# Chile Quake Causing Satellite Outages??



## DF Wavelength (Apr 29, 2009)

We have a customer who has a large network of receive only KU satellite systems. 
They use it in their stores to transmit training and advertising videos to the employee break room.

We have started getting a large number of service calls for this customer. 
All four sites I visited required a 15-20 degree adjustment on the polarization.
That was all that was wrong.
Now, these are systems that were all operational just a few weeks ago.
Something must have happened to the satellite to throw off the polarization like this.

The rumor floating around the tech support department is that the earthquake in Chile has caused this problem.
I've heard a lot of different things.
I read that Santiago moved 11 inches west, while some coastal towns moved as much as 10 feet to the west as a result of the quakes.
I have also read that the Earth "skipped a beat" during the earthquake, and that the rotation of the Earth for that day was shortened by a few milliseconds.

I don't think my customer has any hubs in South America.
I wonder if the satellite's orbit has been affected.
Anybody want to try to explain this one?

KU Receive Only System
1.8 M Prodelin Antenna
Pointed at Galaxy 18. 123 degrees west. Vertical downlink.


----------



## LarryFlowers (Sep 22, 2006)

The satellite's orbit was NOT affected by the Earthquake.

The affect of the earthquake on the earth's orbital rotation was measured in miiliseconds.

The epicenter of the shifted the town of Concepcion roughly 10 ft... which has nothing to do with your client in Colorado.

I think I would look elsewhere for your problem.


----------



## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

IIRC, the 123 slot would have intermittent problems that were blamed on interference from "neighboring" Dish Network satellites. I don't have any direct knowledge of the cause, but I know that some transponders at 123 would go from strong to weak and back again in the course of a day or two.


----------

