[kwlug-disc] Fwd: Re: geosynchronous satellites

[John Johnson]

For those who are interested, below are some good links about 
geosynchronous satellites , geostationary satellites , and the "slots" 
they occupy

http://thespacereview.com/article/1634/1
http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/1098/how-full-is-the-geostationary-belt
http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/2515/how-closely-spaced-are-satellites-at-geo

The "old 6ft" dish was used for the technology of the day, which 
included lower radio frequencies with longer wavelengths as compared to 
current technology.
The longer wavelengths prescribed the need for the larger dish. In 
addition, the satellite spacing in the orbit was wider hence the need to 
steer the dish to point different satellites.

As noted, with current technology, multiple horns are used to focus a 
stationary dish onto 'beams' from different satellites.

OT: As noted in one of the links above, in 1945 Arthur C Clarke, in his 
role as a scientist as opposed to a sci-fi writer, first proposed the 
concept of the geosynchronous orbit in a technical paper. He was 
recognized for this work much later, after the "Clarke Orbit" was well 
populated with satellites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke

John Johnson

On 2014-02-28 08:44, CrankyOldBugger wrote:
> My Dad's old 6ft dish was one of those motorized monsters.  It was 
> amazing technology when we got it, but now I can't imagine using it. 
>  The non-moving Bell satellite is just too much of a convenience!
>
> On 28 February 2014 02:25, Colin Mackay <zixiekat at gmail.com 
> <mailto:zixiekat at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>      If you want the 4 or 5 english stations, you end up having to
>     point at 3 or 4 different satellites, hence the need for the
>     additional 'horns' or a motorized dish.
>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://kwlug.org/pipermail/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org/attachments/20140228/22ea9e4b/attachment.htm>