Signal Loss question - tree problem?

[GaryK]

I have (2) recievers a 721PVR and a 4922. Lately on windy days mild clouds I have a lot of signal loss on both recievers. On the 721, It goes out for a couple of seconds then comes back.
I have trees in the front of my house and the dish points at them. Could the leaves on a windy day be causing the problem? I don't remember the problem in the winter or calm days.

Finding a totally clear spot may be a problem.

[enforcer]

The leaves could be the problem, however have you looked at your dish and ensure the bolts are tight and secure? Over time, bolts DO loosen due to temperatures. MOst likely this isnt the problem, but its worth checking. If you feel comfortable readjusting your dish do so. I have found this does help. However, if you can trim the tree do so. That is if the tree is yours. One other cause of your signal loss could be solar reflection. Summer time is here and UV rays are at their strongest. There is no remedy for solar interference. Just something DBS owners have to live with. Just some options for you to check into. Hope this helps.

[GaryK]

The leaves could be the problem, however have you looked at your dish and ensure the bolts are tight and secure? Over time, bolts DO loosen due to temperatures. MOst likely this isnt the problem, but its worth checking. If you feel comfortable readjusting your dish do so. I have found this does help. However, if you can trim the tree do so. That is if the tree is yours. One other cause of your signal loss could be solar reflection. Summer time is here and UV rays are at their strongest. There is no remedy for solar interference. Just something DBS owners have to live with. Just some options for you to check into. Hope this helps.

I did check those items. I even tweaked the dish and picked up a couple of points.
I am talking about a LOT of outage to the point that I switched to cable with it's bad but steady PQ. :(
Night is just as bad as day so I don't think UV is a factor.

I don't know if it would help to have dish look at the problem?

[enforcer]

Hmmm...you said it happens on both receievers? You might want to have dish take a look at it. If it isnt any of those issues i mentioned, you may want to check the LNB's. Is it a new system? (LNB and dish wise) It could be very small issues such as cabling, grounding, or anything else. If you can explain what you have done to help fix the problem let me know. I will consult with an engineer I partner with and see what he thinks. Get back with me.

[brentp]

You may want to check your LOS to make sure you clear the trees in front of you. One way to do this is to determine your elevation angle from the set up screen, cut out a cardboard wedge at that angle, hold the bottom of the wedge on a level, level to the ground at the antenna and eye sight along the angle. If your LOS clears the trees in front of you, you should be ok.

One more thing to note and consider is that the signal actually comes in at a much higher angle than you would think based on where you percieve the antenna is pointed. I had severe drop outs this spring on rainy days on my 61.5 dish. One rainy day I finally went out with a large broom handle and ladder and started moving the tree limbs above the antenna around to see if that was the issue. Sure enough, some of the limbs above the antenna would sag just enough to block the signal, . . . so down they came. In this case, looking at the limbs above the antenna, I would swear they were no where near in the way, . . . but as it turned out they were. Just a thought, but you might want to check that there are no obstructions above your dish too.

Good Luck

[speedy882001]

This happened to me. The tree that was the farthest away on my neighbors property was getting in the way of only one of the satellites that I was pointing to. I called out a Dish repair person and they charged about $50 to move the Dish over a little and reset the angles. I have had no problems now. This only happened because trees tend to grow. 4 to 5 years ago this wasn't a problem but this year with all of the rain we have had locally, they have grown a lot.