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Take a look at the image above. If you have an RV or boat, or even if you have a friend that does, it's probably a familiar sight. You find these things all over the place on RVs and boats. Some boats even have three or four of them attached. But here's a silly question, what is it called?

I mean, if you listen to different people talk about marine satellite dishes, you'll hear a lot of confusing words. You might hear the system pictured above described as a dome, an antenna, or a dish. What's the right way to talk about it?

Is it a dome?

While some people will call this thing a dome, that's only about half true. The "dome" is the white gumdrop-shaped outer shell of this system. To be very specific, it's a "radome," which is a sort of dome that's invisible to radio waves.

A radome itself doesn't tell you what's inside it. In fact you can actually buy empty domes with nothing in them. So, if you say "dome" you're not actually saying anything about what's inside. It's still kind of ok to say it if everyone knows or nobody cares what's inside though.

Is it an antenna?

Here's where the story gets a little more complicated. Technically all satellite dishes are antennas. An antenna is anything that receives radio-frequency waves. Antennas come in all shapes and sizes, depending on what kind of radio signal you're trying to receive. Antennas for cell phone signals are really small. They're built into the sides of the phone and you don't even notice. Antennas for TV can be really huge, while those for ham radio are even larger.

A satellite dish picks up radio frequency transmissions, so it's an antenna. Realistically, we use the term "satellite antenna" because there's a company called DISH and it can get confusing otherwise.

Is it a dish then?

We use the term "dish" to refer to a parabolic antenna, a specific kind of antenna that receives a lot of signal and focuses it all on one tiny point. Parabolic antennas have a big round reflector at the back. You can't usually see the reflector on a marine or mobile satellite system. But, if you look back at that picture at the top you can see it's there.

Technical people will use the word "antenna" a lot especially if they're in the satellite industry, because it's understood what kind of antenna it is. Regular folks use the word "dish" because most folks think of TV antennas for getting land-based signals and parabolic antennas for getting satellite.

End of the day though, the most important thing is that you are understood, so use whatever term you think will get the person near you to figure out what you are saying.

Get mobile or marine satellite from Signal Connect

If you're tired of being jealous of friends and neighbors every time you see that satellite antenna, why not get one for yourself? Satellite TV is a much better value than satellite internet. No, it's not as hip or sexy, but you can buy a lot of hip things with the money you'll save.

When you're ready to know more, call the folks at Signal Connect. They'll lay out all the options for you and help you find the best one for your situation. Call us at 888-233-7563. If phone calls aren't your style, just fill out the form below.


The post NICE AND EASY: Is this a dome, an antenna, or a dish? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.

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