Can a government jam satellite TV? Over on Wikipedia, I am trying to fix a gruesome article on Gay Rights in Saudi Arabia. It now claims the Saudi government sometimes jams these broadcasts. I have never heard of this and I sort of think it would be difficult to do.
If anyone wants to help on this article. please jump right in.
A Google search for satellite TV jamming led me to this article about U.S. officials condemning Cuba for jamming satellite transmissions to Iran. I have no idea how they did it, but hey, there you go.
Jamming isn’t rocket science. All you need to do is figure out what frequency they are using and then build your own transmitter operating on the same frequency. Then when you want to jam their signal, just point your antenna at theirs and turn on your transmitter. As long as your transmitter puts out more signal than theirs, you’ll swamp their receiver and they won’t be able to get the signal they were intending to receive.
But satellite dishes are aimed at specific points in the sky. How can a third party override the signal without being able to transmit from that same point?
I am going to have to all back on "I have never heard of the Saudi authorities doing this. Too many rumors are accepted as fact about this place.
Yes. It’s simple if you have the right equipment, which isn’t very sophisticated.
You point your dish at the satellite and jam the uplink transponder with your own transmitter. Garbage in, garbage out.
I’ll never understand why Wikipedia is always a trusted source among Dopers since anyone can add to the knowledge base.
Anyone can respond to a GQ thread, too. Just like the SDMB, Wikipedia relies on a large and informed user base to stamp out misinformation, and they’ll ask for cites when something is challenged.
I should have mentioned I’m no expert on how Wiki is run. Ignorance in this case, thine name is duffer. :smack:
Yes, dishes, like all antennas, are ‘tuned’ to pick up signals from a specific direction best. But they still pick up signals from other directions. Especially if those signals are strong, and are close by (compared to the satellite). It’s quite possible to overwhelm the satellite signal with a competing ground signal.
I treat Wikipedia a lot like I treat the SDMB. It’s a starting point. If it’s really important that I get the exact details correct, I followup with research of my own. If I’m casually looking to fill holes in my knowledge, then it’s usually good enough.