For example,via C Band, you're @ 101W, the signal is beaming to your dish, and that you could see it with your naked eye. Would it be like a single laser beam? If so, how big around would the beam appear to be? The reason I ask, leaves are once again forming on the tree limbs. So I'm just trying to determine exactly what a sat beam looks like, and how much or how little it would take to obstruct that signal coming to the dish. Mainly because I lost 101W again. Now I can't get anything on that sat. It's starting to affect me from 105W to the eastern end of the arc. On 105 W, Nasa still comes in, but I lost all the other feeds on that bird, such as NBC. Then on 99 W I've pretty much lost all the feeds but for the Lesea and Puerto Rico feeds. Anything else, no lock. And it's only going to get worse, as the leaves really start popping back. But as far as 105 W to 101 W, it looks like the branches are barely obstructing the view, unlike @ 99 W where the leaves are and will be a lot thicker as time goes on.
What would a satellite signal look like?
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The beam is going to be larger with C Band than Ku Band. The smaller the dish, the more the leaves will affect it. C Band is not as effected as Ku Band.
if you are pointing through a patch of trees. As long as the open patch is the same size or bigger than your dish you are getting all the signal you can get. This is assuming that you are perfectly pointed through the patch. Use a laser pointer at night and place it orthogonal to the dish and shine at trees, but remember to account for the offset elevation
I think if we could see them, they'd look like a candle burning a thousand or more ft away, C band would be a different color than Ku. Because of the different wavelength.
Then there's the polarity. Think polarized glasses. If there are only vertical polarity waves coming at you, rotating the polarizing "filter" 90° would either allow signal to pass through, or block it.
Our visible light is from around 390 nanometres to about 740 nm, less slightly than a 2:1 ratio.
BTW, that's around 400–790 THz.
3.4 to 12.2 Ghz is over a 3.5:1 ratio. Quite a "bandwidth" to see.
Why this worthless info? I don't know, just thought it may interest.
Then there's the polarity. Think polarized glasses. If there are only vertical polarity waves coming at you, rotating the polarizing "filter" 90° would either allow signal to pass through, or block it.
Our visible light is from around 390 nanometres to about 740 nm, less slightly than a 2:1 ratio.
BTW, that's around 400–790 THz.
3.4 to 12.2 Ghz is over a 3.5:1 ratio. Quite a "bandwidth" to see.
Why this worthless info? I don't know, just thought it may interest.
Highskies,
Think of the satellite beam as if it were sunlight. Sometime during the first week or two of March, at a specific time of day, the sun will align itself with a particular satellite. At that specific time of day during that period, the sun will be directly in line with the satellite, so if you look at the sun's position, you know where the satellite is.
We are a little over a month past that optimum time of solar alignment however, you might still get a fair idea of how much the trees are blocking your satellite signal. There are several on-line calculators that you can use to identify the position of the satellite. Either by the moon, the stars or the sun. If you can do it by the sun, then you can also look at the shadows on your dish from the branches and the leaves on the trees. If the dish is totally shadowed, then the satellite signal is likely totally blocked.
If you determine the exact time when the sun is at 101.0°W longitude, then you can look up from your dish at that time of the day and get an idea where that sat is. The sun is going to be higher in the sky now, so the sat will be below the sun. If the leaves are shading the dish from the sun, then they most certainly are shading it from the sat. Therefore, you would either have to relocate the dish further south so that you can "shoot out" from underneath the trees, further north so that you can shoot over them, or move it off to the east or west to skirt around the trees. If you are just catching the tops of the trees, you might be able to elevate the dish and shoot over them, too. That is often not a great option, though. Especially if you are already as high as you can go, moving it back north would be better.
RADAR
Think of the satellite beam as if it were sunlight. Sometime during the first week or two of March, at a specific time of day, the sun will align itself with a particular satellite. At that specific time of day during that period, the sun will be directly in line with the satellite, so if you look at the sun's position, you know where the satellite is.
We are a little over a month past that optimum time of solar alignment however, you might still get a fair idea of how much the trees are blocking your satellite signal. There are several on-line calculators that you can use to identify the position of the satellite. Either by the moon, the stars or the sun. If you can do it by the sun, then you can also look at the shadows on your dish from the branches and the leaves on the trees. If the dish is totally shadowed, then the satellite signal is likely totally blocked.
If you determine the exact time when the sun is at 101.0°W longitude, then you can look up from your dish at that time of the day and get an idea where that sat is. The sun is going to be higher in the sky now, so the sat will be below the sun. If the leaves are shading the dish from the sun, then they most certainly are shading it from the sat. Therefore, you would either have to relocate the dish further south so that you can "shoot out" from underneath the trees, further north so that you can shoot over them, or move it off to the east or west to skirt around the trees. If you are just catching the tops of the trees, you might be able to elevate the dish and shoot over them, too. That is often not a great option, though. Especially if you are already as high as you can go, moving it back north would be better.
RADAR
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Magic Static said:When I see a sat signal coming thru the trees, it looks like...mmmm a chainsaw! yeah that's it!
Time for some SHOTGUN PRUNING!
If I saw a satellite signal coming through the trees on our property, I would rejoice that the deer had not eaten them!
A satellite signal wouldn't look like a laser beam. The signal comes from a single point but spreads out to cover a whole continent. That's why a bigger dish is always better - because you get more signal. You need to cut holes in the trees that are about the same size as your dish, one hole for each satellite. A damn dangerous job and probably not worth it.Weird though, somehow I get 72W Ku right through my neighbour's tree.Satellite signals are waves. Ku band is about an inch long and C-band is about four inches long, wavelength, I mean.
Oh, If only we could put on special glasses like they do on CSI and SEE the signal! No need for meters, no need to come back another day due to frustration, no need to "#&%^*&$# can't hit that dang sat." That sure would be FUN!
RT.
RT.
Time for some SHOTGUN PRUNING!
and here's the tool to do it..
Old 2 gauge shotgun: Lets go duck hunting!!!
) - YouTubeWouldnt be hard to find a forum member, just look for the trees that have perfect round holes like swiss cheese
I agree with Radar, the best way to envision a satellite signal is as light. It is a spot of light much smaller in the sky than the sun, but it is light that is spread out evenly just as sunlight is. As long as you can see the point of light through the forest, you'll get signal. If something blocks that point of light, even for a moment (like the wind moving branches in front of the light), you'll lose signal while the light is blocked.
the signals are an even blanket. the dish with it's parabolic shape concentrates the signals it collects by bouncing and concentrating them into an orb or small ball at the feedhorn opening. this is why it is important for your dish not be bent or warped. the accuracy of the parabola is critical for all the signals to arrive at the focal point in time and in phase.
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