Rain Fade
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I live in eastern CT and have had DBS for several years. The signal almost never goes out. It has to raining very hard for the signal to cut out. Snow can cause trouble if it builds up on the dish or the LNB. But in all the years that I have had satellite, it has only gone out once due a really heavy snow storm.
One thing that I can tell you for sure though... it goes out way less often than cable !
One thing that I can tell you for sure though... it goes out way less often than cable !
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1,849 Posts
We have had rain fade a few times over the past two years. It usually only lasts a few minutes.
We get a lot of snow, and I have only lost signal a couple of times during snow storms. If you get a ton of show, you should mount your dish so that it can be easily cleaned off.
We get a lot of snow, and I have only lost signal a couple of times during snow storms. If you get a ton of show, you should mount your dish so that it can be easily cleaned off.
G
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·I rarely got rain/snow fade with DirecTV...my signal was usually strong enough (96-100). I switched to DishNetwork last Spring and had rain fade usually every time it rained. I checked the signal and it was coming in at mid 70s to mid 80s. So I got on my roof and reaimed my dish and now I get a signal ranging from mid 90s to 118 (on sat 119...less on 110) and haven't had any rain fade since.
You could also try a larger dish. Check out http://www.winegard.com/products/home/index.htm for larger dishes. They have 24", 30" and a 1 meter. Check with an installer about signal strength...you dont want to overload the LNB and receiver with the resulting signal.
You could also try a larger dish. Check out http://www.winegard.com/products/home/index.htm for larger dishes. They have 24", 30" and a 1 meter. Check with an installer about signal strength...you dont want to overload the LNB and receiver with the resulting signal.
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873 Posts
Signal loss due to weather is very rare with DBS. I've had Dish Network for 2 years now and I can recall only a couple of times when I lost the signal due to weather. Those two instances occurred during a severe thunderstorm and a bad snowstorm when the dish was buried. Signal fade is nothing to worry about, but if you're really worried about it, you should ask your dealer about a dish cover. They're inexpensive (some dealers give them away for free), and they help keep snow from accumulating on the dish.
AJ,
If you get a good signal on a clear day (80 or higher) , rain fade will only happen in the most severe storms or when there is a VERY thick cloud layer between you and the satellite. I live in Cincinnati where rolling pop-up thunderstorms are quite common in the summer. In the past 5 years, I've averaged a half dozen to a dozen rain fade events a year. Some have lasted as little as a few seconds and once it lasted close to 30 minutes (I was preparing to build an ark). On average, they lasted less than 5 minutes each. As I've posted before, timing is the problem. Having a rain fade event when Hercule Poirot is about to reveal the killer always seems like it's hours long.
But just to bring some perspective to the situation, after my 30 minute rain fade event, I was able to watch TV again. My neigbors with Cable lost service for close to two days.
After 3 rain fade events lasting less than 1 hour each in two months, my brother had in North Carolina was able to watch TV again while his neighbors were without service for over TWO MONTHS! The rainfade events....Bertha, ??? and Floyd (forgot the name of the middle hurricaine). That year he got thwacked with three hurricains in two months. Luckily he lives 50 miles inland and on high ground enough so he wasn't flooded out. And a Honda 2000 watt generator helped since there was no power for a week after Floyd.
So rainfade really isn't an issue.
See ya
Tony
If you get a good signal on a clear day (80 or higher) , rain fade will only happen in the most severe storms or when there is a VERY thick cloud layer between you and the satellite. I live in Cincinnati where rolling pop-up thunderstorms are quite common in the summer. In the past 5 years, I've averaged a half dozen to a dozen rain fade events a year. Some have lasted as little as a few seconds and once it lasted close to 30 minutes (I was preparing to build an ark). On average, they lasted less than 5 minutes each. As I've posted before, timing is the problem. Having a rain fade event when Hercule Poirot is about to reveal the killer always seems like it's hours long.
But just to bring some perspective to the situation, after my 30 minute rain fade event, I was able to watch TV again. My neigbors with Cable lost service for close to two days.
After 3 rain fade events lasting less than 1 hour each in two months, my brother had in North Carolina was able to watch TV again while his neighbors were without service for over TWO MONTHS! The rainfade events....Bertha, ??? and Floyd (forgot the name of the middle hurricaine). That year he got thwacked with three hurricains in two months. Luckily he lives 50 miles inland and on high ground enough so he wasn't flooded out. And a Honda 2000 watt generator helped since there was no power for a week after Floyd.
So rainfade really isn't an issue.
See ya
Tony
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11,498 Posts
I get rain fade an averge of 3 times per year and snow fade once per winter, with exception of this past winter when I got it twice.
James,
Your're right. Really rain fade should be called "moisture fade". It is the amount or water or water vapor between you and the satellite. Since clouds are 99.99999% composed of moisture, they are usually the culprits. Here I get Rain fade about 5 minutes before the downpour begins. And the signal returns well before the rain stops.
See ya
Tony
Your're right. Really rain fade should be called "moisture fade". It is the amount or water or water vapor between you and the satellite. Since clouds are 99.99999% composed of moisture, they are usually the culprits. Here I get Rain fade about 5 minutes before the downpour begins. And the signal returns well before the rain stops.
See ya
Tony
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592 Posts
Have you ever seen the signal disappear,
seconds before a nearby lightning strike,
then reappear seconds after that?
Those are kind of fun, too.
seconds before a nearby lightning strike,
then reappear seconds after that?
Those are kind of fun, too.
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22,099 Posts
Way too subtle for most, James, but I get it.
Loosen it to the winds, my boy. Release your mind to the High Priestess of Progress. Embrace good grammar with every dendrite and axon of your being! Cast your brain cells upon the currents of personal development!
Oh, the glorious feeling of self-improvement!!!
It gives me a boner just thinking about it! :lol:
Loosen it to the winds, my boy. Release your mind to the High Priestess of Progress. Embrace good grammar with every dendrite and axon of your being! Cast your brain cells upon the currents of personal development!
Oh, the glorious feeling of self-improvement!!!
It gives me a boner just thinking about it! :lol:
G
Guest
·Another way to avoid rain fade is to install a larger dish. I have not seen a larger version of the DISH 500 system, but you can point 2 dishes, one at 110, and one at 119. A 24" dish is supposed to cut 80% of rain fade.
You can go up to almost any size dish, but probably do not get much more return once you pass 35 inches. The way my roof line goes, you cannot see the dishes, so I went with larger dishes each pointing to individual satellites 61.5, 110, 119. I went ahead and went overkill with 35" dishes (they run about $45) since I was not going to buy small ones and then be dissatisfied and have to change them again.
I live in an area that has a tons of thunderstorms and was tired of having the boxes lock up because of rain.
Note: It takes a 64 switch and individual LNBs, so it is cheaper to have it done this way the first time you install because they use funky dual lnbfs that are useless for multidishes (not to mention SW 21).
You can go up to almost any size dish, but probably do not get much more return once you pass 35 inches. The way my roof line goes, you cannot see the dishes, so I went with larger dishes each pointing to individual satellites 61.5, 110, 119. I went ahead and went overkill with 35" dishes (they run about $45) since I was not going to buy small ones and then be dissatisfied and have to change them again.
I live in an area that has a tons of thunderstorms and was tired of having the boxes lock up because of rain.
Note: It takes a 64 switch and individual LNBs, so it is cheaper to have it done this way the first time you install because they use funky dual lnbfs that are useless for multidishes (not to mention SW 21).
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1,637 Posts
I live in the Northwest and have lost my main 500 signal once for at most, 3 minutes and this was during a MAJOR downpour.
OTOH, my 6000 has an angle of 11 degrees and I had to put in a 24" dish to minimize dropouts on it. I can still "loose" it (sorry, Nick, had to do it) for awhile when it rains, but it is much more stable now.
OTOH, my 6000 has an angle of 11 degrees and I had to put in a 24" dish to minimize dropouts on it. I can still "loose" it (sorry, Nick, had to do it) for awhile when it rains, but it is much more stable now.
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