How To Maintain The Earth Station Antennas?

The simple maintenance of earth station antenna helps to minimize the antenna failure probability and extend the antenna life. For the proper functioning of the antenna, it is required to maintain the antenna on the regular basis.

An appropriate maintenance planning of Earth Stations Antennas is a type of commercial insurance. Always check the completion of the whole structure. Try to  check the electrical performance to reduce the occurrence of antenna failure. To maintain the antenna, you need to follow the below mentioned steps:

1. Surface Maintenance

It is required to check the complete paint surface and electroplating surface regularly.  You can use a metal wire brush or abrasive paper to rub the rust spot on the electroplating surface. Always coat a layer of zinc-rich coating which does not require the complete clearance of the rust.

2. Antenna Fasteners

The users must tighten the loose nuts and replace the lost, rust and corrosive components because nuts, bolts, and rivets are usually affected by the atmospheric effect.

3. Ground

The antenna and bracket must be grounded to prevent the lightning strikes. Try to check if the mechanics of the grounding system and no mechanical connection are connected or not.

4. Cable and connector

Intermediate facility link cable helps to transmit the signal between the antenna and computer room. Inspect if these cables are damaged or not. If you find anything wrong with insertion loss, then check whether the cables need to be replaced or be repaired.

5. Shutdown Maintenance

Whether the antenna stops working or not, some maintenance is always required on the regular basis, just to check the functioning of the antenna.

Always keep a maintenance record. When you start installing the antenna, leave a  record with date and photos. Thus, this article can help you to know how you can maintain the earth station antenna in a proper way.

An Overview Of Satellite Communication Technology

Satellites communication solutions are accessible in even the remote areas where there are no cable or telephone facilities. No matter where you are on the globe, satellite can connect connect every part of the world. Even the overseas destination can be connected easily. Satellite communications can be used for many purposes:

Oil And Gas Coverage:

The satellite communication is used in this industry to track the operations at remote locations. The location of drill bit piercing on the ocean floor, volume of oil transferred from offshore, satellites are used to secure the HD video coverage of the all ongoing activities at live sites.

Telecommunication Network:

Satellite is nothing less than a boon connecting even the remote locations together. The countries have interconnection established with the help of satellites. For poor countries which have little infrastructure for communication, or the geographical parts of the world which are located at remote locations, satellite communication solutions make it easy to connect to transoceanic parts.

Cellular Network:

The bandwidth of the cellular network is increased using the satellites. Satellites allow the the cell to have extra bandwidth without any limits of terrestrial bandwidth or any kind of location restrictions.  

TV Signal Transmission:

The transmission of TV signals is done between the tv companies and their respective affiliates.

Marine Communication Linkage:

The communication linkage to different ships in the maritime, is made possible with the help of marine communications.

Use of satellites in corporate connections has facilitated in obtaining a reliable solutions for emergency situations. Travel, forestry, mining, oil and gas coverage, satellites communication services have extended in every sector and has made the process of communication so much easier. The coordination and managing of complex activities such as scientific exploration, supervision and telecommunication was never more easier.

An Overview Of Cyber Security

The breeches made by hackers are such a common occurrence these days which leads in the security failures in government and corporate organizations and even satellite communication systems can be hacked easily. This leads to loss of data and serious serious like jeopardy in national security.

Security risks can be fatal to any organization and it is important to have security measures that can not eliminate the cyber attacks and make your organization secure. Protection of cyberspace is crucial for both industry and government. For protecting the national security and economic growth of the country, cybersecurity must be prioritized.

As the cyber crimes continue to become more sophisticated, it is critical to employ the security services for proper safety and protection against the cyberattacks. Cyber security is essential to every business and organizations. it can protect the sensitive data and entire IT system from threats of hackers like sabotage, espionage, vandalism.

The unauthorized access can leave to leak of important data. So establishing improved information security management is crucial with the right security arrangements in place. There are different ways in which cyber attacks are done on your system. Sometimes attackers can hack the database system and even mail server, impersonating other people.

Hacker can send fake emails on your behalf, asking for their ID and password, making your contact list that the request for the information came  from you. This is one of the many way with which hackers steal the data of your company. Domain Name Server attacks can redirect the visitors coming to your website to another webpage which is a common phishing attack made by the hackers.

The brutal force attacks are also increasing in the cyberspace. This the way of attempting to break into someone’s account with numerous login attempts and stealing the important database and possibly steal  their identity, popularly known as identity theft.

And in session hijacking, the hacker logs in the system of a user and using a uniques session ID, they hijack the account itself and steal the credentials. They can start transactions using that ID, and misuse your account for their benefit.

The proper connection of uplink and downlink of satellite is important in order to secure the  transmission for protecting against the hackers. Fixed satellite earth station, mobile earth station, wireless networks, etc. need to be protected individually to achieve that level of 100% foolproof security.

Satellite communication systems require satellites to communication between different remote areas, mobile stations, etc. uplink is the link of communication to a satellite from an earth station, whereas downlink is a communication link to an earth station from a satellite. Basically earth station links different satellite communication systems.

The satellites are also of two types : active satellite and passive satellite. Active satellite receives and transmits radio communication signals and translation of frequency of the incoming signals through Transponders in order to avoid signal interference.

And passive satellites are the relay stations which reflects radio waves from one ground terminal to another without any changes of amplification. Radio and TV satellites are used for transmission of media and entertainment channels across the globe. They broadcast news, sports match, radio services and live footage of many events.

And maintaining the security for them is important to prevent it from getting hijacked and compromised in an ill way. In 1999, the story of computer hackers in South of England taking control of the british military communications satellite, resulting in a high security alert. The hackers had somehow hacked the skynet satellites of Ministry of Defence and changed the settings of the channels used for satellites television and military communications.

The communication satellite is basically a radio repeater having 12 or 24 transponders using a frequency block. If the transponder is not engaged and has unused power and bandwidth left, then empty place can be easily be identified on the transponder using spectrum analyser. Figuring out the bandwidth and power required to use uplink without messing up someone else’s signals and creating a career is one of the ways, hackers use for hijacking.

They are expert at doing it in a way not to get noticed. They sneak up in a way that they don't put huge drain on the satellite so that they aren't detected and even if they are, finding their uplink can be  a difficult process. There are times when attack comes in different form. The denial of service can be created when  carriers are on same frequency simultaneously.

Different uplinks can be used to create those carriers, making it extremely complicated to find where the leakage is happening. Someone can accidentally turn uplink into the wrong satellite space, often wiping out the services accidently or purposefully.

This certainly shows the importance of right security services has in every aspect of this modern technology era. And enjoy hassle free security with a reliable cyber security networks provider, free of worries of your system getting hacked and business information leaked in the wrong hands.

An Insight Into The Common Uses Of Satellites

Satellite communications links add capacity to the present communication system and provide additional alternate routing for communication traffic.  Satellite is composed of three separate units that is fuel system, the satellite and telemetry controls and the transponder. Satellite link is a long distance link that interconnects switching centers at different locations.

Satellite phones are available where phone signal is transmitted to an orbiting satellite and then comes back to earth. Satellites are used for global satellite communication. Global communication is used to describe ways to connect, relate and mobilize across geographic, economic and cultural divides. The other common uses of satellites are:

Television

Satellites are the backbone of cable and network TV, it sends television signals directly to homes. The signal is sent from a central station to smaller stations that send the signals locally via cables.

Telephones

Satellites provide routed phone communications on airplanes and also provide voice communication for rural areas and areas where phone lines are damaged after some accident. Primary timing source for cell phones and pagers are also provided by satellites.

Navigation

Navstar Global Positioning Systems (known colloquially as GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system. GPS locators are increasingly included inside car services and allow car-share services. Further use of GPS based system is that it is used by civilians and military for navigation on land, sea and air and other areas where other navigation tools may not exist.

Weather

Satellites helps meteorologists to see weather on a global scale, which in turn helps them to follow the effects of phenomena like volcanic eruptions and burning oil fields  and many other.

Many satellites are in operation for different purpose. The operational satellites provide many of the services that are quite important for everyone. Without them the services would not be so nearly to achieve by other means.

Few Typical Characteristics Of An Antenna

An earth station is a terrestrial terminal station designed for extraterrestrial telecommunication with spacecraft and radio waves from an astronomical radio source. The typical characteristics of  antenna that should be known are:

Radiation Pattern

It is the main characteristics of antenna. The antenna pattern is a graphical representation in three dimensions of the radiation of antenna as a function of angular direction. The pattern involves a main lobe and several minor lobes. A side lobe on the direction opposite to the main lobe is called black lobe.

Antenna Gain

Antenna gain is a measure for antenna efficiency. It is the ratio of the maximum radiation to that of reference antenna in a given direction for equal input power. Gain is generally measured in decibels above isotropic. Antenna gain depends on the mechanical size, the effective aperture area, the frequency band and the antenna configuration.

Antenna Lobes

There are different antenna lobes. Main lobe is the radiation lobe containing the direction of maximum radiation. Other than this there are side lobes, and back lobes.

Half-power beam width

The half power beamwidth is the angle between the points on the main lobe that are lower than 3dB in gain compared to the maximum.

Polarization

The propagation of the electric field vector is polarization. Antennas used in cellular communications are either vertically polarized or cross polarized.

Front-to-back ratio

Front to back ratio is the ratio of the maximum directivity of an antenna to its directivity. The antenna with a high front to back ratio is generally used.

First Null Beamwidth

The first null beamwidth is the angular span between the first pattern nulls nearby to the main lobe.

Frequency bandwidth

VSWR of an antenna is the main bandwidth limiting factor.

The earth station antenna requires maintenance to reduce the antenna failure probability and extend the antenna life.

Types of Satellite Communication System

Satellite communication system uses satellite technology for communications. The services provided by satellite communications are internet, voice and video calling, fax, radio channels, military applications and television.

In satellite communication, transferring of signal between the receiver and sender is done with the help of satellite. The signal is a beam of modulated microwaves sent towards the satellite. Then the signal is amplified by satellite and sent back to the antenna of the receiver present on the earth’s surface.This type of communication is called space communication.

Satellite communications can provide communication capabilities spanning long distances and can operate under conditions which are inoperable for other forms of communication.There are around 2,000 communications satellites present in Earth’s orbit, used by both government and private organizations.

Two types of satellites which are used commonly in satellite communication are active and passive satellites:-

Passive satellites: It is like a plastic balloon with a metal coated over it. This sphere reflects the microwave signals coming from one location of the earth to another one. This is also called passive sphere. Moon is passive satellite of the earth.

Active satellites: It basically amplifies the microwave signals coming. In active satellites a receiver, an antenna system, power supply, transmitter is used. These satellites are also called as transponders. Microwaves are generated by the transmitters fitted on the earth.

These rays are then received by the transponders attached to the satellite. After amplifying, these signals are then transmitted back to earth. This sending can be done at the same time or after some delay. These amplified signals are later stored in the memory of the satellites, when earth faces the satellite. Afterwards satellite sends the signals to earth.

Some active satellites also have recording and programming features. Then these recordings can be easily watched. The signals that come from the satellite are of very low intensity. Their receivers then amplify these signals themselves. After amplification they become available for further use.

Prominent Advantages of Satellite Internet

Progressing from dialup to DSL and cable internet was a big leap in the world of internet connectivity. But thanks to satellite connectivity services, we now have internet on our smartphones. These services are a step ahead into the provision of internet facility to all.

The vast availability and impressive growth models the satellite internet brings with it has many advantages for both home and business usage. Here are some prominent benefits of satellite internet.

Always On Connectivity

You don’t have to deal with the noisy startup sound like that of a dial up connection now. Today you can have stable connections without tying up your phone lines. You have huge chunks of data being transmitted via satellites without any major hassles.

Easy Installation

Satellite internet is very easy to install. The technicians can configure your account and install a dish for signal transmission and reception. The dish is directly connected to the computer while facing the southern sky for uninterrupted services.

Worldwide Coverage

Irrespective of where you live, satellite internet can reach you. It just requires a satellite in the geostationary orbit and the signal can reach anywhere on the planet.

Faster Internet

Satellite internet has surpassed high speeds a long time ago even in the rural areas. Download speeds via these connectivity services are about nine times faster as compared to the dial up connections.

Multiple Devices:

While normal internet connections are restricted to one PC, satellite internet can connect multiple devices as well as connect to a hub computer. You can connect your PC, laptops, tablets and smartphones at the same time.

DSL or other services are affected by the unpredictable weather conditions and can go off without warning. They are expensive than satellite internet and can take a long time to reestablish a connection in case there is a fault in the lines. Therefore, satellite connectivity is the better option to choose, for faster and unimpeded connection.