Satellite Trucks: What Are They and How They Work

For the past few years, the satellite technology has introduced amazing advances that give the viewers to have access to the live broadcasts and relevant news events from different parts of the world, especially the remote lands. While it is true that satellite technology established a new era for the television news and entertainment, some are still wondering how it actually works. Well, to make this possible, complex equipment and systems on the Earth and in the skies should work together.

What Is a Satellite Truck?

A satellite truck or satellite uplink truck is a modified truck used to establish links to satellite. This important tool is needed by the television stations to able to report news events from different locations. Likewise, government agencies use it when reporting safety information during disasters and when providing medical services on remote areas. Smaller but similar vehicles are sometimes used as well, including satellite vans.

What Are Two Types of Satellite Trucks?

The type of truck depends on the frequency band it uses. There are two types of satellite uplink trucks:

1. C-Band truck

This is a heavier and larger truck that weighs 10,000 to 26,000 pounds. They are also called the Transportable Earth Station. It can broadcast at a frequency of 3.7 - 4.2 Ghz for satellite downlink and 5.9 - 6.4Ghz for satellite uplink. The C-band truck is often used when covering outdoor events.

2. Ku Band truck

Operating at higher frequency of 10.95-14.5 Ghz, this type is more advanced than the C-band truck. It uses small trucks, which are also called as production vans. Ku band trucks are not recommended for outdoor events, as transmission issues occur when there are storms.

How Do They Work?

Satellite trucks have transmitters and satellite dishes on them to be able to transmit the audio and video produced by the broadcasters to the satellite that is 22,300 miles away from the Earth. This will then bounce back to the television network which is responsible for distributing the signal to the viewers.

Why Are Satellite Trucks Necessary?

There are many advantages in using satellite trucks. For the television networks, they are essential part of the industry, especially when they need to provide a clear transmission so that they may increase the revenue from their advertisers. They are also allowed to gather and broadcast news from the parts of the globe that are hard to reach.

Other advantages include portability, ease in operation and wide coverage. Because of these, they can be used for disaster relief services by government organizations. Unlike cable networks, they can stand natural disasters and are not prone to distortion and failure.