Snow on a Satellite Dish

[chrisisoutrunning]

So after the storm last week I was stuck with a bunch of snow covering the dish and sensors on my satellite dish. Ok, normally this wouldn't be a problem, go brush it off. Well, I live in an apartment complex and the guy who installed it evidently had to put it on the roof of the building, which is two floors. I looked at the forecast and kind of hoped that the weather would be able to clear it off, since I have absolutely nothing that will reach 25 feet or so. Right now the dish portion is about 50% covered still. Weird thing is, I can get about 2/3 of the channels in my package, but unfortunately I'm not getting ESPN, which up until tonight wasn't a huge deal, but when I'm sitting here not able to watch MNF, I'm finally upset.

 

I was hoping someone here had a good idea as to how to get the snow off. I've talked to the office of the apartment complex and maintenance won't touch it due to liability, and the company that installed it hasn't returned numerous phone calls that the office has made on the behalf of numerous residents. So yeah, what do you got?

[dadofandrew]

Some sort of extension brush at a hardware store? Maybe a paint supply store?

 

Pressure washer?

[chrisisoutrunning]

I was thinking about trying to find some form of extension... whatever, but I'm not sure where to look for something that will extend out 20 feet or so.

[Jimbo]

So after the storm last week I was stuck with a bunch of snow covering the dish and sensors on my satellite dish. Ok, normally this wouldn't be a problem, go brush it off. Well, I live in an apartment complex and the guy who installed it evidently had to put it on the roof of the building, which is two floors.

Do you live at The Meadows?

[chrisisoutrunning]

No, I live at High Point Commons, right by Pedro's on the west side of Madison.

[honuswagner21]

I was thinking about trying to find some form of extension... whatever, but I'm not sure where to look for something that will extend out 20 feet or so.

Go to Lowes, Home Depot, or Menards. Find a roof rake. Mine has three extensions and easily is 25 feet and I do use it to get snow of my dish. You don't need to attach the rake portion but could, instead, duct tape a small broom on the end. You should be golden in getting the snow off. Some people say spray with a super soaker or hose but I don't know where you'd get a super soaker in December and being an apartment dweller you probably don't have a hose.

[Patrick425]

chrisisoutrunning[/b]]Ok, normally this wouldn't be a problem, go brush it off.

Well, even though cable is far from perfect, this cements my decision not to switch to satellite. Weather the dish is easy or hard to get to, the fact that I would have to go brush it off every time we got snow would be very annoying.

 

My sister-in-law had satellite for a while and switched back to cable because it would go out frequently during storms.

[chrisisoutrunning]

When I was living in Waukesha I loved Time Warner, but after putting up with Charter during college there was no way I was going to give them any more money than I had to. I'll stop by Menards tonight and hopefully pick up a roof rake.

[Patrick425]

I live and Waukesha and have Time Warner. I wouldn't exactly say I love it, although I'll say their wait times on service calls and their ability to get someone out to work on the issue has improved greatly over the last 3 or 4 years. My biggest issue with Time Warner is the boxes. I go through 2 or 3 boxes a year.

 

While I don't like the stories about coverage going out with bad weather or the snow thing you bring up, these are not my biggest issues when it comes to satellite. My biggest issue is lack of flexibility when it comes to adding additional TVs. We have cable in our living room, family room, kitchen, basement, bedrooms. Why so many? A)We all don't always want to watch the same programs B) When doing work around the house or maybe exercising in the basement, we like to have different options to watch tv - keep up to date on sporting events, news, etc. and C) Why not? - it does not cost us any extra to hook up other TVs without a cable box (we only have two TVs with boxes). My understanding is that it's not as easy or cheap to add extra TVs using satellite.

[Godspeed]

Nothing beats my giant roof antenna lodged in my attic installed by previous owners. Considered dropping cable for a while now and I was ecstatic to find out that I could wire that thing correctly. No reception issues whatsoever. Of course there's somewhat of a dearth of watchable channels, but I get by.

[MJLiverock]

Patrick I think you have to remember that a properly aligned dish does not lose its signal everytime it snows or rains. That is just cable company marketing. This snow storm caused me to lean out my bedroom window and clean the huge amount of wet snow that clung to my dish for the first time in 8 or 9 years of having a DirecTV dish. Up until this point I had never once cleaned off the dish. I happened to be home during the day and turned on the the TV and noticed the loss of signal otherwise it may have been there when I got home after the snow slid off the dish. Rain fade is so non existent for me in either location I have had a dish that it isn't worth mentioning in comparison to the number of times I lost cable when I had Charter due to equipment problems at the head end, squirrels, a car accident, ice, etc. The car accident outage was a favorite, lost cable for 2 days after a pile up on Mineral Point Road in Madison about 11 years ago hit some box the Charter used. I think the longest I have ever experienced signal loss with DirecTV was 10-15 minutes, which if I still wanted to watch TV I just hit a button and the DirecTV box reads the over the air signal for local channels and weather as a back up.

 

 

I know it is a to each their own thing but I get annoyed when I hear how cable companies have conditioned people to think satellite dropw out everytime it snows or rains which is a gross overstatement if the dish is properly alligned. I lost my cable signal way more frequently and for longer periods (often hours or days) than anything with satellite. My boss loses her cable and internet whenever it rains because there is a problem with moisture in a box somewhere outside her home and Charter won't fix it.

 

As far as hooking up multiple TV's - - the satellite signal runs over the existing cable in the house you don't need to rewire anything. The boxes can be moved easily which wouldn't take any more effort if you are already moving a TV around. The boxes cost about $5/month for extras, you only pay the DVR fee once so for my 4 DVRs in the house I pay the $6 DVR fee once no matter how many DVR's you have, and then 3x$5 (the first box doesn't get charged a fee) for the extra boxes or $21/month for 4 HD DVR boxes. I can't imagine how much more expensive 4 HD DVR's would be with Charter but last I knew it was at least 2x as much. I would also wonder if you are watching cable without a digital box are all channels available or is it limited to the analog signals which most cable companies will soon be getting rid of to free up bandwith.

[Patrick425]

It sounds like Charter cable is far worse than Time Warner.

 

We don't "move TVs". Each room that we have cable in, also has a TV (these are not high end plasma TV's - most of the TVs are 10 years old or more. We have one flat screen HD TV). I would never buy into a system where I have to "move boxes" to see TV's in different rooms, no matter how easy you claim it is (It really depends on how you have it hooked up and how accesable the back of the box is). It would pretty much defeat the purpose of having multiple hook ups. If I'm moving around the house doing different things (i.e. cleaning, laundry, etc), I don't want to be moving boxes all over the place. I will say that the one time DVR fee sounds good though. What about HD, do you have to pay for that, like cable claims you do?

 

On our TVs that are directly hooked up to cable, we get all channels up to 99 (as far as the TV tuner goes).

 

My other issue is that I have all services through Time Warner (phone, internet, and cable). I'm pretty sure satellite does not offer phone service. I'm not sure about internet. If I break up the package, I lose some incentive discounts. If I opt for new interenet service, I have to go through the whole new email address hassle.

 

Again, I'm not in love with cable or Time Warner. There are just not enough good reasons for me to switch. The cons outweigh the pros right now.

[Godspeed]

I had Charter service in La Crosse before getting TimeWarner in Milwaukee. Charter was far superior with regards to reliability and quality of product. The "DVR" TimeWarner leases out is embarrassing compared to Charter's Moxi box. Their interface had a one-second delay on everything. Just wasn't worth what I was paying for, so I dropped it alltogether. Still have their internet service, but I'm inclined to go elsewhere for that too.

[MJLiverock]

The HD fee is another cable gimmick to confuse people, it isn't like the cable companies give HD away for free. I personally pay a $10/month access fee for HD on top of my programming because I have an old package that isn't offered anymore. Basically I have a la carte for the HD/DVR/Locals/programming package. I pay each one as a seperate line item and it works out to $3/month cheaper than the bundled packages they now offer. I hadn't changed my programming in 6 years so I still get the old packaging. Most people sign up now and get a bundle of HD/DVR/and one of 3 or4 programming package (which include locals) choices depending on how many channels you want. Movie channels are an extra a la carte charge unless you take the Premier package which has everything excpet the PPV and adult channels nor the season sports packages like NFL Sunday Ticket or MLB Extra Innings.

 

I use DSL for internet and my land line is basically free with my DSL package otherwise I would just drop it. I don't even have a long distance option connected with it.

 

I get it it all comes down to preferences, some packages work out price wise better for others as well. For some the bundles offered by cable don't even compare price wise either with just a la carting all three, I know of 2 people who recently dropped Charter's bundle because it was cheaper to go DSL+DishNetwork for the channel package they wanted.

 

I guess my original reason for posting was more about fighting that notion that satellite TV drops out everytime it rains or snows it is like my own personal crusade.

 

We had one of those 9 foot diameter stainless steel dishes in our yard growing up and in the summers at about 3PM to 3:15PM nearly every day the signal would go out becasue of the angle of the sun on the dish or something like that. Those dishes were monstrous but as a kid out in the sticks we had every channel and sporting event imaginable. Nothing was scrambled or subscription based, I used to watch any baseball game I wanted or any NFL game on Sundays. I watched a lot of WWOR TV out of NY with Ralph Kiner and Tim McCarver doing the Mets games in the mid to late 80's which lead to my hatred of the Cubs and Cardinals.

[chrisisoutrunning]

Came home today and evidently somebody cleaned it off... Not sure who or with what, but there was no sign of snow on the dish, and I can guarantee it didn't melt today...

[honuswagner21]

Came home today and evidently somebody cleaned it off... Not sure who or with what, but there was no sign of snow on the dish, and I can guarantee it didn't melt today...

As long as there is sun for some point during the day, the snow and ice will melt off. Doesn't matter if it is -15 degrees.

 

As for the cable for satellite debate, I think there is a lot of bad information about there concerning both sides. I switched from Time Warner to Directv 2 years ago because D* offered way more HD channels. Now, TWC has caught up and pretty much surpassed D* in their offerings. Supposedly that will change soon after Directv launches their next satellite on Dec 28th. However, despite the commercials, cable is NOT the home of free HD. Last I checked you still needed to pay for the HD box and also for the HD package if you wanted all the HD channels. Directv has a select group of I believe 6 HD channels that you have the option to pay for. The vast majority are included with your package. On the flipside, I do believe that cable's point of losing satellite signal during bad weather is somewhat valid, especially on the HD channels. During the summer, I lost my signal for maybe 5 minutes a couple of times during torrential storms but it came right back up. The heavy wet snow does indeed stick to the dish and you will probably have to deal with it eventually. As mentioned above, the DVR pricing is a lot better with satellite, on a monthly basis. Where they get you is the activation fee when you get a new box. It still blows my mind that they charge $199 if you want to add a new HD box. Add to that the fact that you are then locked into a 2 year contract, not unlike a cell phone company. That, and you need a box to get their signal vs. just plugging in the coaxial in the back of your TV with cable. On the other hand, I have not once had to replace a box with Directv while with Time Warner it seemed like I was in the store every couple of months getting new equipment.

 

There are over a thousand more arguments I could list here but for me, the equipment and monthly pricing with Directv works. Their customer service is a lot better too. I still have TWC for Roadrunner (which I am happy with) as satellite really doesn't have any Internet options. But, as it stands for me, it is pretty even between the two. Should there be any problems with Directv's upcoming satellite launch I will be forced to switch back to TWC because they have really stepped up their HD offerings over the past few months.

[MJLiverock]

I have 3 HD DVR's and 1 SD DVR and have never spent a dime on activation fees. They almost always give you one for free in the beginning, I got a second one for free during some special offer for upgrades about 4 years ago. I got the third one for free when I moved and the offered it up for another 2 year commitment and the SD DVR's are pretty much always free. I have had two HD DVR's fail over the years as the hard drives wore out and both were replaced for a $19.99 Fed Ex shipping charge. The best part now is I have expanded hard drives on 2 of the units which is easily done with a eSATA plug in and the external hard drives are much better lasting and easy to replace without getting rid of the receiver. Of course each unit can now record and store over 150 hours of HD programming so I dont' have to mess around with the dinky small capacity of most internal hard drives. 50 hours of HD capacity doesn't last long if there are a couple of 3 1/2 games recorded during the week along with the season passes for 10-20 shows building up multiple espisodes or all the HGTV shows my wife records.

 

What HD channels are missing from DirecTV? I know it comes down to preferences but I can't think of a single HD channel I don't get that I would want. I do know I love NFL Network in HD which Charter doesn't have even in SD. ESPNU is coming in HD in Q1 2010 but I never watch that channel now since it tends to be a bunch of 3rd rate games competing with much better games on other networks.

[honuswagner21]

50 hours of HD capacity doesn't last long if there are a couple of 3 1/2 games recorded during the week along with the season passes for 10-20 shows building up multiple espisodes or all the HGTV shows my wife records.

 

What HD channels are missing from DirecTV? I know it comes down to preferences but I can't think of a single HD channel I don't get that I would want. I do know I love NFL Network in HD which Charter doesn't have even in SD. ESPNU is coming in HD in Q1 2010 but I never watch that channel now since it tends to be a bunch of 3rd rate games competing with much better games on other networks.

I hear you on all of the HGTV shows that are recorded. Same deal as in my house. Even with the larger hard drive with Directv I still burn through a significant chunk of my space (mainly the wife's recordings).

 

The HD channels that I am waiting on would be PBS-HD, BBC America-HD, Travel-HD, AMC-HD, would like to see VS-HD back, ESPNU-HD, not to pay extra for Palladia-HD. While not in HD I would like Time Warner sports too. And lastly, I would like D* not to black out ESPN when they are broadcasting a Brewer game in HD when FS-Wisconsin is not, like TWC does. Otherwise, the two are pretty comparable. There are probably some other HD channels that I am missing but might watch only a few times a year. I will admit that I do greatly enjoy having the NFL network. Also, I liked having 2 MLB-HD feeds for games over the summer. That was a nice touch. As I have mentioned earlier, I believe that 4 of my top 5 HD desires will be taken care of when the new satellite goes up. Who knows what to expect with PBS-HD.

 

As for the activation fee, I wanted to add an HD DVR to the bedroom but was told that it would be $199 activation. I also paid that when I initially signed up so maybe I am the poor sucker who didn't push hard enough at the beginning. From checking around on dbstalk it seems like that is the standard and even threatening to cancel your service doesn't usually get the fee waived. I just don't want to go through the hassle of threats and walk away empty-handed. I have no interest in an SD-DVR.

[Patrick425]

Last I checked you still needed to pay for the HD box and also for the HD package if you wanted all the HD channels. Directv has a select group of I believe 6 HD channels that you have the option to pay for. The vast majority are included with your package.

I think there are only two HD channels on Time Warner that you have to pay extra for (MGM and Smithsonian). Also, I'm not completely sure about this, but I don't think the charge for and HD box vs a standard digital box is that much different.

[Godspeed]

Yeah, if HD from TW really was free, they'd send them through in-the-clear instead of encrypting them and forcing you to lease their crappy box. Although I believe the cost is the same between the HD and non, their Free HD slogan is nothing more than a marketing scam. I really hated that box. The interface was clunky as hell.

[MJLiverock]

Honus, I don't know which market you are in but PBS-HD is carried by DirecTV if Madison is your DMA otherwise yeah you have to use the antenna to get the OTA signal and run it through the HD DVR or your TV depending on which model of DVR you have. I have the older ones with the over the air capability to get all the OTAs and sub channels run through the DVR for guide data and all DVR functionality.

 

The pricing stuff is hit or miss they don't call it CSR roulette for nothing. I ususally just jumped on deals even when I didn't need another box because I knew I could activate the box anytime I wanted in the future. The SD DVR sat in a box in my basement for nearly a year before I activated it in the workout room.

 

The black out on ESPN are because of MLB rules not DirecTV or DishNetwork or Cable company policies. It really won't matter which service you have because the archaic rules are MLB's fault.

 

If you really want increased hard drive space buy a 1 TB external hard drive that connects with eSATA, it is simply a plug in the back. I have two Seagate Free Agent's and they work pretty well, I know there are others out now as well. It is nice not worrying that 10 Desperate Houswives have built up on the DVR , all of last season's Lost, all of the last 2 seasons of Big Bang Theory and a pile of HGTV shows are sittiing there when I want to record a football game and a basketball game along with all the current new stuff.

 

 

That pricing thing for HD is such a gimmick. How do people fall for advertising like this - Company A says you get these 75 channels in SD for $45/month or those same channels in SD plus the HD versions for an additional $10/month versus Company B saying here are 75 HD channels for $60 and see we don't charge extra for HD so we are cheaper. Not only is company A cheaper they give people the option for going even cheaper by just getting the SD channels. But I keep seeing the same ads claiming look they charge $10 extra for HD without pointing out the total cost is the same or less.

[brew522]

If you really want increased hard drive space buy a 1 TB external hard drive that connects with eSATA, it is simply a plug in the back. I have two Seagate Free Agent's and they work pretty well, I know there are others out now as well. It is nice not worrying that 10 Desperate Houswives have built up on the DVR , all of last season's Lost, all of the last 2 seasons of Big Bang Theory and a pile of HGTV shows are sittiing there when I want to record a football game and a basketball game along with all the current new stuff.

Hey MJ, is it just as simple as plugging in the drive? I've been wanting to try this, but didn't want to get the wrong external drive. I just switched from DirecTV to Time Warner Cable, and TWC's HD DVR is ridiculous. One hour in HD takes up 6-7% of the space?!?

[MJLiverock]

I don't know about TWC's DVRs, the DirecTV HR20's have an eSATA input plug on the back so it literally is just a plug and play. The external hard drive becomes the only hard drive and the internal one isn't used, they don't both work. The cable companies typically don't have their boxes made with too much customization. I haven't checked out the newer TIVO branded boxes that work with most cable companies, they are pricey but are usually better than the cable DVR's. What is the capacity of that TWC DVR in terms of hard drive space? An hour of HD taking up that much space sounds like only 15-16 hours of space which is only about 100GB of space assuming MPEG4 encoding, if TWC is still using MPEG2 encoding that could be a 150-200GB hard drive. A 100GB hard drive is pretty small for a DVR.

[brew522]

I don't know about TWC's DVRs, the DirecTV HR20's have an eSATA input plug on the back so it literally is just a plug and play. The external hard drive becomes the only hard drive and the internal one isn't used, they don't both work. The cable companies typically don't have their boxes made with too much customization. I haven't checked out the newer TIVO branded boxes that work with most cable companies, they are pricey but are usually better than the cable DVR's. What is the capacity of that TWC DVR in terms of hard drive space? An hour of HD taking up that much space sounds like only 15-16 hours of space which is only about 100GB of space assuming MPEG4 encoding, if TWC is still using MPEG2 encoding that could be a 150-200GB hard drive. A 100GB hard drive is pretty small for a DVR.

Thanks for the help, I know it does have an eSATA plug, so I'll give it a try. Coming from DirecTV's DVR, I couldn't believe how horrible TWC's is. I called to see if they had any other options in terms of DVRs and they said "nothing is in the works at this time, maybe in the future". A standard def show seems to take up slightly more than 1%, and an hour in HD is 6-7%.