[BC] Sat dishes vs snow

[SHAFFER, RANDY L]

David wrote -
(snip)
>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!!

I always thought the networks had heated dishes or at least snow covers.

One of the worst winters I had with dishes was in the early 90's. Of our 5 dishes, none were heated. We had a heavy sleet storm and I spent the entire evening alternating between our large CBS dish and our back up dish. We had some sparkles on video and barely stayed on the air that night. I had to keep calling CBS so I could get the dish moved into a position so that I could whack it with a hammer to get the layers of ice to break free. I was soaked and very tired by the time we got into late night.

I think it was that same year we decided to air a few Penn State basketball games. This was fed on KU. By the time the sleet started, we were in the last half of the game and I was able to keep up with the cleaning. Wouldn't you know, the next week on the same night we had another sleet storm. This time I rounded up all the space heaters I could find and positioned various sized ladders behind the dish to hold them. I wouldn't say it worked great, but it did a good job and I didn't have to work nearly as hard to keep the dish clear.

Now we have 10 dishes, three of them heated. It takes the pressure off, but doesn't make cleanning those big dishes any easier.

Randy Shaffer
WLYH-TV/WHP-TV
Clear Channel Television 
Harrisburg, PA 17110