# Receiving Satellite TV in a plane

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/receiving-satellite-tv-in-a-plane/322897>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 22, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/receiving-satellite-tv-in-a-plane/322897 "2005-09-22T15:33:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/receiving-satellite-tv-in-a-plane/322897/1 "2005-09-22T15:33:13Z")

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Cnn reported about the airliner that made an emergency landing yeaterday:

> [@](#):
>
> the plane’s monitors carried live DirectTV broadcasts on the plane’s problems until just a few minutes before landing at Los Angeles International Airport.

How does a moving aircraft receive a satellite TV signal? Residential antennas must be rather carefully aligned.

[http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/22/airliner.emergency.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/22/airliner.emergency.ap/index.html)

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**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/receiving-satellite-tv-in-a-plane/322897/2 "2005-09-22T15:54:15Z")

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[Mobile Satellite TV](http://www.kvh.com/tracvision/). I imagine that it works on a similar concept for airplanes.

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/receiving-satellite-tv-in-a-plane/322897/3 "2005-09-22T16:11:23Z")

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Yes, they do need to be carefully aimed, but the mobile systems use gyros to know “which end is up” as well as where the satellite is. The units **adam yax** linked to can move the antenna 45 degrees in under a second, so as long as you make a 90 degree turn in anything slower than two seconds, the system can keep up. Normally, airplanes change direction much slower than that so as to not scare the passengers.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/receiving-satellite-tv-in-a-plane/322897/4 "2005-09-22T17:09:30Z")

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That’s also why airliner sateliite antennas cost $30K-$100K each, whereas the homeowner ones are giveaways.

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/receiving-satellite-tv-in-a-plane/322897/5 "2005-09-23T00:11:31Z")

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> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> the homeowner ones are giveaways.

Giveaways? Hey, I just paid $30.00 for a spare on EBay.  
Oh.  
🙂