Friends, I know I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. I think the fact that you can track a satellite from a moving boat is nothing short of magic. It’s reasonably amazing that you can track a satellite 20,000 miles away at all with a relatively small antenna. Now add the fact that you’re constantly moving in three dimensions, and there’s still a way to focus precisely on that one tiny spot in space? I’m not going to pretend to understand the level of precision technology required. I’m just glad it works.
But, there are always compromises in life. It’s true that you can get satellite TV on your boat, but one of the things you’ll need is some sort of control box separate from the receiver. You don’t need something like that at home and you don’t need it (in most cases) with an RV satellite TV system. So why do systems for boats need an antenna control unit?
Obviously, the biggest difference between marine satellite TV and home satellite TV is that the dish needs to keep aiming itself. A satellite dish at home can go for years without needing to be re-aimed. A marine satellite dish is re-aiming itself several times a second. Think about that. The system is actively checking the signal quality coming from the satellite and making adjustments in real time, by itself, faster than the amount of time it takes to read this sentence. That takes a lot of technology.
But, you may be asking yourself why some of that technology has to be in an external box. I mean, you have a device like a phone which has an incredible amount of computing power and it’s tiny. Couldn’t they put all the electronics inside the dome itself?
It doesn’t happen often, but you will sometimes need to make changes to your antenna control unit. For example, folks with KVH TracVision HD7 devices are finding that they have to make a small change to them that no one anticipated. In order to do that, you need to connect something up to the control unit itself. (Want to learn more? Click here.) If you didn’t have access to it, you’d need to open up the satellite dome and do all that work while up on a mast.
There are other, more common reasons as well. Your marine satellite system has capabilities you probably don’t use. The control box lets you set which satellites to track, which area of the world you’re in, that sort of thing. You personally may never go more than a few miles off shore from your home port, but these systems are designed for global use. If they were completely customized for every home port, they would cost even more than they do. Using the same control unit all over the globe (or at least mostly all over the globe) makes economic sense.
I know that if I were reading this article I’d be wondering that too. The answer is that they could, and in fact at one time they did. And, you’re glad they stopped. About 20 years ago, KVH had a system called the M1 which had a combined receiver/control unit called the M10. Unfortunately the receiver part of that system went obsolete so you have to use a separate receiver for video. But, you still need the M10 unit to control the dish and they haven’t been made in years. I’m glad that KVH went to having a separate external control box for that reason.
If the folks at DIRECTV and DISH wanted, they could build that control technology into every receiver they make. But, that would increase their costs per receiver. Since 99% of people don’t need that tech, it doesn’t make sense to do it that way.
If you want to upgrade your existing marine satellite system, or if you’ve recently realized that satellite internet isn’t the perfect solution for boat owners, call the experts! The team at Signal Connect has been helping marine customers like you for over 20 years. We’re here during East Coast business hours and we can help you with upgrades, new account activations, and tech support. If you want to know more, call the experts now! We’re here at 888-233-7563. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below. We’ll get right back to you!
The post Why do marine satellite TV systems need a control unit when other satellite TV systems don’t? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
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But, there are always compromises in life. It’s true that you can get satellite TV on your boat, but one of the things you’ll need is some sort of control box separate from the receiver. You don’t need something like that at home and you don’t need it (in most cases) with an RV satellite TV system. So why do systems for boats need an antenna control unit?
Partially, it’s because boats move.
Obviously, the biggest difference between marine satellite TV and home satellite TV is that the dish needs to keep aiming itself. A satellite dish at home can go for years without needing to be re-aimed. A marine satellite dish is re-aiming itself several times a second. Think about that. The system is actively checking the signal quality coming from the satellite and making adjustments in real time, by itself, faster than the amount of time it takes to read this sentence. That takes a lot of technology.
But, you may be asking yourself why some of that technology has to be in an external box. I mean, you have a device like a phone which has an incredible amount of computing power and it’s tiny. Couldn’t they put all the electronics inside the dome itself?
They could, but it’s a good thing that they didn’t.
It doesn’t happen often, but you will sometimes need to make changes to your antenna control unit. For example, folks with KVH TracVision HD7 devices are finding that they have to make a small change to them that no one anticipated. In order to do that, you need to connect something up to the control unit itself. (Want to learn more? Click here.) If you didn’t have access to it, you’d need to open up the satellite dome and do all that work while up on a mast.
There are other, more common reasons as well. Your marine satellite system has capabilities you probably don’t use. The control box lets you set which satellites to track, which area of the world you’re in, that sort of thing. You personally may never go more than a few miles off shore from your home port, but these systems are designed for global use. If they were completely customized for every home port, they would cost even more than they do. Using the same control unit all over the globe (or at least mostly all over the globe) makes economic sense.
Why can’t they just build this stuff into the DIRECTV box?
I know that if I were reading this article I’d be wondering that too. The answer is that they could, and in fact at one time they did. And, you’re glad they stopped. About 20 years ago, KVH had a system called the M1 which had a combined receiver/control unit called the M10. Unfortunately the receiver part of that system went obsolete so you have to use a separate receiver for video. But, you still need the M10 unit to control the dish and they haven’t been made in years. I’m glad that KVH went to having a separate external control box for that reason.
If the folks at DIRECTV and DISH wanted, they could build that control technology into every receiver they make. But, that would increase their costs per receiver. Since 99% of people don’t need that tech, it doesn’t make sense to do it that way.
Want to know more?
If you want to upgrade your existing marine satellite system, or if you’ve recently realized that satellite internet isn’t the perfect solution for boat owners, call the experts! The team at Signal Connect has been helping marine customers like you for over 20 years. We’re here during East Coast business hours and we can help you with upgrades, new account activations, and tech support. If you want to know more, call the experts now! We’re here at 888-233-7563. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below. We’ll get right back to you!
The post Why do marine satellite TV systems need a control unit when other satellite TV systems don’t? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
Continue reading...
