I can’t think of anything more annoying or frustrating than watching a good Football, Basketball, Hockey, or Baseball game, don’t forget NASCAR! And then because of a little rain the TV screen starts to pixelate turning my once exciting game or race into a mosaic of colored checkered squares. I then come to the terrifying realization that my DBS satellite was going out again, and simply stare at the depressing picture that now says "Acquiring Satellite Signal"!.
Which Satellite provider? A choice to make..
Back in those days Cable TV was not available to me, at that time we had three choices, C-band satellite which was one of those big ugly dishes between 10 & 12 feet across and cost about $2500 at that time, but we would have had to cut down way too many trees.
Second choice was Direct TV which looked at 101 west longitude for the main programming, but we had about 4 trees to cut with Direct TV. And third choice was Dish Network which looked at 119 west longitude for main programming and we only had to cut down two trees.
We decided on Dish Network mainly because of the tree issue, even after Dish Network was installed we still had problems on windy days when our TV picture would start to pixelate as the trees blew into the line of site. This could clearly be seen on the signal strength screen, where you could watch the signal go from the 90s to 0 as the winds blew. So you can call that either wind fade or tree fade.
Learn to live dangerously! Where’s My Cable TV?.
Besides the Rain fade, Wind & Tree fade, you may have other fade problems depending on where you live. I live in the northern part of Wisconsin and we also have Ice fade and Snow fade. Now I’ve done some stupid things in my life like {getting a Dish} but I would never ever suggest what I’ve done during an ice storm, it was sheer stupidity {Don’t do it!}.
I got home from work with the roads already icy, and our Dish Network signal was lost. I know there was something that I was really looking forward to watching that night, which I can no longer recall. Anyways I get the ladder, a can of window defrost that they sell for cars, and a plastic spatula.
The roof was very slippery so from the top of the ladder I start climbing up to the dish stretched out on my belly, I grabbed the mast that holds the dish to keep from sliding down the roof. When I got done spraying and scrapping all the ice off someone yells up that the picture is back on!
Yippee Dish Network is working again, only now I’m afraid to let go of the mast thinking I’m going to slide past the ladder and fall over the deck {about a 30ft drop} oops.
So I then started spraying the window defrost all over the roof with my free hand and in the process getting my cloths soaked with the chemicals, after a time I finally got up the nerve to climb backwards down the roof and that meant on my bare belly since my shirt and coat pulled up as I was going down.
After that purely stupid stunt, the following spring I purchased a heated 24 inch Dish called a Hot Shot. It almost always helped for Ice fade and Snow fade but if the LNB on the dish gets ice coated or wet snow sticks to it, you will still lose your signal. Another myth busted is buying a 24 inch dish will not prevent Rain fade, it may help a little but I still lost my signal during rain. Thank God Cable TV became available to me; my IQ also went up at the same time!
A fitting Quote by Bill Cosby: A word to the wise ain't necessary; it's the stupid ones who need the advice!.
There’s also one more fade problem they don’t seem to talk about much, and it doesn’t seem to matter what part of the country you’re from. Its Cloud fade, yes even without rain sometimes you will lose your signal from clouds that are in the line of site from your Dish to the satellite, which is approximately 22,300 miles in space.
I called Dish Network technical department about this problem, and after some over the phone trouble shooting, they came to the conclusion that the clouds must have had some heavy moisture content in them that blocked the signal.
It wasn’t Dish Networks equipment it was working fine; we had the signal in the high 90s on a clear calm day. So even clouds can cause a DBS satellite signal loss. It’s just something a DirectTV, Dish Network, or any DBS Satellite subscriber has to live with.
Digital Cable TV, arrived in our area!
As soon as Digital Cable TV became available to our area, they came to our aide immediately! There’s no more worries about line of site {Trees in the way}, Rain fade, Cloud fade, Wind fade, Snow fade, and especially Ice fade!
It’s like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders, almost like the feeling you get when you pay off your car or mortgage, much less to worry about and alot more freedom.
With digital cable there’s only one little cable that provides multiple services. Cable high-speed internet, cable telephone service is also available, and an excellent programming package that fits nicely in the budget.
Digital cable TV also gives you a super clean picture and I recommend using composite video cables, also known as RCA cables, S-Video cable, or component video, depending on your equipment compatibility.
Any one of these cable selections will give you a very noticeable improvement over the standard RF input on the back of your TV. And something I look forward to is High-Definition programming, with my Digital cable, its ready and waiting for me, I’m just waiting to purchase my 42 inch plasma screen after a little more research.
With all that Cable TV has to offer, one of the most important things for me is the excellent reliability & worry-free service. Dish Network and Directv may work well in the desert where there are no trees, clouds, rain, snow, and ice, but what about 95% of the rest of the country? I definitely enjoy my Cable TV service. It was a great choice for our family.
A Quote by Pat Riley: Look for your choices, pick the best one, and then go with it.
