HIREC® Case Studies / Countermeasure against Snow Accretion on Broadcasting Satellite Dishes

HIREC®: Super Hydrophobic Coating for Antenna, Radome and Other Public Infrastructure

Reception Problems of Satellite TV in Snow Season

In winter, snow can accumulate on BS dishes, which may cause reception problem of satellite TV. The water repellency of the dishes degrades in prolonged use, and the reception signal of BS deteriorates by a water film or an icing film formed on the dishes. The HIREC® super hydrophobic coating on the dishes is an effective countermeasure against such BS reception problems.

Change in Reception Conditions of Satellite TV Systems

Reception problems in winter caused by snowfall can be reduced by HIREC®, the  super water repellent coating on satellite dishes.
The following figures show conditions of the weather and reception conditions of satellite TV systems in snow season. They were measured in Yuzawa town(*)  in the northern Japan. The TV system has been installed for 26 months. The snowfall and temperature changes are shown in the conditions of the figure.


With HIREC®
Almost no deterioration in signal reception was observed. Good reception condition was kept during and after snowfall.

Without HIREC®
Reception signal deteriorated as snowfall. The signal reduction was observed even after it stopped snowing, until varnishing water film by rising temperature.

Improvement of BS Signal Reception using HIREC®

The following figure shows an example of the BS reception problem time. It was measured during 54 days in winter in Yazawa Town(*).

With HIREC®
No reception problem was observed and a good reception was kept during the winter.

Without HIREC®
Reception problems were observed in 15 days during the period. Eight (8) hours lasting problem was observed in the night of Dec 18th.

HIREC® coating on BS dishes can drastically reduce BS reception problems.

Note * : Yuzawa town, Niigata, Japan. Northern latitude 36.75 degrees, east longitude 138.59 degrees, elevation 340 m. Maximum snowfall is 200 cm - 350 cm.