Rain Shield (Rain fade solution)

[GutBomb]

hey psb, see if this works on one of your upside-down dishes

i hate the way this product is advertised, mainly because it claims to do something it doesn't. the only times my dish has actually lost signal was during heavy storms south of me. when i lived in central illinois it would always be the storm passing in the south that would take out my signal, and the same here in utah.

as to the guy who says to use PAM, good job. I am already doing that and get results similar to the pictures above. i started using it because i was getting a lot of ice and snow accumulation in the winter time and it really helps.

if you have to spray something on your dish save your money and get a $2.99 can of PAM, not a $30 can of dreams.

 

[Titan_Wireless]

My 2 cents

I have lost signal while it was actually raining, but cant see how this product would really work. I agree with about 90% of you guys. Rain fade is caused by the blockage of signal from the SAT to your Dish. Not mostly for the dish to the lnb which this product might help? Any way for all the people that think it works. You might try this spray also. It helps in WiFi applications so it should help with SAT.

http://j-walk.com/other/wifispray/

haha

 

[seandudley]

That was pretty funny! Thanks for the laugh.

 

[Mr Tony]

I am disappointed in everyone here. Pete does a review on a product and 99% of you respond by ridiculing the product.
-Does the product work? Yes
-Have I seen it in action? Yes
-Do I use it right now on my dish? Not yet, mainly because I am moving my stuff around.
-Are there other products that may work like it? Yes

-Do you need to ridicule the product by saying “well, a $3 jar of whatever works better”…
HELL NO

I have no problem with disapproving opinions, but this crap about basically lynching a review is going to stop.

I don’t allow it and neither should other staff members.

 

[GutBomb]

i wasn't lynching the reviewer. I love pete and he knows it. I hope he didn't take it personally. that being said, a spray that claims to eliminate rain fade by saying that rain fade really comes from water droplets on the dish instead of thick clouds blocking the microwaves so they don;t make it to the dish is preposterous and i'm gonna call the manufacturer out. I am not saying anything against pete, hell, he's being paid (probably, i don't have facts) to say it's good, but if something is A) overpriced, and B) distorting facts in order to get sales, i'm gonna call it out.

sorry to ruffle feathers.

 

[PSB]

Its like water off a ducks back to me : ) Pun intended !

This review was done for information purposes only, I do not sell or profit from this product.

Maybe its more of interest to us FTA satellite enthusiasts where EVERY little bit of signal quality is very much appreciated.
But what do I know about satellite, 20 years experience, SBCA 1+2, LICENSED Technology Systems Contractor / Power limited Technician.
Plus I have seen it work in person, stay tuned for a two identical dish test, one with Rain Shield and one without.

Or you can see it for your self if you are going to be at the 2005 satellite Expo, booth 145 tell em you seen the product at SatelliteGuys.US

 

[Mr Tony]

i wasn't lynching the reviewer. I love pete and he knows it. I hope he didn't take it personally. that being said, a spray that claims to eliminate rain fade by saying that rain fade really comes from water droplets on the dish instead of thick clouds blocking the microwaves so they don;t make it to the dish is preposterous and i'm gonna call the manufacturer out. I am not saying anything against pete, hell, he's being paid (probably, i don't have facts) to say it's good, but if something is A) overpriced, and B) distorting facts in order to get sales, i'm gonna call it out.

sorry to ruffle feathers.

I know..but some people are on here just to ridicule everything (not naming names)

I don’t think Pete is getting paid to say something is good. When I do a review, I’m not getting paid to say something good about it (god I wish I did)

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

While some folks are jumping on Pete a feel a number of the comments have been fair. I personally don't believe a product like this will elliminate 95% of the rainfade folks have, and that is because rainfade is caused by rain in the atmosphere and the dish.

Now can this stuff help some folks out, sure but not everyone. I do think this product would be essential for people with two way internet, where the rain on the dish could cause variations to the signal and causea loss of the upstream transmitting signal.

Pete was asked to review a product and he did so and was amazed how it worked by sight. Without no lab for Pete to conduct his tests for scientific review he had to go on what he saw and he was very happy with what he saw. And looking at the tests anyone would be impressed. Sort of like the car wax where you can pour lighter fluid on it and set it on fire without damaging the car, looks impressive but really you can do that with any product.

I should also note that someone suggested PAM doing the same thing, I have actually heard from engineers that doing this is not a good idea, it could cause warping of the dish (if metal) and can also break down the plastic on plastic dishes.

I think a fun use of this product would be to go our and paint a big smilie face on your dish, then when it rains people can drive by and see the miracle smile that appeared on your satellite dish.

Pete did a great job on the review based on what he saw and thats all he was asked to do to observe a product and write a review based on it. Good job Pete.

 

[DTVSatman]

This thread got me curious, so I conducted a very un-scientific test. Hooked my Birdog up to a pole-mounted DTV dual LNB dish (Wineguard) set at a 46 degree angle. From a dry dish, I got a reading of S=71 and Q=100. With everything still connected, I flooded the dish with a garden hose set on spray. The wet dish, with water droplets and sheen from the water gave a reading of S=71 and Q=100.
Should I repeat the test and check the signal/noise ratio and bit error rate?
This has nothing to do with slamming the person or product in question. I just never thought about a wet dish making any difference.

 

[SatelliteGAL]

Perhaps not rain but I wonder if it would help the snow slide off in winter so it cant build up as bad.

 

[lou_do]

This product is kind of like the old snake oil, they sold back in the old days. Yes, it may work to keep water off the dish, but it will very little to help with rain fade. Rain fade is a weakening of the satellite signal as it passes through raindrops. Although the signal may have to pass through a few rain drops setting on your satellite dish, that is only a tiny amount compared to the millions of rain drops it must pass through between the satellite and your dish, during a rain storm.

To say the product improves the signal is hard to determine as rain fade varies as every rain storm is different in size and density. Sometimes in a small light shower I may have rain fade for two minutes, in a heavier larger one I may loose it for 5 minutes. So if I have a storm today and experience rain fade for 4 minutes and tomorrow I put this product on my dish and get a storm and only have rain fade for 2 minutes, unless I knew both storms were equal in size and intensity, to say the product works would be meaningless.

 

[whitewolf8214]

Rain Fade

I bought the product from king controls and have used it and it worked for me and my neighbor who didn't use it the picture went out and we had about 6 inches of rain in missouri the other day.My picture was fine and didn't go out compared to my neighbor who called and asked me if I had a picture and now he's gonna buy it.

 

[whitewolf8214]

Rain Fade

My neighbor ordered his and he should get it by wednesday.

 

[PSB]

Nice to hear from someone who has ACTUALLY seen and used the product, like myself these people will be the best judges of this new product. Just for the record NO ONE asked me to do this review/test, I just thought the members here would appreciate the heads up!

I have enjoyed the dialog.

 

[hbilt]

Does anyone have an idea what to use as a backup antenna or? when the rain here is so bad that you lose signal for 1/2 an hour
hbilt

 

[cdru]

Unless you are having very severe thunderstorms for more then a half hour, your problem isn't with rain fade but more likely a dish not properly aimed. You may want to peak your signals.

If you are having storms for extended periods of time, there are two ways to increase your signal strength: increase the transmission power or use a bigger dish. Since you probably aren't going to get your provider to increase the transmit power, a bigger dish is your only option.

 

[hbilt]

Unless you are having very severe thunderstorms for more then a half hour, your problem isn't with rain fade but more likely a dish not properly aimed. You may want to peak your signals.

If you are having storms for extended periods of time, there are two ways to increase your signal strength: increase the transmission power or use a bigger dish. Since you probably aren't going to get your provider to increase the transmit power, a bigger dish is your only option.

Rain was really bad. Dish is aimed, but trees have grown and will be trimmed.
Which dish should I get and the thought about the antenna was in case of a hurricane and I lose the dish

 

[rkrenicki]

Having worked in at a cable headend for the last few years, I can tell you matter of factly that rain and snow on the dishes WILL DEFINITELY affect your signal.

When we get that wet snow, it starts sticking to the dishes, and it changes the focal pattern of the dish, making the signal go in the dumps.. even on a 12 foot or larger C band dish.

Just two months ago, it was bad enough that we completely lost signal from AMC 4 on one dish, and there wasn't even really all that much on the dish itself.

Just imagine on Ku, all those water droplets deflecting signal in every which way, reducing the overall signal hitting the LNB. on a dish where even a few centimeters of reflector can make or break the lock, I think that this concept is long overdue.

Alas, Rain-fade does not annoy me to the point where I feel I need to spend $30 for this stuff, but I definitely understand and agree with the idea behind the product.

 

[rkrenicki]

On that note, I would also like to add that, yes, some Car Wax would probably work just as fine, and even probably last as long, however, thats really a pain in the butt to apply well, without screwing up your dish angle (if its already mounted)

And while Oil would work too, it would not nearly last as long as this stuff.. you would probably spend more on oil in the year, than just to get this stuff, and not worry about it every week. (imagine your LNB baking in the hot sun, with some nice corn oil.. mmm.. fried LNB)

The fact that this is a spray-on, long lasting, with no strenuous work involved, definitely makes it a decent product.

 

[martin1]

I don't see how this product could make much different(I wouldn't buy it)but then again when I got into C-band 20+years ago they said that Sat reception would never work with a 20in. dish.