GabeUDistinguished Professor IV
9 years agomarkobbie,
I live in an area that gets a considerable amount of snow (25 miles south of Buffalo, NY). Snowing generally won't bother the signal, unless it is a very heavy snowfall. Snow buildup, OTOH, can and will definitely affect the signal, especially the wet, heavy snow. I've had times where I've had four inches of fluffy snow on the dish and it still worked just fine, and I've had times where there was just a minimal covering of wet, heavy snow and I would completely lose the signal, as I would with my DirecTV signal, too (different dish, of course).
If it's fluffy snow, just a light tap on the dish should get it to all fall off, but the frozen stuff is the worst, especially if it started coming down after it was raining, then got really cold. Just be careful on that ladder!
Supposedly Rain-X can help to keep some types of snow from building up on the dish, but you have to put in on when it's above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. I've never used it, myself.
