Sat dishes vs snow (was "Re: [BC] KFI Tower replacement ?")

[RRSounds@aol.com]

On Tue, 3 Jan 2006 22:39:41 EST, WFIFeng at aol.com wrote:

<<
In a message dated 01/03/2006 8:38:10 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
feehlee at fcc.net writes:

Try going to this link: http://www.cytonix.com/fluorothane.html This 
 expensive stuff but seems to work pretty well at least with their little 
 demo piece of plastic coated with their stuff.   Water forms little tiny 
 round droplets on the coating.   It refuses to get wet!
                                           Fee Lee 

Hmmm... but "wet" isn't the problem. It's wet *snow* that sticks to this 
thing like oatmeal.

Also, this quote from that site concerns me: "M-type coatings are also 
reported to protect against snow accumulation under some conditions." *What* 
conditions?

What about "Rain-X" (or "Rain Dance") car waxes? This thing is some kind of 
teflon-like rubberized (vinyl?) fiberglass canvas. It's *very* heavy and very 

tough. I want something that will work with it, and not cause it to degrade.

Willie...
>>


The further north you go, the lower the 'look' angle for a geosynchronous 
satellite.
The lower the look angle, the easier for the snow to slide out. But of 
course, the further north, the more snow.

Life is full of conundrums, isn't it?
:-)

Unfortunately, unless the dish is nearly vertical, snow (wet snow, in 
particular) is gonna stick!

Shortly before I left my job as Manager of Radio Ops at WNYC to go to Z100 
(1988), our NPR dish atop the Municipal Building was badly snowed in. My boss 
found a paint product called "Vellox" that allegedly would repel moisture, and 
was claimed to be a godsend for satellite dishes. So, I ordered a couple of 
cans and the following summer they applied it. Had to paint an undercoat, then 
the Vellox slippery stuff. Some time later when I was there visiting, they 
showed me a photo of the dish. Covered in snow. So much for easy solutions. I 
recommend a heater.   :-)

My other experience with sat dishes vs snow was at MSNBC/CNBC in Ft. Lee, NJ 
in 1997. The roof on their building has numerous big dishes, and one day that 
winter when I worked there, there was a really major storm. We drew straws 
every hour or so to decide who was to go out on 'broom patrol.' Some of the 
dishes are on pedestals, and were really hard to clean, even from a ladder. But 
going up on the roof was a great excuse for an impromptu snowball fight!!

Great fun for this Florida boy.


David P. Reaves, III
TransLanTech Sound, LLC
Creators of the Award-Winning "Ariane Stereo Audio Leveler"