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Solution for snow caused connection/network error

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stevef
Junior

Solution for snow caused connection/network error

We had this sometimes after heavy snowfalls, but there is an easy solution. If the weather is quiet and just cold after snowing, but your Internet is still down, the issue is maybe with your dish. If it's covered with snow, it's not going to work. It was the case all day for us, so I just used a latter, got to the roof, used my gloves and some hot water to remove the snow, and the Internet started to work immediately. 


So, you can fix it, it's really easy.

 

Just make sure that you don't use too much force on the dish, as it has to aim at the satellite, so do not move it. But some light snow removal is ok, as the dish is not moving by heavy storms, so it'll be fine if you just touch it a little bit to gently wipe off the snow (or use hot water on it). (Another pro-tip: - Don't fall from your roof/ladder.) 

10 REPLIES 10
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

I do something similar, only without hot water (EDIT: or water of any kind; I only I use a broom or a brush), and my dish is on a pole, so no risk of falling.  This system works just fine for me, and it restores the signal. 

 

 

stevef wrote:

We had this sometimes after heavy snowfalls, but there is an easy solution. If the weather is quiet and just cold after snowing, but your Internet is still down, the issue is maybe with your dish. If it's covered with snow, it's not going to work. It was the case all day for us, so I just used a latter, got to the roof, used my gloves and some hot water to remove the snow, and the Internet started to work immediately. 

 


 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@maratsade 

 

I occasionally use cool water to melt the ice from my dish.  As often happens, we'll get nasty weather hovering just above freezing, then it freezes, leaving that rough surface ice that even the fluffiest of snow just loves to stick to.  When I do use cool water to clean it off, I immediately follow up with drying it off completely.  And, really, when I say cool water I mean just a little above cold.  

 

Luckily, both of my satellite dishes are now at ground level, so doing this is easy, though nine times out of ten I just brush them off.  Until this summer my DirecTV dish was on the roof, and in a spot that wasn't conducive to using a ladder.  About the best I could do was tap it with a long pole and hope that the snow fell off.  And if it did it would fall right on my head.  😛

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

I find that a brush or broom are enough for me, but I imagine in your area you do need something more.  The hardest thing for me to remove is a buildup of ice. 

 


@GabeU wrote:

 

I occasionally use cool water to melt the ice from my dish.  As often happens, we'll get nasty weather hovering just above freezing, then it freezes, leaving that rough surface ice that even the fluffiest of snow just loves to stick to.  When I do use cool water to clean it off, I immediately follow up with drying it off completely.  And, really, when I say cool water I mean just a little above cold.  

 

Luckily, both of my satellite dishes are now at ground level, so doing this is easy, though nine times out of ten I just brush them off.  Until this summer my DirecTV dish was on the roof, and in a spot that wasn't conducive to using a ladder.  About the best I could do was tap it with a long pole and hope that the snow fell off.  And if it did it would fall right on my head.  😛


 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

Today I had to use cool water to clean mine off.  We've gotten some pretty nasty weather here since yesterday evening, and when I got up I looked out the window and found that my dish was covered with snow.  I went out to brush it off, only to find that underneath there was about 1/8 - 3/16 inches of ice.  It took two containers (empty 20lb Tidy Cats jug) of cool water to get it all off, then a bunch of paper towels to dry it so it didn't freeze again.  

 

Only one other time have I seen that much ice built up on it.  I've had plenty of times where it's thinly coated, but this stuff was awful.  😞

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Good that you were able to get the ice off. That really messes up the signal. 

MarkJFine
Professor

If I could make a suggestion: Hot water will ultimately freeze, causing more ice to form on the dish later. Any ice on the dish will cause some uneven attenuation which will disrupt the signal. Not to mention that the shock of rapidly heating then cooling again could ultimately warp it.

 

Bottom line: If you can't manually remove snow and/or ice using a brush, broom, or ice scraper, this not really a good solution.


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Yes, this is why I don't use water of any kind,  just a broom or a brush to remove snow (and ice while it's still slushy).  I don't even feel comfortable using an ice scraper. 

 


@MarkJFine wrote:

If I could make a suggestion: Hot water will ultimately freeze, causing more ice to form on the dish later. Any ice on the dish will cause some uneven attenuation which will disrupt the signal. Not to mention that the shock of rapidly heating then cooling again could ultimately warp it.

 

Bottom line: If you can't manually remove snow and/or ice using a brush, broom, or ice scraper, this not really a good solution.


 

Reggie
Teaching Assistant

Question: Have anyone ever try windsheild washer fluid? If so what were the results?

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

There's an old discussion on de-icing here:  https://community.hughesnet.com/t5/Tech-Support/De-icing/td-p/100231

 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

@stevef 

 

Using hot water to clear ice or snow off of a dish is not recommended for two reasons...

 

1.  It can ice up even faster than cool or cold water.

 

and even worse...

 

2.  Hot water on cold metal can warp that metal considerably, and permanently.  

 

If you use any water to clear ice from a dish, it should either be cool or cold, but definitely NOT hot.  When it comes to snow, water shouldn't be needed at all.  I can just be wiped off.  

 

Edit:  Missed that Mark said both of these things already.  But, when it comes to something like this, a second time never hurts.  😛