Half my channels don't work (winter storm)

Violent31601 · 12-12-2012, 10:02 AM

So I want to learn something or how dishes work during snow storms.

Half my channels say searching for signal and many other channels still work flawlessly. Many of the channels that still work are HD also and all my locals.

However many others have been stuck on searching for signal for a few days (USA, SYfI, etc...)

I am not that huge of a TV watcher so I havn't really cared to much the last few days since the ones that seem to work still are ones I watch.

I did notice half my dish has snow on it and the other half is cleared, is that the reason only half my channels work? The reason I havn't brushed the snow off which i'm guessing a lot of ppl are asking themselves is because my roof is really high and at a suicidal slant (i don't do well with heights)

and one final question, I have the Directv app on my phone and as people with the app are aware, you can connect to your network and watch tv on your device, why would a channel work on there and not on my actual DVR, are the channels on the device sent straight from D*?

WestDC · 12-12-2012, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Violent31601

So I want to learn something or how dishes work during snow storms.

Half my channels say searching for signal and many other channels still work flawlessly. Many of the channels that still work are HD also and all my locals.

However many others have been stuck on searching for signal for a few days (USA, SYfI, etc...)

I am not that huge of a TV watcher so I havn't really cared to much the last few days since the ones that seem to work still are ones I watch.

I did notice half my dish has snow on it and the other half is cleared, is that the reason only half my channels work? The reason I havn't brushed the snow off which i'm guessing a lot of ppl are asking themselves is because my roof is really high and at a suicidal slant (i don't do well with heights)

and one final question, I have the Directv app on my phone and as people with the app are aware, you can connect to your network and watch tv on your device, why would a channel work on there and not on my actual DVR, are the channels on the device sent straight from D*?

"I did notice half my dish has snow on it and the other half is cleared, is that the reason only half my channels work? The reason I havn't brushed the snow off which i'm guessing a lot of ppl are asking themselves is because my roof is really high and at a suicidal slant (i don't do well with heights) "

You answered you own question- When the snow melts and your dish is not blocked the all signals will return.

**ImRizzo** · 12-12-2012, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Violent31601

So I want to learn something or how dishes work during snow storms.

Half my channels say searching for signal and many other channels still work flawlessly. Many of the channels that still work are HD also and all my locals.

However many others have been stuck on searching for signal for a few days (USA, SYfI, etc...)

I am not that huge of a TV watcher so I havn't really cared to much the last few days since the ones that seem to work still are ones I watch.

I did notice half my dish has snow on it and the other half is cleared, is that the reason only half my channels work? The reason I havn't brushed the snow off which i'm guessing a lot of ppl are asking themselves is because my roof is really high and at a suicidal slant (i don't do well with heights)

and one final question, I have the Directv app on my phone and as people with the app are aware, you can connect to your network and watch tv on your device, why would a channel work on there and not on my actual DVR, are the channels on the device sent straight from D*?

What I would suggest is if you can access the dish safely trying spraying heavily with PAM cooking spray, as a lubricant it make most snow slide off and keeps reception going, my daughters father-in-law does it on his dish in Maine and has no problems.

Violent31601 · 12-12-2012, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WestDC

"I did notice half my dish has snow on it and the other half is cleared, is that the reason only half my channels work? The reason I havn't brushed the snow off which i'm guessing a lot of ppl are asking themselves is because my roof is really high and at a suicidal slant (i don't do well with heights) "

You answered you own question- When the snow melts and your dish is not blocked the all signals will return.

I kinda figured that, just wasn't 100% sure and i'm defiantly no expert in this stuff.

Any idea about my second question?

WestDC · 12-12-2012, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Violent31601

I kinda figured that, just wasn't 100% sure and i'm defiantly no expert in this stuff.

Any idea about my second question?

Not having a Smart Phone myself - I'm guessing that info is coming from the internet rather than your Dish -unless the content is recorded on your DVR -then you still can access the DVR recording (when searching for signal) Press exit -then list and you can still view recorded programs.

Hope that helps - I didn't answer before because I'm a bad guesser

rserkes · 12-12-2012, 11:16 AM

Go to a toy store and buy one of those super soaker water rifles. These are the ones you pump up and they shoot water great distances.

Fill it with hot water and then stand on the ground and shoot at the dish on your roof. That will get the snow off safely.

WestDC · 12-12-2012, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rserkes

Go to a toy store and buy one of those super soaker water rifles. These are the ones you pump up and they shoot water great distances.

Fill it with hot water and then stand on the ground and shoot at the dish on your roof. That will get the snow off safely.

That's a lot of pumping to shoot over 24 feet

quad4.0 · 12-12-2012, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rserkes

Go to a toy store and buy one of those super soaker water rifles. These are the ones you pump up and they shoot water great distances.

Fill it with hot water and then stand on the ground and shoot at the dish on your roof. That will get the snow off safely.

It will freeze. I use a long handle brush. The pam is a good idea, and there are covers you can get to keep stuff off also. and there is a spray made for that also. google it

rserkes · 12-12-2012, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quad4.0

It will freeze. I use a long handle brush. The pam is a good idea, and there are covers you can get to keep stuff off also. and there is a spray made for that also. google it

What will freeze? The hot water washes the snow off the dish then runs off the dish to the roof/ground. It's called gravity.

I have several friends where I live that use this system when we get heavy snow and they've never complained about anything freezing.

dbnspark · 12-12-2012, 12:58 PM

I use our telescoping pool vacuum handle with the brush attachment. My dish is on the gable wall of the house. I believe I have to stand on a ladder to reach. It has been a few years since I have had to do it.

Caution though if there are overhead utility wires close....the handle is aluminum and will conduct electricity.

RBTO · 12-12-2012, 03:50 PM

A brush risks the chance of moving the dish (though slight). The supersoaker is the best way to rid a dish of snow (but the PAM does work well to prevent snow sticking in the first place - you do have to reapply it periodically) and even if there is a thin film of water left on the dish that refreezes, it has no effect on the signal.

There are also dish warmers that attach to the back side of the dish. With one of those, you install it once and never have to worry about snow sticking again - no need to clean it. You do need to run a cable down to a source of power, however.

Getting back to the original questions - the missing channels are most likely HD channels which are on a frequency more susceptible to absorption by the snow whereas the others are not. Your smartphone does indeed pull its information off the internet and has nothing to do with your satellite receiver (other than having the same channels available). If your internet goes out - no smartphone video.

Violent31601 · 12-13-2012, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RBTO

A brush risks the chance of moving the dish (though slight). The supersoaker is the best way to rid a dish of snow (but the PAM does work well to prevent snow sticking in the first place - you do have to reapply it periodically) and even if there is a thin film of water left on the dish that refreezes, it has no effect on the signal.

There are also dish warmers that attach to the back side of the dish. With one of those, you install it once and never have to worry about snow sticking again - no need to clean it. You do need to run a cable down to a source of power, however.

Getting back to the original questions - the missing channels are most likely HD channels which are on a frequency more susceptible to absorption by the snow whereas the others are not. Your smartphone does indeed pull its information off the internet and has nothing to do with your satellite receiver (other than having the same channels available). If your internet goes out - no smartphone video.

Thanks everyone

WashedOut · 12-28-2012, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Violent31601

Thanks everyone

get use to it . rain does the same thing searching for signal blah blah

Violent31601 · 12-31-2012, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WashedOut

get use to it . rain does the same thing searching for signal blah blah

that usually doesn't bother me as much as its usually only a half hour at most (or when the storm passes)

joed32 · 01-01-2013, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WashedOut

get use to it . rain does the same thing searching for signal blah blah

And when your house is on fire the smoke tends to cause short dropouts in the signal. Drives me nuts!

12-12-2012, 10:02 AM	#1
Violent31601 High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Wisconsin Age: 30 Posts: 665	Half my channels don't work (winter storm) So I want to learn something or how dishes work during snow storms. Half my channels say searching for signal and many other channels still work flawlessly. Many of the channels that still work are HD also and all my locals. However many others have been stuck on searching for signal for a few days (USA, SYfI, etc...) I am not that huge of a TV watcher so I havn't really cared to much the last few days since the ones that seem to work still are ones I watch. I did notice half my dish has snow on it and the other half is cleared, is that the reason only half my channels work? The reason I havn't brushed the snow off which i'm guessing a lot of ppl are asking themselves is because my roof is really high and at a suicidal slant (i don't do well with heights) and one final question, I have the Directv app on my phone and as people with the app are aware, you can connect to your network and watch tv on your device, why would a channel work on there and not on my actual DVR, are the channels on the device sent straight from D*?

12-12-2012, 03:50 PM	#11
RBTO High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 404	A brush risks the chance of moving the dish (though slight). The supersoaker is the best way to rid a dish of snow (but the PAM does work well to prevent snow sticking in the first place - you do have to reapply it periodically) and even if there is a thin film of water left on the dish that refreezes, it has no effect on the signal. There are also dish warmers that attach to the back side of the dish. With one of those, you install it once and never have to worry about snow sticking again - no need to clean it. You do need to run a cable down to a source of power, however. Getting back to the original questions - the missing channels are most likely HD channels which are on a frequency more susceptible to absorption by the snow whereas the others are not. Your smartphone does indeed pull its information off the internet and has nothing to do with your satellite receiver (other than having the same channels available). If your internet goes out - no smartphone video. Last edited by RBTO; 12-13-2012 at 09:58 AM.

12-12-2012, 11:16 AM	#6
rserkes Richard Serkes Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 501	Go to a toy store and buy one of those super soaker water rifles. These are the ones you pump up and they shoot water great distances. Fill it with hot water and then stand on the ground and shoot at the dish on your roof. That will get the snow off safely.

12-12-2012, 12:58 PM	#10
dbnspark A couch and an HDTV to go please. Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 12	I use our telescoping pool vacuum handle with the brush attachment. My dish is on the gable wall of the house. I believe I have to stand on a ladder to reach. It has been a few years since I have had to do it. Caution though if there are overhead utility wires close....the handle is aluminum and will conduct electricity.