Free Article: Satellite TV Dishes

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Satellite TV Dishes Come In Three Flavors
By Tony Cunningham

There are three main satellite TV dishes in use by companies that provide different levels of service from about four orbiting satellites. Unlike the TV dinners from years gone by, you do not have to cook these dishes in the oven and they provide more food for thought than anything else.

Which of the satellite TV dishes you use will depend on the type of service you want and the receiver you are using. The most popular Direct TV dish is the 18-inch round that works with a single LNB, Low Noise Blocker receptor, which collects the signal from the parabolic dish, with two outputs, It is commonly used in homes with two television sets, or more, which requires being able to watch two programs at the same time.

The cables from both outlets can be connected to two different receivers so as to be able to record one program while watching a second show, provided your receiver is equipped with a digital video recorder. Other satellite TV dishes you may choose is an 18-inch by 20-inch oblong with three LNBs and four outputs or a 22-inch by 36-inch dish that is used for World Direct Services, usually for Vietnamese, Chinese and Asian programming.

Four Satellites Used For Programming Signals

There are four satellites in geosynchronous orbit above the equator, which is why satellite TV dishes must be pointing towards the southern sky, at different longitudes, for different programming options. At 95-degrees, the satellite is used for the larger dish for World Direct Services.

The dual LNB dish only looks at the 101-degree longitude satellite while the three LNB dish will view one of the others, at 110 or 119-degrees. The triple LNB units are required for high definition programming as well as some local programming capabilities.

To watch more than one television from the same satellite TV dishes you can use a multiswitch without any loss of signal strength. The signal from the satellite is connected to the switch using RG-6 or RG-59 coax, and additional cables can them be run to the different television sets. If you have placed your satellite TV dishes away from your home and need to run cables into the house underground, be sure they are encased in a weatherproof conduit to prevent damage from the weather. Polyvinylchloride pipe (PVC) is often used for underground wire installation and should be sealed properly on either end to keep moisture from damaging your coax.

Author Details:
Tony Cunningham is a gadgets fanatic writing about electrical items such as cellular mobile phones, HDTV, Satellite TV and gaming consoles such as the Xbox360.

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