Signal on 87W increases during rainfall

[papabruski]

It is raining hard now. My 9ft dish is pointed at 87W and the signal Q from RTV is 75+.
On sunny days the signal from RTV is usually so low as to be unwatchable while other transponders are watchable.

What is a good explanation for this?
Thanks...

 

[77TA]

I don't think the signal increase is on your end. The signal seems stronger than usual today at my location and it is sunny and in the 90's.

 

[Dee_Ann]

It is raining hard now. My 9ft dish is pointed at 87W and the signal Q from RTV is 75+.
On sunny days the signal from RTV is usually so low as to be unwatchable while other transponders are watchable.

What is a good explanation for this?
Thanks...

I had this problem for years.

We have been under a severe drought for several years. The ground dries out really bad and huge cracks open up that you can put your arm down.
I've been afraid my dogs would step into one and break their legs.
When the ground dries out it shrinks like a sponge drying out, when it gets wet it expands like a sponge.
The ground dries out really bad and the dish would actually droop like a wilting flower.
When it would rain the ground would swell up and straighten the pole out and bingo, signal back nice and strong.

For a long time I put a sprinkler on a timer by my dishes to keep the ground damp. This worked pretty well but leaving the hose out all the time was annoying.

I finally dug the offending poles out, made much larger holes and put LOTS more cement in them.

Check and see if your yard is drying out really bad, maybe the rain is fixing it..

 

[bpalone]

I noticed a stronger than normal signal today also. They may have upped their power output to deliver a more reliable signal to their affiliates. Which if that is the case we benefit as well and should be glad about it.

 

[Cham]

Could be the dish heats up and distorts in the direct sunlight/heat. It would work better at night and cloudy (rainy) days than hot sunny days. Doesn't take much to mess up the parabola and defocus the RF energy.

 

[Titanium]

Could it be terrestrial or adjacent satellite interference that is attenuated by the rain and allows the RTV signal to be decoded without the errors introduced by this noise?

 

[papabruski]

I left the dish parked on 87w for the last few days just to monitor any changes and the changes were few since the signal ranged between 77-80.
77TA and BPAlone both suggest that the output signal is stronger. I'll have to agree.
Dee_Ann's comments about the ground drying out and the dish drooping is well taken. Indeed, after the rains, the front door closes properly rather than sticking.
87w, from my location, is just over the peak of a mountain so that the lnb points only about 30 degrees above the horizon. Attenuation of terrestrial interference as suggested by Titanium may also be a factor.
I'll continue to monitor.
Thanks for your replies!