Since last March, we have been getting more and more interference on 119W signals here in the Merida area. It started around the equinox and has gotten slightly worse every day, either reducing tunable signal strengths (lower "Signal Quality" %'s), or totally blinding our LNBs. At first, 1.8m dishes were showing problems only on some transponders for 1 hr per day, with no effects on 2.4m dishes (55% larger dishes). As of last week the interferences are now affecting all 119w transponders for up to 5 hours day, and we are also now seeing interference on 110W daytime signals. We're now seeing 5% point - 30% pt losses depending on the 110W transponders with a 1.1m Channel Master dish, during the same times that we completely lose 119W signals, and 2.4m dish systems are also reporting significant daytime 119W transponder losses.
DirecTV viewers are reporting similar problems with ESPN and some other channels, while Shaw's 107.3W systems seem to be unaffected.
My best guess is the effects are caused by a combination of the Northern Hemisphere's closest annual approach to the sun (June 21 at 12:16 CST), paired with increasing solar flare activity that generates x-rays/gamma radiation. The solar activity ionizes the earth's upper atmosphere, creating lots of emf noise that "blinds" our satellite receivers, creating so much noise that the receivers can't discriminate or tune the satellite signal versus the high solar-driven noise levels: kind of like staring into a bright spotlight at night while trying to see a person next to the spotlight.
NASA reports that solar activity has been cycling back up after an 11 year minimum in Dec. 2008 - Jan. 2009. Sunspot activity has steadily increased by at least 50X since that 2009 low point, reaching activity levels in March 2011 not seen since 2003. If the currents sunspot trends continue, the interference should roughly double again from the already high March 2011 levels. http://science.nasa.gov/...14apr_thewatchedpot/
If these satellite signal inferences substantially continue after the earth and Northern Hemisphere simultaneously move further away from the sun by August or September, then our previously effective dish sizes will likely not be large enough to tune Dish Network's 10:00AM - 5:00PM 119W satellite TV signals in the face of increasing solar activity.
What effects (if any) are the rest of you seeing?
Do any of you know solutions, other than buying a larger dish? Shift to 72.7W for SD? or 61.5W for HD? Buy a new receiver and move to Shaw => $$$?
Or are there similar solar interferences on 72.7W? steve - - Read-on MacDuff E-visit at http://yucalandia.com
(This post was edited by YucaLandia on Jun 13, 2011, 8:46 AM)
Edit Log:
Post edited by YucaLandia
(Veteran) on Jun 13, 2011, 8:19 AM: fix typo
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(Veteran) on Jun 13, 2011, 8:22 AM: add a missing item
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(Veteran) on Jun 13, 2011, 8:46 AM: fix grammar error
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