How was a DIY satellite dish engineered in the 1980s?
March 6, 2018 3:42 PM Subscribe
In the early- to mid-80s, my dad, an electrical engineer, made a DIY satellite dish. I know what was on the outside, but I don't know what was on the inside. Sadly, he's gone and can't explain it to me. What did he cobble together, and how did it work with satellite technology of the time?
This piece of equipment was a metal garbage can lid mounted on a pole attached to the house, like a TV antenna would be. A short length of PVC pipe (maybe 6" in diameter) was affixed to the center of the trash can lid and held the electronics. A cable ran from the "dish" into my parents' bedroom window, across the floor, and to the TV. (I'm assuming it was co-ax.)
On a good day, provided that there was no fussy weather, their TV could pick up one satellite movie channel (i.e., not a local network broadcast) when the TV was tuned to channel 2 or 3. The picture was tremendously snowy, the audio quality was awful, and every once in a while my dad would have to go out to micro-adjust the direction the dish was pointed. We let that all slide because hey, free satellite TV in a cable-free household!
What I remember about cable/satellite TV from that time is that the people who lived in town and got cable had huge set-top cable boxes, and our next-door neighbors had an enormous satellite dish in their yard that actually rotated (slowly, loudly) every time they changed the channel.
Considering the technology of the time, what kind of electronics were in the DIY dish my dad put together, and how did it receive a signal from space?
The whole get-up was on the back of the house, by the way, and wasn't visible from the road because 1) my mom (correctly) thought it was hideously ugly, and 2) my dad didn't want to get caught. I'm not sure who would have caught him, as we lived in the sticks, but he felt nervous/guilty enough about it to conceal the dish.
(Also, it occurred to me while typing this that pretty much all of my dad's home inventions, including the honey extractor, seemed to involve metal trash can parts and PVC.)
This piece of equipment was a metal garbage can lid mounted on a pole attached to the house, like a TV antenna would be. A short length of PVC pipe (maybe 6" in diameter) was affixed to the center of the trash can lid and held the electronics. A cable ran from the "dish" into my parents' bedroom window, across the floor, and to the TV. (I'm assuming it was co-ax.)
On a good day, provided that there was no fussy weather, their TV could pick up one satellite movie channel (i.e., not a local network broadcast) when the TV was tuned to channel 2 or 3. The picture was tremendously snowy, the audio quality was awful, and every once in a while my dad would have to go out to micro-adjust the direction the dish was pointed. We let that all slide because hey, free satellite TV in a cable-free household!
What I remember about cable/satellite TV from that time is that the people who lived in town and got cable had huge set-top cable boxes, and our next-door neighbors had an enormous satellite dish in their yard that actually rotated (slowly, loudly) every time they changed the channel.
Considering the technology of the time, what kind of electronics were in the DIY dish my dad put together, and how did it receive a signal from space?
The whole get-up was on the back of the house, by the way, and wasn't visible from the road because 1) my mom (correctly) thought it was hideously ugly, and 2) my dad didn't want to get caught. I'm not sure who would have caught him, as we lived in the sticks, but he felt nervous/guilty enough about it to conceal the dish.
(Also, it occurred to me while typing this that pretty much all of my dad's home inventions, including the honey extractor, seemed to involve metal trash can parts and PVC.)
Here's a 1982 article on home satellite dishes. Yours was the same as in the article, but with more personality.
posted by JimN2TAW at 3:56 PM on March 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by JimN2TAW at 3:56 PM on March 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: That explains a lot, JimN2Taw, and puts it in some context. From the article:
Not that the cable companies are happy with the situation--some, like Home Box Office, have announced multimillion dollar plans to scramble their signals.
I remember now that this is why the thing finally got taken down -- more and more channels were getting scrambled, to the point that it wasn't worth fiddling with anymore.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:04 PM on March 6, 2018
Not that the cable companies are happy with the situation--some, like Home Box Office, have announced multimillion dollar plans to scramble their signals.
I remember now that this is why the thing finally got taken down -- more and more channels were getting scrambled, to the point that it wasn't worth fiddling with anymore.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:04 PM on March 6, 2018
Not an answer to the question, but if you don't already know about it, you might find this interesting: Captain Midnight broadcast intrusion incident.
posted by Fukiyama at 6:18 PM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Fukiyama at 6:18 PM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
As I recall (I had a cousin who had a large satellite dish in his backyard), the 'legit' version of this that came along was, like your neighbor's dish, a motorized contraption that was controlled by the receiver. You tell it what satellite* to tune to, it goes WHIRR WHIRR WHIRR for an eternity, and with any luck you were watching the show before it was over. There were satellite viewing guides, because you couldn't just tune to a number channel like antenna, cable, or modern satellite TV - you had to find your program, what satellite it was on, and specific tuning information beyond that.
As the industry matured and the premium content players started encrypting their signals, the receivers began to feature unencryption schemes where you could subscribe and electronically get the codes to unscramble the signal, not unlike how cable works. This point in the game was very much like the beginning of the end for Napster, as most of the appeal was getting stuff for free.
*oz of inaccuracy to save a ton of explanation
posted by randomkeystrike at 5:43 AM on March 7, 2018
As the industry matured and the premium content players started encrypting their signals, the receivers began to feature unencryption schemes where you could subscribe and electronically get the codes to unscramble the signal, not unlike how cable works. This point in the game was very much like the beginning of the end for Napster, as most of the appeal was getting stuff for free.
*oz of inaccuracy to save a ton of explanation
posted by randomkeystrike at 5:43 AM on March 7, 2018
My dad is also an electric engineer, and he used to build similar devices back in the 70's and 80's. I think what you remember is a microwave television receiver. They would range from fancy, welded horns (which got great reception) to devices more similar to what you describe, and would only get one channel. The electronics were always housed in old coffee tins.
He also used to build home-made C-Band satellite dishes, which are massive affairs, at least 12' in diameter, built out of plywood and chicken wire. They required a lot more accuracy and finesse in construction and installation. The satellite dishes would get multiple channels per satellite and you needed a receiver box. Channels weren't scrambled in the early days, so it was basically free tv after you go the dish. He would mount the dishes with hand-cranked actuators to change position of the dish to a new satellite. It was my job to go out and crank the dish whenever he wanted to change satellites, rain, sleet, or snow. We had various hand-built dishes for years, and as he made newer and better ones they would be retired to the satellite dish graveyard in a field behind the house. Sometime after the mid-80's he finally got a commercially-made dish with an electric actuator.
posted by fimbulvetr at 7:34 AM on March 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
He also used to build home-made C-Band satellite dishes, which are massive affairs, at least 12' in diameter, built out of plywood and chicken wire. They required a lot more accuracy and finesse in construction and installation. The satellite dishes would get multiple channels per satellite and you needed a receiver box. Channels weren't scrambled in the early days, so it was basically free tv after you go the dish. He would mount the dishes with hand-cranked actuators to change position of the dish to a new satellite. It was my job to go out and crank the dish whenever he wanted to change satellites, rain, sleet, or snow. We had various hand-built dishes for years, and as he made newer and better ones they would be retired to the satellite dish graveyard in a field behind the house. Sometime after the mid-80's he finally got a commercially-made dish with an electric actuator.
posted by fimbulvetr at 7:34 AM on March 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
This page has a picture of a microwave television receiver that looks exactly like you describe -- a dish with a length of tube in the middle.
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:03 AM on March 7, 2018
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:03 AM on March 7, 2018
Also, from that page: "Microwave signals must have a straight, line-of-sight path. Solid obstructions, or even heavy rain, sleet, or snow, can degrade or completely obliterate the signal."
Thanks for this question! It really brings back a lot of memories!
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:05 AM on March 7, 2018
Thanks for this question! It really brings back a lot of memories!
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:05 AM on March 7, 2018
I'm with fimbulvetr.
I remember my uncle had Showtime pay tv back in the earliest days of the service, and it involved a dedicated microwave antenna on the roof pointed at some skyscraper downtown. No large C-band dish or anything looking up at the sky. I'm assuming it wasn't scrambled since the technical burden of creating your own pirate rig was so difficult for most consumers.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:29 AM on March 7, 2018
I remember my uncle had Showtime pay tv back in the earliest days of the service, and it involved a dedicated microwave antenna on the roof pointed at some skyscraper downtown. No large C-band dish or anything looking up at the sky. I'm assuming it wasn't scrambled since the technical burden of creating your own pirate rig was so difficult for most consumers.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:29 AM on March 7, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by JimN2TAW at 3:50 PM on March 6, 2018