COUNTYWIDE : Cable TV Glitches Blamed on the Sun

So, in the middle of your afternoon soaps, the television screen goes dead and the cable company pleads that it’s a victim of nature. Technology doesn’t dominate in the ‘90s?

“The picture fades to a snow and there’s kind of audio roar,” said Steve Weingardt, general manager for Century Cable of Ventura. “If we just say, ‘That’s sunspots,’ they say, ‘Yeah, sure. We want a man out here now.’ ”

It’s not sunspots. But during the spring and fall, the orbital positions of television satellites and the sun fall in one line. The sun overpowers the television signal, causing two- to eight-minute interruptions on the TV.

“There’s nothing wrong with their television or their cable box,” Weingardt said. “It’s life in our galaxy.”

Interruptions will occur until about Oct. 12, generally between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Weingardt said. “It would affect anybody in North America with a satellite receiving station,” interrupting cable stations such as ESPN, Home Box Office and CNN, he said.

Some cable companies announce the reasons for disruption and others explain it on the backs of their bills, but people still call with complaints, said John George, owner of Avenue TV Cable in Ventura.

“Mother Nature takes control on this,” he said.

In 1992, Hughes Communication, a Los Angeles-based company that operates satellites, will send up stronger receivers, but they still will not be able to compensate for the power of the sun, said Jerry Farrell, senior vice president for the company’s video services.

“It’s something we’re going to have to learn to live with,” Farrell said. “I think the world will learn to live with the loss of five minutes of soap operas.”