Multichoice Namibia explains

MULTICHOICE Namibia says a loss of signal experienced by some DSTV subscribers over the past few weeks is due to powerful thunderstorms and heavy rainfall.

The company’s Corporate Communications Officer Wil-Merie Salt said the loss of signal during this period could be caused by heavy downpours affecting the KU band frequency range. Salt said that such technical problems could be expected, even when there were strong winds.

“Storms can in some cases cause the bracket of a dish to become loose, causing a dish to shift and resulting in signal loss.

In some cases, the installations are of good quality and this is fairly unlikely,” she added.

She further said that in some circumstances, heavy storms in the line between the dish and the satellite could cause signal outage.

The average distance between a dish and the satellite itself is about 30 000 kilometres, she said.

Salt noted that if the LNB – a small plastic cover device which is the ‘eye of the dish’ – has been weakened by the sun, it becomes porous.

If rain enters the LNB it causes short-circuiting.

The average annual signal availability of the DStv signal is calculated at 99,5 per cent and in Namibia the situation is even better due to lower rainfall compared to tropical areas, she said.

– Nampa

Salt said that such technical problems could be expected, even when there were strong winds. “Storms can in some cases cause the bracket of a dish to become loose, causing a dish to shift and resulting in signal loss. In some cases, the installations are of good quality and this is fairly unlikely,” she added. She further said that in some circumstances, heavy storms in the line between the dish and the satellite could cause signal outage. The average distance between a dish and the satellite itself is about 30 000 kilometres, she said. Salt noted that if the LNB – a small plastic cover device which is the ‘eye of the dish’ – has been weakened by the sun, it becomes porous. If rain enters the LNB it causes short-circuiting. The average annual signal availability of the DStv signal is calculated at 99,5 per cent and in Namibia the situation is even better due to lower rainfall compared to tropical areas, she said. – Nampa

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