Over the last week or so a number of posts on satellite forums have reported weaker signals from the Astra 2E satellites UK spot beam.

This UK beam carries the majority of the BBC and ITV channels.

Reception in the UK is not affected, but in some areas of Europe, some people have noticed a lot more “pixilation” or loss of some of the BBC and ITV channels recently.

Some of these people are living in areas where the satellite dish they have is “on the edge” and so any changes in signal would be more noticeable. Just one of the problems of going for the smallest dish possible and not a larger dish that allows for that little bit more leeway if the signals change.

Various theories about this recent change in signals have been banded around.

Satellites do have a tendency to “move” around in space – they are not always in the exact same place. So every so often the satellites have to fire up their positioning thrusters to perform some “station keeping”, moving the satellite back into its correct place. This will have an effect on the signal footprint back on earth.

We are moving into summer. Heat and humidity can cause problems for satellite signals. IN areas where the signals is already weak, loss of more signals due to heat and humidity can cause a loss of channels.