Recently, satellite television has been in tremendous demand, and this is not surprising. This method of broadcasting allows you to improve the quality of channels, increase their number, and it is simply much more convenient than using modems or cable television.

Introduction

It is also worth noting that the installation of a satellite dish can be done independently, and for this you do not need to have unique knowledge in physics or know how to use a soldering iron. Installing a satellite dish with your own hands, on the contrary, is quick and easy. It will only be necessary to follow the recommendations, as well as use specific basic knowledge in astronomy.

Using a satellite dish

As a rule, before installing a satellite, many people think about having a permit. Is it really necessary to obtain permission to install a satellite dish? In fact, you can do without permission, because receiving television services via satellite is free, but not all channels can be watched.

Many channels will be marked with an asterisk or an exclamation mark, meaning broadcasting can only be done after payment. To open full access to all channels, you need to buy a special key card.

Permission may be required to install an antenna, but from utility services. If the “dish” is installed on the roof of a building or supporting structures, then you will need to obtain a special document that confirms the installation of the satellite, otherwise the antenna can simply be removed and the person will pay a fine.

If you install a satellite dish on the side of a building, that is, where there are no supporting structures, then you can do without permission, but the equipment will constantly suffer from gusts wind, humidity, cold. Exposure to external factors significantly reduces service life.

Many residents of Russia mainly order the installation of a satellite dish through companies that undertake all obligations, including obtaining permission to install equipment from the housing office.

General information about satellite television

Before you start installing a satellite dish you need to know some general information, which will ultimately help in setting up the equipment. To begin with, it is worth understanding what is geostationary orbit. This is an orbit that is at an altitude of 35,768 kilometers and is equal to the equator. It is at this altitude that the speed of the Earth is equal to the satellite. In fact, the satellite stands still in such conditions.

It is the standing of the satellite in one place that gives the necessary result, which allows it to be used for rapid transmission of information. This information is necessary when installing the antenna, since it will need to be adjusted to the location of the satellite. In addition, proper configuration can help increase the number of free channels.

Sometimes the question may arise: is it possible to catch a broadcast from several satellites at once? Naturally, since the information beams of satellites that are in space often intersect, but basically the channels may be useless. People set up satellite dishes most often with a focus on your country and language. If we take this into account, then the number of satellites to configure can be selected significantly less. In many regions, only one satellite may be available.

Home satellite TV

When installing satellite television, as mentioned earlier, you will need adjustment or, as they say in professional circles, adjustment. This is a kind of selection of a subtle angle in order to find a broadcast from a certain satellite. For the person who does not have experience in setting up a satellite dish, it is quite difficult to do such work. But you can call a specialist at any time, who will make the adjustment in a matter of minutes, because he already has experience and a keen eye for selecting the required angle.

The cost of carrying out such work is not too high, but you should not rely on the fact that the adjustment needs to be carried out only once. Any strong wind or snowfall can knock down the antenna, and in this case you will need to call a technician. For what? You can do everything yourself and gain the necessary experience in setting it up with practice.

Sometimes, even if all television settings are followed, there is simply no broadcasting or you can only see channels with poor quality. The reason is usually that the antenna is installed in villages or hamlets that are located in the lowlands and at the same time cannot efficiently catch the satellite signal, but it “shines” quite strongly at the desired point. Therefore, when purchasing a satellite, you need to consult about which satellites the “dish” can catch and choose the option that is acceptable to you. After this, when setting up, you should pay attention to some details.

Antenna selection

The choice of a satellite dish mainly comes down to purchasing a model with the required diameter. As a rule, it is The quality of reception mainly depends on the diameter of the “plate” satellite broadcasting, but if in St. Petersburg 60 cm may be enough, then for the southern regions a larger length will be required, which can be equal to 1.5 m.

It is worth noting that when choosing an antenna, many people think that a large diameter can pick up a huge number of channels or improve the quality of broadcasting. No, actually with a large plate diameter There may be more channels, but their quality is significantly reduced. Most of the satellite signal is reflected from the satellite “dish” mirror. When choosing an antenna with a small diameter, the quality is better, because the signal from the satellite is focused. In addition, such equipment is much easier to configure.

We must not forget that when purchasing equipment, you need to additionally purchase a multifit. This will allow you to install several converters on one satellite dish. Sellers are usually interested in whether there will be the equipment has one socket or multifit. It is necessary to choose the second option, even if in the end only one socket will be used. This not only gives an advantage in using a converter, but also if one cell breaks down, the equipment can be switched to other sockets.

Selecting a converter and receiver

The converter is an important part in any satellite dish. Typically, this part is selected separately to the “plate”, but how much of the work does this equipment do? The converter serves to catch the signal from the satellite and convert the strong signal that breaks through the atmospheric layers into an easy stream of information for the receiver.

Most often, people purchase converters with circular polarization, since they are not as sensitive. Besides, Such converters allow you to catch a high-quality signal, which will not change depending on the weather outside or due to the deviation of the satellite in orbit. It is important to remember that the quality of broadcasting will directly depend on the choice of converter model and company.

The receiver, on the contrary, has almost no effect on the quality of broadcasting, and its choice mainly comes down to cost and number of functions.

Installing a satellite dish

On the Internet you can find a fairly large number of various schemes that allow you to install satellite dish, but step-by-step work and recommendations are difficult to find. When installing the antenna, you must follow the recommendations that will allow you to avoid mistakes.

Adjustment procedure

As a rule, for high-quality antenna alignment, you need to take the TV together with the receiver outside, after connecting it to an extension cord. Then:

Conclusion

Even a beginner can install and configure a satellite dish with his own hands. This will save a lot of money, but, most importantly, do not make mistakes and do everything exactly according to the instructions.

In order to assemble and install a satellite television set at home on your own, without any practical knowledge, you need to follow a certain step-by-step sequence of work.

Let's look at the main points that you should pay special attention to when assembling the plate, wiring diagrams, and also focus on common mistakes that inexperienced installers make.

Installation materials

Let's start with the necessary materials. For assembly you will need:

Without them, if you have several heads, you will end up with a tree like this.

You will need it if you want to simultaneously connect several TVs from one dish.

Converters

To begin with, it’s worth taking a closer look at the converters themselves.

They differ in polarization. There are models:

• with linear polarization (vertical and horizontal)

• circularly polarized

Circular ones are used to receive Tricolor TV and NTV+ channels from a 36 degree satellite. To receive MTS and Telekart you will need linear polarization of the Ku band.

You can distinguish them by their markings. On the left in the figure is circular, on the right is linear.

They may also have a different number of outputs:

The converter itself consists of three main elements:

• irradiator

• waveguide

• the electronic unit

Under the irradiator cover you can see a dielectric plate. Its presence indicates that this is a circular polarization converter.

That is, it can be used to receive Tricolor and NTV Plus channels. To turn such a converter into a linear one, to search for other satellites, just pull out and remove the plate.

By the way, loss or deterioration of the signal can sometimes be associated with damage to this plate. Due to temperature changes outside, it gradually collapses and crumbles.

Special converters for multiswitches have 4 outputs.

However, they are not all equal. One with vertical, the other with horizontal polarization. Plus two subranges – upper and lower. This is important when connecting cables via a multiswitch.

Multiswitch connection diagrams

The multiswitch itself must be selected depending on the number of cables and TVs in your home. The wiring diagrams for the most popular satellites are as follows:

If you also have a regular television antenna, then the multiswitch must have a TerrTV input.

Connection diagram for the ABS-2A satellite via a multiswitch to receive a package of channels from MTS:

Keep in mind that when using a multiswitch, Daisik=Diseqc is no longer needed.

Satellite dish assembly

The assembly tool usually requires a pair of open-end wrenches for 10 and 13, plus a Phillips screwdriver. To mount it to the wall you will need a hammer drill and anchor bolts.

When you have decided on the package, first of all you need to correctly assemble the plate itself. There are several nuances here.

For example, when assembling the traverse, pay attention that the transverse bar, which is attached to the mirror of the plate itself, should be placed on top of it.

If you screw it on the other side, and this is physically possible, then:

• first, you will have poor hole alignment

• secondly, the opposite end of the traverse, where the heads cling, will go out of focus

As a result, it will initially be difficult to catch at least some signal. In addition, the mount that goes to the bracket, when setting up satellites above the horizon (relative to your geographic residence), must cling with the adjustable part down.

And for satellites located below the horizon - on the contrary, the adjustable part is upward.

Since in this case, you will no longer need to raise, but lower the mirror.

How to collect a multifeed

Assembling a multifeed also involves some special features. The collapsible kit initially comes with two unequal “ears”. One is more, the other is less.

The small one is put on a tube assembled with plastic.

The large one is attached to the central crossbeam. In this case, both ears can be positioned relative to each other in two different ways.

At the same level or in different planes. Most installers place them exactly in one plane.

Although if you do the opposite, it will make it easier to complete the most initial setup satellite dish and will save time when searching for additional side satellites.

The assembled heads will be at different levels, one higher, the other lower.

Actually, the satellites themselves fly across the horizon.

But this is of course true if your converters pick up three different satellites. When two heads are picking up the same satellite, for example Eutelsat 36E, but with different software packages, then place them in the same plane.

But mount the third head as described above. The spacing between the converters also depends on the diameter of the mirror. The smaller its size, the closer the heads will be located relative to each other.

After the bar is screwed on, try, at least by eye, to position the head so that the central axis of the plastic (where the two halves of the casting meet), and this very attachment to the traverse, are at an angle of 90 degrees. Further, everything will be regulated relative to this initial position.

The order in which multifeeds are interleaved also matters. The first and closest to the dish should be the multifeed whose satellite position is closer to your place of residence.

For example, if you live beyond 40 degrees, then Eutelsat 36.0E should appear on your dish first, then Hotbird 13E, and lastly Astra 5.0E. The same is true for other satellites.

After fixing the dish to the wall or roof, lay coaxial cables from this place to the tuner or switch.

Label each end with which head it comes from.

If you have a Dysec, there will be one output cable.

F connector connection

To connect coaxial cables, you need to strip them and put F-connectors on them. There are two ways to do this.

Method 1 – cut off only the outer sheath of the cable with a knife at a distance of 20-25mm. The screen must not be damaged.

Carefully bend all the wires onto the shell.

Now you need to remove the insulation from the central core. It should protrude from the screen by a maximum of 2mm.

After this, screw on the F connector.

Shorten the excess stock of the central core, leaving no more than 5mm from the plane of the connector.

Method 2 is easier. Take the utility knife again. Step back approximately 1cm from the edge of the cable and cut off all the insulation. Including external and internal, up to the central core.

Then, retreating 3mm, cut off only the outer braid.

Make sure that no lint or wires get between the braid and the central core.

There is no need to remove any more insulation or bend anything. Just insert and screw on the f connector from above.

Next, you lay out cables throughout the apartment in all the rooms where you have TVs. You sign them all too.

At the same time, it is much safer to run the cable directly into the device rather than connect it through a satellite TV outlet. This may be associated with either a loss of quality or a complete loss of signal.

The wiring diagram when using a multiswitch may look like this:

Diseqc connection

If you only have a dashcam, connecting and configuring satellites is carried out in the following sequence.

Remember that any self-respecting store of satellite equipment and similar systems always sells tuners already programmed for certain channels and satellites. Otherwise, competitors will simply drive him out of the market.

At the same time, when purchasing, be sure to ask the seller to write you the Diseqc ports of the switch, since they were set by him during the settings. It is through these ports that you will have to make all cable connections.

When installing, you first connect the cables to the heads, and then lead them to the dashik. Just on it, it is advisable to connect everything initially with the “factory” tuner settings.

If you have any satellite in the receiver configured to the first port, then accordingly it should not go to port No. 1. If it is on the second one, then port No. 2 is also used in the switch, etc.

All input ports are always signed. The central single connector is the output to the tuner itself.

Search for satellite and channels

Setting up and searching for a satellite can be done without fancy devices using the receiver itself.

True, you will have to drag the tuner itself + some small TV onto the roof.

Unless, of course, you install a motorcycle suspension.

This setup can also be done by two people. One person on the roof moves a plate, another cell phone controls the signal at home on TV.

If you are not satisfied with either one or the second option, you can buy a cheap portable device from the Chinese for setting up and analyzing the satellite signal - or here.

Then setting up will not be difficult at all. By the way, it will be useful in the future if after a strong wind your signal deteriorates or you want to add a satellite over time, or maybe even change the heads. Configure satellites with MTS and Tricolor, instead of Amos, Astra, etc.

Start setting from the central head. Initially, place the plate with a slight rise towards the horizon. To find your bearings, look at your closest neighbors.

Nowadays, you will clearly no longer be a pioneer, and finding a couple of tuned cymbals will not be difficult. Sometimes there are so many of them that they interfere with each other.

IN as a last resort You can use programs on smartphones – Satellite Director or SatFinder.

You install the program, launch it and start turning your smartphone in different directions in search of the desired satellite. The coordinates of most of them are already entered into the program and there is no need to search for anything.

An icon marked with a circle or cross will indicate the correct direction for the satellite dish. Refer to it.

Turn on the tuner, select a satellite from the central converter and look for at least some signal from this head. The search is performed by raising, lowering and rotating the antenna itself.

The signal quality is indicated as a percentage scale and is located at the bottom of the screen. You want to achieve the highest possible value.

To do this, very, very slowly begin to turn the plate in different directions. The mirror itself cannot be covered.

If there is no signal, or it is of very poor quality, the dish lowers slightly. Then the process of turning around is repeated. As soon as a good quality signal is found in height, the dish is preliminarily fixed vertically.

After which, you can again turn it left and right to find the highest possible quality. There will never be 100%, just look for the highest possible figure - 68-75%, etc.

Having found the best position, finally clamp the rotating mechanism to the right and left. Just don’t fully tighten one bolt at a time, otherwise the plate will move to the side a couple of degrees. Tighten the nuts evenly, like on car wheels or an engine head.

When the corners are all set, it is necessary to again adjust the entire structure in height. Having loosened the fasteners, you begin to raise or lower it vertically, all the time monitoring the signal.

Remember that the maximum is always found using the downward method.

Why is this needed and what does it give? During long-term operation under the weight of snow, wind, and rain, the dish will still go down a little, worsening the signal.

You need to put it on a stretch, as it were. This will preserve the signal quality for a long time.

Keep in mind that the plate must initially be fixed level to the wall or roof.

If this is not observed, then having found the horizontal maximum of the signal, you will begin to look for the vertical maximum. And in the process of this, the horizontal position will go away. You will have to adjust the horizontal-vertical several times.

Next, proceed to the next stage of setup - scrolling around its axis of the central converter clockwise or counterclockwise. Here you can also achieve a signal improvement of several percent.

This way you have adjusted the plate itself and the central head. Let's move on to setting up side converters from other satellites.

Switch the tuner to the next satellite and call up its information line. Thanks to the multifeed, the converter of this satellite can also be rotated up and down, brought closer or further away from the dish.

Just like with the middle head, first look for the maximum on the vertical, and then move the side converter closer or farther towards the central one. At the end of the settings, rotate it around the axis.

When setting up satellites from the side converters, pay special attention to where you stand relative to the dish. On the side heads, the signal from the satellite arrives at the center of the mirror and is reflected like in a billiard and hits the converter.

So, in order not to block this signal with your body, you should be located on the nearest side of the tuning head, and not on the opposite side.

After searching and setting up a satellite from all three converters, the process can be considered complete. Hide and seal the cable from rain and precipitation, and securely secure the satellite cables with clamps to prevent them from being blown around by the wind.

Installation and connection errors

1 Incorrect assembly of the traverse

At the very initial stage, do not make a mistake with fastening the traverse for placing the converters. It should be installed under the bracket, not on top of it.

Otherwise, there will be big problems finding a signal even on the central head. Incorrect focusing will be to blame.

2 Using feed-through sockets

Pass-through sockets are the first enemy of satellite television. From such devices there may be no signal at all.

Therefore, only the final ones can be used. They are often paired with television ones.

3 Splitters

They can only be used for analog television. Satellite TV should not have any splitters. The fact is that channels are usually broadcast in two polarizations.

And the splitter is not able to simultaneously pass them through itself. As a result, some channels will simply be missing on some TV.

4 Large number of connections

Any connection means a loss of signal quality, including at seemingly convenient sockets.

Particularly ensure that there are no connections in places of high humidity - attics. In bad weather, the signal will disappear altogether because of this.

5 Cheap cable

Do not buy a Chinese cable of dubious manufacture. Almost half of the level of the signal that reaches the receiver from the dish can depend on the quality of the cable.

6 Incorrect insulation Diseqc

Never wrap dysec in a plastic bag. Even if this saves you from direct raindrops, condensation will still form inside over time.

And it is this that will cause the failure of the switch, which necessarily requires ventilation and communication with air. The simplest and cheapest option is an empty plastic bottle, which doesn’t really help either.

Therefore, it is best to place a moisture-proof box next to the plate and install the switch in it.

7 Isolation of F-connectors

Also, do not wrap electrical tape around the F connectors. Such insulation does not help much against rust, and only worsens the situation, since sooner or later moisture will still penetrate under the insulating tape.

And instead of gradually evaporating or rolling off the surface of the connector, it lingers on it and accelerates the corrosion process several times. Also, do not forget to put the insulating cap on the free Diseqc port.

Step into space from the steps of the university

Astronautics can be different - private, student, amateur. All these are different facets of the same phenomenon, namely, the ability to penetrate into orbit not only for state corporations of the largest space powers, but also for almost an ordinary person. Yes, the launch vehicle industry, space stations and space tourism will require trillions of dollars in investments for a long time and will remain the preserve of a select few, but today anyone can experience space at a certain level!

Photo from personal archive.

My interlocutor is Alexander Shaenko, an engineer who has been working in the space industry for more than ten years, a candidate of technical sciences, a teacher at Moscow State Technical University. Bauman. He took part in the development of Angara launch vehicles and the Boeing Dreamliner aircraft, and worked as a leading engineer at one of the first private Russian space companies. Today, Shaenko, together with the students he teaches, is creating a satellite almost in a garage and preparing it for launch:

“We want to launch the satellite with the help of students, which has never been done before,” Alexander begins.

- How? It is known that many satellites have already been launched by students - both at Moscow State University, and at the Moscow Aviation Institute, and at your place in Baumanka, and at the Siberian State Aerospace University...

— In fact, almost all of these student satellites are very, very conditional. They run according to plan scientific work of the university, which are prepared mainly by professors and researchers of the university, are manufactured mostly at state enterprises in the space industry - that is, the students there, in fact, just stand nearby and observe.

— What do you plan to change in the current approach to student cosmonautics?

“I once worked for a young private aerospace company, and to demonstrate the seriousness of our plans, we manufactured a satellite. Literally - we came to the office, where there were only tables and chairs, and a year and a half later our satellite went into orbit! It carried equipment for monitoring radio broadcasts and collecting data on sea vessels. This satellite, although not scientific, was built by the hands of recent students, and not ordered from aerospace state corporations, and quickly! I believe that within the framework of university cosmonautics there should be not only serious satellites with a scientific program, in which students are involved insofar as possible, but also simpler satellites, even if without the goal of obtaining new scientific data, but designed, calculated and made directly by the hands of students.

— What kind of satellite are you going to launch?

“This is a visual observation satellite called Mayak, which we started working on last summer. The whole task of a satellite is to be visible from Earth, but very clearly! Anyone can see it with the naked eye, and you won’t be able to confuse it with anything else - the glow will be so bright! After being launched into orbit, the gas reactor on the satellite will start operating and inflate the polymer metallized shell in the shape of a huge pyramid with gas. Its edges will reflect the sun's rays and glow brighter than the most visible stars.

— At what stage is the work today?

— We are testing equipment - an inflatable shell, a gas reactor, electronics. The work is close to completion - we recently tested the inflation of the shell and the operation of the gas reactor in the stratosphere, at an altitude of 10 kilometers - under conditions of extremely low (down to minus 70 degrees) temperatures. To do this, the satellite components were raised on a balloon filled with helium. This summer, the final “run” is planned - raising the entire satellite assembly to a height of about 40 kilometers, practically into near space - there is already very rarefied air there. This ascent can also be done on a helium balloon.

— A balloon capable of lifting 4 kg must be quite big... Are such experiments safe for aviation?

- Not even 4, but 6 kilograms - in addition to the satellite, equipment for monitoring its parameters will fly up on the balloon. The ball is really huge - on the ground it has a diameter of 4 meters, and at altitude due to the difference in pressure it will inflate to 20 meters in diameter! Such launches are really dangerous for aviation, but in our team there is one enthusiast who is the only one in Russia who is engaged in lifting balloons into the stratosphere on an official basis - he has permission from the military, aviation services, etc. Each launch requires individual approval and is strictly supervised. This person has sufficient experience in lifting high-altitude balloons.

— How is the project financed?

— We used crowdfunding - collecting voluntary donations on an online platform where techies and IT specialists gather. We managed to collect about 250 thousand rubles, with which we purchase materials to build the satellite. With us, everything is extremely open and we use the “Tom Sawyer principle” - remember how he accepted money and toys from his friends in exchange for permission to paint the fence a little? I mean, a donation allows anyone to join the student team.

— After manufacturing the satellite, you will be faced with the task of putting it into orbit, which you will no longer be able to accomplish on your own. How do you plan to do this and how much does it cost?

— Today, many companies in the world offer “transport services” - they put any satellites into orbit, including private ones. A satellite made in Russia can be easily launched by an American rocket and vice versa - no adaptation to the rocket is required. Now about the prices. Launching a small satellite is quite affordable - delivering 1 kilogram of payload into orbit will cost about 2 million in rubles. Our satellite weighs 4 kilograms - that is, its launch costs 7-8 million rubles.

— Where should this considerable money for students come from?

— This, of course, is the most pressing issue of any student or amateur project. We are looking for sponsors... There is a prospect.

— A couple of years ago, leading scientific and technical universities signed an agreement with Roscosmos on the creation of a certain “Space Scientific and Educational Consortium.” Do opportunities for a free launch without reference to the scientific value of the satellite still exist?

— To be honest, I know nothing about the activities of that consortium. But there are known cases when universities were told: yes, we will launch your satellite for free, but you must prove that it is safe for the rocket itself and for other satellites that it puts into orbit. To do this, you need to undergo a series of examinations... for several tens of millions of rubles! One way or another, today Roscosmos is run by a different person. Today we are cooperating with the new head of Roscosmos and the United Rocket and Space Corporation and hope for his help in our project. “Space of small forms” is on the rise today all over the world, it needs to be popularized and promoted, and this should be done more simply by accessible projects in which everyone can take part, and not just “adult scientists”!

Among ordinary, untrained users, there is an opinion that it is almost impossible to independently install and configure a satellite system. In fact, this is not true at all. Below are simple instructions for dummies on how to independently install and configure a satellite dish without calculations, satellite finders and other attributes of professionals. If you are a professional installer, then the material below is unlikely to be of interest to you.

Although any information can now be found on the Internet, I still tried to collect all the basic information I received on one page - for convenience. I’ll just try to tell you in my own words and with pictures how I installed and configured the satellite system. I’ll say right away that the installation of ONLY an offset fixed antenna is being considered, and not a direct focus or motorized one. And yet, it is possible that no matter how hard you try, you may not be able to install and configure the antenna yourself. Then you will have to invite a professional installer. It’s hard for me to imagine how this could be, but I’ve seen people on the forums struggling for a couple of days in useless attempts to set up the antenna. In other cases, by independently selecting components and installing it yourself, you can save some, sometimes considerable, money. Besides everything else, I personally was just interested in installing everything myself. What is the difference between installing and configuring the system “by eye” and professional installation? Almost nothing. With the exception of a more accurate initial calculation (which saves significant time), the mounting system and the principle of antenna tuning are the same.

Warning: All work related to heights and electricity is life-threatening!!! If anything causes the slightest concern, do not take risks, trust the professionals!!! You perform independent installation at your own peril and risk!!! In any case, remember about safety precautions and that all dangerous work at height is carried out only by professionals with proven safety equipment!!!

List of basic concepts

TV satellite – spacecraft, located in the geostationary orbit of the Earth and sending a television signal to a certain territory of the Earth via a transponder. All satellites are located in the equatorial plane, so they are at the same latitude, but differ in longitude. In addition to the name, they also have a longitude designation. For example, Amos 4W means that the satellite is called Amos and is located at 4 degrees west longitude (W is West). Hotbird 13E is a satellite of Hotbird, located at 13 degrees east longitude (E is East). Based on the fact that satellites are “fixed” at certain points in orbit, they also have certain coverage areas of the Earth.

Transponder– a transceiver located on the satellite. It is characterized by the width and direction of the sent beam and the broadcast frequency. Broadcasting is carried out in two main bands - C-Band and Ku-Band. Mostly American and Russian satellites broadcast in the C band (4 GHz), and European satellites broadcast in the Ku band (10.700-12.750 GHz). Broadcasting is carried out in linear or circular polarization. Which in turn differ into vertical (V) and horizontal (H) for linear polarization and left (L) and right (R) for circular polarization. When they say “signal from transponder 11766H”, they mean a transponder broadcasting at a frequency of 11766 MHz with a horizontal
polarization. There are from several to dozens of transponders on a satellite
things.

Satellite antenna– the main element of the subscriber’s satellite system for receiving a signal from the satellite. To put it in simple words, the antenna “collects” the weak reflected satellite signal over its entire surface and focuses it to a specific point at which the converter is installed. The most common antennas are direct focus and offset. Direct focus ones are a parabolic mirror with a focus at the geometric center, while offset ones have a shifted focus (below the geometric center of the antenna). Accordingly, the converter of a direct-focus antenna is installed in the center, near
offset - shifted to the bottom. Offset antennas are the most popular among ordinary users. They are cheap, easy to install and configure. Antennas are produced in various diameters and from various materials. The material is usually either aluminum alloy or steel. There are non-rotating antennas (rigidly fixed) and antennas with an actuator (motor suspension). The motorized suspension rotates the antenna at specified angles and allows you to receive signals from a huge number of satellites in the field of view. Setting up the latter is not very easy for a beginner. The antenna size is selected individually, depending on the signal strength needed to view the satellite. The antenna diameter must be selected with some margin, since precipitation (heavy rain, snow) creates significant interference with the satellite signal. This is especially true for the Ku-band. But there is no need to go to extremes - if an antenna with a diameter of 0.9 m is enough, absolutely
it is not necessary to buy a 1.5m antenna - it weighs more and its area is larger
more exposed to wind.

Converter– a device designed to receive a satellite signal reflected from an antenna and installed on a corresponding holder at the antenna focus. The main purpose of the converter is to convert the frequency of the received satellite signal (for example, for the Ku-band it is from 10.7 to 12.75 GHz) to an intermediate one (900 - 2150 MHz), at which the attenuation of the signal transmitted in the cable will be less. Since the power of the received satellite signal is very low, the second important task of the converter is to amplify it to an acceptable level for the receiving path of the receiver. Since any converter introduces its own level of noise into the signal, but is also low-noise, it is also called LNB (Low Noise Block). Converters can be designed to operate in linear or circular polarization and are selected depending on which polarization the satellite is broadcasting in (for example, popular NTV+ packages are broadcast in circular polarization and a universal linear polarization converter, despite the name “universal”, is not suitable for reception). If the converter is universal, it switches to the specified polarization with a voltage of 13/18 V supplied by the receiver. 13 V - vertical polarization, 18 V - horizontal. One more nuance: converters come with 1 output, 2 outputs, 4 outputs, 8 outputs. Based on how many independent viewing points will be installed, a converter with the appropriate number of outputs must be installed, since all converter outputs are independent.

Multifeed– holder for additional converter. Since the satellites are located in geostationary orbit relatively close to each other (according to
certain standards), it is possible to simultaneously receive a signal on one antenna using a multifeed from several nearby satellites. A classic example is 3 satellites (Hotbird 13E, Sisius 4.8E, Amos 4W) received on 1 fixed antenna. As a rule, a converter is installed on the main (focal) antenna holder, configured for Sisius 4.8E, on the 1st multifeed converter for Hotbird 13E, and on the 2nd multifeed converter for Amos 4W.

Disek (DiseqC) is a device that switches a signal from several converters to 1 cable. Since the receiver can only receive a signal from one satellite at a time, the converter corresponding to this satellite must be connected to the receiver. This is exactly what the disek does - it connects to the receiver
currently needed converter. There are different discs, designed to work according to a specific protocol. The DiseqC 1.0 protocol is unidirectional and is used when the number of converters is no more than 4. DiseqC 2.0 is the same, only bidirectional and compatible with 1.0. DiseqC 1.1 is used to connect more converters. Protocol 1.2 is used to control the positioner.

A coaxial cable is connected to the inputs and output of the disk via F-connectors.
I think there is no need to talk about connectors and cables - everything is clear here. However, the cable must have a characteristic impedance of 75 Ohms, be made of high-quality materials that can withstand severe temperature changes and have a good shielding braid. The material of the core is steel, copper, copper-plated steel - it’s clear that it’s unlikely to work out better.

Antenna bracket– a simple metal holder that is attached to the wall (usually) and to which the antenna is attached. It must be made as securely as possible so that the wind does not tear off the antenna.

Satellite receiver– a device that receives a satellite signal from a converter and outputs it to the TV in the form of a familiar picture with sound Smile Choosing a receiver is the most difficult task when choosing a satellite system.
Receivers come in both open unencoded channels (FTA) and encoded ones, with card readers, with slots for additional decoding modules, with an emulator, with various video outputs, with a hard drive and other useful and not so useful functions. Here, as they say, there is something for every preference and every budget. There is one important point: today satellite broadcasting in HD format (high-definition video) and MPEG4 is being actively put into operation. Receivers that support these formats are usually much more expensive than regular ones. Therefore, before purchasing a satellite system, you need to decide what content you will watch and what kind of receiver you need for this. Cheap receivers, as a rule, do not have high image and sound quality, great functionality and fast channel switching. Although there are exceptions. A separate nuance is the emulator in the receiver. As its name suggests, the emulator is designed to software emulate the operation of a smart card. What is it for? A huge number of channels from different satellites are protected by encodings. There are different encodings - Viaccess, Seca, Irdeto, Nagravision, Biss, etc. For example, some package of channels in Biss encoding is broadcast and you want to watch it (the antenna is tuned to
desired satellite), but you do not have a smart card. Then look for a software emulator in your receiver (usually this is listed in undocumented capabilities) and turn it on. Enter the channel's access keys, and if everything is in order, watch it. As a rule, emulators in modern receivers support several encodings. Another application of the emulator is a phenomenon popularly called “sharing” or “card sharing”. Yes, and also, when choosing a receiver, you should pay attention to the availability and regularity of the output software. In other words, firmware. New firmware, as a rule, removes errors that occur, adds parameters for satellites, transponders, new codes for the emulator, etc.

Selection of components

To begin with, for some time I studied the Internet to familiarize myself with the issue (since I was a complete ignoramus and the concept of what a disc or transponder was was very illusory, but I still wanted to watch satellite TV). I decided what content and from which satellites I want to watch (at the end of this article you can look at the lists of the most popular channels in our area and some links), what is received in my region and what antenna diameter, and also got acquainted with the advice of experienced , among which Vladbel provided me with great help, for which special thanks to him Smile In the end, for
The following satellites were selected: Amos 4W, Sirius 4.8E, Hotbird 13E for one antenna 0.95m and Eutelsat W4 36E for 0.85m. I chose http://www.agsat.com.ua/ as a Kyiv store - everything is in one place and, among other things, they are one of the sellers of original equipment of the same brand recommended by the Openbox manufacturer, and my soul was in Openbox Smile By the way, both receivers I bought in Agsat and receivers bought there for my friends were ALREADY flashed with lists of satellites and lists
favorite channels from popular satellites 4W+5E(4.8E)+13E, and this applied not only to Openboxes. Convenient for those who don’t want to bother too much with filling in favorites.

What was purchased and what were the selection criteria:

• Offset antenna 0.95m, produced in Kharkov. Painted steel. For receiving signals from Amos 4W, Sirius 4.8E, Hotbird 13E.
• Offset antenna 0.85m, produced in Kharkov. Painted steel. To receive a signal from Eutelsat W4 36E.
• Receiver Openbox X-810. Firstly, Openbox has the most powerful technical
  support (new firmware comes out almost every couple of weeks),
  secondly, excellent picture quality, thirdly, built-in emulator,
  fourthly, support for LanComBox (for fans of “sharing”Smile.
• Three universal linear polarization converters SINGLE TITANIUM TSX 0.2dB. Declared low noise level.
• One circular polarization converter SINGLE Circular INVERTO IDLP-40SCIRCL for Eutelsat W4 36E (NTV+).
• Two multifeeds.
• Two antenna brackets.
• Disc signal switch from 4 converters into 1 cable connected to the receiver.
• Coaxial antenna cable, characteristic impedance 75 Ohm, coil 100m.
• 10 antenna screw-on F-connectors.
• 6 anchor bolts "under the nut" 8x72, washers, nuts and lock washers.
• Plastic self-tightening ties.
• A steel cable with clamps for securing the antenna cable to it and lowering it from the roof.
• Plastic box for disc.
• Lanсombox is a device for sharing (anyone who wants can search for the term “card sharing” with any search engine)Smile.

The budget for all this stuff was 1346 hryvnia or ~$270.

Installation

The antenna must be installed in the line of sight to the south. Direct means that there should be no obstacles in front of the antenna in the form of houses, trees, etc. It is for this reason that the most optimal places to install antennas are balconies and roofs. Since my windows are on the ground floor and are not directed far from the south, it was decided to install the antennas on the roof. Fortunately, the roof of my typical panel 9-story building is flat, which makes installation easier (if there is no free access to the antenna with more than 1 converter after installing it on the bracket, see below *). What did I need on the roof besides the antennas and their mounts:

• Hammer with drills with pobedit tips. The diameter of the drill is chosen slightly smaller than the diameter of the anchor bolt. Much less is not possible - the anchor will not fit into the wall. Any more - it will “lobble” and it won’t really be possible to tighten it.
• Phillips screwdriver.
• Socket wrench 10.
• Socket wrench 13.
• Adjustable wrench.
• Hammer.
• Paper cutter (for stripping cables for connectors).
• Wire cutters.
• Receiver with remote control.
• Small TV.
• 220V with extension cord for 3 sockets.

The most interesting questions are where to point the antennas? How to determine the direction? How to set up antennas without a satellite finder (a device for setting up satellite dishes costs from $400)? Since in my case it was decided to make the adjustment “by eye”, I decided to determine the direction logically simply - I just looked at where the antennas on the neighboring roof were pointing and
decided to turn mine in the same direction/

An antenna with 3 converters - definitely Sirius, Hotbird, Amos - we have a lot of these and installers mainly install them. Looking at the neighboring houses, you can find many of them and they are all directed in the same direction. That is why I had no doubts. To the left of it with one converter - probably NTVshnaya - we also have enough of those. If you don’t have such guidelines, then the situation is worse. You need to determine the south direction and try to point the antenna there. Once again, an indispensable condition is that in front of the antenna there should under no circumstances be any visible obstacles in the direction of the satellite!!! Among other things, in a situation where the antenna is installed under someone’s balconies or canopies, make sure that
streams of water or snow from the top visor do not fall directly on your antenna. This does not bode well for the reception.

It is to this elevator shaft that I decided to attach my antennas:

It’s unsightly, of course, on the roof, but this is not a European-quality renovation of the apartment Smile Defined
installation location, marked the holes for the brackets, drilled them with a hammer drill, hammered the anchors inside and secured the brackets (I did not photograph the further steps, so almost all photos will be from already installed systems). I won’t go into detail about fixing the brackets; I think that everything is clear about this, the work is mechanical. Still, if someone doesn’t know what an anchor bolt is, I’ll show you what it looks like:

It consists of a glass and a bolt located inside it. The bolt has a thread for a nut on one side and a thickening cone on the other. Exactly as in the figure, from left to right, carefully, so as not to damage the thread under the nut, it is driven into the drilled hole.

I recommend loosening the nut, but not unscrewing it completely, otherwise the bolt risks completely falling inside the hole, and then you won’t be able to get it out. The same applies to putting the bracket on the bolts (the nuts will still have to be removed) - make sure that the bolts do not fall inside the glass, I recommend that before putting the bracket on, pull them towards you as much as possible or tighten them a little with a nut - so that the cone fits a little into the glass and the bolts do not wobble . The glass should be flush with the wall, and the thread with the nut, respectively, should be outside the hole.

The principle of operation of an anchor bolt is as follows: when the nut begins to be tightened with a wrench, it pulls the bolt inside the glass outward due to the thread. The cone located at the end of the bolt enters the glass and expands it as much as possible inside the hole. As a result, tearing such a bolt out of the wall is far from a trivial task. That is why it is recommended to hang the bracket on self-wedging anchor bolts, and not on screws with plastic dowels.

However, the choice of fastening is a personal matter for everyone. The only thing is, if you still choose anchors, look at their quality, in particular the material and thickness of the glass. Because the anchors are made too flimsily and will hold accordingly.

When installing on a balcony, you can even drill through the wall and thread threaded rods of the appropriate length through it (these are sold in stores). They are secured on both sides with nuts.

Back to the installation.

The first was to set up an antenna with 3 converters for Sirius, Hotbird, Amos, the second was for Eutelsat 36E. At first the brackets were screwed to screw anchor bolts, later I changed them to nut ones. The screw ones turned out to be unreliable. The photo shows the first unsuccessful attempts in the form of remaining holes. By that time, the brackets were also repainted to enhance the original paint:

In the photo above, the antenna is already assembled, with converters, cable, etc. Initially, the antenna was simply assembled, hung on a bracket, and the converters and cable were attached only later. A thin metal cable - I just had extra one and I threaded it through the antenna mount and screwed it to the elevator shaft post in case the wind would tear out the anchors, so that the antenna would not dive from the roof Smile In fact, this is almost impossible, but so be it - That's what I thought. To adjust the antenna in the vertical and horizontal planes, you need to tighten the mount so that the antenna does not change its tilt on its own, but at the same time it can be moved in the planes with some effort. These are the nuts before final settings not much
tighten:

An unclamped left screw allows you to adjust the antenna in the vertical plane, 2
without clamping the right ones, rotate the antenna relative to the bracket in the horizontal plane.

Next, both multifeeds are put on the central holder of the antenna converter, converters are inserted into all holders, and everything is tightened so that the converters in the multifeeds can be turned with some effort in all
planes (cables to converters are connected later). The photo below shows what multifeeds are and how they are attached:

After this, the setup process begins. A piece of cable a couple of meters long is screwed to the central converter using an F-connector, the second end of the cable is screwed to the receiver. From some site I have pictures of what an F-connector is and how to screw it onto a cable correctly.

The receiver is connected to the TV, only after that the 220V power is turned on. An important point - when screwing an F-connector onto a cable, you must carefully ensure that the thin conductors of the cable shielding do not short-circuit with the central core, otherwise the receiver can be damaged!!!

I turn on the TV, receiver, go to the Installation-Search for channels menu. In the list of satellites on the left, I select Sirius 2/Ku 4.8E - it is to this satellite that the rigidly fixed central converter will be configured. From the menu on the right I select:

• LNBP: On(turn on converter power)
• LNBP Type: Universal(universal type of converter, according to the ones I purchased)
• LNBP Freq: 10600/9750(indicated on converters)
• 22Khz: Auto(I leave the signal to switch the disk)
• DISEqC: None(I’m leaving it this way, since the signal is connected directly for now, and not through a disk)

Next, using the yellow button on the remote control, I go to the Transponder submenu and select the transponder on which I will search for a signal (I advise you to write out in advance several transponders selected from satellites with different polarizations and REALLY WORKING free-to-air channels (FTA). The list can be found at the links below.

For example, in my case, to begin with, it will be a 11766H transponder, broadcasting at a frequency of 11766 MHz with horizontal polarization. For convenience, the signal quality can be displayed on full screen using the Info button. I will be guided by the lower “Quality” scale:

What do we see in this photo? A bleak picture, signal quality - 0%! Actually, what should you expect? The antenna is still “looking” towards the satellite very approximately.

Next comes the most difficult moment, which requires a lot of endurance - this is adjusting the antenna in planes. Why is a shutter speed necessary - literally a few millimeters, and there will be no signal. It’s not that it will be bad, but it won’t exist at all! The setup is as follows - you need to install the antenna in some vertical position, in my position it was approximately like this:

After this, you need to very, very smoothly rotate the antenna in the horizontal direction and at the same time carefully look at the quality scale, first in one direction, and if the scale does not change from 0, then in the other. When it turns out that the quality scale has increased to at least 10-15 - this is already the first success, you can stop and take a breath. If it is not possible to find a signal in the entire horizontal plane, you need to slightly change the vertical angle of the antenna and begin moving again in the horizontal plane until the signal appears. When at least some signal is found: now you need to try to move the antenna even more smoothly left and right and achieve the maximum level of signal quality. Having achieved this, you need to try to achieve an even larger signal by very smoothly moving the antenna up and down. After this you can try
slightly rotate the converter around its axis in the holder (there are marks on the converter for this purpose):

The maximum signal can be achieved ONLY by combining all these adjustments. Another nuance - if you cannot find a signal under any conditions, and you have double-checked everything, including the receiver settings, 100 times, it makes sense to try another converter; perhaps this one is faulty. I get the maximum signal level that I can get:

It would seem that you can calm down and tighten all the adjustment screws? No matter how
So! After all, the adjustment was made for a transponder broadcasting in horizontal polarization (there is a letter H in the picture at the end of the 2nd term), but you also need to configure some transponder in vertical (V) polarization:

In my case, turning the converter in the holder counterclockwise helped to achieve better signal quality in vertical polarization.

After this, you can scan the transponders (look in the documentation with your
receiver, how to do this) and visually see whether the channels are received and whether they correspond to the selected satellite:

When signals in horizontal and vertical polarizations are at their maximum
What can be pulled out, it is necessary to tighten all the adjusting nuts that are not fully tightened. And there is one unpleasant moment - when you tighten the nut, the antenna slightly changes its direction, and the signal quality can noticeably decrease! So you also need to tighten it very carefully. Everything, the antenna and the first converter are configured. I turn off the receiver from the outlet, wind the cable from the central converter to the converter on the left (to the one on the multifeed, if you look at the antenna
front), turn on everything, select Hotbird 13E in the menu, the same menu settings on the right as for Sirius, select a working transponder and try to set the maximum signal quality. Only this time I’m not adjusting the antenna, but the converter itself on the multifeed. It can move in all planes relative to the antenna focus - left, right, up, down, forward, backward:

All nuts are tightened when the signal is maximum. Don't forget about checking
both polarizations. Scanning Hotbird's transponders and checking for any demons paid channels visually.

I turn everything off again, twist the cable to the 3rd converter, turn everything on, select Amos 4w and configure it. Everything is the same. After this, the setup of the first antenna can be considered complete.

Second antenna. Which I am going to configure on Eutelsat W4 36E (NTV+). It’s simpler here - there’s only one converter. Moreover, since it is circularly polarized, it is not very important how it will be deployed inside the holder. It is best to have the cable facing down so that sediment does not accumulate on it:

Accordingly, you need to adjust the antenna in the horizontal and vertical planes. I turn everything off and reconnect the cable to this converter. The settings according to the purchased converter are as follows:

I set up the second antenna, check the antenna in both polarizations on different
transponders. Since the converter is designed for circular polarization, they are checked not for H and V, but for L and R (left and right).

That's all. You can turn everything off. Now you need to switch the signal through the disk.

My disc has 1 output to the receiver, designated REC, and 4 inputs for
converters called 1,2,3,4. I connect the converters like this:

1. Sirius
2. Hotbird
3. Eutelsat

The connection is simple - a segment is connected to each converter
cable connected to the corresponding disk input. If you install one antenna with 1 converter, then you don’t need a disc. If there is one antenna for 2 converters and the disk has 2 free ports, it’s okay. The disk is installed not far from the antennas and, preferably, is placed in a waterproof box (I bought it at an electrical goods store) so that precipitation does not fall on it:

Holes for ventilation are desirable in the bottom of the disc box. Acute
Cable bend angles are not allowed! The F-connectors on the converters are closed either with the included caps or with heat-shrinkable tubing:

By the way, in the above photo you can see the distances between the converters and their angles of inclination. On the right is the antenna aimed at Eutelsat W4.

I configure the disk drive protocol (in my case 1.0) and the distribution of converters according to the inputs (ports) of the disk drive in the receiver menu:

The pictures show which converters are assigned to which inputs (ports) of the disk (to which satellite). 0/12V: On only for LanComBox. If you don’t have it, then you don’t need to turn on 12V. I save the changes and check whether all the disk inputs are working (that is, whether all configured satellites have a signal).

Someone may have a question: “why not immediately connect all the converters to the disk, register all the inputs and configure the antennas?” The answer is simple - if the disk is really not working, you will waste a LOT of time and nerves trying to create a signal that cannot be found by definition. Among other things, without a disc you can quickly determine whether the converter you bought is working.

I tighten the cables with ties so that nothing dangles. Remains not a stretch
attach the cable to the cable, lower the cable down and tighten it. Install cable in the apartment, connect the receiver, TV and watch satellite TV Smile

Here's what I ended up with on the roof:

*- If there is no access to the antenna after installing it on the bracket:

when there is only one converter on the antenna, everything is clear, nothing complicated - it is fixed
rigidly on the antenna, the antenna is hung out of the window (or somewhere else) on a bracket, and adjusted in the vertical and horizontal planes all from the same window (return to the warning at the beginning of the instructions!!!). What should you do if you need to configure 1 additional converter (or more) on the multifeed? At the dacha, I did this: I screwed the bracket to an old high cabinet, put the assembled antenna on it, placed the whole structure in front of a wide open window and set it up that way. By the way, a curious moment - with the first switching on, with approximate antenna tilts, without additional settings, I received a quality level on Sirius of more than 70%! I couldn’t believe my eyes. In a word, I set up all 3 converters in this form, carefully clamped everything, hung the bracket outside the window and hung the antenna with the already configured converters on it. All that remains is to adjust it in planes.

An important point when installing satellite antennas at high altitude: in addition to safety precautions and insuring yourself, first of all, when hanging the antenna on a bracket or mast, always protect the antenna. Just imagine
imagine what an antenna flying from a height could do to the head of a random passer-by or to the body of an expensive BMW.

Another thing - many people recommend grounding antennas installed on the roof,
however, some installers are vehemently opposed to this. I'm inclined to conclude that grounding the antenna still won't hurt.

Despite the title, the article below will not talk about how to make a satellite dish or solder a receiver yourself. Just a note about what you need to purchase and how to install and configure everything yourself in order to watch TV channels on your plate.

Suppose you live in a country house, in a village, or simply “far from civilization.” But I want to watch TV, and not a couple of channels broadcast on the air.

(A small digression: at the moment, digital broadcasting is actively developing. Find out if the number of channels you need is available in your area via terrestrial digital television? In this case, you will only need a set-top box to receive a digital signal (if the TV does not support it), and the antenna does not need to be changed.)

And so you decided to acquire satellite equipment to watch many TV shows. First you need to decide: what channels do you want to watch? If your goal is various Discovery, Viasat and/or purely sports channels, then we immediately inform you: it is better to conclude an agreement with one of the companies providing satellite television services for a subscription fee. Such channels are transmitted in encrypted form and only some of them can be viewed “on the ball”. Fortunately, in our time, companies involved in installing satellite equipment and providing paid services enough. You can order installation even in the middle of nowhere, the only question is the cost.

If you decide to go this route, we will give you some advice here:
1) if there are several offers, carefully study the list of channels provided in a particular package, the need to pay extra separately for sports, educational channels, etc.;
2) the possibility of free installation of equipment by company specialists;
3) is there a separate charge for “kilometers to the client” upon departure?
4) it’s a good idea to pay attention to the company’s reputation: read on the Internet, ask clients;
5) find out whether the signal quality of the equipment installed by the company is good in your area;
6) it is often possible to connect profitably (for example, equipment or installation at cheap prices, half the monthly fee for some time for a more expensive package, or even a couple of months of “freebies”) for various types of promotions; As a rule, to attract clients, large firms conduct them regularly: New Year, for a company anniversary, etc.;
7) well, and advice that is suitable for any transaction: carefully read the signed agreement BEFORE signing, and not after, coming home and relaxing in front of your favorite TV channel; It may well be that a promotion that is profitable at first glance obliges you to use the services for at least a couple of years after concluding the contract, otherwise a penalty will be written off, etc.; in general: always be on your guard! and enjoy watching!

For those who decided to do everything himself, material below.

Again, to begin with, let's make a reservation: this information Suitable most for those who live in the European part of the former USSR.
So what is needed?
To begin with: desire! The desire to do everything yourself (or with someone’s help). Without this, you may not reach a successful ending. Then patience, a steady hand, a minimum of tools and some cash. Regarding the last one. A lot depends on where, what and from whom you will purchase. But even if you buy everything new, you can easily invest in the equivalent of 100 UDS, unless, of course, you are chasing branded equipment. And it doesn’t always make sense to purchase everything new, for example, if there is a profitable used offer on the market. The same dish or receiver is not a flash drive: it can work for a very long time and efficiently (although some flash drives are reliable :)).

And again small retreat: introduction to the world of satellite television. What is this anyway? First, let's take a look at Wikipedia.

Geostationary orbit (GSO) is a circular orbit located above the Earth’s equator (0° latitude), while in which, artificial satellite revolves around the planet with an angular velocity equal to the angular velocity of the Earth's rotation around its axis. In a horizontal coordinate system, the direction to the satellite does not change either in azimuth or height above the horizon; the satellite “hangs” motionless in the sky.

Those. somewhere high in space, at an altitude of approximately 36 km from the surface of the Earth, an artificial satellite of the Earth rotates synchronously with it, which is a powerful receiver and transmitter of a television signal. It receives the signal from high-power ground transmitting antenna(s) and transmits it to a large area below it. In fact, there are many satellites. Each of them broadcasts to a specific area according to the direction of its transmitting antennas. Several conclusions follow from this: the satellite is very far away, it is limited in mass, volume, power supply capabilities, it is impossible to repair it if something happens, hence the complexity, duplication of systems, etc. From all this the conclusion is: the power of the transmitting signal is limited, the signal from the satellite is very weak.
Then, a satellite is expensive, which means it needs to be used to the maximum: transmit through it as many channels as possible to a large area of ​​the Earth. The second conclusion: the usual technologies that we still use for transmitting on-air television and radio broadcasts are not suitable - the number of transmitted channels is too small. Therefore, satellite television uses modern digital data transmission methods. The third conclusion: all channels cannot be “stuffed” into one satellite for technical and organizational reasons.

Now let's see: what do these conclusions mean for us?
Weak signal reception technology is required. A parabolic antenna is used for this. Here, the larger the area of ​​the parabolic mirror, the better. Better for a signal that is collected and focused to a point. But the larger the antenna, the more expensive and heavier it is. It is more difficult to install, and securing it securely to counteract strong vert is generally a problem at home, as a rule. Therefore, in practice, they choose a size sufficient for high-quality reception, and for most of Eastern Europe this is a diameter of 0.8 meters. One of the most common diameters is 0.95 m.
There are two main types of satellite antennas: direct focus and offset. The first ones have a signal receiver (irradiator) installed at the focus of the parabolic mirror, which coincides with the geometric one. In the second, the signal collected at a point from a parabolic mirror is reflected to a point below the geometric center of the antenna. This eliminates the shading of the useful area of ​​the antenna by the feed and its supports, which increases its coefficient beneficial use with the same mirror area with a direct-focus antenna. In addition, the feed is installed below the center of gravity of the antenna, thereby increasing its stability under wind loads. The offset antenna mirror is mounted almost vertically. Depending on the geographic latitude, the angle of its inclination varies slightly. This position prevents precipitation from collecting in the antenna bowl, which greatly affects the quality of reception. When viewed through the light, the antenna does not appear as a circle, but as an ellipse, elongated vertically. The dimensions of an offset antenna are usually given in terms of gain equivalent to those of direct focus antennas. If this size is the same horizontally, then vertically it will be approximately 10% larger.
In the future, by satellite antenna we will only mean offset antenna, as it is the most common one.

Direct focus antenna.

Offset antenna.

There is also a distinction between fixed antenna mounting and movable one. In the first case, the antenna is fixedly attached to the base, in the second - to a special positioner. The latter’s task is to rotate the antenna in an arc to position it on the desired satellite. The turn signal is usually given by satellite receiver. It takes some time to accurately position the satellite when selecting a program from a different satellite than the current one. Technically implemented using a motor-actuator. An expensive and, therefore, not a common solution. The practical part will not be considered.

As mentioned above, the signal from the antenna is focused to one point, where a device called a converter (LNB head or low-noise block converter or low-noise monoblock converter) is installed. Based on the name “satellite converter,” it immediately becomes clear that this device converts (converts) something. An electromagnetic signal comes from the satellite, which is focused by the satellite dish onto the converter and converted by the LNB head into an intermediate frequency. This is necessary so that the signal can be efficiently transmitted further along the cable. In addition, the LNB head amplifies the received signal. Next, the signal via a coaxial cable from the LNB head goes to the satellite receiver, which, as a rule, is a separate device (the so-called satellite set-top box), but can also be built into the TV.
Due to the fact that the satellite is very far away relative to the receiving antenna, you have to point this same antenna very precisely at the satellite itself.
Let's summarize: to receive satellite television, you must, in addition to the TV itself, have the following equipment.
1) Parabolic antenna with a diameter of 0.8 m.
2) LNB head.
3) If you want to watch TV programs from more than one satellite, then you need a switch (switch) of DiSEqC heads.
4) Coaxial cable.
5) Satellite receiver.

This is where the theoretical part ends. Let's move on to the practical.

First, determine where to mount the parabolic antenna. The height above the ground does not play a special role. It is important that there are no obstacles on the satellite-antenna line. Even tree crowns. For residents of Eastern Europe, the direction to the satellite will be south with a shift to the west or east, depending on the coordinates of the antenna and satellite. After all, we remember that geostationary satellites are launched into equatorial orbit.
The mounting location must be strong and securely fastened: even the slightest vibrations of the antenna will lead to signal loss. Best option- main wall of a building or reinforced concrete roof slab. But other options are also suitable, for example, a rigidly reinforced vertically installed iron pipe of such a diameter that it does not sway during gusts of wind. Depending on the chosen mounting option, select the appropriate fastener, which is fixed on one side to a fixed surface, and the antenna itself is attached to the other. As a rule, the antennas themselves are not equipped with such a part. It can also be a home-made product, the main thing to remember is that the antenna has a large windage and it will need to be accurately aimed at the satellite, i.e. Reliability and ease of installation and configuration of the antenna itself are important.
Then choose the antenna itself. Here it is better to ask the owners of satellite equipment in your area what diameter of the “dish” they use and whether the reception is good during thick clouds and/or rain. If, for example, it turns out that when receiving with an antenna with a diameter of 0.8 m, there is a loss of signal during heavy rain, then you should think about purchasing an antenna with a diameter of 0.95 m. At the same time, overpay for a 1.5 m “dish” diameter makes no sense. In addition, it may turn out that the one who provided you with the above information simply does not have the antenna pointed at the satellite accurately enough. In general, the advice of knowledgeable people and the experience of neighbors with “plates” will help here.
Afterwards, you need to decide how many satellites you want to watch TV programs from? In theory, you can “overgrow” antennas like mushrooms after rain, but in practice the most common option is one “dish”, a mount for three receiving heads, three LNB heads, a DiSEqC switch for 4 heads, then a cable from DiSEqC to the receiver, the receiver itself, and from it to the TV. This is the so-called multi-feed scheme. Let's look again at Wikipedia.
Multifeed is a set of devices (in particular, converters) designed to receive signals from several satellites onto one parabolic antenna. A multifeed is often called a bracket on which additional converters are mounted.

This scheme has been worked out for years; it allows you to watch a maximum of Slavic-language programs with minimal financial investment. With three LNB heads manually, without resorting to special equipment, it is possible to configure acceptable signal quality for the three most popular satellites in Eastern Europe: Amos 4W, Astra 4.9E, Hot Bird 13E.
The beauty here is that you can use one antenna for these satellites. First, the antenna with the central head is configured, usually on the Hot Bird 13E, although it can be used on any other one. In this case, both the position of the plate itself and the head change to achieve the maximum signal level. The signal from this satellite with high-quality tuning will be the strongest. Then the other two are adjusted, but only through the heads themselves.
The most common type of LNB head is for one output, as it is the most popular and cheapest. From it the signal goes via cable to the DiSEqC switch or receiver. With this scheme, it is possible to serve only one TV with a signal. But there are heads with a larger number of pins, which allows one antenna and LNB head to supply more than one receiver with a signal, thereby saving on equipment. This is very convenient if, for example, there is more than one TV in the house.

LNB heads: with one output and four.

In the second case, all 4 outputs can be connected to different receivers or DiSEqC. The receiver can simultaneously work with only one LNB head, this is where the DiSEqC switch is needed if you want to watch several satellites on one “dish”. Depending on the program selected by the user, he connects one or another LNB head to the receiver and supplies it with the supply voltage necessary for the head to operate. In the vast majority of cases, there is only one DiSEqC between the LNB head and the receiver, but there are intricate schemes with cascaded DiSEqC, but these are such rarely used cases that we will not consider them.

Next, you need a coaxial cable to connect DiSEqC and the receiver. It must be taken with a margin of a couple of meters relative to the distance that you are measuring. But remember that the longer the cable, the greater the loss.

It's time to talk about the receiver. This is a very broad topic.
Most fans television channels The simplest receiver, for example Orton 4100C, will do. But general information on choosing a satellite set-top box will not harm anyone.

First of all, if you have a modern TV, then look at its instructions or read Internet networks– it may happen that the required digital signal receiver is already built into this TV. If not, here's something to look out for.
1) The number and type of signal outputs, as a rule, there should be at least three of them: a regular antenna output, a SCART, a regular Video-out. In this case, it is easier to avoid connection conflicts if there is other video equipment also connected to the TV, such as a DVD or BLUE-RAY drive, game console, terrestrial digital television receiver, etc.
2) Does the receiver support HDTV (high definition television) signal reception? In our area this is still a curiosity - the presence of understandable broadcasters (in native language) HDTV channels, and even those that you can watch for free, but time does not stand still.
3) Availability of instructions in understandable language.
4) Number and type of service connectors. They are necessary to flash the receiver. Flashing is necessary to correct errors in the current firmware or to update the channel list. (Yes, yes, a receiver is a specialized computer like a telephone or a router, and it also needs to “upload” something from time to time). Ideally, there should be two such connectors: RS-232 (pins in two rows) and USB. If there is no USB, then it is not a fact that your computer has RS-232 (aka COM port), but if you wish, you can buy an RS-232-to-USB adapter. You will also need a so-called null modem cable. If there is no RS-232 on the receiver, but only UBS, then this is not so scary, because any (well, almost) Personal Computer older than 1996 has at least one USB port.
5) As a consequence of the previous paragraph, it is very desirable for the receiver to easily find the firmware, for example program code from the manufacturer, and the list of channels is on a specialized website, or both in a second place. There are many options for popular models, but for exotic ones you will have to search. But you have to be careful, it’s not so difficult to screw up the receiver.
6) If it is not possible to flash the receiver, then it must support adding satellites and channels, entering keys, manually from the remote control. This is a tedious task and requires care, but there is less chance of completely damaging the equipment. Although... in capable hands... ;)
7) If you want to watch paid channels now or in the future, the receiver must support special security cards with keys. This means a special connector and firmware support.