Solar Outage Time March 2017

Solar Outage Time March 2017

It is coming to the time of year when the suns path across the sky takes it behind the UK TV satellites, which results in the loss of some channels for up to 15 minutes mid morning.

This “solar outage” happens around the time of the Spring and Autumn equinox. In the northern hemisphere, sun outages occur before the March equinox (February, March) and after the September equinox (September and October).

The outage in the mornings can actually be useful. When the outage happens, the dish is aligned to the satellites and the sun. You can use this time to check to see if there are any shadows from obstructions on the dish. Overhanging trees, branches etc can reduce the signals, and so using the shadows at that time you can identify what could cause a drop in your satellite dishes performance.

More information on this solar outage can be found here : http://www.satandpcguy.com/uk-tv-astra-satellites/satellite-solar-outage/