Today will be a test of how well Dish is in a snow storm

[FAiello]

Today we are suppose to get 8"-12" of snow through the night, it will be the first test of how well my Dish works in a snow storm.

 

[Chinatown]

Already got it here in Milwaukee........With 5+ more tomorrow.......

So far, picture is crystal clear...........

I really believe the absolute perfect directional of the dish, can just about eliminate that problem.

 

[tpautler]

Well, mine did fine till the dump we got Wednesday. You don't get a very good picture when the dish, on the peak of the roof, is completely buried in snow.

Today I will see if I can clear any away with an extended roof rake. I even have a heater on the dish but 2 1/2 feet of snow in one day just engulfed the whole dish. Just might be a long time till I get service back.

 

[Quantum]

You don't get a very good picture when the dish, on the peak of the roof, is completely buried in snow.

LOL, well that's just unacceptable!

Ya, we're fixing to have some weather tomorrow; 9"-12" plus temps in the 20's, and 50-70mph winds sustained, 90mph gusts! Then the air will warm to give a nice frosting of freezing rain.

Traffic accidents everywhere, and buses shut down. As it is, the city's already been shut down all week. Not going to be much Xmas shopping...

 

[Yes616]

About a foot expected here today as well. It is only 20 degrees here now and snowing hard. With a temperature like that the snow is very dry so it is not sticking to the dish. If the temperature rises to near 30, then it will be different.

 

[cjwct]

Just started snowing here, but I doubt any outages will happen. The rain storms we had recently didn't affect the signal at all and I am sure some snow won't hurt!

 

[bacchus101]

I dealt with 17 feet of snow pouring over my dish last season with zero outages. I didn't even spring for a snow cover. No issues. The snow falls off by itself and the signal gets through.

Been with Dish since 1998 and have never had a snow problem.


Now heavy rain in the summer is another story altogether...

 

[chikagobnd]

LOL, well that's just unacceptable!

Ya, we're fixing to have some weather tomorrow; 9"-12" plus temps in the 20's, and 50-70mph winds sustained, 90mph gusts! Then the air will warm to give a nice frosting of freezing rain.

Traffic accidents everywhere, and buses shut down. As it is, the city's already been shut down all week. Not going to be much Xmas shopping...

Good grief Quantam! That sounds terrible. Where are you located? I think I'll try to stay clear of your neck of the woods!! Best of luck & stay safe!

 

[anik]

Well, mine did fine till the dump we got Wednesday. You don't get a very good picture when the dish, on the peak of the roof, is completely buried in snow.

Today I will see if I can clear any away with an extended roof rake. I even have a heater on the dish but 2 1/2 feet of snow in one day just engulfed the whole dish. Just might be a long time till I get service back.

This is the reason I think mounting a dish on a roof is so stupid, especially in northern climates. Not only are you allowing someone who probably doesn't have the slightest knowledge of construction to make holes in your roof, but then when you get a heavy snow you can't get to the dish to clean it off. Whereas if you get a 10' piece of galvanized pipe and stick it in the ground (in a 4' to 5' hole) with two or three bags of concrete, you can easily reach the dish with a broom when necessary. The ONLY time mounting on a roof can possibly be considered a good idea is when you are trying to clear a neighbor's tree line and the extra height actually makes a difference.

If I ever got Dish service I'd tell them to tell the installer he's not allowed to even take his ladder off the truck, so bring a pole and some concrete! Well, actually, in my case I'd do the install myself - I'm always MUCH happier with the result!

 

[Yes616]

This is the reason I think mounting a dish on a roof is so stupid, especially in northern climates.

Some of us up north are also in the woods. My D300 had to go up high on the roof to see 61.5 due to the neighbors trees. There was no other choice.

I have said this before; I have gotten pretty good at giving that dish a good shot with a snow ball effectively knocking the snow off the dish.

What else can you do in a situation like this?

 

[kstuart]

What else can you do in a situation like this?

The ultimate solution is a Dish Heater - this is what Dish uses for their C-band dishes that they use to receive the signals from channels.

 

[FAiello]

Well its been snowing here since Friday and I had to clean the snow off my 61.5 dish today because I lost signal on that one only. Must have been the way the wind was blowing the other dish did not have snow built up on it.

 

[Islandguy43]

Well its been snowing here since Friday and I had to clean the snow off my 61.5 dish today because I lost signal on that one only. Must have been the way the wind was blowing the other dish did not have snow built up on it.

We have gotten dumped on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with schools closed on both Friday and today (Monday), and haven't had any problems worth reporting

 

[wkomorow]

I have never lost my signal during a snow storm or blizzard, rainsstorm is a different matter.

 

[dlsnyder]

My dish is mounted on the roof, but right on the lower edge, easily accessible with a short ladder or a broom. Now if it ever snowed here there would be far bigger problems than just no satellite signal. In fact it did snow nearby a few days ago. Ortega Highway between Lake Elsinore and Orange County was closed for the first time ever due to snow. Who has snow plows in coastal Southern California????

 

[Tony S]

Well its been snowing here since Friday and I had to clean the snow off my 61.5 dish today because I lost signal on that one only. Must have been the way the wind was blowing the other dish did not have snow built up on it.

The same thing happened to me! We had about a foot of snow and my 119/110 dish was totally clear while the 61.5 dish was completely covered. It looked really weird with one dish totally covered and the other with no snow at all.

I lost the signal from 61.5. I think that this was the 1st time that I ever lost a signal due to snow (and I have had E* for almost 12 years). A few hours later, the wind kicked up and it blew enough of the snow off the 61.5 dish so that it came back to life. I was happy because my dishes are high up on the roof (no other mounting option, this was the only way to clear the large trees in my neighbors yard).

 

[fredp]

I lost the signal from 61.5. I think that this was the 1st time that I ever lost a signal due to snow (and I have had E* for almost 12 years). A few hours later, the wind kicked up and it blew enough of the snow off the 61.5 dish so that it came back to life. I was happy because my dishes are high up on the roof (no other mounting option, this was the only way to clear the large trees in my neighbors yard).

Ditto! Mine is up on a second floor porch roof. Not easy to get to for this shakey old man. I too am hoping for wind and or sun... My 110/119 dish is fine.

 

[bacchus101]

Got 29" of snow in this last storm. No outages to report.

My 110/119 dish is about 10 feet off the ground and protected from the prevailing winds in a corner, which abates snow buildup.

There are 4-6' drifts on my roof, so I know if it was there I'd be in trouble...

 

[Y2k06]

Isn't there something that could be used to 'cover' the dish making a flat surface where snow would not accumlate?

I would think some enterprising DIY sort of guy would maybe think of using a PLUS size ( a really big woman) panty hose and stretch that over the dish. Would that not work? HAHA I think I'm gonna give it a try just to see if the nylon panty hose messes anything up....... Only hard part is telling the significant other I need a pair to experiement with so they are big enough...

Amazing stories of tons of snow with no problems. Last winter in N. Texas we had a little snow but it was enough to totally mess up the signal. Fortunately, the dish is mounted low down on the eve of the roofline. A 10 foot piece of 1 inch PVC with a wisk broom taped worked perfectly to get signal back.

I can't imagine loosing signal and saying "oh well, guess I'll wait till it warms up or the wind blows it off."

Hell, I would find and old pair of tennis shoes and run screws thru them to climb on the roof with a hand ax to get my signal back.........

 

[dishcomm]

This is the reason I think mounting a dish on a roof is so stupid, especially in northern climates. Not only are you allowing someone who probably doesn't have the slightest knowledge of construction to make holes in your roof, but then when you get a heavy snow you can't get to the dish to clean it off. Whereas if you get a 10' piece of galvanized pipe and stick it in the ground (in a 4' to 5' hole) with two or three bags of concrete, you can easily reach the dish with a broom when necessary. The ONLY time mounting on a roof can possibly be considered a good idea is when you are trying to clear a neighbor's tree line and the extra height actually makes a difference.

If I ever got Dish service I'd tell them to tell the installer he's not allowed to even take his ladder off the truck, so bring a pole and some concrete! Well, actually, in my case I'd do the install myself - I'm always MUCH happier with the result!

ahh yes..thanks for the words of confidence. Yep we techs are all incompetent jerks, right?..
Question...if you are not a satellite customer, then why are you here?