First storm with Slimline

[binkatl]

So, some really bad storms just passed through the Atlanta area... the first ones to come through since I had my Slimline installed a few weeks ago. Some odd things happened, so I wanted to run them by you guys.

First, I noticed typical rain fade... I always got that with my old dish. But eventually I noticed all channels just gave me the "Searching for satellite" notice. So I went to the signal strength meter, and got all 0's across the board, on all sats.

Yikes. So I started to get nervous, thinking maybe the dish had been knocked off the roof, so I went outside (yes, in the rain) and luckily it's still where it's supposed to be. So I came back in, and did a reset of the receiver. When it came back up, there was no picture and I get an "Acquiring guide data" message. Then, suddenly after about 10 minutes, the picture came back, but the message about guide data is still showing. The guide is populated, but that message stays on the screen no matter what I do. But now if I check the signal strength, they are back almost to normal... a little lower than usual because there are still clouds in the area. But at least they aren't all 0!

So, my questions... should I have DTV come out and check the dish? Is it possible there is a pointing issue? I don't want to get all 0's every time it rains. Also, how do I get rid of this Acquiring guide data message?

Thanks for help...
- Blake

[veryoldschool]

So, some really bad storms just passed through the Atlanta area... the first ones to come through since I had my Slimline installed a few weeks ago. Some odd things happened, so I wanted to run them by you guys.

First, I noticed typical rain fade... I always got that with my old dish. But eventually I noticed all channels just gave me the "Searching for satellite" notice. So I went to the signal strength meter, and got all 0's across the board, on all sats.

Yikes. So I started to get nervous, thinking maybe the dish had been knocked off the roof, so I went outside (yes, in the rain) and luckily it's still where it's supposed to be. So I came back in, and did a reset of the receiver. When it came back up, there was no picture and I get an "Acquiring guide data" message. Then, suddenly after about 10 minutes, the picture came back, but the message about guide data is still showing. The guide is populated, but that message stays on the screen no matter what I do. But now if I check the signal strength, they are back almost to normal... a little lower than usual because there are still clouds in the area. But at least they aren't all 0!

So, my questions... should I have DTV come out and check the dish? Is it possible there is a pointing issue? I don't want to get all 0's every time it rains. Also, how do I get rid of this Acquiring guide data message?

Thanks for help...
- Blake
1) what are your "normal" readings? In the 90s?
2) you might need to do another reset to clear that message. [next time don't do a reset without a SAT signal].

[binkatl]

1) what are your "normal" readings? In the 90s?
2) you might need to do another reset to clear that message. [next time don't do a reset without a SAT signal].

1. Yep, usually in the 90's.
2. That did the trick. First time I reset, there was no signal. Thanks for the suggestion.

So, does anyone else get total 0's across the board when a storm comes through? That seems a little extreme, and I never got signal degradation that badly with my old dish.

Thanks,
- Blake

[veryoldschool]

1. Yep, usually in the 90's.
2. That did the trick. First time I reset, there was no signal. Thanks for the suggestion.

So, does anyone else get total 0's across the board when a storm comes through? That seems a little extreme, and I never got signal degradation that badly with my old dish.

Thanks,
- Blake
Sure you did, you just didn't see such a heavy storm at the times you didn't.
The 99 & 103 [Ka] SATs are a bit more susceptible to it, but the "normal" Ku should be actually less susceptible since the dish is bigger.
It all comes down to how much water is between your dish and the SAT.

[John4924]

1. Yep, usually in the 90's.
2. That did the trick. First time I reset, there was no signal. Thanks for the suggestion.

So, does anyone else get total 0's across the board when a storm comes through? That seems a little extreme, and I never got signal degradation that badly with my old dish.

Thanks,
- Blake

YUP! I got all 0s when a storm came through New Orleans last week :(

It sort of freaked me out and the storm lasted for quite awhile. However, I have an antenna set up in my attic to receive locals OTA :D

Cheers,
John

[purtman]

That storm that hit Atlanta today was very, very strong.

[binkatl]

Yep, it was quite exciting, too. Especially after months of draught conditions. Everything is back to normal for me, though, so I guess it was just a coincidence... new dish + stronger than normal storm made me wonder if there was something wrong with the dish.

[Tom Robertson]

I look for at least mid 90's on most of the 101° transponders (but not all, some are spotbeams) and also on at least 1 transponder between 99° and 103°. The rest are currently all spotbeams that aren't necessarily aimed at you, so don't matter.

Cheers,
Tom