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SatcoDX Satellite ChartColumn Explanation |
| Coverage | Satellite's Antenna Coverage Beam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Some satellites beam their programmes to Earth using a transmission antenna that is designed such that the beamed signal covers the entire part of the Earth visible from that satellite's location in orbit. Such transmission antennas are called global. It most cases it makes more sense for a satellite operator to concentrate signals to a certain area on Earth, mainly that part of Earth where the intended recipients of TV, radio or data channels are at home. For example, since the target audience is usually at home on land and not out at sea on ships somewhere, it makes more sense to point a transmission antenna to the land masses of Earth rather than to the oceans. Most satellites have more than one antenna on board, combined with cleverly designed reflectors that enable the satellite's footprint to match a desired reception area. It is therefore important to know which frequencies are connected to which transmission antenna in order to know on what parts of the Earth signals can be received. SatcoDX contains unique maps of the coverage areas of each of these antennas. In the centre of those coverage areas reception is possible with smaller antennas than at the edges of these coverage areas. Outside of these coverage areas, reception is probably still possible but using more advanced equipment. Each of these coverage areas has been given a Coverage Code in 8-letter-format. The first three letters indicate satellite operator, the following three letters indicate type or version of satellite itself and last two letters define the individual antenna coverage area. This 8-letter-format Coverage Code, or just parts of it, like only the satellite operator, or satellite type, can be displayed with receivers using the automatic programming function of SatcoDX. The coverage codes are also used by the Profile and Wizard functions of the "SatcoDX World of Satellites" software to identify which transmissions are receivable at a specific location. The satellite operator codes are as follows:
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