Equipment for satellite television: Features of teledetal signal transmission with orbits, varieties of antennas, suspension and fastening systems.
Photo K. Manko
Antennas of offset type are often used for reception.
Fasteners "Plates"
The quality of the resulting signal directly depends on the state of the parabolic reflector. The bowl must be protected from random strikes that can lead to its deformation and damage to the protective layer of paint.
In urban conditions, satellite antennas are most often located on the roofs of buildings or on the balconies of apartments. In love case, the mount should be reliable so that the antenna does not break down the strong impact of the wind
W. Garant
Photo K. Manko
Not all owners agree to put up with the presence of satellite antennas on the facade of the building. Therefore, the antennas often have so that they do not worsen the appearance of the house
O. Kokorin
Photo K. Manko
For confident reception of the signal from the satellite, the antenna should be placed so that there are no obstacles between it and the satellite, such as trees or any buildings. Achieve this pretty hard, especially if the house is in lowland
A- GT-LST40 (GT-SAT);
B- idlp-40sst
(INVERTO)
After installing the satellite antenna, the converter is connected to the receiver using an antenna coaxial cable.
Offset type reflectors allow you to install a "plate" in a vertical position. This is especially convenient in suburban conditions and where many precipitation falls. In the opposite case, the antenna will have to be cleaned regularly: in winter from snow, and in the summer and autumn from false foliage and debris
So the man works: as soon as he provides himself with her daily bread, immediately give him a spectacle. Suppose, for them, he is ready to rush to the stars or at least to upset for several thousand rubles. Then satellite television is likely to help come true his most cherished dreams.
Most of our planet's inhabitants, other entertainment prefers television. Alas, but such is reality: the blue screens have long been turned into a major media, and to a source of various programs. At the same time, people love to argue about television degradation, that "there is nothing to watch", about advertising that overshadows its sudden appearance of the decisive moments of the football match ... Hospital, such is the reverse side of free airtime television (more precisely, it is relatively free, Since most citizens pay for collective use antenna). It is not surprising that many viewers are ready to part with an annular amount of money, if only the choice of programs was larger, the image quality is higher, and the number of advertising is less. In such people we advise you to pay attention to satellite TV services.
Feel comfortable
What is satellite television? As follows from the name, television signal in this case is broadcast by artificial earth satellites. The signal from the orbit is taken using a satellite antenna (outlines resembling a plate), is amplified and decoded by means of a special converter and receiver device. Thanks to modern technologies, the owner of a satellite TV kit can access several hundred television channels. At the same time, the quality of the translated image is an order of magnitude higher than the "picture" provided by the essential television. As a rule, the signal from the satellite is not in the familiar analog format, but in digital, which significantly reduces the number of visible interference (or "picture" is accepted well, or it is not visible at all).Today, the difference between satellite and essential television outside the city was especially noticeable, away from the Ostankino Tower or regional relay installations. Some satellite channels have already passed on broadcasting in high-resolution-HDTV television mode, which uses an enlarged number of rows on the screen for greater definition of the image. Finally, paid satellite broadcasts are not susceptible to an advertisement.
Of course, satellite television has disadvantages that are not limited to the equipment fee and access to television channels. The "plate" antenna must be installed properly, and in urban conditions it is often proven to a technically difficult task (about the nuances of the installation it will be on). In addition, not all hundreds of channels that will be offered will be interesting for you. Significant part of them can be broadcast in foreign languages without translation and even without Russian subtitles. For sports gears and "inadless" cartoons, this is not critical. But it is unlikely that a person who does not know any language, except his native, will enjoy the viewing of news or popular scienceless programs without translation.
And one more important point. There are television channels free and with a subscription fee. Unfortunately, most free noticeably inferior to a paid on an interesting content (information content).
Astronomy with savings
Television satellites are placed in orbit so that the period of their rotation is exactly a day. The projection of satellites on the surface of the Earth in the geographic coordinate system is calculated in degrees of Western or Eastern longitude relative to Greenwich (zero) meridian.
Almost all communication satellites transmitting television and radio signals are broadcast using antennas aimed at one or another section of the earth's surface. For each satellite, there is a so-called coating map. For receiving a signal with a capacity of 52-53DBW, a small "plate" with a diameter of only 0.4-0.6 m. Avot for reliable signal reception with a power of 40 DBW is needed by a satellite antenna with a diameter of 1.8-2m.
Many factors, such as weather conditions, have an influence on the quality of the received signal (with a strong cloudiness, the reception is worse), the magnetic storms in the sun, the location of the shone and satellite, interference from the sources of the radio signal on Earth (the lower the horizon there is a satellite, the worse there will be a signal quality) . Of course, it is desirable that during the reception of the TV antenna signal as possible in the direction of the satellite, so the accuracy of the installation work is equally important than the professionalism of the installers. No matter how surprisingly, the meticulous lovers sometimes achieve the best results than professionals.
Minimum program or maximum program?
Before you begin to look after the "plate", the receiver and other attributes of the "new era of a spectacle", the potential owner of the satellite system must determine the range of the range of the channels.What programs are the greatest popularity? First, it should be noted the products of domestic television companies, officially broadcast in satellite television format. This is "NTV +", which has long been a monopolist on the Russian satellite television market, as well as the young company "Tricolor TV". Their television programs are broadcast on the territory of the European part of Russia from the EutelSat W4 satellite (36th century). The Vasserization "NTV +" includes more than 70 channels that have the most diverse topics (sports, popular science and educational programs, feature films and children's programs). The set of "tricolor TV" is modest: today its package consists of only ten channels, some of which are familiar with the audience on airtime television ("Russia", "culture", "Sport" IT.D.). But your content company Tricolor TV offers for viewing for free.
Foreign TV channels remain without attention. Many of our compatriots are familiar with channels such as MTV, CNN, Discovery, National Geografic, Euronews, Eurosport. Certain interest causes the television of Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan and other CIS countries.
Most popular foreign TV channels have been broadcast with the HOTBIRD, Sirius and Astra satellites. It is on these satellites, as well as the EutelSat W4 mentioned above and awarded more than 90% of fixed satellite antennas located in the European part of Russia.
The absolute "leader of the hit-parade" is considered a satellite (more precisely, a group of six satellites) HotBird (13 century). SONNA is broadcast by several hundred paid and free TV channels: for example, Euronews, MusicBox RU, "Our Movies" (everything in Russian), a popular channel of the Adjara television popular in Russia; children's, sports, musical canals in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian; Fashion TV Channels, CNN news channels, BBC, Bloomberg, Al-Jazeera IDR.
Similarly, the Sirius satellite group of Sirius (4.8 centuries) and Astra (19.2 century) and Astra (19.2 centuries) are "abundant" by different television channels. Sirius satellites are transmitted by television channels of Ukraine, Baltic countries and Scandinavia, from Astra-TV channels of Germany and other European states. The Turksat satellites (42 centuries, Television of Turkey, Azerbaijan), Express 6a (80 century), Express 6A (80 century d., Regional programs of Siberia), Bonum 1 (56 century), Bonum 1 (56 V. For high-quality admission to Siberia and in the Far East).
How to catch satellite
To view programs broadcast from any satellite, you will need a set of equipment consisting of a satellite antenna, a signal converter and receiver. The most noticeable element in this trinity is a parabolic reflector, or a mirror. Between itself, reflectors differ in design, diameter and material from which they are made. Constructively antennas are straightfounded and offset.
In a straightfocus antenna, a point where the beam beam is focused (there is a converter in it), it is located immediately before the antenna mirror, between the antenna and the satellite, and in the offset - shifted away from the falling flow of the rays. Miscellaneous placement of the focus point is achieved due to the use of "plates" of various curvatures (figuratively, in a straight-focus reflector used "donyshko" of a paraboloid, and in the offset, its "side"). Straight antennas provide higher quality signal, but the difference will be tangible only with a significant diameter of the mirror (more than 1.5 m). If the "plate" is small, then all the opposite, the converter falling into the focus becomes the cause of the signal attenuation.
Offset antennas have undeniable advantages. For example, they can be installed vertically, which often facilitates installation in urban conditions. In addition, snow, rainwater, foliage and other trash, worsening reception do not accumulate in the vertically located bowl of the antenna. That is why in most cases offset antennas apply in everyday life.
The diameter of the mirror directly depends on the power of the signal emitted by the satellite. At high power, for example, to receive signals "NTV +" and "Tricolor TV", in most areas of the European part of Russia, a small diameter antenna is 0.6-0.9m can be used. For confident reception of a weaker signal from Hotbird, Sirius satellites and especially Astra, an antenna with a diameter of 1.2-1.8m may be required.
The price of "plates" is highly dependent on their size. If the antennas with a diameter of 0.6m can be found on sale for 500-600 rubles., Then the satellite antenna with a diameter of about 2m will cost already 10-11 thousand rubles., Yes, and installation work on its installation will cost much more expensive. Is the same one should not acquire the reflector of the minimum possible diameter, it is better to have some "stock". The antennas of the significant diameter are more sensitive and are capable of receiving a signal in difficult conditions, for example, during precipitation, dense cloudiness, or in cases where the satellite "is shielded" of dust clouds.
The mirror is usually made of aluminum or steel. Usually, the "plates" of a small (up to 0.9 m) diameter are made of steel, and larger than large aluminum. Relatively recently appeared models with a reflector of transparent plastic reinforced with a metal grid. Such antennas, in particular, offers Svec (Taiwan). Plastic products have a lower sensitivity in the KU-band (it will be described below) and it is more expensive than all-metal, but they have certain advantages. They are not as noticeable on the facade of the building and do not darken the room when installed in front of the window (for example, on the balcony or loggia). Such "transparency and inconsistency" turns out to be quite by the way in urban conditions. It is necessary to handle the reflector carefully, even a minor (2-3cm) mirror deformation can lead to a significant deterioration in signal reception. Especially accustom to choose and install the aluminum antenna of a large diameter, since aluminum products are easier to change dimensions and shape under the influence of external forces. You can check the mirror for the presence of deformations by placing it on a flat surface - the edges of the reflector must touch it without gaps.
As for the manufacturers, the situation is as follows. On the domestic market, the "Supral" antennas (Russia) are broader. Models of European manufacturers are also located mode: Golden Interstar (Germany), Emme Esse (Italy), Mabo (Poland), Triax (Denmark) and a number of Chinese (including Taiwan) firms. Russian antennas for quality are not strongly inferior to European, but cost cheaper. For the price they are comparable to Chinese.
Suspension, ranges and polarization
The antenna kit in addition to the reflector includes a suspension and fastening system. There are two types of suspension - azimuthal and polar. Azimuth is used for fixed (fixed) installation of a mirror directed to a pre-selected satellite. The polar suspension allows you to redirect an antenna from one satellite to another. Theoretically, it can be covered by all satellites that are in the view area "from the horizon to the horizon", but in practice it is quite difficult to achieve. Installation and configuration of such a rotary antenna with a motorized suspension occupy much longer and forces. It is not surprising that providing such a service is as a rule, 4 times more expensive. So, in Moscow installation, installation, setting and connection of an antenna, aimed at a single satellite, cost 1.2-1.5 thousand rubles, and a swivel antenna hosting "all-all-all", - 6-8 thousand .rub.Some installers can configure the rotary antenna so that the quality of the signal from satellites located in one segment of the sky is significantly worse (the owner of the "plates" learns about this, as a rule, last). Therefore, do not be lazy to "run" through the channels and check if there is a "picture" from all satellites you are interested in. If part of the satellites is invisible due to obstacles on earth (terrain, closely located buildings, etc.), then good quality will not achieve anyway. Then ask the wizard to set up the equipment so that the reception of the signal from the rest of the satellites is as best as possible.
To control the motorized antenna, additional devices will be required - the actual turning mechanism (actuator) and the device, the controller (positioner). Today, the so-called Diseqc positioners are widespread, with which the antenna can be deployed to a particular satellite, simply choosing the television channel you are interested in using the remote control. The rotary antenna is also controlled by using the receiver with the built-in positioner (the receivers will be discussed further). A set of equipment for controlling a rotary antenna diameter of 1.2-1.6 m will cost approximately 3-4 thousand rubles.
In the focus of the reflector, there is a device converter, a reinforcing and conversion signal for further transmission over the receiver cable. The selection of the converter depends on the characteristics of the signal coming from the satellite. Signals with different frequency are used in puster television. They are divided into a C-band (frequency of 3.5-4,2ggz) and KU-range (10.7-12,75 GHz). European companies are used, as a rule, Ku-range, and the domestic-C-band. To receive signals from different ranges requires various converters. In addition, the KU-range is divided, in turn, into three subdiaspa: 10.7-11.8; 11.8-12.5; 12.5-12,75GHz. There are KU-converters calculated both on one subband and two and three-picband (Full Band, Wide Band, Triple). A single-band KU-converter can be found for sale for 300-400 rubles., And triple-converter - for 1-1.2 thousand rubles.
But that's not all. The signal from the satellite comes in polarized form (polarization is characterized by a certain spatial position of the vector of electric field strength). On European channels, a linear (vertical and horizontal) polarization, on Russian and American-circular. The price of the converter does not depend on the type of polarization, but such a variety complicates fans the choice of satellite television equipment. After all, for each type of signal requires its converter. That is why many firms offer ready-made techniques for "solving specific tasks", such as confident reception of a signal from a satellite. Such sets can cost 10-20% more expensive than sets of equipment collected by independently, but it is possible to eliminate the likelihood that the buyer will be wrong and buy an inappropriate equipment.
If you need to place several converters on one "plate", a special type of fastener is used for them, the so-called multifide. Multiphydine easy antenna can catch a signal from two or three satellites. The main requirement at the same time, the satellites are not too far from each other. It is desirable that the angle between them does not exceed 6-7. The most famous "sweet couples" includes combinations of HOTBIRD-Sirius satellites, HotBird- Astra and EutelSat W4-TURKSAT. A similar method allows you to save money on the second "plate", but it also has disadvantages. One of the satellites is definitely not in focus, so the signal quality will be worse.
Obeyers, and not only
The receiver completes the chain of devices connecting the satellite and TV. We will talk about these devices in the future on the pages of our magazine more, but for now I want to note the following. All receivers presented in the Russian market are made in Korea. Among manufacturers, companies like Samsung, Topfield, Golden Interstar Idre. In addition to the complexity of the construction of the receivers can be divided into several categories.
Models for viewing free non-channel channels. They are simple and inexpensive, stand about 3-4 thousand. rub. This, for example, DSR 8001 (Golden Interstar), AF-2100E (Arion).
Models with the ability to view encoded channels. They provide one or more connectors (slots) to set the decoding access card. The most numerous category of receivers. Most often there are receivers with diamonds for Viaccess cards. This encoding uses NTV + and other television companies. There are less often on sale receivers with slots for cards of another type. For 3.2-4.5 thousand rubles. You can find models with one Slot Viaccess: for example DSB-S300V (Samsung), VA-ACE (Humax), DSB 707 Viaccess (Echostar).
Models with a built-in CAM port, a CI port for connecting modules that decode closed channels, as well as receivers with built-in modules for "opening" of different encodings. These devices can be purchased for 4-5 thousand rubles. There are also combined models, such as SRT-4400 (Strong), equipped with a pair of Ci slots and a Viaccess card receiver.
Receivers with additional constructive features. Among them there are models with embedded hard drives to record interesting programs, such as 7000 (Dreambox), TF-4000 (TOPFIELD) with two tuners (you can watch one transmission, and write another). In addition, these are combined receivers for receiving channels of satellite and cable television, receivers with DVD player: FTA + DVD (Euston) models, AF-9300PVR (Arion), DV-1100S (HUMAX) with built-in positioner, multichannel sound support and other Useful features. Such receivers are noticeably more expensive, to 12-15 thousand rubles.
If you calculate all costs, the total amount of costs for equipment and its installation will be from 7-9 thousand rubles. up to several tens of thousand rubles. It is necessary to take into account the subscription fee, which averages 300-400 rubles on average. instez for the most interesting packages.
In urban environments for mounting antenna on the facade or roof of an apartment building, it is required to obtain a corresponding permission from the operational organization and the administration of the district or city. The form of permission for a particular city may vary, but it is the need to coordinate the antenna fastener in the local architectural supervision bodies (it is required that fasteners were safe, did not damage the roof, did not worsened the appearance of the facade of the building). Note that the installation of antenna equipment, made at his own risk, can turn into a court decree on the dismantling of the antenna.
In conclusion, I would like to recall that in addition to serious firms involved in the installation of satellite antennas, there are many "black antennters", which are not responsible for their actions, and therefore can provide low-quality services. Before contacting the organization that performs the installation of equipment for receiving satellite television channels, ask whether it has a license and what is the validity of this document. And it is necessary to pay for payment only if there is an outfit with the printing of the company, the address and telephone.
The editors thanks Samsung, "Proteka", "NTV +", "Telemig" for help in the preparation of material.