Satellite TV reception

EE September 1986 SATELLITE TV RECEPTION by J a- R v. Terborgh Much has been said and written about satellite TV over the past few years But what does this entail? Can anyone receive such programmes? What is the cost of a suitable installation? How does the law stand in regard to reception of these signals and the installation of the necessary equipment? In this article we will attempt to give answers to these questions and others, as well as give a theoretical appreciation and practical Strictly speaking, the satellite is a repeater station: it receives the pro- gramme(s) from the TV studio via a suitable transmitter and then transmits it back to earth at a different frequency. Most existing and pro- jected TV satellites travel in a geostationary orbit, that is, they remain always above the same point on the earth"s surface (but see Electric propulsion for satellites elsewhere in this issue). To receive the satellite signals, which are trans- mitted in the 10.9 to 12.5 GHz (giga-...