Connecticut - Snow/Ice on the Satellite Dish

[michaelp68]

I live in Connecticut. I'm wondering how much of an issue it is, here, with snow and/or ice on the dishes and if it affects the signal. If anyone in New England can relay their experiences and educate me, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

[jdspencer]

Snow and ice on the dish surface will block the signal. You can get dish warmers to melt the snow/ice. I have my dish located such that I can brush it off quite easily.

[hambonewd]

last week we had a nasty ice storm here in ohio. my friends signal never went out. but i think this is unusual. with any obstruction on the dish itself you can expect to lose signal until it is removed in most cases. i will be quick to note that with an ice storm cable is also vulnerable. when the cable lines freeze with ice on them---dont be surprised if it also goes out. but expect a much longer delay to be back up and running with a cable outage. my electricity went out because of the ice storm last week. was out for like 6 hours. cable works much the same way when the lines are above ground.

[garn9173]

I lost my signal a few times over the weekend (big ice and snow storm) and each time, the signal was restored after I went off to brush ice and snow off the dish and LNB's.

[purtman]

We used to live in Colchester and never had an issue with snow or ice. However, here in KC, we had some a few weeks ago for a few hours. Some people have suggested spraying PAM on your dish before any storms. Look for some other posts relating to this.

[Boston Fan]

Some people have suggested spraying PAM on your dish before any storms.
I have heard the same thing - it's supposed to make the snow slide off rather than build up on the dish surface

[NYSmoker]

I woke up yesterday morning to find some of my channels weren't coming in, I got the searching for signal message. Since it snowed Sunday night into Monday morning, I looked at the dish and there was wet, melting snow stuck to the dish in places. I couldn't reach it with a broom so about 10 snowballs later the snow was off and all my channels were working again.

[purtman]

I woke up yesterday morning to find some of my channels weren't coming in, I got the searching for signal message. Since it snowed Sunday night into Monday morning, I looked at the dish and there was wet, melting snow stuck to the dish in places. I couldn't reach it with a broom so about 10 snowballs later the snow was off and all my channels were working again.

If you were able to knock the snow off and are under the age of 50, call Willie Randolph. He may need you later this season. :lol:

[brewer4]

Hey neighbor. No issues in Marlborough. It only happens in really extreme scenarios where ice or snow builds up especially since the dishes are pointing south west. Sun really helps things.

[metrounit9]

I live in Connecticut. I'm wondering how much of an issue it is, here, with snow and/or ice on the dishes and if it affects the signal. If anyone in New England can relay their experiences and educate me, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

I live in Northern, Conn and only had one instance when snow was an issue. Oddly enough, it was a very light fluffy snow that stuck to the dish. A quick wisk with a broom to the dish (on the garage roof) solved the problem.

I read somewhere about a guy who keeps a 'Super Soaker" water gun handy to get the snow/ice off a harder to reach dish.

Dan

[michaelp68]

Thanks for the answers so far.

My house has a higher roofline on the side where the dish would likely go (installation tomorrow), so I don't expect to be able to get to the dish should I need to. This has me somewhat concerned. I'm thinking about those mornings after a good snowfall when I want to get the news, weather and storm cancellations. I don't want to have a missing tv signal.... But if this potential problem doesn't really happen with most snowfalls and is a less common problem, then it's good to know. I like that super soaker idea. Hmmm, that could be an option....

[brewer4]

Hopefully you are getting the AT9 slimline for HD. I've had a larger one and an AT9 for quite some time and have very little issues. I would say once a year at the most. Usually its not even enough to disrupt what I watch. My locals are OTA so it usually has no impact. But I like the water gun idea.

[hancox]

Same here, no issues, but I just moved to above the snow belt in CT (AKA the merritt parkway) :)

[WolfClan Dan]

melting snow and ice caused my dish to rip off of its mounts, taking some wires with it!

[finaldiet]

Any new installations should ask to have post put in ground. They will do it. Son-in-law just had his installed and they said thats what they're supposed to do.

[CTJon]

In Granby, CT. I've occasionally had issues (not this year) when we get that really heavy wet stuff, but it is rare. I have used the long pole I use to change light bulbs in my cathedral ceiling to knock stuff off. I have cable also and the dish is out much less than the cable is.

[585960]

Never ever an issue, because I only have to walk up to it and lightly dust it off. Roof mounts are really the LAST option. Wall (low) and pole mounts rule!!

[ansky]

Last year in NJ we had a storm with over a foot of snow and I never lost my signal. My dish is directly on the roof so it was certainly vulnerable to the snow. We had a couple storms of freezing rain and sleet the past few weeks and I still never lost the signal.