How does Satellite TV Work?

I did not claim that these videos disprove the existence of satellites.  Please go back and re-read the thread.  I was simply rebutting the accusations that video images prove the existence of satellites. 

I did not claim that these videos disprove the existence of satellites.  Please go back and re-read the thread.  I was simply rebutting the accusations that video images prove the existence of satellites.

I didn't see that statement that video proves the existence of satelle.. they do not.

however, if you go to an outside broadcast van (more accurately - semi trailer) that is broadcasting via satellite, that is proof that they exist right there. Or are now including broadcast TV employees as being part of this very wide conspiracy too?  Remember I know a guy who does exactly this... he's a good mate.. I've been in his broadcast trucks.. they're huge.. lots of buttons and levers!

if you then visit the manufacture of the equipment these guys use.. ask them.. I'm sure the specs they build to would help to verify this.. if they are merely broadcasting to radio towers on the ground - that might be news to these guys! 

It could be news to them.  A minimum wage worker is not exactly an expert on the subject of his profession, now is he?

It could be news to them.  A minimum wage worker is not exactly an expert on the subject of his profession, now is he?

But the engineers, the designers.. the owners.. whatever.

Arguing with you is like raping a horse.

Quote from: jroa on February 26, 2014, 08:40:35 PM

It could be news to them.  A minimum wage worker is not exactly an expert on the subject of his profession, now is he?

But the engineers, the designers.. the owners.. whatever.

Arguing with you is like raping a horse.

Stop raping horses, weirdo.

Also, what about those engineers?  They know what they learned at school.  They are not exactly the Yodas of the scientific community, now are they?

Sigh.. now I know how water feels when drunk.

This forum is sucking me of all my intellect - I am getting dumber by the second.

It could be news to them.  A minimum wage worker is not exactly an expert on the subject of his profession, now is he?

Some of the people that design, manufacture and use this equipment will be professional engineers, not on minimum wage.

The dishes point to satellites.

Quote from: jroa on February 26, 2014, 08:40:35 PM

It could be news to them.  A minimum wage worker is not exactly an expert on the subject of his profession, now is he?

Some of the people that design, manufacture and use this equipment will be professional engineers, not on minimum wage.

The dishes point to satellites.

The dishes only point to satellites because you've been conditioned to believe that. We all have!
The major difference is, some people can see past the ruse of satellites and know that broadcasts can be made using anything but satellites.
You've had eveidence given that proves they fake a lot of transmission passed off as satellite images. If satellites were real then there would be absolutely no need for any news crew to fake it, none whatsoever. This should set alarm bells ringing in anyone's head. Unfortunately there are many wide eyed gaping mouthed people out there that cannot process the fact that we live in a world where selling cons and disinfo is common place.

So what is the sat truck dish pointing at?

The angle that I set my dish at is based on orbiting satellites.

You have no evidence of an alternative.

So what is the sat truck dish pointing at?

The angle that I set my dish at is based on orbiting satellites.

You have no evidence of an alternative.

You're right, I don't have any direct evidence, no more than you have any evidence of your dish pointing at a satellite. Stop pretending you do.
You are TOLD it points at a satellite and that's as far as you are aware, nothing more.

I'm 100% of the belief that it's all done with relay transmitters and in todays world, mainly cable in many parts.
You do not need satellites for anything on this Earth.

Quote from: inquisitive on February 27, 2014, 01:15:02 AM

So what is the sat truck dish pointing at?

The angle that I set my dish at is based on orbiting satellites.

You have no evidence of an alternative.

You're right, I don't have any direct evidence, no more than you have any evidence of your dish pointing at a satellite. Stop pretending you do.
You are TOLD it points at a satellite and that's as far as you are aware, nothing more.

I'm 100% of the belief that it's all done with relay transmitters and in todays world, mainly cable in many parts.
You do not need satellites for anything on this Earth.

I know the angle of my dish and see those on the coast pointing to a satellite position.

Dishes are nothing to do with cable. Satellite tv is different to terrestial tv.

Look up satellite phones that work in the middle of oceans.

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 01:27:13 AM

Quote from: inquisitive on February 27, 2014, 01:15:02 AM

So what is the sat truck dish pointing at?

The angle that I set my dish at is based on orbiting satellites.

You have no evidence of an alternative.

You're right, I don't have any direct evidence, no more than you have any evidence of your dish pointing at a satellite. Stop pretending you do.
You are TOLD it points at a satellite and that's as far as you are aware, nothing more.

I'm 100% of the belief that it's all done with relay transmitters and in todays world, mainly cable in many parts.
You do not need satellites for anything on this Earth.

I know the angle of my dish and see those on the coast pointing to a satellite position.

Dishes are nothing to do with cable. Satellite tv is different to terrestial tv.

Look up satellite phones that work in the middle of oceans.

Yeah well, people communicated before these supposed satellites came along.

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

Looks like you missed the part about it being VERY directional. The signal can be (and has been) blocked by an aeroplane flying over passing between the dish and whatever it's pointing at. Test it for yourself, and you will see that the signal comes from a direction totally incompatible with ground-based transmitters.

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

Vast majority of UK home satellite dishes point at the Astra satellite at 28.2 deg east above the equator to receive Sky TV.  You will not see any of them pointing north.

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

Looks like you missed the part about it being VERY directional. The signal can be (and has been) blocked by an aeroplane flying over passing between the dish and whatever it's pointing at. Test it for yourself, and you will see that the signal comes from a direction totally incompatible with ground-based transmitters.

As soon as an aeroplane flies above me I'll check that out. I've never thought to check this out and they fly over me all of the time. Maybe it's because my signal has never distorted, I haven't given any thought to planes.
I'll be vigilant though. I mean, we are talking about high flying jets aren't we?

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

Vast majority of UK home satellite dishes point at the Astra satellite at 28.2 deg east above the equator to receive Sky TV.  You will not see any of them pointing north.

How many  TV satellites cover the whole of the UK?

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

You have no training or degree in this field. I DO!! Yes it is a dish but not a like a butterfly net. It works by reflecting signals to a focal point. Think of it as a electronic telescope. Signal from the side will not be reflected to the amplifier inside the dish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabolic_antenna. Don't make claims you know nothing about.

Quote from: inquisitive on February 27, 2014, 03:35:51 AM

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

Vast majority of UK home satellite dishes point at the Astra satellite at 28.2 deg east above the equator to receive Sky TV.  You will not see any of them pointing north.

How many  TV satellites cover the whole of the UK?

You just need one in geosynchronous orbit at 22,500 miles away.

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

You have no training or degree in this field. I DO!! Yes it is a dish but not a like a butterfly net. It works by reflecting signals to a focal point. Think of it as a electronic telescope. Signal from the side will not be reflected to the amplifier inside the dish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabolic_antenna. Don't make claims you know nothing about.

Don't profess to be an expert and then stick wiki up for me to look at. 

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:59:17 AM

Quote from: inquisitive on February 27, 2014, 03:35:51 AM

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

Vast majority of UK home satellite dishes point at the Astra satellite at 28.2 deg east above the equator to receive Sky TV.  You will not see any of them pointing north.

How many  TV satellites cover the whole of the UK?

You just need one in geosynchronous orbit at 22,500 miles away.

Just one satellite to cover the whole UK, right?

Quote from: Starman on February 27, 2014, 04:05:39 AM

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish p
ointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

You have no training or degree in this field. I DO!! Yes it is a dish but not a like a butterfly net. It works by reflecting signals to a focal point. Think of it as a electronic telescope. Signal from the side will not be reflected to the amplifier inside the dish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabolic_antenna. Don't make claims you know nothing about.

Don't profess to be an expert and then stick wiki up for me to look at. 

I worked with satellite systems for many years. Our dish was 15ft in diameter. It was directed to an communication satellite (anik) so air traffic controllers can communicate to remote sites to increase radio coverage.

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 04:10:46 AM

Quote from: Starman on February 27, 2014, 04:05:39 AM

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish p
ointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

You have no training or degree in this field. I DO!! Yes it is a dish but not a like a butterfly net. It works by reflecting signals to a focal point. Think of it as a electronic telescope. Signal from the side will not be reflected to the amplifier inside the dish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabolic_antenna. Don't make claims you know nothing about.

Don't profess to be an expert and then stick wiki up for me to look at. 

I worked with satellite systems for many years. Our dish was 15ft in diameter. It was directed to an communication satellite (anik) so air traffic controllers can communicate to remote sites to increase radio coverage.

What remote sites do these air traffic controllers have to cover?

Quote from: Starman on February 27, 2014, 04:06:49 AM

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:59:17 AM

Quote from: inquisitive on February 27, 2014, 03:35:51 AM

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish pointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

Vast majority of UK home satellite dishes point at the Astra satellite at 28.2 deg east above the equator to receive Sky TV.  You will not see any of them pointing north.

How many  TV satellites cover the whole of the UK?

You just need one in geosynchronous orbit at 22,500 miles away.

Just one satellite to cover the whole UK, right?

There are actually several at 28.2E to give the hundreds of tv channels available.

All happy now about this?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish.

Just for starters, they aren't dishes, they are parabolas, and are highly directional.

Millions of people live on the coast of the ocean and many of them have parabolas pointing at the sky above the ocean.
If you give a nudge to the parabola the signal get lost, and you get it back if you re-align the parabola exactly as it was before. No towers at all in the middle of the ocean.
Well then, what are they pointing at? Answer please.

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish.

Just for starters, they aren't dishes, they are parabolas, and are highly directional.

Millions of people live on the coast of the ocean and many of them have parabolas pointing at the sky above the ocean.
If you give a nudge to the parabola the signal get lost, and you get it back if you re-align the parabola exactly as it was before. No towers at all in the middle of the ocean.
Well then, what are they pointing at? Answer please.

Look along the coast and you'll find plenty of transmitters. Your dish is a dish for a reason. Understand that.

Quote from: Salviati on February 27, 2014, 05:01:26 AM

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish.

Just for starters, they aren't dishes, they are parabolas, and are highly directional.

Millions of people live on the coast of the ocean and many of them have parabolas pointing at the sky above the ocean.
If you give a nudge to the parabola the signal get lost, and you get it back if you re-align the parabola exactly as it was before. No towers at all in the middle of the ocean.
Well then, what are they pointing at? Answer please.

Look along the coast and you'll find plenty of transmitters. Your dish is a dish for a reason. Understand that.

Transmitters for what?

The dish is parabola shaped for maximum gain.  It receives from a satellite in the sky.

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 05:11:16 AM

Quote from: Salviati on February 27, 2014, 05:01:26 AM

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish.

Just for starters, they aren't dishes, they are parabolas, and are highly directional.

Millions of people live on the coast of the ocean and many of them have parabolas pointing at the sky above the ocean.
If you give a nudge to the parabola the signal get lost, and you get it back if you re-align the parabola exactly as it was before. No towers at all in the middle of the ocean.
Well then, what are they pointing at? Answer please.

Look along the coast and you'll find plenty of transmitters. Your dish is a dish for a reason. Understand that.

Transmitters for what?

The dish is parabola shaped for maximum gain.  It receives from a satellite in the sky.

Transmitters for your TV, you know, the SKY TV you watch that are recieving the signal from ground based transmitters that your dish catches.
It's a dish for a reason or a parabola, whichever you want to call it now. I mean I don't hear many people saying " Oh, they're coming to install my new parabola tomorrow" do you?

We all know what a TV dish is and we all know it's to catch a direct signal that the dish can catch once it's angled in the general direction of a transmitter.

Quote from: Starman on February 27, 2014, 04:15:54 AM

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 04:10:46 AM

Quote from: Starman on February 27, 2014, 04:05:39 AM

Quote from: sceptimatic on February 27, 2014, 03:27:32 AM

Quote from: Scintific Method on February 27, 2014, 03:20:14 AM

The satellite TV dish on my roof points North, at an elevation angle of 54° from horizontal. It is VERY directional; moving it 1° off-target will result in total loss of reception. This means that any tower would have to be placed North of me, and be twice as high as it

was far away (ie a tower 1 mile away would have to be almost 2 miles tall). The tallest tower near where I live is 40km to the East, and a relative altitude of approximately 1km. So what's my dish p
ointing at?

It's a dish, it can be taking a signal from many angles that a transmitter is pointing to. That's why it's a dish. All it has to do is catch the signal at whatever transmitter is around, so yours like everyone elses will be coming from the nearest relay to you.
Transmitters aren't just confined to a few miles away. If you look around you, you will see one. You may not believe it's transmitting anything to you but then again, if satellites are shrouded, then nobody is going to tell you what's really going on, are they.

Why don't you look up how many supposed satellites are covering the whole of the UK and see what you think.

You have no training or degree in this field. I DO!! Yes it is a dish but not a like a butterfly net. It works by reflecting signals to a focal point. Think of it as a electronic telescope. Signal from the side will not be reflected to the amplifier inside the dish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parabolic_antenna. Don't make claims you know nothing about.

Don't profess to be an expert and then stick wiki up for me to look at. 

I worked with satellite systems for many years. Our dish was 15ft in diameter. It was directed to an communication satellite (anik) so air traffic controllers can communicate to remote sites to increase radio coverage.

What remote sites do these air traffic controllers have to cover?

The air space in the east coast of Canada is very large. It covers areas in Labrador.  Airlines follow the jet stream to save fuel. If the jet stream is north of Labrador, the controller at the Moncton air traffic control center needs communication to pilots in that remote area. Because the northern area have very little "reliable" audio lines satellite communication does the trick. When the controller talks to an pilot his audio leave the control center through the satellite system. The signal at the satellite is retransmitted back to earth. At the remote site the satellite receiving equipment sends the audio to a transmitting site. The site can then transmit the audio to the pilot. The transmitting station has a range of 150 miles. When the pilot talk to the controller the process is reverse.