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Q. Can weather make a difference to how reliable the monitoring system will function?

A. Yes, to a limited degree weather can affect system performance. Very heavy cloud cover, heavy rain fall or heavy snow fall can reduce the signal strength of extraterrestrial radio signals temporarily while the conditions persist (this does not mean the system will fail, but it may not report in on time during a designated check in (see below). During recent testing it was established that signals may not penetrate snow buildup on the STU when it exceeds about 6 feet (2 meters). Space weather (affects caused by the interaction of discharged particles from sun spots interacting with the outer layers of earth’s atmosphere) can cause temporary disruptions of extraterrestrial radio signals (and the accuracy of GPS readings). Overall, the history of extraterrestrial signals have proven to be at least 99.9% reliable, this is considerably higher than the reliability of most forms of terrestrial radio signals.