Can the Sun interfere with freeview.?

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xormin

14 posts

Geek

#240945 3-Oct-2018 18:27

I have an ex Sky dish I use to receive Freeview. On some days I can not view some channels, typically TV 1 or 2, sometimes a few others. At these times my freeview box tells me I have no signal strength. I notice this happens in the afternoons/evenings when the sun is about 10 degrees above the horizon. The problem self resolves when the sun gets a bit lower. I live about 46 degrees south.

My question is, is this related to the Sun, or is it just a co incident? if it is Sun related can I do anything to stop it?

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RunningMan

9184 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4834

#2100979 3-Oct-2018 18:53

The other possibility is it is temperature related - the LNBs on some SKy dishes are pretty old now, and become sensitive to temperature causing the LO frequency to drift. Next time it stops, squirt it with the hose to cool it down and see if that fixes it. If so, replace the LNB.

If the sun is setting and 10 degrees off the horizon, it shouldn't be anywhere near directly behind the satellite.

You could also check the dish alignment as they move over time.

RunningMan

9184 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4834

#2110613 18-Oct-2018 18:26

Generally it will be a capacitor in the LNB that is sensitive to heat. The local oscillator can't hold the correct frequency, and everything drifts a bit. Due to minor differences in transponders, different groups of channels will have a different threshold that it drops out.

The fix is to replace the LNB on the end of the dish arm. If you can easily post a photo of the dish, we can tell you what to buy.