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Ice & Snow Protection
Hope it's ok to post this here...adapted from another site.
Winter tips for protecting your dish setup are best done now whilst the weather's a bit balmier (!)
Winter Protection Tips
Snow and winter is rapidly approaching for us in the northern latitudes. With a little bit of preparation your system can have a trouble free winter. Follow these useful tips:
1. Weather seal all your cables and connections. Use self-amalgamating tape and/or dielectric grease on each cable fitting.
2. Oil all your bolts and nuts with WD40, household oil or something similar. This keeps corrosion and moisture away and will make the hardware turn easily when its -40 out.
3. Ensure you have drip loops on all outdoor connections. (The connection should not be the lowest point otherwise rain and snow melt off accumulate on your connection.)
4. An old installer’s secret is to use rain-x or a similar product on the dish reflector, LNB arm, LNB and feedhorn dustcap. This keeps snow from sticking to the dish/LNB/arm and saves you signal fade and a trip outside to try and brush off the dish. Without the rain-x ice can accumulate on the dish and cause all sorts of problems not easily corrected in a snowstorm or cold. Coat scalars with a generous amount of rain-x as these will accumulate falling/blowing snow. Don’t waste money on special dish coating products or covers. The products tend to be rain-x or another moisture repellent priced much higher.
5. Do your upgrades now. If you are planning to change dish or LNB or motor now is the time, not in January,.
6. Check and ensure that your motor, dish, LNB ect are tight and secure. Be sure your system is peaked. You don’t want the dish moving in the wind and then having to fix it in the cold.
7. Clear any obstacles or other items blocking your access to your dish. That was should you need to work on it you don’t waste time in the cold moving things.
8. Those using an actuator should extend the actuator fully and apply a very light coat of oil to the shaft. Check the attachment hardware at the same time, you don’t want it loose or breaking in the winter.
Winter tips for protecting your dish setup are best done now whilst the weather's a bit balmier (!)
Winter Protection Tips
Snow and winter is rapidly approaching for us in the northern latitudes. With a little bit of preparation your system can have a trouble free winter. Follow these useful tips:
1. Weather seal all your cables and connections. Use self-amalgamating tape and/or dielectric grease on each cable fitting.
2. Oil all your bolts and nuts with WD40, household oil or something similar. This keeps corrosion and moisture away and will make the hardware turn easily when its -40 out.
3. Ensure you have drip loops on all outdoor connections. (The connection should not be the lowest point otherwise rain and snow melt off accumulate on your connection.)
4. An old installer’s secret is to use rain-x or a similar product on the dish reflector, LNB arm, LNB and feedhorn dustcap. This keeps snow from sticking to the dish/LNB/arm and saves you signal fade and a trip outside to try and brush off the dish. Without the rain-x ice can accumulate on the dish and cause all sorts of problems not easily corrected in a snowstorm or cold. Coat scalars with a generous amount of rain-x as these will accumulate falling/blowing snow. Don’t waste money on special dish coating products or covers. The products tend to be rain-x or another moisture repellent priced much higher.
5. Do your upgrades now. If you are planning to change dish or LNB or motor now is the time, not in January,.
6. Check and ensure that your motor, dish, LNB ect are tight and secure. Be sure your system is peaked. You don’t want the dish moving in the wind and then having to fix it in the cold.
7. Clear any obstacles or other items blocking your access to your dish. That was should you need to work on it you don’t waste time in the cold moving things.
8. Those using an actuator should extend the actuator fully and apply a very light coat of oil to the shaft. Check the attachment hardware at the same time, you don’t want it loose or breaking in the winter.
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