Your signal may be affected by sun transit
Overview
Shaw Direct customers may be affected by a phenomenon unique to the satellite world, called "sun transit'' (also known as "sun fade" or "sun outage"). Every spring and autumn, the sun passes directly behind our satellites causing solar noise that interferes with our satellite signal. During this “sun transit” period, customers may experience loss of signal and/or picture for up to 20 minutes, once a day, up to 14 consecutive days.Sun Transit Schedule
You can efficiently determine if and when you or your area is affected by sun transit by using Telesat's Sun Transit Calculator: https://app.telesat.com/sun-transit-calculator
On the lefthand side, select or fill the fields according to these parameters:
- Select a satellite: Shaw Direct only uses one satellite so choose Anik G1.
- Enter a location: enter your address or just your city/town here. The tool should automatically convert it into latitude and longitude, seen underneath this field.
- Prediction year: is set to this year by default, no changes needed.
- Prediction season: for spring sun transit period, choose "January to May". For autumn sun transit period, choose "August to November".
- Modes: No action needed, leave on C/N Mode.
- Frequency band: Choose Ku. Shaw Direct satellites uses Ku band frequencies for its satellite.
- Antenna diameter (m): refers to the dish's diameter. Shaw Direct uses 60 cm dishes. Since this box expects meters, input 0.6 here.
- System temperature: No actions needed here. Should default out to 158.
Then, click the Calculate button. Results will appear in the middle section along with a map on the righthand side.
Relevant columns in the results are Date, Transit Start (when the sun transit period is most likely to start in your area) and Transit End (when the sun transit period is most likely to end in your area).