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.
Mar 022017
Oct 052016
Solar Outage Time October 2016
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.
![solarout-300x90[1]](http://www.satandpcguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/solarout-300x901.bmp)
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).
More information on this solar outage can be found here : http://www.satandpcguy.com/uk-tv-astra-satellites/satellite-solar-outage/
Mar 032015
Its that time of the year when the sun causes some small satellite signals reception issues.
This happens around March and October time, around the time of the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes.
For the next week or so, the suns path across the sky take it directly behind the UK TV satellites.
During this time, the energy from the sun swamps out the weaker signals.
This results in a loss of some channels, like BBC ITV C4 and Fives.
At the moment this is around 1030-1130, and lasts for approximately 10-20 minutes.
On the flip side, at around 2230-2330, the satellites are in the earths shadow, and so not operating on full solar energy, but moves to battery backups. These backups have less power, and can mean a small drop in signals, again affecting the weaker BBC ITV C4 channels.
This does not usually affect viewers in the UK, but will affect those in the “fringe reception” areas, like Spain Portugal and the south Mediterranean.
Sep 262014
In the next few weeks it will be “solar outage” time again.
Twice a year, the sun, UK TV satellites and the earth are in alignment. This happens around March and October time, around the time of the spring and autumn equinoxes.
When this happens, and the sun passes directly behind the UK TV satellites, there can be a loss of some of the weaker satellite signals. This is because the suns energy “swamps” the signals from the satellites.
This happens at around 1030-1100, and can at its peak, last for about 15 minutes.
It will cause a loss of the weaker signals on the Uk beams of Astra 2E and Astra 2F, and will result in a loss of some BBC ITV C4 and Five channels.
On the flip side of the day, at around 2230-2300, the satellites are in the shadow of the earth. This loss of solar power results in the satellites swapping to their on board batteries, again resulting in a small drop in power to the satellite and slightly weaker signals for people in fringe reception areas.
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.