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Article:
How Satellite TV Works by: Gary Davis - Kate Ivy Gone are the days where you could spot a satellite dish six blocks away. Today's dish is drastically smaller, much more reliable and considerably less expensive than its enormous ancestor. So, just how does Satellite TV work? First, you need to understand how the antenna broadcasting system works. Traditional television broadcasting antennas use radio waves to transmit their programming. Each broadcasting station operates at a unique frequency that identifies the station to the FCC and allows your receiver to select a particular 'channel'. These radio waves are carried from the station's antenna to yours which, when tuned to the specific frequency picks up the waves for your television to interpret and project. Unfortunately, radio waves can only travel so far when emitted from an antenna and are subject to distortion as objects get in between the two points of communication. Enter the Satellite A satellite is actually any object that orbits a larger object, such as the Earth. Our Moon is considered a satellite and, in theory, the Earth would be a satellite to the Sun. Man-made satellites follow this same premise. A man-made satellite is placed into position just over '20
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