How a Satalite Dish Works

A satalite dish is a special kind of antenna designed to focus on a specific broadcast source. The standard modern dish has a bowl-shaped surface and a post called a central feed horn. The dish can’t transmit information; it is only designed to receive it. When a beam hits the curved dish, the bowl shape reflects the radio signal inward onto a particular point, just like a concave mirror focuses light onto a particular point. With an unobstructed view of the southern sky, your satalite dish, and your paid subscription, is poised to pick up dozens, or hundreds, of TV channels.

Not all free satellite dish TV systems are the same but the technology is. In some systems, the satalite dish needs to pick up signals from two or more orbiting satellites at the same time. The satellites may be close enough together that a regular dish with a single horn can pick up signals from both. This actually compromises quality since the dish isn’t aimed directly at one or more of the satellites.

To overcome this problem, the new dish designs use two (or more) horns to pick up different satellite signals. As the beams from different satellites hit the curved dish, they reflect at different angles so that one beam hits one of the horns and another beam hits a different horn. The technology of a small satalite dish attached to your house brings you digital quality pictures and sound to every TV in your house – for less than you’d pay for limited cable service.

Fortunately, choosing a satalite dish TV provider is easy: there’s only two major ones and both deliver exceptional service and programming. There is no equipment to buy and you get almost the same perks with either of them. Direct TV and Dishnetwork both have free setup and 3 to 5 rooms of free equipment in their sign up specials, and both charge a reasonable monthly fee for a minimum programming package.

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