To preface, this is more or less a continuation of a previous thread that I started regarding the titled topic...
Up until a little over two weeks ago my signal was still great, averaging from 118 to 122. I have been taking periodic snapshots of my signal strength and saving them to compare. The trees have started to fill out, so I check the strength tonight, which is a clear night, and it's now at 106. It's never been this low, not even during steady rain and heavy clouds (during storms I don't use it at all, for safety's sake). I'll keep an eye on it, but right now it is a little worrying, as the trees still have a ways to go before filled out.
I'll do a speed test later on, as right now the speed would be lower because of the time.
One thing that could be good is that I think it's one specific tree that may be causing the problem out of all of them, and I may be able to simply cut it down. I'll know for sure once the trees are full, which shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks from now.
I'm hoping that taking the snapshots of the signal strength over time, while not only helpful to me, will be helpful to the Hughesnet folks in case a real problem with the trees presents itself. Hopefully it won't.
We shall see...
So the signal strength is the strength from my dish to the gateway (dish to satellite to gateway)?
NOC on wood?
Gabe,
It seems that the further north you go the lower the peak SQF.
I am in west Michigan about where the red dot is in center:
I have about 98-100 on a clear summer day, about 103 in winter.
I'll stay connected until hitting "cut-off" at about 31-32
The "look angle" is about 40' or so above the dish arm:
The amount of room you have between "peak" and "cut-off" is the headroom you have as a buffer for inclement weather. Obviously more is better but I wouldn't overly concern myself until I seen a CONSISTANT 15 point or so drop.
Remember too that weather at your gateway location will have an effect.
GetSatMan, hence the comments "over time", "keep an eye on it". Being cognizant of a possible future problem is hardly "obsessing over this."
You can relax. I'm not cutting any trees down at this point, nor did I think I indicated so.
They have been having a lot of storms out in the Midwest and such, so that could have something to do with it. Time will tell. And, of course, if the signal strength does drop, but the service remains consistent, that's all that really matters.
The arm itself is most definitely pointed at the tree, and down a bit from the top. How much the look angle is being affected, or will be affected, once it's filled out, I can only wait and see. Hopefully everything will be fine. One thing I do know for sure is that it most definitely will be affected in the future at some point, as the tree is still growing. It will grow another ten to twenty feet, most likely, and it will surely be affecting it at this point, as it's only about 40 feet from the house. When it does, it will be a simple fix. My property is surrounded by trees, so it's not like one less will make an impactful difference. All it will do is enable me to roast a lot of marshmallows on summer evenings. I'll wait to stock up. LOL.