Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Broadband is Back! Hooray!

The Wildblue technician came out to the farm yesterday. It turned out the problem was simply algae. It had grown so thickly over the plastic cover of the eye of the satellite dish that it finally blocked the signal. We had a bit of rain just before we lost the signal, I suspect that caused a growth spurt that was the last straw.

I had tried to wipe it off prior to the service call, but it didn't come off, and I didn't want to scrub it hard. I asked the repairman if I should have, and he said it was not a good idea to apply too much pressure, because it could crack the plastic, which is soft and bendable.

He replaced the eye instead of cleaning it, and suggested that I climb a ladder up there every couple of months, and gently wipe the eye clean with a wet, soft cloth, before the algae has a chance to build up. So that's what I'm going to do.
     

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