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How does a Satellite Dish work

How does a Satellite Dish work

A satellite dish acts as a parabolic television antenna that receives signals from communications satellites in orbit around the earth. The rapid advancement of communication satellite technology has not matched the use of satellite dishes and the advancement of technology at the same time.

Satellite television was not widely available until the 1970s when cable television stations equipped with satellite dishes received signals that were then transmitted to consumers via coaxial cable. By 1976, the cable company owned 130 satellite dishes, and by 1980 each cable television station had at least one satellite dish.



What is a Satellite dish?

A satellite dish is used to send and receive microwave signals. It is a telecommunication device and a parabolic-shaped antenna used for data transmission. It is a kind of satellite that is also known as a parabolic antenna. Its only job is to provide different channels to the television viewers.


A satellite dish converts microwave signals into electrical signals that can be used by a computer, television, and other devices. This is preliminary work on the satellite dish. Smaller plates are used for higher frequency signals whereas larger plates provide lower frequency signals.

All kinds of data communication have been done through satellite dishes.



What is a satellite dish used for?

Large satellite dishes are used to measure and reflect electromagnetic communication signals (waves) and to focus a long focal distance to a receiver or, conversely, to pick up a weak signal on a transmitter, and transmit that signal further.


Most of these satellite dishes are used for communication, to send binary data streams for various uses from television signals, pictures, scientific data, health and status telemetry, etc. Some "auto-track" signals can be used to locate the source to move the antenna to the source, and that data can be used to increase the knowledge of the satellite's orbit.



What are the types of satellite dishes?

There are different types of satellite dishes. These include motor-driven dishes, multi-satellites, VSAT, and ad hoc satellites. Some other types of satellite dishes include DTH, SMATV, CABD, automatic tracking satellite dishes, and big ugly dishes.


A motor-driven satellite dish is driven by a stepper motor, which can be controlled to face any satellite position in the sky.


The design of the multi-satellite dish enables simultaneous reception from multiple different


satellite positions without changing the position of the dish.


A VSAT (very small aperture terminal) is a 2-way satellite ground station that provides two-way satellite internet connectivity for consumer and personal networks. It is commonly used to transmit narrowband data (credit card, polling, or radio-frequency identification) or broadband data (remote satellite internet access, VoIP, or video).


Ad hoc satellite dishes are mainly used as reflector antennas for radio frequency receivers.


DTH dishes are used in single dwellings. The SMATV, or Satellite Master Antenna Dish, on the other hand, is divided into numerous accommodations. It is also known as Communal Antenna Broadcast Distribution (CABD).


ATS (Automatic Tracking Satellite) dishes use gyroscopes to detect changes in location

and Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors. It also uses satellite detection data and an integrated digital video broadcast (DVB) decoder to detect which satellite is pointing.


A colloquial term for a TVRO (Television Receive Only) satellite dish is "big ugly dish".The TVRO dish is used to receive satellite television signals from a fixed service satellite in the microwave C-band.



How does a Satellite dish Work?

A satellite is assigned to send a signal to a satellite dish so that it can send that signal (which contains a broadcast movie or television show data) to a large number of satellite dishes at once. The signal from a geostationary satellite that is above a single position on the earth can reach a very large part of the earth's surface. That is why it can provide the service for a large number of people.


Thus, the broadcast signal is sent to the satellite from the ground from a station owned by one of its suppliers (Dish Network). The satellite then sends this signal as an electromagnetic wave and the electromagnetic wave propagates. Their nature is to spread during the journey - like the waves emitted from the pebbles thrown in the pond. Electromagnetic waves propagate so that they signal the whole direction of the earth from the height of the satellite.


As the signal propagates, its power decreases. The higher the dish receiver from the transmitting satellite, the weaker the dish signal. The dish uses its unique shape to focus the signal received across the surface of the whole dish on a small component receiver that stands in the middle of the dish. This element is receiving focused, reflective signals from the entire surface of the dish and thus increasing the signal strength. This is why scientists need a lot of antennas to hear signals from distant galaxies. The strength of the electromagnetic signal from some distant stars is weakened by the spread of some huge distances and the larger the antenna, the more signals can be scooped and focused on a receiver in the middle of a large parabolic dish.


Thus, the transmission from the satellite is hitting the earth around the satellite dish and the small portion of the transmitted electromagnetic energy that hits the itty bitty dish focuses on a point in the middle of the dish's parabolic curve.


The dish focuses on the energy that hits its surface at a point that allows it to absorb enough of the signal sent to your dish to convert it back into something you can see on your TV or computer screen.

That is how a satellite dish works.



The Future of Satellite Dish

The idea is that satellite dishes will become ubiquitous in the coming years. More communications satellites need to be launched, and the explosion of ownership of individual satellite dishes will continue. One factor that will affect home satellite dish ownership in the near future is switching to a more powerful satellite that will transmit signals in the K band (12 GHz). Since most of the current satellite dishes receive signals in the C band (3.7 to 4.2 GHz), the owners of the C band satellite dishes have to convert them to the K band.


It can also be used for long-distance communication, perhaps to play interactive video games with someone halfway across the continent.



Bottom Line

Some experts see the rise of satellite television as a revolution that will promote universal dish ownership. Satellite television will be used to pay bills, make purchases and participate in game shows. So it can be said that satellite television will continue to expand in the coming years.

At 18th Apr 2023
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