Build Your Own Free-to-Air (FTA) Satellite TV System

Introduction

Satellite communication is a fascinating topic, and a person could spend a lot of quality time reading and studying all there is to know about this unique method of communication. As far as we know today, the option to watch or hear programming bounced back to Earth from a satellite in low Earth orbit began to grip both the fascination and “cold war” alarm of the Western world’s citizenry with the launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957. I remember as a young lad going out into the neighbor’s treeless and open yard every evening during the 22 days the satellite stayed in orbit to see if we could see Sputnik pass overhead. Not real sure if I ever saw Sputnik, but I did see a lot of bats feeding on giant insects and planes passing overhead ...