0 Signal from Sat during T-storm

[jwaltz666]

I've had my Voom for about a month now.. It turned out to be very dry month so I hadn't had a chance to see it perform during bad weather. Well yesterday a Severe T-storm built up to the east southeast and while it was there the satellite signal dropped down to through the 80's and 70's and then to 0 quality
strength in the 50's while it was at 0
of course there was no picture

It cleared up as soon as the storm passed.

I called Voom and they are going to send installs back out to check out the satellite.

I was expecting "Rain Fade" but this is far worse.. Anyone else experiencing similar behavior?

 

[Sean Mota]

Yes, it happens if the sky is black and the clouds move in.

 

[Mr. Biggles]

I called Voom and they are going to send installs back out to check out the satellite.

I was expecting "Rain Fade" but this is far worse.. Anyone else experiencing similar behavior?

This is par for the course with any sat provider during a thunderstorm. To be honest, your wasting your time and an installers for something that is not out of the ordinary.

 

[jwaltz666]

that's too bad because there are t-storms 50+ days a year here in SW FL

well it (probably) won't be a totally wasted trip because I also complained about OTA quality in hopes of a better antenna also

Also sat quality was in the lower 90's after the install but has fallen back to the upper 80's since.. I wonder if a little tweaking of the dish might get a little stronger signal again.

 

[Mr. Biggles]

A larger dish will mitigate rain fade, but a heavy downpour is asking quite a bit.

The drop off of signal strength is odd if weather is the same when it was installed. Checking the dish mount is a good idea on your part.

Cloudy skies with looming rain here and signal is at 90 vs 96 during clear weather.

 

[barth2k]

Dang, anyone knows how I can induce rain in SoCal so I can see if I get rain fade?

 

[LOBO2999]

I get Rain fade with the 30" dish but I very , very rarely have ever lost my D singal in a heavy down poor and when I have , it has not been for more the a few minutes , I live in GA. No i am not dropping Voom because of rain fade ,LOL

 

[MNHTUG]

We loss signal all the time. It has rained here in Minneapolis many days in the last few weeks and it has gotten to the point that we no longer even try to watch Voom. It's pathetic.

Signal is fine when it's clear. Rain of any kind, and we lose signal.

 

[TheForce]

Larger dishes will certainly add their gain you may need to prevent light raind fading. But remember that with larger dish diameter, you MUST add extra precision to tweaking the dish alignment as it's focus is much tighter. I calibrated my 28 inch dish by taking a receiver up on the roof and using the signal meter on a small 5" TV monitor. My current VOOM meter reading is 96-98. I am also sharing my 61.5 dish with a feed to my E* switch. That way I can use it for my WCBS HD as well as for all VOOM.

 

[keno]

I've had my Voom for about a month now.. It turned out to be very dry month so I hadn't had a chance to see it perform during bad weather. Well yesterday a Severe T-storm built up to the east southeast and while it was there the satellite signal dropped down to through the 80's and 70's and then to 0 quality strength in the 50's while it was at 0
of course there was no picture.

It cleared up as soon as the storm passed.

I called Voom and they are going to send installs back out to check out the satellite.

I was expecting "Rain Fade" but this is far worse.. Anyone else experiencing similar behavior?

Yes. Voom installed a 30" dish last April at my location. During heavy thunder storms the signal will be lost. Light rain or overcast skies, I have no problem. I was watching Bruce Almighty last night on HBOHD, a storm rolled in, and the picture would drop or freeze every few seconds. I switched over the Dish Network to finish watching the movie in SD. Very annoying.

During clear skies, my signal strength is 98. But, because I'm in Northern Idaho, and the Voom Satellite is so low in the horizon, even with a 30 inch dish, the signal will be lost during heavy rain. The rain could be several miles away (in line of sight of the satellite), and still the signal will be lost. This does not happen with Dish Network.

However, on the positive side, we don't receive too many thunder storms where I'm at. Now, snow might be a problem, but I'll have to wait until next winter to test that scenerio.

 

[iceshark]

As the group all knows, Im here in Seattle area. The MECCA of rain and clouds (we tell people that to keep them away LOL). and I had a 30 inch dish put up and it really helped my rain and cloud fade.
In fact the rain really doesnt factor into loosing picture anylonger. However a big nasty cloud on the east horizon can still knock me out for awhile now and them. I would definatly get a 30 if you want most chance at not loosing PQ>

 

[jwaltz666]

I just got the call from the install company coming to service my voom system. They told me

1. They would adjust the antenna, perhaps mount it higher on my roof
2. They would re-peak the satellite dish

When I inquired about the possiblity of a stronger antenna I was told that due to my proximity (23 miles) from the OTA stations, Voom would likely not approve the upgrade.
I didn't get a chance to ask them about the possiblity of a larger dish, but they certainly don't intend on providing one.
I'm skeptical that either of these actions will solve my problems.

 

[MNHTUG]

We had a 29" oval installed this weekend. Have not had any rain. When we do, I'll post up. Guess we have the first dish of this kind installed in the Minneapolis metro. Mitch from White Glove came out for the install. He has been great to work with. I had asked him for help weeks prior but he nor anyone else knew anything about getting a larger dish from Voom.

One thing I find very strange. We had problems with locals prior to the new 29" dish. We have not yet had a problem with locals since the upgrade. I find this very odd. Nice part is, we now enjoy locals where before we could not.

 

[woodyak]

I had the same thing happen during a heavy rainstorm my signal dropped to 50 and I couldn't get any service until it stopped. They're supposed to upgrade my dish because the best signal I ever get is 80. During this storm I was able to get all OTA channels despite being 40+ miles away and I was able to get reception from Dish.

Happens with all satelite providers? I don't think so. I've had Dish for 2 years I never once lost a signal during a storm. I live north of Boston right on the coastline and we get some storms that will shake the house but I've never lost signal using Dish. Voom is another story...

 

[bbtkd]

We had a 29" oval installed this weekend. Have not had any rain. When we do, I'll post up. Guess we have the first dish of this kind installed in the Minneapolis metro. Mitch from White Glove came out for the install. He has been great to work with. I had asked him for help weeks prior but he nor anyone else knew anything about getting a larger dish from Voom.

One thing I find very strange. We had problems with locals prior to the new 29" dish. We have not yet had a problem with locals since the upgrade. I find this very odd. Nice part is, we now enjoy locals where before we could not.

Same thing happened to me with OTA. They installed the 28"/29" dish and the OTA improved quite a bit. The only thing I can figure is that the dish is behind the OTA antenna and is acting as a reflector.

 

[andy6468]

Happens with all satelite providers? I don't think so. I've had Dish for 2 years I never once lost a signal during a storm. I live north of Boston right on the coastline and we get some storms that will shake the house but I've never lost signal using Dish. Voom is another story...

I have to agree. We have been getting cloudy/stormy weather practically every night in the last week or so (MD), and we lose Voom. I switch over to D*, and everything is fine. Not saying I will drop Voom, just kind of irritated about that.

Is Voom going to start switching subscribers over to the larger dish anytime soon? Will this help with the rain/cloud fade?

 

[bbtkd]

Is Voom going to start switching subscribers over to the larger dish anytime soon? Will this help with the rain/cloud fade?

A larger dish will reduce it - but not eliminate it. The larger dish must be peaked more accurately. Voom has commented that they will be changing something on their transponders to increase signal, but no word when.

 

[griz]

Ok. What's the best/easiest way to get a larger dish (from Voom). I'm in Montana, so I have the same problems as others in the Northwest. My signal is in the upper 80's on a clear day. Yesterday, in a light drizzle/rain, it dropped to the lower 70's and I was losing picture.
Thanks.

 

[occammd]

I'm in Tampa, FL. Dry month was fine, but this past month I lose the signal for a good few hours every evening. Never had this trouble w/D*.
TWC (brighthouse) has some good deals at the monent so I may be going to that.