Re: [TSCM-L] SIGINT towers vs regular communications towers

Pardon me if the question seems overly mundane or off-topic, but are regular radio communications dishes usually built in enclosures?   There are obviously very good reasons for enclosing directional antennas used for SIGINT (ie, keeping people from finding out what they're pointed at) but I don't know of any reason you'd need to do the same with communications dishes.  

I always thought communications satellites pretty much had to be geosynchronus; so a regular comsat dish wouldn't have to be reoriented very often, if at all.   I suppose you might still not want people knowing where they are, but I would imagine anyone capable of threatening a satellite would be more than able to locate them without taking a bearing from  a dish.  

Are there maintenance reasons to enclose a dish?   ie, protection from the elements, etc?   With a mechanized, re-orientable dish this would also seem to be a bigger issue (moving parts).    Though I suppose all dishes have to be at least somewhat re-orientable to maintain functionality.

Please pardon if I'm grossly breaching protocol with this question ;)
I've attached a picture of an antenna nearer to me than I thought any SIGINT went on.  I figure it's just a normal communications antenna, but thought I'd see if anyone thought different.

thanks

---

Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection.
Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta.