DirecTV offers its customers several varieties of satellite dishes for home television service. Each of these dishes, however, has the same essential components - as do other satellite dishes used for television service and other purposes. The dish's components serve three main purposes: attaching the satellite dish to the building, collecting the satellite signal and converting that signal into usable form.

Overview

Your DirecTV satellite dish has three major components: the reflector dish, the low noise block converter and the mounting equipment. Installing the satellite also involves a selection of hardware such as nuts, bolts and washers, all of which are included with the dish itself. Finally, although not a part of the satellite dish, you will need coaxial cables (standard television cables) to carry the signal from your dish to your television.

Mounting

The satellite dish must be mounted to your roof, wall or other elevated surface. The stand that connects the dish to your chosen surface is a mounting foot. A combination of hardware (nut, bolt and washer) then attach the mast to the mounting foot. The mast is the pole that extends up from the mounting foot to the dish itself. The angle at which the mast connects to the mounting foot can be adjusted to position the dish to receive the satellite signal.

Reflector Dish

The large, circular portion of the DirecTV satellite dish is the part that makes it easily identifiable as a satellite receiver. This component is known as the reflector dish. The satellite's signals strike the dish and are reflected (and concentrated) to the low noise block converter. The reflector dish can be made of plastic or metal depending on the model of dish. With metal reflector dishes, separate bolts attach the reflector to the support arm. With plastic reflector dishes, the mounting bolts are part of the plastic molding.

Low Noise Bock Converter

The low noise block converter is the portion of the receiver that sits in front of the large, circular dish. The low noise block converter receives the feed from the satellite and converts it into data at a frequency that can be sent through the wires to your television and television box. The low noise block converter is held in place by the low noise block converter support arm, which itself attaches to the mast.