Satellite TV and Radio Broadcasting

The radio frequencies used to transmit the signals to your home mean that the aerial required is different from normal land based radio and television broadcasting. The most popular aerial for satellite broadcasting is a dish. This needs to be pointing directly at the satellite with no obstacles in the way. Some satellites are in orbits that mean the receiving dish has to move and follow the satellite across the sky. Satellites for home reception however move in an orbit that makes them appear stationary above the earth. This orbit is about 36,000 km directly above the equator.

The satellite position is given by the longitude west or east of zero degrees. Most positions have more than one satellite. Some popular positions with satellites that can be received in the UK are:

Longitude	Satellites
13° E	HotBird
19.2° E	Astra
28.2° E	Astra
28.5° E	EuroBird

To receive signals from just one position a Fixed Dish configuration is required. This is the simplest dish system. The dish is fixed into position pointing at one point of the sky where is can receive satellite channels from all the satellites at that point.

A Motorised Satellite Receiver System increases the number of satellite channels that can be received by moving the dish around an arc so that it can point at a number of positions in the sky.