It's That Time Of Year - Sun Outages

[FTA4PA]

I was just watching France 24 on 47.5w when I lost signal for a time. Just a reminder that it is the time of year for sun outages so if you lose signal it is likely not your dish.

 

[osu1991]

Darn it, I thought it was that time of year where I get to complain about switching to the stupid DST and having hot blazing sunlight until after 9pm. Guess the sun spot activity is annoying too.

 

[VictoriaFTA]

They're already over for me. Thankfully they happen at non-peak television programming times.

 

[cyberham]

The Sun Outage Calculator is still working to determine if there are outages in your area. They ended for me on March 5.

 

[FTA4PA]

The Sun Outage Calculator is still working to determine if there are outages in your area. They ended for me on March 5.

It looks like today was the last day of them for me. Since I'm using a 6ft solid dish for 47.5w I expect they went on a bit longer.

 

[cyberham]

As the title says...it's that time of year. Starting later this week into next week, watch out for sun outages. Particularly as you're doing dish orientation and scratching your head why you can't receive a satellite.

Sun Outage Calculator

 

[lost_mesa]

I was listening to MBC radio from Saskatchewan on 114.9w Ku around 1 pm this afternoon. The receiver lost lock and after a few minutes of trying to get it to lock with no success, it occurred to me to go look at the dish. Sure enough, the dish was pointed right at the sun.

Five minutes later it was working again. The solar outage calculator agrees with what I observed here in New Mexico.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I was listening to MBC radio from Saskatchewan on 114.9w Ku around 1 pm this afternoon. The receiver lost lock and after a few minutes of trying to get it to lock with no success, it occurred to me to go look at the dish. Sure enough, the dish was pointed right at the sun.

We lost signal on 99W around 12:25

 

[polgyver]

Maybe it is my age, almost 80, but I was not sure how to use the link relating to finding dates and hours of Sun outage. Too complicated. Instead I used web site from US Navy, showing positions of Sun for one day. Much easier...

 

[cyberham]

The sun outage link isn't so complicated. You just enter correct data for your station into the boxes. The trick then is to double-click on the map for your location.

Then scroll down and the data is presented in the table.

 

[polgyver]

Thank you, cyberham.
In case someone would like to use Navy site, there is
the link: Altitude and Azimuth of the Sun or Moon During One Day

 

[Keith Brannen]

It's back!

Thought I had lost 34.5w when nothing would scan in this morning, then checked the sun outage site. A few minutes later it was fine.

My big concern that I might have lost it is because I have already lost 30w to my two doors down neighbour's pine tree, and expect 34.5w to disappear as the tree keeps growing. Can't move the dish as it is already shooting over my roof, and there is no place to move it. Fortunately, when I lost 30w it was after the Cuban channels mux had already left 30w, so there isn't anything I want on that satellite now.

 

[cyberham]

I was just studying this since I planned to push my C-dish to 131W today. The sun outages for me begin tomorrow afternoon. And it will continue through to Wednesday next week.

 

[Corrado]

I have been watching the sun angles the past few days and my C band days are numbered unless I have some trimming or move my 10' Unimesh from where it's been for 38 years.

Next Tuesday, I have a tree service coming to remove a tree that split and fell on a barn and 2 vehicles. Thinking about having them address it while they're here.

 

[cyberham]

...The sun outages for me begin tomorrow afternoon...

I'm watching the S/N of 72.7W Nimiq 5 slowly fading. Dropping from 10.0 dB down to 7.4 dB and continuing to drop. The sun outage is currently in progress.

The reason this is interesting is that it's a personal first-hand example that we precisely understand the movements of planets with respect to the Sun. Take that flat-earthers and those who think we didn't actually land on the Moon.

 

[primestar31]

Take that flat-earthers and those who think we didn't actually land on the Moon.

When did Canada land on the Moon? lol

 

[cyberham]

When did Canada land on the Moon? lol

Mr. AI...was Canada involved in the 1969 Moon landing? Thank you in advance for your service.
======
"Canada played a vital, behind-the-scenes role in the historic Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969, through key engineers, specialized hardware, and scientific contributions.

Key Canadian Contributions

• • Owen Maynard: An engineer originally from Sarnia, Ontario, he became NASA's chief of systems engineering for the Apollo program and played a primary role in designing the lunar module (The Eagle) that carried the astronauts to the surface.
  • James Chamberlain: An engineer from Kamloops, British Columbia, who helped pioneer the lunar orbit rendezvous mission plan that made the moon landing possible.
  • Héroux-Devtek (then Héroux Machine Parts Limited): Based in Longueuil, Quebec, this company built the eight telescopic, shock-absorbing landing gear legs for the lunar module.
  • Bryan Erb: An engineer from Calgary, Alberta, who worked on the spacecraft heat shields designed to protect astronauts upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere.
  • Dr. William Carpentier: A Canadian flight surgeon who helped care for and monitor Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins during their mandatory post-flight biological quarantine.
  • Avro Arrow Engineers: Following the cancellation of Canada's Avro Arrow fighter jet program in 1959, dozens of displaced Canadian aerodynamicists and engineers were recruited by NASA, forming a core technical brain trust for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo flights."
  ======

 

[cyberham]

...we didn't actually land on the Moon...

This was the "Royal we" referring to humanity. Were it not for the Soviets, then President Kennedy never would have issued the challenge to technical people of that era to land on the Moon. And a Moon-landing mission may not have happened at that time. So even the Soviets helped the outcome become real.

To paraphrase Neil deGrasse Tyson, it's quite possible we won't reach Mars in the near future, not because we can't, but because it's so expensive that humans will never agree in the near future to pay the price required to do so. He suggests that the only reason people go to space is for political reasons not because it's a neat thing to do.