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An Introduction To Satellite TV Technology Television delivered by the means of communications satellite is called Satellite TV. A satellite dish and set-top receiver box is needed on Earth to receive the signal. Satellite TV offers a wide range of channels and services. Satellite television begins with a transmitting antenna situated at an up-link facility. Very large satellite dishes, as much as 9 to 12 meters (30 to 40 feet) in diameter are used for uplink. The increased diameter leads to more precise aiming and improved signal strength at the satellite. The dish used for up-link is aimed at a specific satellite. The up-link signals are transmitted within a specific frequency range, so as to be received by one of the transponders tuned to that frequency range onboard the satellite. The transponder resends the signals back to Earth but in a different frequency band to avoid interference with the up-link signal. The resending typically happens in the C-band (4–8 GHz) or Ku-band (12–18 GHz) or sometimes both. The leg of the signal course from the satellite to the receiving Earth station is called the downlink. The downlinked satellite signal becomes quite weak after traveling the great distance to Earth. The signal is collected by a parabolic receiving dish, which converges the weak signal to the dish’s focal point. A device called feedhorn is mounted on brackets at the dish's focal point. The signals at or near the focal point are collected by this feedhorn which is essentially the flared front-end of a portion of waveguide and then conducts them to a pickup connected to a low-noise block downconverter or LNB. The LNB amplifies the relatively weak signals and filters the chunk of frequencies in which the satellite TV signals are transmitted. The LNB then converts the block of frequencies to a lower frequency range in the L-band range. Direct broadcast satellite dishes are fitted with an LNBF which integrates the feedhorn with the LNB. The satellite receiver set-top box then demodulates and translates the signals to the desired form of output for television, audio, data, etc. Sometimes, the receiver includes the capability to unscramble or decrypt; the receiver is then called an integrated receiver/decoder. The cable connecting the receiver to the LNBF or LNB must be of the low loss type RG-6, quad shield RG-6 or RG-11, etc. It cannot be standard RG-59. The main advantage of satellite TV is that providers (like Dish Network or DirecTv) don’t have to lay miles upon miles of cable to deliver television programs to you. They don’t require broadcast centers in every city which duplicates equipment. This saves you money because satellite TV is less expensive to maintain and up-grade, no re-laying of cable to up-grade services is needed. If the primary uplink center has a problem, the secondary uplink center automatically takes over broadcasting. That’s why satellite TV has a less than 1% outage rate. Satellite TV companies rate significantly higher in customer satisfaction than cable television companies.

Kidnapped US aid worker freed in Darfur A female American aid worker abducted in Darfur more than 100 days ago was freed on Monday, officials said, while three Russians were reported kidnapped in the war-torn region of west Sudan.

Mexican consulate opens satellite office at Gateway International Bridge BROWNSVILLE — U.S. and Mexican officials shook hands as they opened a satellite office of the Mexican consulate on the American side of Gateway International Bridge.“This is a historical moment,� said Consul Rodolfo Quilatan. “This office...

Spirited donations surprise Satellite High When Satellite High's orchestra invested $6,000 as part of an American flag fundraiser, organizers wanted to spread some patriotism and hopefully get enough donations to recoup the money they spent.

US woman kidnapped in May free in Darfur: ministry A female American aid worker abducted by gunmen in the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur more than 100 days ago was freed on Monday, Sudan's foreign ministry said.

Little memories rock on for ex-Little Leaguer SATELLITE BEACH — Darwin Carpenter's wife, Lara, often wondered why he would tune in and intently watch 11- and 12-year-olds play baseball in the Little League World Series.

Kidnapped US aid worker freed in Darfur, Russians abducted KHARTOUM, Sudan - A female American aid worker abducted by gunmen in the Sudanese region of Darfur more than 100 days ago was freed on Monday, an official said, while three Russians were reported kidnapped.

Kidnapped aid worker freed in Darfur, Russians abducted A female American aid worker abducted by gunmen in the Sudanese region of Darfur more than 100 days ago was freed on Monday.

Abducted U.S. aid worker released in Darfur Source: Reuters * Freed American woman works for U.S. charity * Russia says three-member aircrew kidnapped (Adds Russian statement about three aircrew kidnapped) By Opheera McDoom ...

American Airlines flies new, more precise Dallas/Fort Worth route to Connecticut American Airlines Inc. set another milestone Thursday in the industry's move toward a better air traffic control system.

Dani Pedrosa wins MotoGP event INDIANAPOLIS--American Ben Spies came up one position short from a perfect weekend in a home MotoGP, finishing second to Spain's Dani Pedrosa in the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sunday. Spies was...

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Now showing on satellite TV: secret American spy photos

Security lapse allows viewers to see sensitive operations.

European satellite TV viewers can watch live broadcasts of peacekeeping and anti-terrorist operations being conducted by US spyplanes over the Balkans.

Normally secret video links from the American spies-in-the-sky have a serious security problem - a problem that make it easier for terrorists to tune in to live video of US intelligence activity than to get Disney cartoons or new-release movies.

For more than six months live pictures from manned spy aircraft and drones have been broadcast through a satellite over Brazil. The satellite, Telstar 11, is a commercial TV relay. The US spyplane broadcasts are not encrypted, meaning that anyone in the region with a normal satellite TV receiver can watch surveillance operations as they happen.

The satellite feeds have also been connected to the internet, potentially allowing the missions to be watched from around the globe.

Viewers who tuned in to the unintended attraction on Tuesday could watch a sudden security alert around the US army's Kosovan headquarters, Camp Bondsteel in Urosevac. The camp was visited last summer by President Bush and his defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.

A week earlier the spyplane had provided airborne cover for a heavily protected patrol of the Macedonian-Kosovan border, near Skopje. A group of apparently high-ranking visitors were accompanied by six armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter gunship.

Nato officials, whose forces in former Yugoslavia depend on the US missions for intelligence, at first expressed disbelief at the reports. After inquiring, a Nato spokesman confirmed: "We're aware that this imagery is put on a communications satellite. The distribution of this material is handled by the United States and we're content that they're following appropriate levels of security."

This lapse in US security was discovered last year by a British engineer and satellite enthusiast, John Locker, who specialises in tracking commercial satellite services. Early in November 2001 he routinely logged the new channels.

"I thought that the US had made a deadly error," he said. "My first thought was that they were sending their spyplane pictures through the wrong satellite by mistake, and broadcasting secret information across Europe."

He tried repeatedly to warn British, Nato and US officials about the leak. But his warnings were set aside. One officer wrote back to tell him that the problem was a "known hardware limitation".

The flights, conducted by US army and navy units and AirScan Inc, a Florida-based private military company, are used to monitor terrorists and smugglers trying to cross borders, to track down arms caches, and to keep watch on suspect premises. The aircraft are equipped to watch at night, using infrared.

"We seem to be transmitting this information potentially straight to our enemies," said one US military intelligence official who was alerted to the leak, adding: "I would be worried that using this information, the people we are tracking will see what we are looking at and, much more worryingly, what we are not looking at.

"This could let people see where our forces are and what they're doing. That's putting our boys at risk."

Former SAS officer Adrian Weale, who served in Northern Ireland, told BBC Newsnight last night: "I think I'd be extremely irritated to find that the planning and hard work that had gone into mounting an operation against, for instance, a war crime suspect or gun runner was being compromised by the release of this information in the form that it's going out in."

· Duncan Campbell is a freelance investigative journalist and a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and not the Guardian correspondent of the same name.