Professional Pilot, March 2018
Astronics AeroSat FliteStream connectivity systems enable seamless productivity and entertainment while in flight S atellite communication Sat Com technology is a means of delivering voice data and entertainment to nearly every location on the planet Nowadays its taken for granted that broadband internet and hundreds of television channels are available instantaneously with the aid of a small antenna and processor However just a few decades ago these conveniences were sparse cumbersome and costly Baby boomers and those born into generation X may recall what home satellite systems looked like in the late 70s and throughout the 80s The receiving antenna was an enormous parabolic dish at least 10 12 feet wide The logistical challenge was positioning the dish so that it 62 PROFESSIONAL PILOT March 2018 maintained a clear line of sight with a geostationary above the equator satellite while at the same time not provoking the ire of the homeowners association or neighbors Size and footprint of old equipment really made the installation an eyesore But the behemoth antenna was necessary to capture the low power C band signals being delivered by the television providers of the day Historical background of commercial tv dish signal reception The knowledge underlying the technical requirements for a home dish was made public by Taylor Howard an electrical engineering professor at Stanford In 1976 Taylor a licensed pilot who worked on radio astronomy for several NASA programs from Apollo to Voyager built his own 16 foot personal satellite dish He also published a guide for others to do the same At 1st commercial television signals were not encrypted so anyone with the financial means to install a dish around 3000 in 1981 could intercept the feed and watch content for free Howard even sent HBO a check for 100 in an unsolicited attempt to pay for programming he consumed The check was promptly returned because the company only dealt with large cable companies not individuals Years later HBO became the 1st television provider to scramble the downlink from the satellite in an attempt to end what it considered poaching of proprietary material Other companies soon followed necessitating satellite dish enthusiasts to purchase a decoder and subscription to watch Today home satellite antennas are approximately the size of a large pizza The equipment costs are negligible when compared to past iterations and the technology has advanced exponentially Why are the costs high for aircraft reception Given the ease of obtaining broadband internet and television at home and the office why is it so complex CONNECTIVITY ALOFT Fresnel lens horn design coupled with Ku band transmission works well for bizav internet reception By Shannon Forrest President Turbine Mentor ATP CFII Challenger 604 605 Gulfstream IV MU2B FliteStream T Series tail mounted connectivity system for business aviation Photos courtesy Astronics
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