
Hardly anything in LOS; very light rain, sunshine all around. Signals went back to their regular low 80's very shortly thereafter but only a few minutes of a 30 minute HD show were recorded.
The installer "couldn't" get better than low 80's on the 99, but there are some 100's on the 101.
I'm tempted to try myself, but I strongly suspect I'll just make it worse!
80's are low. I would give it a shot anyway. Or request a service call. If it's within 90 days of initial installation the service call will be free. Are you still in the first 90 days of the install?
Brennok
08-31-09, 11:18 PM
I had high 90's and would regularly lose signal during storms here in Tampa. It got so bad we finally signed up for the local basic cable package just for when the satellite would go out since it always seemed to happen during primetime.
I know both of my parents who are also in other areas of Tampa did the same thing. In the end I decided to try Fios and I am liking it so far. I have till 2/1/09 to decide since that is when my DTV account resumes.
Movieman
09-01-09, 04:31 AM
The DTV Weather Radar app seems to be unavailable too often and then it's really, really slow to display anything. It also takes over nearly the entire TV screen, which isn't a big issue, if I'm alone, but with others in the room, it is.
Therefore I prefer to use the WeatherBug app on my iPod Touch. It loads quickly and can display a 5-minute time-lapse sequence of radar images to reveal the storm's direction. Also I can quickly zoom into my local area to see better detail. The Weather Channel has a similar iPhone app, but it shows ads.
Don
Dont like Iphone and dont use Apple products. I guess this is a nice feature if you have the phone. I havent experienced any delay on TvApps or not had it pop up except on the interactive channels. Even though it may not always work at least its an option.
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