KU Snow out

[tvropro]

I was watching my 4DTV on C band and decided to tune over to RTV on AMC-9. The signal was gone, huh? Then I checked the Pentagon Channel on my offset ... gone. So I went over to Starchoice on the other side of my offset 67 quality. I said that's low. Looked out the window and it's snowing but not bad and minor amounts in the dishes. Went outside it was very wet slushy snow, 32.9 degrees outside. Took a broom and cleaned out the ku dishes and everything was right where it should be.

Ku is really a different animal with moisture and attenuation. I would have never know anything was up if I stayed on C band. What freaked me is I've seen more snow in those ku dishes and they were fine. The moisture content of this snow is very wet vs the powder snow at 20 degrees.

I wonder how many happy pizza dish owners are dealing with snow out conditions by me tonight. hahaha....

 

[WTguy]

It is my experience that it is more about the cloud cover. I lived in basically a desert town for the first 10 years of my satellite experience and it could be pouring down rain but if the cloud cover was light in the direction of the satellite, I had very little signal loss. However, it could be sprinkling but dark (thick) cloud cover and I would lose enough signal for it to be a blank screen. As for snow, I have had half of my "pizza" dishes covered in snow and still be watching tv.

 

[Phottoman]

Last night I had a heck of a time with Ku, I kept loosing channels for minutes at a time, thinking the wind may have moved my dish ... it was HOURS before I realized we were having hugh clouds pass us in this latest storm (North West Arizona), and they were interfering with the signal.

And for the first time in a long time my sister (lives next door) didn't call me to complain that her D* was gone and would I come over and fix it for her.

I realized that without wind blowing, going from a 72 to 5 and bouncing back and forth, signal was NOT the dish moving, then I looked outside, and the sky was REALLY black.

Lesson learned.

Photto

 

[tvropro]

Snow-out depends on moisture content of the snow. If it's dry it don't do much, wet is a different story. It was totally out again this morning and the snow has stopped. Soon as I brushed the slush out of the dish Bam right back up. I should have called this thread slush out

 

[starman345]

I"ve had the same experience, also I think the the weight of the wet snow pulls the bigger dishes(10 footers) just a bit out of their parabolic shape, or maybe sags them down, it doesn't take much to affect ku.

 

[tvropro]

My 90cm Primestar and 84cm ADTH wasn't being pulled down by the snow. It was the moisture content killing it. My C band dish had the same stuff in it (allot more) and it laughed at it

 

[dwingel]

Thanks Arizona for all the snow. Had about a foot since Sat. C-band takes four inches or more before loss or snow sliding off the top of the dish and changing focal point. Ku I lose with one to two inches. About to go out and brush off the beast again.

Cheers.

 

[LoTech]

This may be off topic, but I've seen some KU dish de-icer/heaters for sale for about $125-$150. This got me wondering if pipe heat tape would do the same thing. Has anyone tried one of these devices or good old fashioned heat tape on a KU dish?

 

[Larobpra]

This may be off topic, but I've seen some KU dish de-icer/heaters for sale for about $125-$150. This got me wondering if pipe heat tape would do the same thing. Has anyone tried one of these devices or good old fashioned heat tape on a KU dish?

Here's some threads to look at on that subject....

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