I have been a Dish Network subscriber since 1998. Until the last few years I did not have a significant problem with snow collecting on the satellite dish unless it was a real blizzard. At that time the tech had to replace the dish. To make a long story short, the location where the arm to the satellite dish was installed on the side of a dormer was raised about 8 inches. The resulting change in the angle of the dish seems to cause a significant increase in the collection of snow. Looking for suggestions to alleviate my problem. The location is three stories up and I really want the install on the side of the dormer to shelter from some wind and avoid the issues I've had in the past with roof installs.
Does relatively small change in the angle of satelte dish affect snow collection
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I would consider calling dish and seeing if you can have a dish relocation. Who knows they may find a different place to put your dish. How long has it been since a tech has been to your house?
Reason I ask is if it was within 30 days dish may create a trouble call and it will hurt your tech. But if it's after feel free to call. Even if it has been within 30 days most techs leave a phone number for you to call if you have any issues within the 30 day mark.
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Reason I ask is if it was within 30 days dish may create a trouble call and it will hurt your tech. But if it's after feel free to call. Even if it has been within 30 days most techs leave a phone number for you to call if you have any issues within the 30 day mark.
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But I will say it don't matter how high or low to the ground the dish is it is actually the same angle. But if you want it lower to the ground so you can brush off snow that would require a tech to come to a dish relocate.
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I have done dish network installs for years, I did the first one in CT. height is not important, hitting the bird is all that counts i have even lowered some dishes others have done, to shoot
under tree branches, and been very successful, a plastic garbage bag over it for the winter time, works wonders they also made heaters you plug in when you know a storm is coming,
done that too.
I made a special tool to find the bird, and not have trees in the way, what i did was get a dish setup for the bird i want, and peak it up, now i replace the lnbf with a special one i tear out
the guts from and insert a laser cat teaser pointer, and put a piece of bendable plastic mirror on the dish.
The beam hits the mirror, and bounces it where the bird is, and if you do it at sunset, you can see how close you are the the center point of the tree you're worried, you might find at that
point your dish is better off lower to shoot under a branch that belongs to a neighbor
under tree branches, and been very successful, a plastic garbage bag over it for the winter time, works wonders they also made heaters you plug in when you know a storm is coming,
done that too.
I made a special tool to find the bird, and not have trees in the way, what i did was get a dish setup for the bird i want, and peak it up, now i replace the lnbf with a special one i tear out
the guts from and insert a laser cat teaser pointer, and put a piece of bendable plastic mirror on the dish.
The beam hits the mirror, and bounces it where the bird is, and if you do it at sunset, you can see how close you are the the center point of the tree you're worried, you might find at that
point your dish is better off lower to shoot under a branch that belongs to a neighbor
Height of install has no bearing on the angle. The angle must remain the same to receive the satellite. Are you sure he didn't install a different ARC? The Western Arc rarely if ever collects snow in Ct. The Eastern Arc more often.
Thanks for the input:
The replacement of the dish was to upgrade to the eastern arc.
I realize the LNBs must be pointed to the satellites, but my original question was in regard to the pitch of the dish itself.
Now, if I put a garbage bag over the dish, any tips, tricks, dos, don'ts. Does it matter if the bag is clear, white, or green?
The replacement of the dish was to upgrade to the eastern arc.
I realize the LNBs must be pointed to the satellites, but my original question was in regard to the pitch of the dish itself.
Now, if I put a garbage bag over the dish, any tips, tricks, dos, don'ts. Does it matter if the bag is clear, white, or green?
As I suspected and that's why it now collects snow, the pitch is different so it does answer your question about pitch. They are in two completely different locations both horizontally and vertically in the sky. You won't get a signal if you put a garbage bag over the dish. For fluffy snow you actually shouldn't lose the signal, there isn't enough moisture to block the signal. Otherwise some people have tried Rain-X, others spray cooking oil. I'm not sure to what degree they help.
I'm not so sure about that. I'm going to try it for myself then I'll know for sure. My dish (1k4 wa) is easy to get to but has gone out quite a few times caked in ice & snow. It would have took a hammer and chisel to get it off. Been having to take a big pot of hot water to clean it off. It's a real pita when it's up in the evening & like the arctic outside. Will report back on the trash bag.
Oil based sprays work by not permitting water to adhere to the dish. The oil in the sprays also prevents water from freezing on the dish. At least for a while.
On the other point, you are correct. A powdery snow, high snow to water ratio will offer little if any resistance to a satellite signal. A heavy wet snow, low snow to water ratio, is almost certain to create signal loss.
Only negative I have heard about that (but have not seen or experienced myself) is that once springtime comes, that cooking spray will collect dust, and make the dish nasty.
Not to mentioned the fried bugs in the cooking oil. Unless you like fried bugs then it's a win win. 
I'm interested in the trash bag idea. Anyone tried it yet? We haven't had as many problems this winter because it has been so cold. Any snow we have gotten has been of the low water content variety. I don't know if I like the cold temps that go with it. We have been at -18 two nights this winter and lots of below zero otherwise. I know it's been colder in the midwest, but I'm dreaming of moving to Florida at this point!!!
Reporting back on the trash bag experiment. Virtually no change in signal with trash bag on the dish. Here is my #'s, all signals were checked on tp11 on all 3 sats. Clear skys btw.
129 no bag 47 with bag 48
119 no bag 80 with bag 80
110 no bag 78 with bag 77
Now will have to wait to see how effective it is in keeping the dish snow free.
129 no bag 47 with bag 48
119 no bag 80 with bag 80
110 no bag 78 with bag 77
Now will have to wait to see how effective it is in keeping the dish snow free.
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So with EA where the signal is around 60 on 61.5 and 72 in Missouri I have had issues with snow and ice but rarely and can wait a couple days for it to melt. If you get ice on your dish please don't bang on it with a hammer. You will do more harm than good. Just get a warm pitcher of water and run it over the dish and LNB.
Does anybody have a certain brand of cooking spray that works the best? The new .2 and .4 reflectors are black for this reason right. It also seems they are coated but it wheres off with the summer sun. If your dish is in a horribly accessible place I would def get a heater and extension cord .
Does anybody have a certain brand of cooking spray that works the best? The new .2 and .4 reflectors are black for this reason right
. It also seems they are coated but it wheres off with the summer sun. If your dish is in a horribly accessible place I would def get a heater and extension cord .
I wouldn't use a cooking spray as the oil will oxidize (especially exposed to the sun). I would suggest a silicone-based water repellant spray (Rustleum came out with a two-step process called NeverWet, but I don't have any personal experience with it). With any surface treatment, reapplying the coating every few years seems to be the norm.
I wish you good luck with the garbage bag. I tried this several years ago at the suggestion of others here and experienced NO difference in signal levels either......until the first snow of the season! It was just a light but somewhat wet snow which immediately stuck to the plastic and I lost all 3 satellites. Almost broke my neck getting the damned thing off the roof mounted dish.
For the last 3 years I've had 3 small Katz stick-on heaters on the back of the dish--one in the center and one on each side of the bottom. These heaters are made to stick to engine blocks and are available through Amazon. My dish is mounted on the roof of my garage area (attached) and I simply plug in an extension cord running from the dish to an outlet in the garage when it's snowing or snow is forecast. Works great!
Others have reported good results with the bag fix but it sure didn't work for me.
Ed
The 1.4 dish will allow snow to acumulate, the old d500 wont. I Know that there are several bibs for the dish which are designed to protect the dish from snow. Over the years I have seen 1 or 2 in use and they do work.
