If you have trees around your home and use satellite TV, you have encountered issues with your TV signal. Trees can be problematic to signal strength, especially when trying to watch your favorite program. You do not have to be surrounded by trees to experience this issue. A few trees near your home could be enough to cause signal loss. This article will tackle direct TV tree interference and how to prevent it.
Table of Contents
- How Trees Affect Direct TV Signal
- How to Prevent Direct TV Interference
- Top Causes and Solutions of OTA Antenna Interference
- What to do If Your Neighbour’s Trees Block Your Signal
- Common FAQs
- Summary
How Trees Affect Direct TV Signal
A TV Antennae.
Understanding how trees can affect your wireless signal is the first step in solving the problem. Here are ways in which trees can influence your signal:
Blocking of the satellite’s Line of Sight
TV antennas receive their signal from the satellite moving in space. The signals travel very high frequencies toward the earth as they move toward your satellite dish. Therefore, the satellite dish requires a ‘line of sight’ so the signal can reach it without obstruction. Trees surrounding your house can block the signal allowing only a portion or no signal to reach your dish.
If you have several trees, especially tall ones near your home, you will likely have poor signal reception and trouble viewing specific channels.
Moving trees
Strong winds and gales usually cause trees to sway, which can be problematic for your TV signal. As they move in bad weather, the trees obstruct the signal trying to reach your satellite dish.
The movement can be especially frustrating to digital TV signals. You may experience image distortion or pixelation when viewing different channels in such a scenario. The obstruction caused by moving trees does not vary with the frequency, which can result in peculiar problems with your satellite signal.
Often moving trees will affect higher signal frequencies than lower ones.
Trees grow fast
Some trees grow fast, increasing the amount of foliage that can interfere with your outdoor antenna reception. Thus, it is troublesome to re-site your satellite dish when the trees are constantly growing.
Also, sometimes you cannot predict how they will grow and may have to adjust based on the direction they end up facing. Dealing with fast-growing trees can become a headache as you must keep repositioning your dish or antenna based on the trees’ structures.
Moisture
TV antennae have conductive material because the signals they receive are electromagnetic. The material ensures earthing of the signal. Unfortunately, water is conductive too.
It collects on leaves and can drip down to the earth, redirecting the signal that the antennae should earth. It can cause interference with your radio signal, thus weakening your signal strength or causing a loss of signal.
Leaf emergence
During summer and spring, leaves come out, increasing the amount of organic matter that could block your signal. Most people experience weak signals during these seasons and have better reception during winter and autumn since trees are almost bare.
Signal interference may also be caused by high pressure during summer and spring.
How to Prevent Direct TV Interference
Satellite dishes surrounded by trees.
Luckily, there are ways you can prevent signal interference by trees. The following are some suggestions you can try out.
Relocate your TV aerial
For starters, if you have an indoor antenna, you can move it to the roof to improve reception. If your aerial is already on the roof and you still have signal issues, it is time to move it.
You can use a crank mast to elevate your outdoor antenna and point it away from the trees, improving the ‘line of sight.’ If this still does not work, you can opt for installing your antennae on a roof-penetrating mount.
Changing your TV transmitter can also help.
Reposition your satellite dish
Moving your satellite dish is the most obvious way to prevent signal issues by tree interference. Consider the location of the trees when doing this to ensure the signal has a clear path to your dish.
Using a mast, you can move your satellite dish to a higher position, like on your house’s chimney or side. If you need help with this, go for professional installation to ensure it is done correctly.
Alternatively, move the satellite dish to your backyard instead and mount it on a pole to get better reception if the trees are too tall.
Remove the obstructing branches.
Another way to deal with trees blocking your signal is to cut down the tree limbs near your satellite dish. If the trees are in your compound, tree removal should not be an issue.
However, if they are on public land or your neighbor’s property, you may need to consult the concerned parties first.
Move houses
Moving out could be your best option if none of the above-mentioned methods improves signal strength. Ensure you check the new property’s reception before moving in.
Top Causes and Solutions of OTA Antenna Interference
TV Antenna with tall vegetation in the vicinity.
Air TV antenna interference can be particularly annoying for antenna users because the channels you use to view it are free. However, learning its causes and solutions can help you resolve the issue. Here are some of them:
Cell Phone tower interference
There has been a steady increase in cellphone towers owing to the proliferation of smartphone use. Most of these towers are close to TV signal towers, causing TV signal issues.
You can solve this problem by including an LTE filter in your antennae system.
Multipath interference
When your air TV signal bounces off different surfaces like buildings and moist surfaces, multipath interference may occur.
Many trees around your house can increase this problem because of the moisture accumulation on their leaves. You can reposition your antennae to help solve this problem.
Streaming devices
If you have wireless streaming devices connected to your TV, they may cause signal interference. Their proximity to your TV because of a short power cord can affect the signal. Moving the devices further from your TV using an HDMI extension cable can improve your reception.
What to do If Your Neighbour’s Trees Block Your Signal
TV Antenna in an area with vegetation.
You may be in a situation where your neighbor’s tree affects your signal strength. Unfortunately, there are no legal steps you can take to deal with this problem.
First, check to see if their tree indeed causes the problem before approaching them. If you have an amicable discussion with them about the issue, you can find a solution.
Common FAQs
Antenna Satellite dish.
Can a signal amplifier or a larger satellite dish boost my signal?
A larger satellite dish or signal amplifier will do little to give you a strong signal if a tree is blocking your signal. You can improve your signal by using the methods listed above.
Can DirecTV signals go through trees?
Like other TV signals, DirecTV’s signal faces obstruction by trees. You can solve this issue to receive an acceptable quality signal by using the methods listed in the article or contacting customer care.
Summary
Trees around your house are great for aeration and beauty but can interfere with your TV signal. Also, this can cause image distortion or complete loss of some channels. Trees can affect your signal because of their fast growth, movement during strong winds, and the moisture they collect. You can prevent signal issues due to trees by moving your aerial, repositioning your satellite dish, or pruning extra branches.
