My satellite is out... no wait, it's on... now it's out again...

[Misunderestimator]

Damn DirectTV... A little rain and suddenly the dish can't find the satellite?? :wtf: :mad:

[tXr]

1. yes.

Annoying, especially when you are recording a show. Is digital cable any better than DirectTV?

[elfin]

2. A bit better, but digital cable also has

problems - it uses satellites as well for many channels. But overall, it is more reliable - and more expensive.

[Misunderestimator]

3. I agree... I had digital cable in NY... I was able to get some stations

at least, when others went out. It's not available here though.

[TlalocW]

4. Hints to get your DirecTV to work better in the rain

Put a plastic bag over it - Walmart, Albertsons, your local grocery store, etc. Put it over the round or oval dish part - not the lnb - the box with the knob on it on the arm that juts out. The signal will still get through.

Put RainEx on it.

Guess who's in week 2 of on-the-job training at a DirecTV call center doing technical support when he should be programming computers? Thanks Bush economy!

TlalocW

[Misunderestimator]

6. Cool... I'll try that...

Sorry about the call center thing. Here's hoping the economy improves and you can do what you should be doing. Keep up the faith. And thanks for the suggestion. :)

[Zomby Woof]

5. It's Clinton's fault

Know the drill!

[NewJeffCT]

7. Odd - I just switched from Direct TV to DISH Network

I rarely had a problem with Direct TV going out, though sometimes it would get 'stuck' and I'd have to unplug the TV & receiver for 60 seconds to 'reboot' the system.

However, when we moved to our new house across the Connecticut River almost 2 months ago, we also switched to DISH Network, as I didn't want my hard earned pennies going to Rupert Murdoch's Direct TV. But, I've had frequent problems with satellite reception in the rain at the new house.

Now, I can't say for sure that it is DISH network, as it could just be the area we are in - but, our old house was in a more crowded neighborhood on 0.25 acres of land, while the new house is on a hill on 1.4 acres. I figured a large, generally open lot on a hill would be ideal for satellite reception?

(And, I'd prefer not to have digital cable at all, as I don't think they have the Phoenix Channel...)

[BiggJawn]

8. Rain outage.

At the frequencies used by the home dish networks, rain will severly attenuate the received signal. If it happens in a light rain, you may not have your dish peaked on the main lobe of the dish.

I used to be able to tell when a storm was coming at me on the East side when the local NBC affil would lose signal from rain. that meant I had 10 minutes to batten the hatches before the storm hit me....