Broadcasters: Satellite Dishes Need Preventative Maintenance

Recently, we discussed the importance of preventative maintenance for digital signage installations. For broadcasters, signal loss means revenue loss. It’s just that simple. No station wants costly mechanical breakdowns. Fortunately, a Preventative Maintenance (PM) contract with USSI Global helps stations stay on the air by taking care of satellite dishes.

Preventative maintenance is all about fixing minor problems before they become major problems. Regular maintenance not only increases the life expectancy of your equipment, it decreases downtime. When gear is well maintained, it can also result in less energy consumption and reduced safety risks.

“Industrial businesses like broadcasting rely on equipment to produce and deliver their products, and we all know equipment fails,” explained USSI Global’s Ted Korte. “Satellite dishes are particularly susceptible to maintenance issues because they live outside. From rust on the base hardware to weather damage to the dish itself, satellite dishes need regular maintenance to maintain functionality and extend their lifespan.”

What sort of preventative maintenance can USSI Global perform? Some of the basics include cleaning fans and belts, checking cables for cracks and fraying, lubricating moving parts and keeping units within electrical code compliance.

You may be thinking that satellite dishes are generally aimed at satellites in geosynchronous orbits, which means they really don’t have to move very often. And if they don’t have to move very often, they don’t need routine maintenance. The problem with that approach is that serious maintenance issues can develop over long periods of neglect. You may not even realize you’re at the edge of failure until you need to make an adjustment in a hurry due to a technical issue.

Predictive maintenance is designed to schedule corrective maintenance actions before a failure occurs. The team needs to first determine the condition of the equipment in order to estimate when maintenance should be performed. Then maintenance tasks are scheduled to prevent unexpected equipment failures.

Nobody wants a broken dish – not your viewers and certainly not your advertisers. USSI Global’s affordable PM program helps you take corrective actions before failures occur. Need more info? Contact our sales team.