Taking A Look At The Different Types Of Satellite Antennas

Satellite antennas are heavily used in telecommunication, military, broadcasting, finance, public security, energy resources and a host of many other areas. To the everyday person, the units are used at home where they allow you to view more TV stations. While the antennas look similar, they are of different types. Here are the most common types:

Motorized antenna

From its name, this is a unit that has a motor that allows it to rotate in different directions. Most of these units are controlled using a remote. This enables them to pick up many stations. In most cases, the units are larger than other satellites. They are recommended for people that are limited of space.

Prime feed satellite

This is the most common unit that you will find in most homes. It’s basically a parabolic dish with a diameter of 1.4 meters and usually has an LNC mounted at the center facing outside. While it looks beautiful, the dish doesn’t receive many radio signals. This is because the LNC blocks plenty of incoming signals.

Stationary satellite

This is a unit that doesn’t have a motor thus you have to rotate physically when you want it to face a particular direction. They come in different sizes where the larger dishes pick a larger number of signals. Since the units are stationary, they pick up signals located close together.

Offset antenna

This one has the LNC located to the side of the satellite dish. Due to the location, it doesn’t interfere with the signal path. This means that the unit picks plenty of signals. The picture quality also tends to be of high quality. In most cases, these units are smaller than prime feed satellites.

Dual offset antenna

The units are simply an improvement of the normal offset antenna. They are characterized by two dishes. One antenna receives the signal while the smaller antenna picks the signal and transfers it to the LNC. Since it has two dishes, this antenna is said to have 80% efficiency.

Flat antenna

It’s the most compact type of antenna as the LNC is located inside the antenna dish. Due to the location of the LNC, these units are ideal for people living near the center of the satellite footprint area.

Conclusion

These are some of the satellite antennas that you can go for. When making the purchase, ensure that the units you buy are the right ones for your zone.