One small storm and out it goes!

[RT-Cat]

Now that was interesting. Looks like someone has been advertising to hard or stretching the truth about signal loss. I just had a moderate rain storm and out went the signal. From all the talk and ads on how seldom will you run into this problem with weather, I sure am surprised. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being rain so hard you would be soaked in seconds, and 1 not even noticing it was raining, I had signal loss with about a 4 1/2. Not really that bad of a storm. And when it does come back on, sure takes a long time to "reload" everything. . . . . .interesting.

RT.

 

[Mr Tony]

dark cloud cover to the south kills a signal quicker than rain fade does

 

[rglore]

It's usually a storm cloud just south of your location causing the outage. It's the high level dense thunderhead that blocks the signal for a minute or two.

edit: Iceburg replied while I was typing

 

[RT-Cat]

dark cloud cover to the south kills a signal quicker than rain fade does

OK. Next rain storm in the daytime I will check for dark clouds and see if that happens again. Cannot tell much this late at night.
Thanks,

RT.

 

[Eqxav]

Now that was interesting. Looks like someone has been advertising to hard or stretching the truth about signal loss. I just had a moderate rain storm and out went the signal. From all the talk and ads on how seldom will you run into this problem with weather, I sure am surprised. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being rain so hard you would be soaked in seconds, and 1 not even noticing it was raining, I had signal loss with about a 4 1/2. Not really that bad of a storm. And when it does come back on, sure takes a long time to "reload" everything. . . . . .interesting.

RT.

To be completely honest, I've had times where it was raining hard about a 7 on rain scale and signal didn't drop, and other times where the cloud cover was so heavy I got a signal loss. Just beware some installers do not tweak the signal strength above a certain point. I've been lucky with the installers I have gotten and have asked them to get the highest signal possible. Also make sure you get the right dish for your area. Using a Western Arc dish on the East coast, or using an estern arc dish on the west coast may not be the wisest.

When I first got Dish Network it almost never went out even if the rain was a solid 9 on a 1 to 10 scale, after time I realized that sometimes you have to have the dishes readjusted since the wind over time can shift them slightly. I've had Dish network for about 5 years now and have had to adjust the dishes 2 times due to shifting. When I had directv I had to adjust the dishes as well.

Overall my up time has been about 98% a year.
I have Dish coming out Friday because they have to repoint my dish and do an upgrade for a different reason, but I will be making sure it is the highest possible signal.

 

[MattG@DISH]

You can always check your signal strengths are compare them to the minimum threshold and averages for you area

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/256056-list-minimum-average-thresholds.html

 

[Ray C]

RT-Cat,
You should not lose signal every time it rains. It sounds like a technician should check your installation. If you would PM your account to me, I can setup the technician visit for you. Thanks.

 

[papalittle]

Mine always goes out just before heavy rain or hail hits my area but comes back on once the rain gets to me most of the time.

 

[Tampa8]

Very good responses. As IceBerg and others responded, it isn't the rain so much as the head of the storm coming between the dish and satellite. That said, I rarely lose the signal, no hype! lol You may want to also take the advice and make sure your signals are where they should be.

 

[dwarren2]

What is your set up. Mixed, EARC?

 

[Tampa8]

Mixed Arc. I can count on one hand how many times I have lost 110/119 over the last three years in Ct. (had dish in different spot before that, tree was impinging) I do lose it a little more often in Fl, but certainly not often.
61.5/72 I have had only a year. They have lost signal twice so far, both times for about 60 seconds or so, right before very heavy rain and wind. (In Ct., don't have them in Fl)

 

[TG2]

In virginia ... yesterday lost signal.. no rain at all.. thick clouds.. coming up from the south... after 5 mins.. said.. hmmm wonder what it is.. tuned TV to CBS in DC where they have their "Doppler 9000 Radar" on HD2 .... HUGE band of yellow & red "junk" coming up the i81 corridor .. 5 minutes later lost power.. signal problem no longer an issue .. power just came back 40 mins ago (12 hours out) LOL I got signal now though..

 

[SaltiDawg]

In virginia ... yesterday lost signal.. no rain at all .. 5 minutes later lost power.. ..

This is a free storm warning service that Dish provides.

Picture loss means head to the storm shelter or basement. (This also fixes the issue some have about being unable to view existing recordings with a loss of OTA.)

 

[TG2]

This is a free storm warning service that Dish provides.

Picture loss means head to the storm shelter or basement. (This also fixes the issue some have about being unable to view existing recordings with a loss of OTA.)

LOL but there were no ... "BEEEEEeeeeeeeP"
And dang it! ... I forgot to test to see if this time I was able to get recordings.. *it said* on screen I could... but the last time I had complete loss it wouldn't let me to anything but go to some menus..

You know what was even better.. 30 mins after the power failed.. I was outside looking... we had thunder roll through, we had lightning, I had one of three bassets clinging to me like I was anti-thunder, but no rain, and it never got "dark" like some of those really really bad storms.. infact the sun was breaking through and no clouds seemed to be on the other side ...

 

[SaltiDawg]

...*it said* on screen I could... but the last time I had complete loss it wouldn't let me to anything but go to some menus.. ...

Yes! GOTO Menu and hit 1 "Program Guide" and select an OTA Channel.

Re the dogs and thunder/lightning. I used to Exhibit and breed (English) Bulldogs. Dogs by nature are not afraid of thunder and lightning (nor vacuums.) When I had a litter of pups that were old enough to be outside with me, I would wait for the first lightning storm and take the pups outside with me while I acted 100% calmly. None of my pups ever grew up to react to storms. (Nor vacuum cleaners.) My wife use to laugh at me standing out in the downpour with 5 or more 4-week-old pups.

 

[RT-Cat]

RT-Cat,
You should not lose signal every time it rains. It sounds like a technician should check your installation. If you would PM your account to me, I can setup the technician visit for you. Thanks.

I will send you the info, but it looks OK for signal from a chart here on this forum. Just installed, should not be "bad" this soon.

RT

 

[RT-Cat]

What is your set up. Mixed, EARC?

Mixed ? EARC ? Good question. Best I can tell you it is a dark gray dish about 27 inches by 22 inches. Has three amps on it and states: Digital LNBF A21CA2-WD111BWTV The signals for 72, 77, 61.5 are in the area listed in a chart on this forum.
So . . . . That is my set up.

RT.

 

[3HaloODST]

You are on "EARC" AKA Eastern Arc then. If your signal levels are at the average signal level for your area, and you are checking the transponders listed on the chart, then there's nothing else that can be done. I'm guessing there are no potential obstructions (trees, etc.) that can sway in the wind?


At any rate, as everyone else has said, there will be times where it is raining cats & dogs and you won't lose signal, and there will be times where it might not be raining at all and you will lose signal briefly (typically 5 minutes, at worst around 15 minutes.) It's all to do with the mile-high thunderclouds that attenuate the signal. It's just the nature of the Ku band. Most people prefer the Ku band with the smaller dish than a big ugly dish used for C band which is a lot less susceptible to "rain fade."

For me, I have had cable, satellite, and U-verse. Cable would go out a lot just because it sprinkled (something down the street would blow up) and it took anywhere from hours to days for them to fix. U-verse has gone out for 4 hours at a time before on a perfectly clear sunny day. Out of those three, I prefer a reliable satellite signal that I KNOW will come back in a matter of minutes as opposed to wasting my life on the phone with reps.

So, take it any way you like, it's just how it is.

 

[JM42]

That said, I rarely lose the signal, no hype!

Agree. In Atlanta GA here on WA and for me to lose signal it literally has to be the it's dark outside at 2pm type of storm. I've never considered rain fade an issue. My Dad did have issues for a while after his original install until I made him call Dish out to re-peak, since then he has been OK.

 

[SaltiDawg]

...
For me, I have had cable, satellite, and U-verse. Cable would go out a lot just because it sprinkled (something down the street would blow up) and it took anywhere from hours to days for them to fix. ...

I have not lost Sat signal very often in my years with Dish. However, when I had cable and suffered an outage I spent more time on hold waiting to report it then any sat outage I have suffered... and as you said, it sometimes took days for the cable folks to fix it.