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COMMUNICATIONS IN SPACE))EDITION 5.5
THE LAST DXers GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
George Wood January, 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction)Satellites...........................................1
Part I: Satellite Broadcasting)TVRO
North America..........................................2
Latin America
Europe and Astra......................................12
Africa................................................26
Middle Eastern Satellite Broadcasting
Asia and the Pacific..................................29
Global Satellite Channels.............................33
Part II: Weather and other "Utility" Satellites
Weather Satellites....................................36
Amateur Radio in Space................................38
Part III: Monitoring the Space Shuttle, MIR, and the Military
The Shuttle and MIR...................................40
Military Communications in Space......................43
Part IV: Horizons.................................................44
For More Information..............................................45
Copyright 1994 Radio Sweden. Reproduction of this publication is
permitted provided credit is given to Radio Sweden and
"Communications in Space".
Radio Sweden is not responsible for anything that might happen
because of possible mistakes, inaccuracies, or out)of)date
information.
INTRODUCTION SATELLITES
In the beginning, the Great Prophet Marconi cast his bread upon
the waves.
Long, medium, even short wave))the ether was filled, and at
home listeners tuned
the bands, and heard far away signals from
Bonaire, Motala, and Oakland.
Then, on October 4, 1957, the world changed. The Soviet Union
launched the
Sputnik satellite, and listeners around the world tuned in
to its signals just
above 20 MHz. The Space Age had begun.
What we find is this...the skies are filled with satellites that
can be
monitored, some with simple equipment, some with more complex
and expensive
gear. Weather pictures, satellite TV, astronauts and
cosmonauts, computer
bulletin boards in the sky, are all there waiting.
We used to call satellite DXing the shortwave listening of the
future. Well,
the future is now. The signals are there, and more are
coming. This guide is
intended to help you tune in to signals from
space. Equipment varies from USD
2000 for C)Band TVRO dishes and
receivers to less than USD 200 for a scanner and
discone antenna for
monitoring weather satellites.
Communications satellites were first proposed by science fiction
writer Arthur
C. Clarke in 1945. Clarke pointed out that if a satellite
was positioned high
enough above the equator (36,000 kilometers or
23,000 miles), its orbit could be
matched to the rotation of the Earth.
The satellite would appear to remain fixed
in one particular spot in
the sky. Such a position would be ideal for relaying
telephone, radio
and television communications. Three such satellites
located
equidistant from each other could cover the entire Earth.
It took technology a while to catch up with Clarke's idea. In 1957
the Soviet
Union launched Sputnik, the world's first artificial
satellite. In 1962 the
United States launched Telstar, the first
communications satellite. Today there
are more than 100 commercial TV
and telecommunications satellites in
geostationary orbit, and many more
are scheduled for launch before the end of
the century.
In addition, there are communications satellites in non*geostationary orbits
(such as the former Soviet Molniya), weather and
other Earth resources
satellites, amateur radio satellites, and
American and CIS space vehicles. All
are accessible, if you have the
right equipment.
The Third World AA
In many ways, Third World countries have more to gain from
satellite communications than do the developed nations. Arthur C.
Clarke is today a citizen of Sri Lanka, and a dedicated advocate of
satellites
for Third World development. As one of Sri Lanka's
representatives at a UNESCO
conference in 1981, Clarke said:
"To many developing countries, satellites are ESSENTIAL; they will
make it unnecessary to build the elaborate and expensive ground systems
required in the past. Indeed, to many countries, satellites could be a
matter of life and death."
\v\ PART I: SATELLITE BROADCASTING)TVRO
Television Receive Only (TVRO) systems allow home monitors to tune
in to radio
and television from geostationary satellites. There are
around 3.5 million TVRO
installations in North America and more than 1
million in Europe. Numbers are
rapidly increasing in India, China, and
other parts of Asia. Latin America and
Africa are areas of expansion,
where satellites are generally used for relays to
television stations
and cable networks, rather than direct to home (DTH).
To tune in to broadcast satellites, you need a dish antenna and
receiver.
Antennas vary from 20 centimeters for the strongest DBS
satellites to 3 meters
or more for weak signals in the C)band. Antennas
can also be fixed in one
position, for reception of just one satellite,
or motorised, to permit reception
of many satellites. The signals are
picked up by Low Noise Block amplifiers
(LNBs) and fed by low loss
cables to receivers. Fixed antennas can even have
extra LNBs amounted
to pick up additional satellites.
Different bands are used for satellite broadcasting. Some are more
common in
different parts of the world. Higher frequency bands
generally require smaller
dish antennas. The satellite TV bands are:
S)Band 1700)3000 MHz
C)Band 3700)4200 MHz
Ku1)Band 10.9)11.75 GHz
Ku2)Band 11.75)12.5 GHz (DBS)
Ku3)Band 12.5)12.75 GHz
Ka)Band 18.0)20.0 GHz
I. North America
Most North American TVRO still uses the C)Band, although Ku)band
use is
increasing. C)band dish antennas are at least nine feet (3
meters) in diameter.
Dishes and receiver prices start at around USD
1000 for motorized systems
without decoders, and USD 1500 for systems
with decoders. There are also fixed
dish systems available for the
Galaxy 5 satellite, which is currently the
American "hot bird",
offering a wide variety of free and subscription
programming (see
below). An antenna and receiver for Galaxy 5 is available for
around
USD 800, with a decoder for an extra USD 375.
Here are the North American C and Ku)Band downlink frequencies:
Channel 1 = 3720/11730 MHz Channel 13 = 3960/12096 MHz
Channel 2 = 3740/11743 Channel 14 = 3980/12109
Channel 3 = 3760/11791 Channel 15 = 4000/12157
Channel 4 = 3780/11804 Channel 16 = 4020/12170
Channel 5 = 3800/11852 Channel 17 = 4040
Channel 6 = 3820/11865 Channel 18 = 4060
Channel 7 = 3840/11913 Channel 19 = 4080
Channel 8 = 3860/11926 Channel 20 = 4100
Channel 9 = 3880/11974 Channel 21 = 4120
Channel 10 = 3900/11987 Channel 22 = 4140
Channel 11 = 3920/12035 Channel 23 = 4160
Channel 12 = 3940/12048 Channel 24 = 4180
The Ku)Band frequencies are based on a 16 channel system. For the
32 channel
format, half)spacing is used.\v\
The 27 C and Ku)Band satellites above North America stretch from
69 degrees
West longitude to 139 degrees West. They typically carry 24
transponders (each
transponder can carry one analog TV channel and
several radio channels or many
voice and data channels). The older
satellite transponders each transmit with 5
to 8 watts of power. The
newer generation, such as Satcom C4 and Telstar 401,
are 16 to 20 watts
output.
American programmers, led by the pay)film channel Home Box Office,
began
scrambling signals in 1986. On April 27, 1986 a "video hacker"
calling himself
Captain Midnight (the hi)tech hero of a 1960's TV
series) interrupted Home Box
Office's broadcast of the film "Falcon and
the Snowman". He transmitted a
message over the satellite link,
overpowering HBO's uplink to the Galaxy 1
satellite. The message was a
protest against HBO's scrambling. (The choice of
the film was apt, as
it concerns military spy satellites.)
John McDougal, who called himself Captain Midnight. was traced to
a Florida
uplink station where he worked part)time. He was fined USD
5000.
Many popular American satellite channels now scramble their
signals, using the
VC II or VC II+ systems. Modern satellite receivers
come equipped with decoders,
and TVRO enthusiasts can subscribe to the
coded channels, either by monthly
payment to the stations directly, or
to organizations offering special packages.
The company manufacturing VC II decoders, General Instruments, has
a market
monopoly. Separate decoders for receivers lacking them are
extremely difficult
to find, and can cost between USD 600 and 800.
There is a lively underground of
enthusiasts hacking decoders, hardware
and software, in order to view pay
channels for free. A digital
compression system allowing up to 10 channels on a
single transponder,
General Instrument's, DigiCipher, is gradually being
introduced.
American satellites have recently introduced a new system using
only 2 degree
spacing, which may result in interference from adjacent
satellites with smaller
dishes. Here are the satellites above North
America, and some of the more
interesting satellite channels (C)band
and uncoded unless otherwise indicated):
Satcom C5 (139 degrees): Also known as Aurora II, it has reached
its projected
end)of)life, and is primarily used for non)video
purposes. Alaska Satellite TV
is on transponder 24.
Satcom C1 (137 degrees): Mainly the western coded feeds of network
affiliates
from Denver. The Fox Network is on transponder 19, with the
Jade Channel in
Chinese on transponder 5 and TV Japan, the NHK feed to
United States, is on
transponder 17. NBC, which otherwise uses Ku)band
on the K)2 satellite, has its
eastern feed on transponder 8, which is
sometimes in the clear.
Satcom C4 (135 degrees): This high)powered satellite was launched
on August 31,
1992. Deutsche Welle is on transponder 5, Italy's RAI on
7, shopping channels on
9 and 10, music channel The Box on 11, the
Travel Channel on 13, the Cable
Health Club on 14, and C)SPAN2 from the
U.S. Senate on 19. Viacom uses this
satellite for its eastern coded
services, including MTV, VH)1, Nickelodeon, and
the new digitally*encrypted MTV Latino in Spanish.\v\
Galaxy 1 (133 degrees): This satellite includes several popular
coded services,
including the Disney Channel (West), Comedy Central
(West), The Cartoon Network,
Cinemax (East), HBO (East), Showtime 2,
and the Discovery Channel. Uncoded
services include the TV Food
Network, the Nostalgia Channel, shopping,
religious, and Spanish
language services Univision and Galavision. Other
services have moved
to Galaxy 5.
Satcom C3 (131 degrees): This powerful new satellite was launched
on September
10, 1992. It carries many popular coded services,
including the Family Channel,
Lifetime, Arts and Entertainment,
Showtime, and Nickelodeon. Uncoded services
include the Learning
Channel, Courtroom)TV, C)SPAN1, two shopping channels, and
E!
Entertainment.
ASC)1 (128 degrees): 18 C)band and 6 Ku)band transponders. On C*band, the Home
Dish Market Channel is on transponder 7, religious
programming on transponder
12, Channel America on 20, and SCOLA, which
carries news from TV stations around
the world, in on 23. (News from
Sweden's TV4 is now carried Monday to Friday at
7:30 AM Eastern time,
and on Saturdays at 6:00 AM Eastern.) There are occasional
transponders
on Ku)band channels 23 and 24.
G)Star 2 (125 degrees) Ku)band only: Turner's Airport Channel is
on transponder
20.
Galaxy 5 (125 degrees): This new satellite is the first of a new
generation of
high)powered satellites, and is somewhat similar to
Europe's Astra as a
"hotbird" target for fixed systems. It includes
many popular coded services,
including: the Disney Channel (transponder
1), Playboy (2), CNN (5), Turner
Broadcasting (6), WGN (7), Home Box
Office (8 and 15), ESPN (9), The Family
Channel (11), the Discovery
Channel (12), CNBC (13), the new ESPN 2 (14, and
initially in the
clear), Cinemax (16), TNT (17), The Nashville Network (18), the
USA
Network (19), CNN Headline News (22), and Arts and Entertainment
(23).
Uncoded services include a religious broadcaster (3), the Science
Fiction
Channel (4), a music channel (10), Black Entertainment TV (20),
and Mind
Extension University (21). Viacom is carrying out digital
compression tests on
transponder 24.
Telstar 303 (123 degrees): Carries mainly TVN pay)per)view
programming. Fox
(East) is on transponder 18, Fox (West) on transponder
23.
SBS)5 (123 degrees) Ku)band only: mostly college and pro sports
feeds.
Morelos 1 (113.5 degrees) and Morelos 2 (116.8 degrees): Mexico's
Morelos 1
offers a number of local stations and sports feeds, some
coded and not available
to the US market. Morales 2 is less active, but
Turner Broadcasting's TNT Latin
America, coded and not available for
the US market, is on transponder 12.
Anik E1 (111.1 degrees): Canadian channels and feeds. The TV
Northern Canada
service for Native Americans is on transponder 19, and
TV5 Quebec is on
transponder 17. Occasional transmissions of news and
sports on Ku)band.
\v\ Anik E2 (107.3 degrees): Canadian stations including weather on
transponder
1 and relays of the Canadian House of Commons on
transponder 24, with sound in
English and French on separate
subcarriers. The CBC uses transponder 11
(Pacific), 15 (French), and 19
(Atlantic), and other transponders for feeds. CBC
Newsworld on
transponder 16 relays BBC World Service Television, but is coded in
the
Oak system, as are several other transponders. Visnews/London
uses
transponder 17. There are BBC feeds on transponder 7, including the
final
10 minutes of BBC "Breakfast News" weekdays at 3:00 AM Eastern
Time. Many
Canadian Channels on Ku)band as well.
G)Star 4 (105 degrees) Ku)band only: News and sports feeds (CNN on
transponders
21, 26, and 28), The Classroom Channel on transponders 31
and 32.
Galaxy 6 (103 degrees): Moved from 99 degrees, sports feeds, with
the NHK feed
to Tokyo on transponder 22.
G)Star 1 (103 degrees) Ku)band only: news and sports feeds.
Spacenet 4 (101 degrees): PBS uses transponders 4, 6, 8, 10, and
12. Newscasts
from Britain's ITN can be found around 17:30 Eastern Time
via PBS on transponder
10. There's a religious broadcaster on
transponder 9. Three of the six Ku-band
transponders have gone bad and
are considered unusable.
Galaxy 4 (99 degrees): Has replaced Galaxy 6 and Westar 4 at this
position. CBS
makes extensive use of this satellite and Galaxy 7, with
occasional transponders
in the clear, especially relays of the "CBS
Evening News" and sports feeds. CBS
uses transponders 16, 17, 18, 19,
20, 21 and 24. Religious broadcasters on
transponders 6, 15, and 23,
Spanish on 8, 13, and 14. On Ku)band, NASA Select
uses transponder 18,
and the National Weather Net is on transponder 12. There
are also many
news and sports feeds.
SBS)2 (97 degrees) Ku)band only: NBC News Channel is on
transponder 8, NBC
feeds on transponders 3 and 9.
SBS)6 (95 degrees) Ku)band only: CONUS News feeds on transponders
12 and 13,
Asia Net (coded) on transponder 14.
BB Galaxy 3 (93.5 degrees): The Caribbean Satellite Network is on
transponder
14, ABC is occasionally in the clear on transponder 18, as
is TV Asia (Hindi) on
transponder 7. Other coded channels are Empire
Sports Network (2) and Radio
Television Portugal (5). There are
religious broadcasters on transponders 11, 12
and 21, shopping channels
on 10, 13, 15, and 17. The entertainment channel
Showcase America is on
transponder 22.
G)Star 3 (93 degrees): Ku)band only, in inclined orbit, only
occasional
reception is possible.
Galaxy 7 (91 degrees): This new high)powered satellite carries 24
transponders
in the C)band (16 watts each), and 24 in the Ku)band (50
watts each). CBS is a
major user on C)band, sometimes in the clear,
with the Western network feed on
transponder 2 and the Eastern feed on
19, and newsfeeds on 18. Many channels
used for feeds, with the Fammily
Network on transponder 14. On Ku)band, there
are many college and pro
sports feeds, the Asia)American Satellite Network in
Chinese (12), The
Asia Net in Korean (15), and the Fire and Emergency TV Network
(17). \v\
On December 6, 1993 Emirates Dubai TV began broadcasts on Galaxy 7
in Arabic
and English.
Spacenet 3 (87 degrees): Nebraska Educational Television is on
transponders 2
and 4. There are coded relays of local TV stations in
Dallas, New York, and Los
Angeles and several sports channels. CNN
International and TNT Latin America is
coded, not for the U.S. market,
on transponder 16. CNN newsfeeds in Spanish, not
coded, are on
transponder 11. On Ku)band, there are sports feeds on transponders
6
and 10.
Satcom K)1 (85 degrees) Ku)band only: PrimeStar DBS pay channels
in B)MAC.
Telstar 302 (85 degrees): Has taken over from Telstar 301 as a
major feed
satellite. Paramount uplinks such programs as "Star Trek:
The Next Generation"
and "Deep Space Nine" on transponder 3. Several
coded services, including HBO 2
and 3, and Cinemax 2. The ABC Eastern
feed on transponder 10 is sometimes in the
clear.
Satcom K)2 (81 degrees) Ku)band only: NBC uses transponders 3
(East), 7
(Pacific), 10 (sports), 15 (news and sports), 19 (Central),
23 (newsfeeds), and
27 (newsfeeds). The North American Chinese
Television Network is on transponder
28.
SBS)4 (77 degrees) Ku)band only: NBC has acquired the entire
capacity of this
satellite, the first time a broadcast network has
arranged to be the sole user
of a satellite. The network will have
access for occasional use until February,
1994, when it will have full*time access to all transponders. Hughes has allowed
the satellite to
move into an inclined orbit, which will mean NBC affiliates
must have
special tracking equipment, but the expected lifetime of the
satellite
has been extended by as much as ten years, until well into the
next
century.
Galaxy 2 (74 degrees): CNN feeds can be found on transponder 9,
sports feeds on
many others.
Satcom 2R (72 degrees): NASA Select TV, including live video from
space shuttle
missions, is on transponder 13. Programming is in four
hour blocks, repeated
during the broadcast day. The Arab Network of
America on transponder 1 is a
Saudi)financed channel seeking to reach
the one million Arabic)speaking
Americans and expatriates in the U.S.
It hopes to broadcast 24 hours a day of
news, entertainment and
religious programming. New England Cable News is on
transponder 21, NBC
sports feeds on 20, the Outdoor Channel on 3, and shopping
channels on
7 and 11.
Spacenet 2 (69 degrees West): The United States Information
Agency's Worldnet
uses transponder 3. There are Spanish feeds and
programming on transponders 2
(GEMS TV), 4 (Canal SUR))coded), and 5
(NBC Canal de Noticias). Main Street TV
is on transponder 7. On Ku)band
there are news and sports feeds on transponders
4 and 10, educational
programming on transponder 5.
Intelsat 513 (53 degrees): is also used to relay signals from
Europe to North
America. Australia uses the satellite to relay TV
programs from London to Los
Angeles. They are retransmitted to
Australia from there on Intelsat 508 over the
Pacific.\v\
Panamsat 1 (45 degrees): used to relay across the Atlantic, to
Latin America
and the Caribbean on C)band and to North America and
Europe on Ku)band. RTV
Beograd is on 11.760 GHz to North America, TV
Japan feeds on 11.920 GHz, and
Peru's Canal Sur on 4.140 GHz.
Intelsat 601 (27.5 degrees), generally a European satellite, also
carries NTSC
transmissions to North America from Europe. During the
lead up to the Gulf War
its predecessor Intelsat VI)F4 was used for
NTSC feeds from the United States,
presumably programs for American
soldiers in the Gulf, on Ku)band 11.056 and
11.090 GHz. BBC World
Service Television is being relayed uncoded to the CBC on
C)band
transponder 4, presumably 3.780 GHz.
Intelsat)K (21.5 degrees): This Ku)band only satellite was
launched in June,
1992, also to relay signals across the Atlantic. The
satellite carries 32
high)powered television channels, which can be
directed to North America (as far
as the Midwest), Europe (as far east
as Greece), and selected parts of South
America. All beams will use
11.45-11.7 GHz, while 11.7-11.95 GHz will also be
used to the Americas.
Deutsche Welle and Italy's RAI use this satellite to relay their
services to
North America.
Coming Channels and Satellites
Rupert Murdoch's Fox Inc. says that it will formally launch its
long planned
basic cable network on March 1, 1994, and it has already
signed agreements with
one-third of US cable networks for its
distribution. The network, known as FX,
will be a general
entertainment network. New networks from Paramount and Time
Warner are
also planned.
Turner Broadcasting will introduce two new channels next year, a
domestic feed
of CNN International, and Turner Classic Movies. Turner
Classic Movies will
debut on April 14, 1994, the exact centennial
anniversary of the first public
movie showing in New York City. It will
air hundreds of movies from the 1930's
to the 1980's.
Time Warner and Spiegel Inc. have announced they will launch two
cable
television home shopping channels next year, including an
interactive "video
shopping mall". The joint venture makrs the first
attempt by either company to
develop a home shopping business. The
channels will feature clothes,
accessories, and home furnishing sfrom
Spiegel's catalog and from its Eddie
Bauer and other speciality
divisions.
The interactive channel will make its debut next April on an
experimental cable
network Time Warner is building in Orlanda, Florida.
"The interactive channel
will, in effect, be a video shopping mall,"
say the two companies. "Cable
customers will be able to enter any
catalog 'store' at any time, view a variety
of merchandise in full
motion video and make purchases on demand."
A more conventional home shopping channel with a working title of
"The Catalog
Channel" will start in the first quarter of next year on
Time Warner's cable
systems, the second largest in the US, with 7.1
million subscribers in 36
states. The channel will later be offered to
other cable operators. \v\
ValueVision International Inc., a TV home shopping network, has
signed up for a
C-band transponder on Hughes Communications'
next-generation Galaxy 1-R
satellite, set to be located at 133 degrees
west longitude.
The video game company Sega is planning to launch The Sega Channel
in 1994.
Initially, viewers in 13 American cities will be offered a
chance to download
games for Sega's Genesis megadrive games machine,
using a special decoder,
before the service launches nationally in the
United States. Sega has joined
forces with Time Warner and the giant
cable operator TCI to form the network.
The 24)hour broadcast service
will feature specially)engineered play games,
previews, hints and tips.
Users will supply their own video games machine and rent the decoder
interface
which enables them to utilise the programming carried by The
Sega Channel. Sega
is rumored to be seeking access to a transponder on
Astra, for a European
service next year.
The Public Broadcasting System, PBS, together with WGBH in Boston
and WNET in
New York, are planning to launch a channel devoted
exclusively to cultural
programming. The new channel, called Horizons
TV, is expected to be running by
the end of 1994.
PBS is expanding enormously when it moves to the Telstar 401
satellite, which
was launched on December 15, 1993. The satellite is to
begin regular operation
in February, 1994.
PBS intends to move to 6 Ku)band transponders on the new
satellite, 3 digital
and 3 analog. C)band transmissions on Spacenet 4
transponder 4 would remain
analog for dish owners.
On Telstar 401 PBS will be using DigiCipher digital compression
techniques to
squeeze 8 to 10 channels into each transponder. PBS plans
to provide a total of
more than 40 Ku)band channels, creating what is
being described as an "education
neighborhood". Most of these new
channels will be used for educational
programming to schools. The plans
include two way contact, in which
participating classes would interact
with the programming, sending data from
computers over the telephone to
the closest PBS station, which would relay
signals to the satellite.
One transponder would carry the PBS national schedule A and B
programs, along
with a high definition television program. While HBO
and other programmers will
be using the General Instrument's DigiCipher
II technology, PBS will be using
the non)consumer DigiCipher I
technology and those digital signals are not
compatable with the other
system.
Other users of Telstar 401 will include ABC and Paramount, for
relays of such
programs as " Star Trek" and Entertainment Tonight".
A second satellite is to launched in early 1994, and a third (to be
used as a
spare) is scheduled for orbit in late 1994 or early 1995.
The NBC Network has acquired the entire capacity of the Ku)band
SBS)4
satellite. NBC will use the satellite on an occasional)use basis
until
September, 1994, when the network will have full)time access.
SBS-4 was launched
in 1984 and carries ten 20-watt Ku-band
transponders at 77 degrees west longitude. Hughes operates the
satellite in an inclined geosynchronous orbit, enabling it to use
less fuel with north-south station keeping. SBS-4 is expected to
provide service until 2004. \v\
NBC has also signed an agreement with GE Americom Communications
for Ku-band
satellite capacity aboard its GE-1 satellite. Capacity
will be used from 1996.
Like the SBS-4 transponders, NBC will use GE-1
transponders for feeds and
program distribution.
NBC has also increased its interest in American Television
Network, a partnership that produces health and medical programmes
aimed at consumers and physicians. NBC plans to transform the
network into a 24-hour cable channel at a later stage.
Non)Video Signals
Communications satellites carry much more than TV signals. There
are also
telephone channels, transmissions by international news
agencies, stock market
reports, commodity news, and hundreds of radio
network relays.
There are two main kinds of audio signals. Audio subcarriers are
extra signals
transmitted along with the video signal. The video
information on a satellite
transponder typically occupies the space 0*4.2 MHz. Subcarriers are added at
frequencies higher than the video.
Usually they will be on 6.2 or 6.8 MHz, but
any frequency between 5 and
8 MHz can be used.
There are more than 70 audio only signals available on North
American
satellites. Here are a sample:
Satellite/Channel Program Frequency(ies)
Spacenet 2/3 Voice of America 5.92 MHz
Spacenet 2/4 SUR Radio (Spanish) 5.8
Spacenet 2/7 Spanish Christian Radio 5.94
Spacenet 2/20 AFRTS Radio 7.4
Satcom 2R/1 ANA Arab Net 6.8
Satcom 2R/7 Project Saturn Global 5.8
Satcom 2R/18 Radio Tropical (French) 7.6
Satcom 2R/23 Christian Music Network 6.2 7.6
Spacenet 3/2 Nebraska Public Radio 5.76 5.94
Spacenet 3/9 Modern Country 5.76 5.94
Spacenet 3/15 KLON)FM (Jazz/NPR) 5.58 5.76
Radio Sedeye Iran 6.17
Spacenet 3/21 Let's Talk Radio 5.8
Galaxy 3/22 KGAY Denver 7.46
(off the air, Sept, 1993)
\v\ Galaxy 4/8 Hispanic Radio Broad. Net. 7.75 7.93
Galaxy 4/20 WCBS New York 7.4
Anik E2/16 CBC Radio East 5.76 5.94
CBC Radio Atlantic 6.12 6.3
Voice Print)Reading Service 7.44
Anik E2/20 CBC Radio East French 5.4 5.58
Anik E2/22 CBC Radio Pacific 5.76 5.94
CFMI)FM 6.8
CBC Radio News B.C. 7.36
Anik E1/17 Radio France International 5.41 6.12
Galaxy 5/18 WSM Nashville 7.38 7.56
Galaxy 5/22 CNN Headline News 7.56
Satcom C5/24 KSKA)FM Anchorage/NPR 7.38 7.56
"Let's Talk Radio" is a program about radio and television on
Spacenet 3
transponder 21, using the 6.2 MHz subcarrier (daily at 6:00
PM)1:00 AM Eastern
Time). There are programs about satellites, amateur
radio, shortwave listening,
and computers.
The satellite and cable station C)Span carries broadcasts from the
American
Congress. C)Span also has two special audio channels. One
rebroadcasts BBC World
Service 24 hours a day, the other carries a
variety of international
broadcasters, including Deutsche Welle, Radio
Japan, "As It Happens" from the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and
Radio Sweden's program "Sweden Today".
"Sweden Today" is carried on Saturdays at 9:30 AM Eastern Time.
Other
broadcasters are the Voice of America daily at 1:00)8:00 PM,
Radio Havana Cuba
at 8:00 and 11:00 PM, Deutsche Welle during the week
and Radio Japan weekends at
10:00 PM, and China Radio International at
midnight. Radio Japan is carried
weekdays at 6:00 AM, and programs from
the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation are
at 8:00 AM.
C)Span has been on transponder 24 on the Galaxy 3 satellite at
93.5 degrees
West. BBC World Service uses the subcarrier at 5.4 MHz.
The international
broadcasters are on 5.22 MHz.
KGAY, a new radio network for gays and lesbians, moved from
Spacenet 3R to
Galaxy 6, transponder 17, using the audio subcarrier at
7.48 MHz. However it
stopped satellite relays in September, 1993, and
it is uncertain if it will
return.
The Becker Satellite Network provides a common channel to a
variety of
eccentric programmers. According to "Popular Communications"
magazine, it's a
place where would)be pirate broadcasters can reach
listeners legally. Among the
programmers are the former pirate Radio
New York International, the Satellite
Information Service, the Johnny
Lightning Show, the World Jazz Federation, and
DBI Satellite Radio
Talk. The Becker Satellite Network is on Spacenet 2,
transponder 7,\v\audio 7.5 MHz.
Project Saturn Global is to be the world's first all educational
24 hour
international satellite radio network. Regular broadcasts to
North America were
due to begin in January, using the Galaxy 5
satellite, transponder 7, audio
subcarrier 5.80 MHz. Programs will
originate from Los Angeles at 16:00 hrs
daily.
Worldwide coverage is planned for April, 1993. The daily
programming is drawn
from an audio library of more than 2000 programs,
aimed at all ages, with
subjects ranging from fairy tales to computer
technology. Programs are to be
repeated every eight hours to
accommodate global time zones, and will include
hourly educational
news.
The World Radio Network, which carries programs from NPR and many
international
broadcasters over an Astra transponder to Europe, is
starting a similar
multi)lingual service to North America. The service
will be on an audio
subcarrier of SCOLA on ASC)1, transponder 23.
Broadcasts are to officially begin
on January 1, 1994, but test
transmissions may start on December 15, 1993. Radio
Sweden will be
among the international broadcasters relayed to North America.
There are several digital satellite radio services in the United
States:
Digital Cable Radio transmits to American and Mexican subscribers
and cable
systems on Satcom C3, transponder 9. Launched in May, 1990,
DCR was the first
digital cable audio service marketed in the United
States. DCR currently
provides 28 CD)quality radio channels. On May 1st
this is increasing to 56. DCR
says that additional music, information,
news, talk and foreign language
channels are set to be introduced,
along side additional commercial formats
(background music) for
business users. DCR hopes to provide 250 channels within
a few years.
AA DCR plans to expand into Canada and is currently seeking
regulatory approval.
DCR has long)term plans to launch the service in
Europe, the Far East and parts
of Latin America.
Another service called Digital Music Express, or DMX, is available
to more than
10 million cable subscribers in the United States. It
offers themed channels of
various types of music without the need for
DJs, jingles, or commercials. The
DMX decoder, manufactured by
Scientific Atlanta, displays information on the
music being played,
such as the name of the artist, song and album title,
composer, and
chart position.
International Cablecasting Technologies Inc. has signed a USD 20
million
contract with Spar Communications Group for the supply of
digital audio
receivers that will receive DMX's coming 120 channel
service by DBS satellite.
DMX initially started with a 30 channel offering, but the company
is in the
middle of an aggressive service and geographical expansion
programme. With the
new receivers, customers can tune into 120 20Khz
CD-quality music channels at
the touch of a button. The new offering
will be initially restricted to the
North American marketplace, and it
will enable the company to expand its
business music offering, DMX for
Business, which provides commercial-free,
DJ-free music to stores,
offices and factories.\v\
A 75 cm antenna will be used to receive broadcasts throughout the
USA and North
America from the SBS-5 satellite. Each receiver is fully
addressable, enabling
special broadcasts to be sent to subscribers.
There is also the capability to
offer generic corporate programming
broadcasts on under-utilised channels, switching in receivers as
required.
The second system of sending audio by satellite is SCPC (single
channel per
carrier). This involves dividing up an entire transponder
into individual
non)video channels. There is both FM and single side
band (SSB) SCPC. Most of
the high quality audio (and data) services
today use FM/SCPC. It is typically
used for network relays.
The American non)commercial radio network National Public Radio
has 16 audio
channels on Galaxy 6, on transponders 2, 3, and 4 (which
are used for many other
SCPC services as well, such as NPR's rival,
American Public Radio. The BBC World
Service is carried for some 8
hours a day on an APR SCPC channel.
There are special SCPC receivers, but SCPC can be monitored with a
satellite)TV
receiver and a continuous coverage scanner or VHF)UHF
communications receiver,
although the quality may be less than with a
dedicated SCPC receiver. Some
(older) TVRO receivers have intermediate
or downblock frequencies at 70 or 134
MHz. If this signal is available,
a scanner or VHF)UHF receiver can be used to
monitor the frequencies 18
MHz to either side of these channels on appropriate
transponders.
On more modern TVRO set)ups, a splitter can be installed in the
cable from the
LNB to the satellite receiver, and the extra output can
be fed through a DC
block to an FM scanner that covers the LNB's 950*1450 MHz range.
Universal Electronics has developed the first consumer)priced SCPC
decoder,
which can be attached easily to an ordinary satellite
receiver. Universal sells
the SCPC)100 for USD 400, plus shipping. More
details from: Universal Radio,
6830 Americana Parkway, Reynoldsburg,
Ohio, 43068, USA.
SSB/SCPC includes many digital services offering news or business
information.
Fine tuning will reveal many radioteletype (RTTY) signals
which can be monitored
with the proper RTTY interface.
Many satellites carry telephone services, One single transponder
can hold 9000
telephone channels. These services can be monitored by
hooking an SSB
communications receiver to the 0)4.2 MHz output of a
TVRO receiver, if this is
available. The telephone services, on
satellites such as Satcom 5 and Galaxy 2,
can usually be found by
tuning the SSB receiver between 3720 and 4180 MHz.
Radio Netherlands is using PanAmSat (PAS)1) to broadcast to Latin
America and
the Caribbean, but this is a digital audio signal (64 kb/s
in a 10 kHz audio
channel). This Ku)band signal is downlinked in
Florida and uplinked on C)band to
receiving stations in the Caribbean.
IBM, NBC, and a company called NuMedia are to test a system of
"news on demand"
delivered via satellite. The system, which would be
called NBC Desktop News,
would allow people to scan lists of headlines
using personal computers and
recall the stories that interest them. It
involves text, graphics, video and
sound extracts in a multimedia PC\v\system.
AA
AA
\\ North American DBS
Most North American satellite television has been in the C)Band,
which is
really intended for professional relays and not for home
viewing. Many American
TVRO enthusiasts have added extra low noise
block amplifiers for Ku)Band,
however. The NBC network, for example,
has stopped using C)Band, and can be
found only in the Ku)Band, on the
K)2 satellite.
There are also several plans for European)style direct broadcast
satellites
(DBS) to North America, using the Ku)band. The first
proposals came in early
1990, when General Electric announced a joint
venture with 9 major cable
operators to deliver 10 channels of
programming using medium power in the
Ku)band.
The service, called PrimeStar, began in November, 1990, using the
K)1 satellite
stationed at 85 degrees West. It now uses 12 transponders
on the satellite.
Three of the channels are pay per view, the others
so)called Super Stations, and
include the Family Channel, the Nashville
Network, and Japan's NHK. Other
services include PrimeAudio (digital
audio and radio) and a range of news services delivered as data to
the desktop including X*Press X*Change and X*Press X*Press
Executive, provided by X*Press Corp.
General Instrument Corp. has signed an agreement with Primestar to
upgrade the DBS service with GI's DigiCipher digital video
compression technology for all channels carried on the satellite.
Up to 70 channels may be included by the end of 1994.
Primestar Partners is a joint venture between many US cable
companies, including TCI, Time Warner, Cox and Comcast, and GE
American Communications.
Hughes Communications and United States Satellite Broadcasting are
starting a
DBS system, called DirecTV. Two satellites would be able to
carry up to 150
channels, including regular cable channels,
pay-per-view networks, and high
definition television services.
The first DirecTV satellite, DBS)1, was launched from French
Guiana on December
17, 1993. Tests will begin in January, 1994 and
receiving equipment going on
sale in April. A second satellite will be
launched in June, 1994. There will be
separate services from USSB and
Hughes' DirecTV. Together they will offer 100
subscription channels and
50 more pay)per)view channels, using digital
compression techniques.
Both satellites will be located at 101 degrees West, and will
deliver news,
sports, movies, and other programming to American homes
equipped with 45 cm (18
inch) antennas. Receiving systems will cost USD
700 plus installation. The cost
of subscribing to 100 channels will be
around USD 50 a month.
Among the broadcasters lined up for DirecTV are several channels
from Turner
Broadcasting: CNN International, CNN, Headline News, TNT,
Cartoon Network,
Superstation TBS, and Turner Classic Movies. Other
broadcasters signed up
include the USA Network, the Sci)Fi Channel, the
Nashville Network, Country
Music Television, Discovery, the Learning
Channel, E! Entertainment, the Family
Channel, Courtroom Television
Network, The Weather Channel, Playboy TV, The Golf
Channel and The
Travel Channel.
\v\ There are pay)per)view agreements with Paramount, Sony, MGM,
Disney, and
Columbia Tristar. Around 50 PPV films will be carried on
the 150 channel system
once launched.
USSB has announced that their programming lineup contains 14
premium feeds
(HBO 1, 2, and 3, Cinemax 1 and 2, and Showtime 1 and 2,
East and West in all
cases) and six or seven basic channels (MTV, VH)1,
Nickelodeon, Comedy Central,
E! Entertainment, All News Channel).
The Federal Communications Commission has awarded direct broadcast
satellite
orbital slot assignments and channel frequencies to two
companies called Direct
Broadcasting Satellite Corporation and
Directsat. DSBC has been assigned 11
transponders at both the 61.5
degrees and 175 degrees West orbital slots, with
DSAT receiving 10
transponders at 119 degrees West, one at 110 degrees West and
11 at 175
degrees West. Final launch approval is to be granted by the FCC
by
March, 1994.
The FCC hopes competition from DirecTV and other DBS ventures will
provide
much)needed rivalry for cable systems, nearly all of which
operate as local
monopolies. The cable companies are concerned about
the potential competition.
There are fears of a different kind in
Canada, where the intrusion of 150
channels of south)of)the)border
cultural imperialism has led to DirecTV being
dubbed "The Death Star",
referring to the "Star Wars" films. There will be two
Canadian channels
on DirecTV, however. The CBC is providing an international
version of
its Newsworld service, while the privately)owned Power
Broadcasting
will provide the Northstar Channel, a compilation of the best
of
Canadian drama, arts, and entertainment.
Other observers have asked what people will do with 150 or 500
channels. Large
chunks, of course, will be allocated to pay)per)view
blockbuster movies, with
the same film starting every 20 or 30 minutes
so viewers will never have to wait
longer than that. One DBS expert has
pointed to the proliferation of magazines
on store racks, and suggested
that the magazine racks of the future will be
satellites offering
scores, or even hundreds, of narrow channels appealing to
various
interests. There are already cable systems in the United States
offering
500 video channels.
The cable giant TCI has ordered two Tempo DBS satellites, to be
launched in
June and October 1996. Each will feature 32 high)powered
transponders at 107
watts, switchable to 16 transponders at 200+ watts.
\Z\ II. Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin American signals can be found on a number of satellites,
such as
Intelsats K, 601, and 513. There are extensive relays from
Europe as well on
Panamsat and more planned on Hispasat. Many Latin
American services from North
America are on Spacenet 2 (the women's
channel GEMS TV on transponder 2, Canal
SUR on transponder 4, and Canal
de Noticias NBC on transponder 5), and Galaxy 4
(Telemundo on
transponders 8 and 14).
Mexico's Galavision is on Galaxy 1 transponder 20, and Univision
on transponder
6.
Canal SUR (Sistema Unida de Retransmision) is a coded satellite
service in
Spanish and Portuguese from Latin America to North America.
It includes
broadcasts from stations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador, and
Peru.
There are two new services to Spanish)speaking people in the
United States,
both using the DigiCipher digital compression system.
MTV started its MTV Latino service in October, 1993 from Miami.
Initially MTV
Latino is reaching 1.9 million homes in 10 Latin American
countries and some
parts of the United States, but hopes to eventually
reach 3 to 5 million homes.
MTV Latino is on the Satcom C3 satellite.
MTV hopes its sister channels, VH)1
and Nickelodeon, will follow into
Latin America.
The American pay)film channel Home Box Office has also launched
a
Spanish)language version of its regular schedule of movies,
original
programming, and sports to major Hispanic markets in the United
States.
"HBO en Espanol" will be available soon in San Francisco,
Houston,
Albuquerque, El Paso, and San Diego.
When consumer DigiCipher receivers become available in mid to late
1994, it is
expected that these and other DigiCipher services will be
sold to home dish
owners.
The Caribbean Satellite Network went on the air in December,
1992,
appropriately following the 500th anniversary of the arrival
of
Christopher Columbus in that part of the world. Signals are uplinked
from
Miami to the Galaxy 3 satellite, transponder 14. Programing
concentrates on
music, but there will also be documentaries based on
life in the Caribbean,
news, and situation comedies. European relays
are also planned.
Turner Television's Cartoon Network began broadcasts in May to
Latin America,
transmitting to 300,000 subscribers mainly in Argentina.
The channel will
eventually have three audio subcarriers for English,
Spanish, and Portuguese.
CNN International and TNT Latin America
broadcast coded on Spacenet 3
transponder 16.
Fox has recently launched a small cable channel to South America.
Brazil has its own satellite, Brasilsat, which was launched in
1986 and is
located at 70 degrees West. This C)band only satellite
carries a variety of
Brazilian stations, all in M)PAL.
Mexico's two Morales satellites are listed above. Mexico is
following up with
two new communications satellites called Solidaridad,
built by Hughes. Besides
Mexico, they will have spot beams to cover the\v\southern United States, the
Caribbean, and South America. The new
satellites will have three times the
capacity of the two Morelos
satellites. Solidaridad)1 was launched on November
19, 1993, and will
be placed at 109 degrees West. Solidaridad)2 is scheduled for
launch in
1994.
Radiotelevision Espanola's Canal Iberoamericano Television will
use Spain's
Hispasat satellite to reach Latin America. 18 hours a day
of broadcasts from
Valencia are to begin by the end of this year.
BBC World Service Television, Reuters, and Telemundo are
negotiating on
creating a 24 hour Spanish)language news service for
Latin America, Spain, and
the United States. Telemundo currently
operates a Spanish language channel on
the Spacenet 2 satellite which
by satellite and cable reaches 85 percent of the
Hispanic households in
the United States. The new channel would broadcast from
Miami by
satellite and cable, and would start later this year.
Grupo Televisa and the the largest cable operator in the US, TCI,
have agreed
to form a joint venture to provide cable, pay)TV, and
multi)channel television
to Mexico and other Latin American countries.
AA Two major Christian shortwave broadcasters, HCJB in Ecuador, and
Trans World
Radio, have announced they are launching a 24 hour Latin
American satellite
radio network. The target date was November 20, 1993
and they'll be using
digital technology to reach a network of affiliate
stations from the US)Mexican
border to the southern tip of Chile.
\<\ III. Europe and Astra
The Soviet Union's Ghorizont was the first TV satellite over
Europe. While, the
Ghorizont satellites operate mainly in the C)Band,
Western European satellites
use several sections of the Ku)Band for
different purposes. The Ku1)Band
10.9)11.75 GHz is, like the American
C)Band, intended for professional relays
and not for home viewing. Home
reception was originally intended for the Ku2
(DBS) Band 11.75)12.5
GHz. The Ku3)Band 12.5)12.75 GHz, or Telecom Band, is also
not intended
for home viewing.
The first Western European satellites were from Eutelsat, which is
made up of
the PTTs and Telecom administrations of Western European
countries. The
intention was that individual countries would offer home
viewing to their own
residents over high)powered DBS satellites
offering only a few channels. Astra,
operated by Luxembourg's SES, has
changed all that.
Because Astra's several medium)powered satellites are at the same
spot in the
sky, viewers with relatively small fixed antennas (60)90
cm) can tune into all
available channels.
Here are the channels on Astra 1A, 1B, and 1C (as of Jan., 1994):
Channel Transponder Frequency Language
1 RTL 2 11.214 GHz German
2 RTL Plus 11.229 German
3 TV3 Sweden (D2)MAC) 11.244 English/Swedish
4 Eurosport 11.258 English/German/Dutch
5 Vox 11.273 English/German
6 SAT 1 11.288 German
7 TV1000 (D2)MAC) 11.303 Swedish/English (pay)
8 Sky One 11.317 English (pay channel)
9 Teleclub 11.332 German (pay channel)
10 3)SAT 11.347 German
11 FilmNet+ (to Scandinavia) 11.362 English (pay channel)
12 Sky News 11.377 English
13 RTL 4 11.391 Dutch
14 Pro 7 11.406 German (partly pay)
15 MTV Europe (northern Eur.) 11.421 English
16 Sky Movies Plus 11.435 English (pay channel)
17 Premiere 11.464 German (pay channel)
18 The Movie Channel 11.479 English (pay channel)
19 ARD 11.493 German
20 Sky Sports 11.509 English (pay)
21 DSF (Sports) 11.523 German
22 MTV Europe (southern Eur.) 11.538 English
23 UK Gold 11.553 English (free)coded)
24 JSTV 11.567 Japanese
25 N3 11.582 German
26 Sky Gold/TV Asia 11.597 English/Hindi (pay)
27 TV3 Denmark (D2)MAC) 11.611 Danish
28 CNN International 11.626 English
29 n)tv (News) 11.641 German
30 Cinemania 11.656 Spanish (pay channel)
31 TV3 Norway (D2)MAC) 11.670 English/Norwegian
32 Documania 11.685 Spanish (pay channel)
33 ZDF 10.964 German
34 UK Living 10.979 English (pay channel)\v\ 35 Children's/Family
Channel 10.994 English (pay)
36 Sogecable 11.009 Spanish (pay channel)
37 Cartoon Network/TNT 11.023 Eng/French/Swed/Nor.
38 QVC (Shopping) 11.038 English (pay)
39 West 3 11.053 German
40 Sogecable 11.068 Spanish (pay channel)
41 Discovery/Country Music TV 11.082 English (pay)
42 Bravo/Adult Channel 11.097 English (pay)
43 MDR 11.112 German
44 Galavision 11.127 Spanish (Mexico)
45 BFS 3 11.186 German
46 Nickelodeon 11.156 English (pay channel)
47 Sky Sports 2 11.171 coming (pay)
48 SWF 3 11.186 German
63 FilmNet Movies 10.921 English (pay channel)
64 RTL 5 10.936 Dutch (pay channel)
Odd)numbered transponders carry horizontal polarization, while the
even
transponders are vertically polarized. All channels are PAL unless
D2)MAC is
indicated. Pay channels use a variety of scrambling systems,
although the
emerging standards seem to be Videocrypt for PAL channels
and Eurocrypt M for
D2)MAC. The Sogecable Spanish transponders (30, 32,
36, and 40) use Nagravision.
Until Sky Sports 2 comes on the air, transponder 47 will be used
to provide
Astra technical information. First reports said Sky Sports 2
would begin
operation on February 1, 1994, but now it is said that
British Sky Broadcasting
could wait for improved technology to launch
the channel on a pay)per)view
basis.
China News Europe uses transponder 35 during the night for uncoded
broadcasts
from the Far East, in parallel with Eutelsat II)F1.
Astra uses the Ku1)Band for medium)powered signals, with 16)18
channels per
satellite. Astra 1A, 1B, and 1C are currently in orbit at
19.2 degrees East.
Astra 1A and 1B carry mono channel sound on 6.50
MHz, with many stations
carrying stereo as well on 7.02/7.20. Most
Astra 1C outlets have stereo)only TV
sound on 7.02/7.20. Astra 1C
carries two transponders, 63 and 64, which cannot
be received on
ordinary receivers, although LNBs are being produced that will
cover
these frequencies. They are part of the channel plan for later
satellites,
using 10.7 to 10.95 GHz, and intended for cable systems
rather than home
viewers.
British Sky Broadcasting, the company formed by the merger of Sky
Television
and British Satellite Broadcasting in 1990, is a major user
of the Astra
satellites. BSkyB's channels are Sky News, the
entertainment channel Sky One,
Sky Movies Plus, the Movie Channel, Sky
Movies Gold, and Sky Sports. Sky Sports
2 is planned for transponder
47. Sky News is uncoded, while the other channels
are videocrypt
encoded. A number of other channels are included in BSkyB's
Multi*Channels Package: Discovery, Bravo, UK Gold, UK Living, CMT,
QVC,
Children's Channel, Family Channel, and Nickelodeon.
FilmNet is offering viewers in the Netherlands and Belgium the
chance to
subscribe to a five-channel package of Astra channels,
scrambled in Videocrypt.
The package, called "MultiChoice", will
consist initially of three "basic"
channels and two premium channels.
Discovery, The Children's Channel and Country
Music Television will\v\form the basic package, with The Adult Channel and
FilmNet forming the
two premium channels. It is hoped that such channels as
Nickelodeon,
Nick)at)Nite, TV Asia, and RTL)5 may join the package.
FilmNet will utilise its out-of-band Astra transponder (10.920
GHz) for
"FilmNet: The Complete Movie Channel" as part of the package.
While the basic channels and The Adult Channel will continue using the
conventional flavor of UK Videocrypt, FilmNet will broadcast in
Videocrypt
Europe, also known as Videocrypt 2. Videocrypt 2 receivers
are compatible with
existing Videocrypt broadcasts, although it is
understood that Videocrypt 2
transmissions will not be decoded
by existing (UK type) Videocrypt decoders, even with the correct
smartcard.
By early 1994, the package is to be extended to Portugal, and
eventually will
be available to other European countries, including the
Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Hungary and Scandinavia. Larger European
countries such as Germany and
France are expected to be catered for by
the soon-to-be-announced Sky/Pro7 deal.
Rumors suggest that Sky could
soon begin selling its channels, including Movies
and Sports, on a
Europe-wide basis.
Nickelodeon is owned by MTV's parent, Viacom. The Nick)at)Nite
service is due
to share the transponder, beginning next year. MTV's
music channel for somewhat
older audiences, VH)1 is expected to join
the Multi)Channels package in 1994,
probably taking over MTV's
transponder 15. At that time, both MTV and VH)1 will
probably encrypt.
Eurosport has ceased providing a French audio soundtrack on its
Astra and
Eutelsat service. Viewers wishing to watch in French will
need to subscribe to
the Canal Plus package to receive "TV Sport", the
French version of Eurosport.
Landmark Communications Inc, the US media conglomerate which owns
The Weather
Channel and The Travel Channel, has confirmed that it is to
launch The Travel
Channel in Europe in early 1994. The development
plans include Britain, the
Benelux, and Scandinavia." There are reports
The Travel Channel may use Astra
transponder 24 during the day and
early evening, before JSTV takes over the
channel.
Other Astra hopeful is the Afro)Caribbean Satellite Channel, which
wants to
broadcast for 6 hours nightly after midnight, carrying films,
sports, general
entertainment and news. This channel hopes to
eventually reach the emerging
African cable market.
There are a number of other Astra hopefuls, but the three
satellites are now
completely filled. Now that NBC has bought and
revamped Super Channels, a move
to Astra would be welcomed by many.
There are, however, reports that some
current broadcasters could be
departing from the high)cost Astra transponders.
Eurosport may leave
Astra to rely solely on Eutelsat, while the German channel
Vox is in
danger of closing due to low viewership. The 4 Scansat channels,
the
TV3 transmissions to Sweden, Norway, and Denmark and TV1000, might
leave
Astra in favor of the Swedish Space Corporation's new Sirius
satellite (the
former Marco Polo 1), to be positioned together with
Tele)X at 5 degrees East.
Astra 1D, with a further 18 channels, is due for launch in the
third quarter of
1994. It will carry 18 more transponders in the Fixed
Satellite Service range.
The 1D transponders and frequencies are:\v\
49 10.714 GHz 57 10.832
50 10.729 58 10.847
51 10.744 59 10.852
52 10.758 60 10.876
53 10.773 61 10.891
54 10.788 62 10.906
55 10.803 63 10.921 (also on Astra 1C)
56 10.817 64 10.935 (also on Astra 1C)
As with the other Astra satellites, odd)numbered transponders have
horizontal
polarization, while even transponders have vertical
polarization.
Astra 1D will also carry digital programming in the BSS band on
transponders 65
to 82 between 11.720 and 12.051 GHz.
Thames Television has taken options on two transponders on Astra
1D. Thames
hopes to launch another two themed channels on these
transponders, although it has not yet announced any details. Germany's
ZDF has also announced it has booked a transponder on Astra 1D. The
Chinese
Channel, with programming aimed at the Chinese community in
Europe, hopes to
offer a subscription service over Astra 1D.
Astra 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D together will provide 64 channels of DTH
(direct to
home) programming to viewers in Europe.
Astra 1E is to be launched early in 1995 and will carry 18
transponders with 85
watts each (compared to 45 watts on Astra 1A). The
similar Astra 1F is to be
launched in 1996. Astra 1E and 1F will
provide 40 transponders for digital
broadcasting services. 1E will
operate in the 11.7 to 12.1 GHz range, while 1F
will cover between 12.1
and 12.5 GHz.
The use of digital compression techniques will allow the
transmission of eight
to ten channels per transponder, and British Sky
Broadcasting is reported to be
planning to use several to transmit pay*per)view films, where a film would be
starting every 20 minutes.
Other European Ku1)Band satellites include:
Intelsat 602 63 degrees East Italy/Iran
Intelsat 604 60 degrees 4 Turkish transponders
Statsionar 5 53 degrees EBU Moscow
DFS 2 Kopernikus 28.5 degrees German broadcasters
DFS 3 Kopernikus 23.5 degrees German transponders
Eutelsat I)F5 21.5 degrees feeds
Eutelsat II)F3 16 degrees Middle Eastern, Eastern Europe
Eutelsat II)F1 13 degrees many European programs
Eutelsat II)F2 10 degrees Italian, Iberian, Turkish
Eutelsat II)F4 7 degrees Turkish/Greek/EBU
Intelsat 512 1 degree West Norwegian channels/Israel
Statsionar 11 11 degrees WTN Moscow
Statsionar 4 14 degrees Reuters TV
Intelsat 515 18 degrees Norwegian channels
Intelsat K 21.5 degrees trans)Atlantic feeds
Intelsat 601 27.5 degrees European (BBC, CMT, Wire TV)
Intelsat 603 34.5 degrees EBU Sarajevo
PAS 1 45 degrees mostly feeds (PAL and NTSC)
\v\
Eutelsat
The Eutelsat II satellites are higher)powered than their
predecessors, and
approach Astra in strength. The most interesting
Eutelsat is II)F1 at 13 degrees
East, which includes the following
transponders:
Eurosport 10.970 GHz Sports
Super Channel 10.987 Radio: BBC World Service
Der Kabelkanal 11.052 D2)MAC, German
Viva 11.006 German music videos
TV5 Europe 11.080 French
RTL 2 11.095 German
Deutsche W/World N 11.161 Radio: DW, VOA
TRT 11.181 Turkish
MBC 11.554 Arabic, Radio: Vatican
Euronews 11.575 Multi)lingual sound
interStar 11.596 Turkish
Emirates Dubai TV 11.638 Arabic, some English
MTV Europe 11.658
FilmNet (Holland) 11.678 Digital sound
VisEurope 12.521 coded newsfeeds
Maxat 12.560 newsfeeds
France Telecom 12.585 HD)MAC tests
Germany's international radio broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, has
taken over the
facilities of the Berlin)based American TV station RIAS,
and is broadcasting on
Eutelsat II)F1 with three two hour blocks after
16:00 hrs European time on
11.161 GHz. The first 90 minutes of each
block is in German, followed by 30
minutes in English. There are also
Spanish programs. Managing Director Dieter
Weirich announced at the
Internationale Funkaustellung in Berlin on August 30,
1993 that
Deutsche Welle TV will be expanding to 24 hour a day service from
1994.
However, the expansion from 16 hours at present would only be possible
if
ARD and ZDF agree to work together.
The American government's World Net uses this same transponder
at 10:00)15:30 hrs European time daily. The transponder also carries
radio
programs from both Deutsche Welle and VOA Europe. It's hard to
say what will
happen to World Net if Deutsche Welle goes to 24 hours.
World Net was kicked off
the French TV5 transponder for exactly the
same reason.
The European Broadcasting Union's all)news station, Euronews, went
on the air
at 14:00 hrs on January 1, 1993 from Eutelsat II)F1 at
11.575 GHz. There are no
presenters, instead the news footage is
accompanied by soundtracks in five
languages on various audio
subcarriers: German on 6.65 Mhz, English on 7.02,
French on 7.20,
Spanish on 7.38, Italian on 7.56, (and probably Arabic on 7.74)
MHz.
The American TV network NBC has bought Super Channel, which was
started as a
"Best of British TV" channel (as UK Gold later became),
but was forced to
abandon this because of opposition from the British
Actors' Union. A controlling
interest was bought by an Italian music
video company, and Super Channel has
carried an unfocused mix of music
videos, B movies, and news programs. NBC has
cut back on the videos,
and has added such programs as the "Today Show", the
"NBC Nightly\v\News", "The Tonight Show", and other news programs from NBC and
its
financial channel CNBC.
Super Channel is carrying three hours of Far Eastern programming
every night,
at 2:00)5:00 AM European time. Called Europe)China
Satellite TV, as well as
China News Europe, this brings together
reports from Hong Kong, China, and
Taiwan, in English, Cantonese, and
Mandarin. The channel hopes to move to Astra,
initially keeping the
same broadcast hours and times, and sharing with a UK
Astra channel -
possibly The Family Channel or UK Living. The channel will will
also
then change its name to "Chinese News and Entertainment".
Emirates Dubai TV is mostly in Arabic, but there are English
newscasts at 15:00
and 18:00 hrs British time. It uses half the former
Filmnet transponder, and
there are reports the other half, 11.678 GHz,
may be used to launch a European
version of the Sci Fi Channel in early
1994.
Turning to the other Eutelsats:
II)F3 (16 degrees East) carries largely programs from the Middle
East and
Eastern Europe. Egypt's ESC is on 11.178 GHz, and that
country's new foreign
language channel, Nile TV International, has been
testing with extremely low
power on 11.146 GHz. Other Middle Eastern
broadcasters are RTV Marocaine on
10.970, Turkey's TGRT on 11.090 and
HBB on 11.615, and TV7 Tunisie on 11.658.
Telepace from Rome, which
carries daily programming from the Vatican, is on
11.575 GHz. Albania's
TV Shqiptar uses this transponder between 17:30 and 20:30
hrs British
time.
Eastern European broadcasters include Croatia's HTV on 10.986 GHz
(shared with
Eurostep), Polonia TV on 11.080, Hungary's Duna TV on
11.596, and Polsat on
11.675.
Eutelsat II)F2 (10 degrees East) is a largely "Latin" or
Mediterranean
satellite. Spain's TVE is at 11.149 GHz. Italy's RAI has
two transponders
(10.972 and 11.095). The Portuguese RTP International
service is at 11.658 GHz.
RTP also transmits to Africa on Ghorizont 12
at 40 degrees East, at 3.925 MHz.
There are three private Turkish
stations: A)TV on 10.986, Show TV on 11.575, and
interStar on 11.617.
The American AFRTS uses the B)MAC system for broadcasts on
11.175.
Eutelsat II)F4 (7 degrees East) has Greece's ET1 on 11.174 GHz and
PIK from
Cyprus at 11.141, Turkey's Kanal 6 at 11.162 and a new service
are on 11.578,
with Serbia's RTS Sat Beograd at 11.536 GHz. There are
also EBU feeds using the
sound)in)synch system on a number of
transponders.
Greece's ERT has announced the establishment of a satellite
channel called ERT
International. As it is to broadcast to Europe,
North Africa, and the Middle
East, it will probably use Eutelsat.
The venerable Eutelsat I)F1 is being redeployed to improve
coverage of Russia
and the CIS. Both 36 and 50 degrees East have been
mentioned as new locations.
But Eutelsat II)F5 is due to be launched
soon, and is to be located at 36
degrees East.
Eutelsat II-F6 is to be co-located with Eutelsat II-F1 at 13
degrees east, now
dubbed the "Hot Bird" position. The satellite, due to
be launched in the second
half of 1994, will be able to relay 16\v\additional high)powered television
channels. Eutelsat is already taking
bookings on the satellite. According to a
statement issued by Eutelsat,
in order to guarantee that the 13 degrees east
position "can be
reinforced as Europe's principal slot for television for cable
and
direct)to)home reception, the new satellite will only carry
entertainment
services at prime)time (17:00-01:00 CET)."
Eutelsat plans a third satellite for 13 degrees east, called "Hot
Bird Plus".
It would be launched in early 1996, with either 14 or 20
110 watt transponders.
This would mean reception in most of Europe with
40 cm antennas. "Hot Bird Plus"
will enable Eutelsat to meet demands
for digital television, offering such
future options as interactive
television, video)on)demand, pay)per)view, etc.
The problem for Eutelsat is "too little too late". Next year it
will have 29
transponders at 13 degrees East. Today, Astra has 50 at
its position, and by the
time the first "Hot Bird" launches, Astra will
already have the equivalent of
"Hot Bird Plus" in orbit, the Astra 1D
satellite, which will be followed in 1995
by Astra 1E, and the
following year by Astra 1F.
Eutelsat's only chance is that it may be able to serve Eastern
Europe better
than Astra, and there might be a greater demand for
satellite capacity than
Astra can meet. Also, Eutelsat's transponders
have a wider bandwidth (36 MHz)
than Astra (25 MHz). This means more
digital channels can be squeezed in.
Intelsat
Another interesting satellite (which may be virtually vacated by
the end of the
year) is Intelsat 601 at 27.5 degrees West. This has
carried CNN, Discovery,
Bravo, and the Children's Channel, all of which
have moved to Astra. What's left
are broadcasts from the British
Parliament (11.095 GHz), Country Music
Television Europe (24 hours on
11.509, using a weak half transponder), the
shopping center
entertainment channel Wire TV (coded) and The Learning
Channel
(uncoded) sharing a transponder (11.505), Sweden's D2)MAC coded
FilmMax
(11.665), the SAVE coded British forces SSVC (11.563), and BBC
World
Service Television (10.995).
In January, 1993 BBC World Service Television switched to D2)MAC,
encoded in
Eurocrypt M. Subscriptions are available from TV Extra in
Motala, Sweden, at
telephone number +46)141)355)12. The system uses the
same smartcards as Filmnet,
and in Scandinavia and the Benelux, Filmnet
is handling subscriptions.
Intelsat 603 was launched in 1990, but a mistake put it into a
useless orbit.
In May, 1992 the American space shuttle Endeavour
successfully captured the
satellite and relaunched it into its proper
orbit (34.5 degrees West). This
carries C)band feeds to Greenland and
the Canary Islands. EBU feeds from
Sarajevo are on 11.475 GHz.
Intelsat)K at 21.5 degrees West is intended to relay signals
across the
Atlantic. Intelsat's first Ku)band only satellite, it
carries 32 high)powered
transponders, which can be directed to North
America (as far as the Midwest),
Europe (as far east as Greece), and
selected parts of South America. All beams
use 11.45-11.7 GHz, while
11.7-11.95 GHz is also used to the Americas, and
12.5-12.75 GHz to
Europe. \v\
Feeds from North America to Europe can be found on 11.531, 11.558,
11.593,
11.652, and 11.681 GHz, using both horizontal and vertical
polarization. The CBS
"This Morning" program, for rebroadcast by Sky
News, is carried weekdays
12:50)14:00 hrs European time on 11.558
vertical. When NBC took over Super
Channel, relays of many shows,
including the "The Today Show" and programming
from CNBC could be found
on 11.616 GHz, although this has recently disappeared.
PanAmSat
Alpha Lyracom, now known as Panamsat, has taken on the massive
Intelsat,
seeking to provide an alternative international satellite
organization. PAS)1,
launched in 1988, is located at 45 degrees West,
carries the American Galavision
to Europe, along with several channels
for newsfeeds.
PAS)2, to be launched in May, 1994, will be placed above the
Pacific. PAS)3, to
be launched in late 1994, will complement PAS)1 from
43.5 degrees, reaching
farther into Scandinavia and the Middle East.
Other parts of the world are to be
covered by PAS)4 and 5 above the
PAS)4 will be placed over the Indian Ocean at
72 degrees East in March,
1995. M)Net and the South African Broadcasting
Corporation have already
booked transponders.
Eastern European Satellites
A Soviet Ghorizont was the first television satellite over Europe.
However, the
Soviets concentrated on the C)band, while European
satellite broadcasting has
used the Ku)band. But there are in fact Ku*band transponders on the Ghorizont
(or Statsionar) satellites used by
the former Soviet Union. Each of the
Ghorizonts over Europe, at 53
degrees East, 14 degrees West and 11 degrees West,
has a transponder at
11.525 GHz. The Ghorizont at 53 degrees East carries EBU
feeds, 14
degrees carries Reuters TV (formerly Visnews), while 11 degrees
has
WTN.
The Russian satellite ZSSRD at 16 degrees West carries two very
interesting
Ku)band transponders, using to relay signals from the MIR
space station. Data
information is carried at 11.375 GHz, which can
often be seen as flashing lines
on the screen. More interesting is the
transponder at 10.835 GHz, which carries
video from MIR in clear SECAM.
Unfortunately this frequency is slightly below
that covered by most
satellite receivers.
MIR video has also been reported from the Ghorizont at 11 degrees
West on
11.525 GHz.
While the dishes used for Ku)band monitoring in Europe are
generally too small
for C)band reception, the introduction of new
sensitive C)band LNBs has made it
possible to receive the very strong
Russian C)band signals using dishes as small
as 1.5 meters. The Russian
signals on 3.675 GHz at 40.5 degrees East and 14
degrees West are
perhaps one hundred times stronger than other C)band signals in
Europe.
Molniya satellites use a highly elliptical orbit that makes it
possible to
reach high latitudes out)of)reach of geostationary
satellites (which would be
too low on the horizon). These carry\v\satellite broadcast television, relaying
Double II (the East Siberian
version of the second TV program) on 3.875 GHz.
The first of Russia's new Ekspress satellites, which will replace
the current
Ghorizonts, is to be in orbit at the end of the year. The
satellites will better
be able to maintain the correct inclination in
orbit, and will carry 24
channels, as well as four back)up
transponders.
Antenna Hungaria, the Hungarian telecommunications company, says
that it plans
to launch a 16-channel European satellite called
"Domestic" in 1996, offering
Eastern Europe's first commercial
satellite service.
Telecom Band
There are 8 European satellites currently using the 12.5)12.75 GHz
Telecom
band:
DFS Kopernikus 2 28.5 degrees Germany
DFS Kopernikus 3 23.5 degrees Germany
Eutelsat II)F3 16 degrees European
Eutelsat II)F1 13 degrees European
Eutelsat II)F2 10 degrees European
Telecom 1C 3 degrees France
Telecom 2B 5 degrees West France
Telecom 2A 8 degrees France
To Astra's disappointment, French TV broadcasters have not booked
any Astra
channels. Instead, France is using its own Telecom 2A
satellite, at 8 degrees
West, for direct to home broadcasting. The
French government having surrendered
its demand for D2)MAC programming,
eleven channels are now using Telecom 2A.
Eight are in coded SECAM, and
three in widescreen D2)MAC.
The SECAM channels are coded in Nagravision: MCM on 12.543 GHz,
Paris 1:ere on
12.564, Planete Cable on 12.585, Cine Cinefil on 12.626,
Canal Plus on 12.648,
Cine Cinemas on 12.666, Eurosport France on
12.710, and Canal Jimmy on 12.732
GHz. France 2 is broadcasting in D2*MAC on 12.606 GHz. Widescreen D2)MAC with
Eurocrypt is being used by
Canal Plus on 12.522, Cine Cinefil on 12.564, and
Cine Cinemas on
12.689 GHz.
Telecom 2B (5 degrees West) carries the following uncoded channels
in SECAM: M6
(12.522), France 2 (12.564), Arte (12.606), Monte Carlo
TMC (12.658), and TF1
(12.689). Cine Cinemas on 12.669 GHz uses
Eurocrypt and D2)MAC. Luxembourg's RTL
Television began relays of its
French service in October, 1993 on 12.732 GHz.
Telecom 1C has now been moved to 3 degrees East, where it is used
for feeds in
PAL, D2)MAC, and B)MAC.
France's TF1 is to launch a satellite and cable news channel
during the first
half of 1994.
Germany's DFS Kopernikus 3 has taken over from Kopernikus 1 at
23.5 degrees
East. Kopernikus 1 has moved to 33.5 degrees East.
Kopernikus 2 is operating
from 28.5 degrees East.
\v\
European DBS
Direct Broadcast Satellites (DBS) are intended to beam a few (2)5)
high)powered
signals directly to homes in a single country. Viewers
require dish antennas
less than 30 cm in diameter. A number of DBS
satellites have been orbited above
Europe:
Tele)X 5 degrees East Sweden
Thor 0.8 degrees West Norway
Olympus 18.8 degrees Western Europe (gone)
TDF)1 and TDF)2 19 degrees France
TV)SAT 2 19.2 degrees Germany
Hispasat 1A and 1B 30 degrees Spain
Marco Polo 1 31 degrees Britain (for sale)
Astra's hopes to attract Spanish customers are threatened by
Spain's two
Hispasat direct broadcast satellites. Hispasat 1A was
launched on September 10,
1992 and carries 5 DBS channels and 18
transponders in other parts of the
Ku)band. Most will be directed
towards Spain and the Canary Islands, but two
will be aimed at the
Americas.
TVE International is in the clear on 12.160 GHz, with feeds and
sports on
12.588. Tele 5 is coded in Nagravision on 12.631 GHz. The
three Spanish radio
stations Antena Tres, Ole, and Serie Oro are also
on Hispasat.
This satellite, however, has antenna problems, displacing the
footprint towards
the north, which hopefully will be rectified now
following the launch of
Hispasat 1B on July 22, 1993. Five new
television channels are to begin
broadcasts. The first of these are to
go on the air in December, a cultural
channel called Canal Clasico and
Teleporte with exclusively sports programs, to
be operated RTVE in the
clear. Later they will be joined by Telesat 5, Antena 3
Television Sat,
and an as yet unnamed outlet from Canal Plus, all of which will
be
encrypted.
The European Space Agency announced August 26, 1993 that it has
terminated the
four-year-old mission of its troubled Olympus satellite,
11 months ahead of
schedule. The ESA says it sent the satellite to a
lower, non-operational orbit
where it would not collide or interfere
with other satellites. Olympus had
started spinning and did not have
enough fuel to return to its proper
geostationary orbit. Olympus had
carried broadcasts from Italy, an Irish sports
channel, and relays of
news from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and was
also used to
test advanced communications technologies, including
high-definition
television. Two years ago the satellite's position had to be
corrected
after it went into an uncontrolled drift around the world.
A DBS war has been fought between Sweden and Norway. Both the
Swedish Space
Corporation and Norwegian Telecom bid on Britain's Marco
Polo 2 satellite. The
Norwegians won, and moved the satellite to 0.8
degrees West, renaming it Thor.
They are offering a package of CNN
(11.785 GHz), Eurosport (11.862), Children's
Channel/Discovery
(11.938), FilmNet (12.015), and MTV (12.092) to Scandinavian
viewers,
with hopes of increasing to 15 channels by co)locating other
DBS
satellites at that position. \v\
Intelsat 512 is already at this position, (with the entertainment
channel TV
Norge in clear PAL on 11.016 GHz) and is to be replaced with
a stronger
satellite, adding to the offerings at this position.
FilmNet, in fact, sold its
85 percent ownership of Tele)X back to the
Swedish Space Corporation and moved
its transmissions to Thor.
However, having won the satellite battle, the Norwegians lost the
standards
war. They chose two of Europe's most obscure standards, D*MAC and Eurocrypt S,
available to few satellite viewers. (The exception
is FilmNet, which uses D2)MAC
and Eurocrypt S.) Writing in the magazine
"Elektronikvaarlden", Sweden's
satellite guru, Bertil Sundberg, referred
to the Thor coding as "Norwegian
Harakiri". Finally, after several
months, on December 16, 1993 the Norwegians
backed down and all Thor
channels now use D2)MAC (itself a doomed standard, if
less obscure than
D)MAC). It is unclear if the Norwegians have also abandoned
their
alligance to the even more obscure Eurocrypt S system.
The potential audience is in Finland and northern Norway and
Sweden, which are
outside the main Astra footprint. FilmNet is
distributing subscription cards for
Thor.
Norway's approach to satellite broadcasting has been eccentric.
Initially, most of the country's satellite channels were on Intelsat
512 at 1
degree West. Besides the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK,
these are the new
Norwegian terrestrial commercial station TV 2, the
private TV Norge, and Swedish
Television 1 and 2, which are uplinked
from Oslo for use by cable systems in
Spitsbergen and on North Sea oil
platforms.
In late 1992, these channels cloned themselves onto Intelsat 515
at 18 degrees
West. Moving away from 1 degree West was a bit strange,
since it happened at
exactly the same time Norway was moving Marco Polo
2/Thor to that same position.
Bertil Sundberg in "Paa TV" magazine has pointed out that there are
now
Norwegian programs on 5 satellites at 4 different positions. They
use a
bewildering array of standards: PAL, D2)MAC in both Eurocrypt M
and Eurocrypt S,
and D)MAC. This, he says, may explain why 80 percent
of satellite systems in
Norway are motorized.
The Norwegians are the traditional target of Swedish jokes. But
Norwegian
satellite broadcasting seems to have become a Norwegian joke
in itself.
Sweden's Tele)X carries Sweden's TV4 (12.207 GHz) and TV5 Nordic
(12.475), both
in clear PAL, and Norway's NRK (12.332) in D)MAC. Sweden
has fought back, and in
December, 1993 NSAB, owned by the Swedish Space
Corporation and Swedish Telecom,
succeeeded in buying the second Marco
Polo satellite, apparently after Norway
tried to block the sale. The
satellite, renamed Sirius, is to be moved to
Tele)X's position, where a
rival package to Scandinavia is to be marketed.
Together the two
satellites should carry 7 channels. The first broadcasts are
expected
to begin in March, 1994. The Sirius frequencies are identical to
those
on Thor.
At the instruction of the Nordic prime ministers, the public
service
broadcasters of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland have
presented a proposal
for a joint Nordic television channel. The
broadcasters say the Nordic satellite
channel "Nordstjaarnan", or "North\v\Star", could be on the air by the end of
1994 or early 1995 (however,
the Nordic Council's Ministerial Council has vetoed
allocating funds to
the project). The fifth Nordic country, Denmark, is not
participating
in the project because the channel would not be available to
all
viewers. The Danes would prefer to strengthen the current
Nordvision
co)operation.
Despite this Spanish/Nordic activity, the DBS idea seems to have
been made
obsolete by improving technology. Viewers want more than 2)5
channels and they
want channels from other countries (which is why both
Filmnet and Norwegian
Telecom are now talking about co)locating several
DBS satellites). A 60 cm Astra
dish that can deliver 16, 32, or 48
channels is more desireable than a 30 cm
dish with access to only 3
stations.
With the failure of the British BSB system on Marco Polo (it was
bought out by
Sky in 1990), the decision of the French government not
to build a third direct
broadcast satellite, to follow up the existing
TDF)1 and TDF)2 satellites (after
the breakdown of TDF)1), and the
failure of Olympus, the DBS idea seems to be
virtually dead. French
Minister for Post, Communications, and Space Paul Quiles
has announced
the satellites will be replaced in due course by a new generation
of
spacecraft. In the meantime, France is concentrating on its medium*powered
Telecom satellites.
Similarly, Germany's Kopernikus (and the German channels on Astra)
have proved
to be more popular than TV)SAT.
Eutelsat's answer to Astra was to be Europesat, a series of high*powered
satellites being called "second generation DBS" all located at
19 degrees West.
However, that project has been abandoned in May, 1993
in favor of the "Hot Bird"
position at 13 degrees East.
C)Band
New C)band LNBs have made possible C)band reception on smaller
dishes. However,
over Europe just about the only signals that can be
picked up on standard
Ku)band dishes of less that 1.5 meters are from
the Russian Ghorizonts, which
are much stronger than other C)band
signals. The American TDRS A4 at 41 degrees
West has recently begun
relaying a station from Denver, Gala Americana, in PAL
on 3.920 GHz. A
radio station has been heard on 5.80 MHz.
HDTV and Digital Technology
The European Commission has abandoned its plans for the forced
introduction of
the D2-MAC standard, as a step towards the future
introduction of a system
called HD-MAC for high definition television.
Instead broadcasters are moving
directly towards digital HDTV, after
years of conflict over D2)MAC.
A memorandum of understanding to work together to find a common
standard for
digital HDTV has been signed by a group of satellite
operators, broadcasters,
manufacturers and regulators. The group, known
as the European Launching Group
for Digital Video Broadcasting project,
comprises of 85 members including one
Japanese electronics firm.
NTL and Eutelsat have completed joint tests to prove the viability\v\of
wideband satellite transponders for carrying both conventional
analog FM
television signals and the new digitally compressed TV
signals of the NTL System
2000. A single Eutelsat transponder was shown
to be able to carry simultaneously
either a single FM channel and four
digitally compressed channels or a total of
eight digital channels at
broadcast quality.
The compatibility, within one transponder, of a high power analog
transmission
and lower power digitally compressed signals means that
operators can more
easily migrate from analog to digital, with its
attractive cost reductions.
Eutelsat says that its wideband
transponders are especially attractive since the
premium for the
additional bandwidth is much less than the extra cost of a
whole
transponder.
Radio
There are more than 100 radio channels on European satellites,
using audio
subcarriers, slowly approaching the number in North
America.
Astra is a radio pioneer, with many interesting stations, both new
channels and
established international broadcasters. There are music
stations, such as Sky
Radio, Super Gold, and Quality Europe FM. Sunrise
Radio is a commercial medium
wave station in London for the Indian
community there, now on satellite as well.
Radio Sweden is on the Sky Movies Gold transponder at 11.597 GHz,
audio
subcarrier 7.74 MHz. Our satellite schedule is also transmitted
over the Tele)X
direct broadcast satellite, using the TV4 transponder
at 12.207 GHz, audio
subcarrier 7.38 MHz. Radio Sweden is also part of
the World Radio Network
package of English language broadcasters on
Astra.
Also on the Sky Movies Gold transponder (at 7.38 MHz) is Radio
Asia, which
broadcasts over Spectrum Radio in London. Spectrum's full
schedule is to be
broadcast over this channel in the near future.
Another shortwave broadcaster on Astra is Swiss Radio
International, on the
Teleclub transponder at 11.332 GHz, audio
subcarrier 7.2 MHz. SRI is changing
its programming to fit satellite
broadcasts by April, 1994. SRI is planning to
expand to four satellite
channels, three relaying the national services in
German, French, and
Italian, complemented by SRI programs in those languages.
The fourth
would be a 24 hour English channel, consisting of a repeated
and
updated 2 hour program block.
According to one report, some British local ILR stations are to
appear on the
Discovery and Bravo transponders in the near future.
MTV reportedly may be planning to join up with the American
network ABC in
launching a pan)European radio channel.
List of Radio stations broadcasting from the ASTRA satellites
-------------------------------------------------------------
Station Frequency Subcarrier(s) TV station
)))---------------------------------------------))))))))))))))))))
Deutsche Welle 11.229 7.38 RTL-Plus\v\
Deutsche Welle 11.229 7.56 RTL-Plus
Deutschlandfunk 11.288 7.38/7.56 Sat.1
Deutschlandf.Int. 11.288 7.74 Sat.1
Deutschlandf.Int. 11.288 7.92 Sat.1
Sky Radio 11.317 7.38/7.56 Sky One
Radio 538 11.317 7.74/7.92 Sky One
Swiss Radio Int. 11.332 7.20 Teleclub
Radio Eviva 11.332 7.74/7.92 Teleclub
Virgin 1215 11.376 7.38/7.56 Sky News
Super Gold 11.376 7.92 Sky News
RTL Radio 1 11.391 7.38/7.56 RTL)4
RTL Radio 2 11.391 7.74/7.92 RTL-4
Star*Sat Radio 11.406 7.38/7.56 Pro-7
Radio-Ropa 11.406 7.74/7.92 Pro-7
RMF 11.420 7.74/7.92 MTV)Europe
Quality Europe FM 11.435 7.38/7.56 Sky Movies
ASDA
storecast FM 11.435 7.74 Sky Movies
MDR Sputnik
11.464 7.38/7.56 Premiere
Sunrise Radio 11.479 7.38 Movie Ch.
Holland-FM 11.479 7.56 Movie Ch.
Sudwestfunk 3 11.493 7.38/7.56 ARD
Q)CMR 11.509 7.38 Sky Sports
United Christian Broad. 11.509 7.56 Sky Sports
World Radio Network 11.538 7.74 MTV)Europe
BBC WS 11.553 7.38 UK Gold
BBC Radio 4 11.553 7.56 UK Gold
BBC Radio 1 11.553 7.74 UK Gold
BBC Radio 5 11.553 7.92 UK Gold
NDR 2 11.582 7.38/7.56 N3
NDR 4 11.582 7.74/7.92 N3
Radio Asia 11.597 7.38 Sky Gold
Radio Sweden 11.597 7.74 Sky Gold
CNN Radio 11.626 7.92 CNN
Cadena Principales 11.686 7.38 Cinemania
Cadena Dial 11.686 7.56 Cinemania
Cadena SER 11.686 7.74 Cinemania
The World Radio Network relays English language programs from a
number of
broadcasters. The current schedule (British local time) is:
00:00 NPR "All Things Considered"
01:30 Radio Netherlands
04:00 Radio Canada International
04:30 Vatican Radio
05:00 BBC "News Hour" and "Europe Today"
06:00 NPR "All Things Considered"
08:00 Radio Australia
09:00 Radio Korea
10:00 Radio Moscow
10:30 Radio Netherlands
11:30 Voice of Israel
12:00 Radio France International
13:00 NPR "Morning Edition"
15:00 Radio Finland
15:30 WRN info
16:00 Radio Australia
17:00 Radio Moscow
17:30 Radio Netherlands
18:30 Radio Telefis Eireann (Ireland)\v\ 19:00 NPR "Talk of the Nation"
21:00 RADIO SWEDEN
21:30 BBC "Europe Today"
22:00 NPR "All Things Considered"
The schedule varies slightly on weekends.
Astra apparently wants to use the 6.50 MHz audio subcarriers on
the 1C
satellite for digital radio or business data transmissions.
Astra is also
carrying out research into satellite radio broadcasting,
to small antennas,
without the need for a receiving dish. This would
apparently be introduced with
the upcoming Astra 1D and 1E satellites.
Presumeably this is DAB)Satellite, also
called BSS)Sound, allocated
frequencies by last year's World Administrative
Radio Conference.
There are also a number of interesting radio stations on Eutelsat
II)F1:
BBC WS 10.987 7.38 Super Channel
BBC External 10.987 7.56 Super Channel
France Info 11.080 7.02 TV5 Europe
France Inter 11.080 7.20 TV5 Europe
Radio Victor 11.080 7.38 TV5 Europe
Radio Free Europe 11.095 7.74/7.92/8.10 RTL)2
Deutsche Welle 11.163 7.02 Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle 11.163 7.20 Deutsche Welle
VOA Europe 11.163 7.38/7.56 Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle 11.163 7.74 Deutsche Welle
Radio Finland 11.163 8.10 Deutsche Welle
Bonn Rundfunk 11.163 8.28 Deutsche Welle
World Radio Network 11.554 7.74 MBC
Super FM 11.596 8.10 Interstar
Radio Contact 11.638 7.02 FilmNet Plus
Radio Contact 11.638 7.20 FilmNet Plus
Radio 10 Gold 11.678 7.92/8.10 FilmNet Plus
Digital Radio 12.542 digital
Radio Free Europe uses separate audio subcarriers for news feeds
in Czech,
Baltic languages, and Polish. VOA Europe is now being carried
digitally on
Eutelsat II)F4. The analog relay on II)F1 will continue
until the end of 1994.
VOA Europe is also carried on Intelsat 601 at
27.5 degrees West, and Intelsat
505 at 66 degrees East. The service
will also soon be available on Intersputnik
1 and 2.
The World Radio Network relays Vatican Radio in many languages and
Radio Canada
International in Russian. NPR relays were here before the
Astra service began.
The digital radio channels are the following French stations:
Europe 2, FIP,
Fun Radio, Modulation France, Nostalgie, ad NRJ.
The Swedish news agency TT has been heard on Swedish Radio since
its pioneer
days. TT is now making hourly newscasts available to
community radio stations
around Sweden, over Tele)X, using the TV5
Nordic transponder at 12.475 GHz,
audio 7.56 MHz. Radio Sweden uses
7.38 MHz on the TV4 transponder. The
Copenhagen local station The Voice
is on 7.74/7.92 on the same transponder.
Curiously, Radio Sweden and
the Voice have appeared on the same audio
subcarriers on the TV5 Nordic
transponder, for no apparent reason. Some of
Sweden's new commercial
radio stations may be networked as well over Tele)X.\v\
Other audio subcarriers can be found on:
DFS Kopernikus 3 (German channels, DSR)
Eutelsat II)F3 (Morocco, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Egypt and Tunisia)
Eutelsat II)F2 (Spain, Portugal, Turkish, RL/RFE)
Eutelsat II)F4 (Serbian)
Intelsat 512, 515 (Norwegian channels)
Telecom 2B, 2A, TDF)1/2 (French channels)
TV)Sat (DSR as on Kopernikus 3)
Intelsat 601 (BBC WS and British Forces Broadcasting)
Hispasat (Spain)
Taiwan's Voice of Free China says that within the next couple of
years they
would be coming to Europe via satellite, through the help of
Deutsche Welle.
Digital Radio on Satellite
Digital Satellite Radio (DSR) is a German)developed technology,
providing CD
quality satellite radio. Unfortunately DSR cannot be
broadcast terrestrially,
which means it will be replaced when Digital
Audio Broadcasting (DAB) starts in
the next couple of years. Currently
16 DSR channels in German are on DFS)3
Kopernikus at 23.5 degrees East
on 12.625 GHz and on TV)Sat at 19.2 degrees West
on 11.977 GHz.
A number of international broadcasters have taken part in tests of
DSR on
Eutelsat II)F3 (16 degrees East). Transponders 26 (11.078 GHz)
and 34A (11.650
GHz) have been used, and among the 8 channels are Voice
of America, Radio France
International, Deutsche Welle, and BBC World
Service.
Two digital satellite radio services from the United States are
expanding into
Europe. Digital Music Express, or DMX, is already
available to more than 10
million cable subscribers in the United
States. Thirty themed channels of
various types of music would be made
available to European subscribers, without
the need for DJs, jingles,
or commercials. The 30 types of music would include:
US hottest hits, European hottest hits, contemporary jazz, classic
jazz,
country, big band, world beat, blues, reggae, golden oldies,
heavy metal,
classic rock, chamber music, and opera.
Signals are being relayed from DMX's Atlanta studios to a C)band
transponder
aboard Intelsat 601, before being cross)linked to a Ku)band
transponder. Signals
would be downlinked by cable operators.
DMX, has launched a new pan-European consumer marketing campaign,
which will be
initially run in the UK, Denmark and Norway before being
rolled out throughout
Europe as distribution contracts are signed with
carriers. British Sky
Broadcasting is reported to be close to signing
an agreement with to relay DMX
over Astra from June 1994.
The DMX decoder, manufactured by Scientific Atlanta, displays
information on
the music being played, such as the name of the artist,
song and album title,
composer, and chart position.
Another service called Digital Cable Radio currently provides 56
CD)quality
radio channels to North American subscribers and cable\v\systems. DCR plans to
bring 68 themed radio channels to Europe, under
the name Music Choice Europe. A
number of cable operating and
distribution agreements have already been signed
in the Netherlands,
Britain, and Switzerland, giving it a potential subscriber
base in
excess of three million homes.
Digital Audio Broadcasting, or DAB, will replace FM in the next
few years. The
World Administrative Radio Conference held in Spain in
January, 1992 approved
frequencies for satellite DAB, which would be
receivable on small portable
receivers. Various countries, including
Sweden and Britain, have been conducting
test broadcasts of DAB, prior
to its expected introduction in 1995. The BBC used
the Olympus
satellite for DAB tests as well.
Other Non)Video Signals
We have had no reports yet of European SCPC. But a number of news
agencies are
using satellites to distribute their signals. BBC
Monitoring is now subscribing
to the Russian ITAR)TASS news agency, via
a data link on Intelsat 601. The BBC
will receive information from
Moscow in English and Russian, replacing the
previous intricate system
of communications cables.
\2\ IV. Middle Eastern Satellite Broadcasting
The Middle East is an expanding area for satellite broadcasting,
centering
around the Arab League's Arabsat satellites and Turkey's
broadcasts to Turkish
emigrants in Western Europe and the newly
independent countries of Central Asia.
Arabsat 1B is drifting eastward and has reached at least 43
degrees East.
Both Arabsat 1B and 1C have 25 C-Band transponders, as
well as one strong S-Band
transponder around 2600 MHz. 1B has been used
to relay programs from Morocco,
Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Mauritania. One
transponder has been used for Inter-Arab
news, co-ordinated via Tunis.
Arabsat 1C (31 degrees East) is now the main Middle Eastern
satellite, and
includes:
MBC 2.560 GHz PAL
Canal France International 3.811 PAL
CNN International 3.829 PAL
Libyan feeds 3.867 PAL
UAE TV1 Dubai 3.956 PAL
Saudi Arabia TV1 3.977 SECAM
RMT 1 Morocco 4.008 SECAM
UAE TV2 Dubai 4.033 PAL
Saudi Arabia TV2 4.051 SECAM
Oman TV 4.063 PAL
Mauritanian TV 4.081 SECAM
MBC 4.107 PAL
Jordanian TV 4.144 PAL
Egyptian Space Channel 4.164 PAL
KTS Kuwait 4.180 PAL
The Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC) is a London)based Arabic
channel.
Although it is Saudi)backed (the chairman is the brother)in*law of Saudi
Arabia's King Fahd), the channel was briefly banned in
Saudi Arabia for its
bare)headed female announcers. Parallel
transmissions continue to Europe on
Eutelsat II-F1. The station is
working together with the Saudi)financed Arab
Network of America in the
United States.
The MBC is to launch a package of three to six subscription
channels for the
Middle East in 1994. These would include a family
channel, a general
entertainment channel, and a movie channel. The
current MBC Europe channel would
become MBC1, a free service offering
news and teasers for the other channels.
NTL's digital compression
system is to be used for the package, which would be
carried on an
Arabsat.
The Kuwait Satellite Channel carries a news bulletin in English at
around 19:30
UTC. BBC World Service TV is planning on starting a 24
hour Arabic service to
the Middle East from Arabsat in April, 1994.
The new Arabsat 1D at 20 degrees East has carried test signals on
two
transponders (3.760 and 3.840 GHz) for "ART ) Arabic Radio and
Television".
The Arab Space Communications Corporation has awarded a contract
for two new
Arabsats. The first would be launched in 1996. Besides 18
C)band channels, and 2
S)band channels, they would also carry 12 Ku*band transponders, making reception
possible with 60 to 80 cm dishes.\v\
Eutelsat II)F3 is the main satellite for broadcasts from Arabic
countries to
North Africa and Europe. Tunisia's first satellite
channel, RTT (or TV7
Tunisie), is on 11.660 GHz. The new external
service of Tunisian Radio is
carried on the subcarrier at 7.02 MHz
(7.20 also reported). English is heard at
13:00 hrs, German at 14:00
hrs, and French at 15:00 hrs. The international
service, RTCI,
broadcasts mainly in French.
Morocco's RTM is on 10.970 GHz, with sound in Arabic on 6.60 MHz,
Berber on
7.20, and a multi)lingual service on 7.38. The RTM
International service in
Arabic uses 7.02, with RTM Morocco on 7.56.
The Egyptian Space Channel is on 11.178 GHz, with radio stations
on 7.02, 7.20,
and 7.38 MHz. The International Service Nile TV
International, began low)powered
test transmissions on 11.156 GHz on
October 10, 1993. Initial broadcasts are
between 17:00 and 19:00 hrs
UTC, most in English. When the channel is officially
launched there
will be two hours in English and one hour in French daily.
Dubai launched its 24 hour "Emirates TV Dubai" satellite service
to Europe,
North and Central America on December 6, 1993. Most
programming is in Arabic,
but there are newscasts at 15:00 and 18:00
hrs British time in English.
Broadcasts to Europe are on Eutelsat II)
F1, while the Americas are reached
through Galaxy 7.
Iraq is to launch the Iraq International Television station during
the last
quarter of this year. Broadcasts are to be to Europe and North
Africa on
Eutelsat and to the Middle East on Arabsat and another
satellite known as
"al)Jisr".
Arabsat 1D at 20 degrees East is to carry four Lebanese channels:
Future on
3.787 GHz, and ART with a sports channel on 3.788, an
entertainment channel on
3.844, and a children's channel on 3.626 GHz.
Intelsat 602 at 63 degrees East carries Iran's IRIB TV1 and TV2 on
Ku)band
10.990 and 11.150 GHz, and the American AFRTS on 11.470 GHz.
Iran has announced it plans to broadcast six hours a day of
television to
Europe and Asia. According to the report "a number of
satellites will be hired."
There are Turkish channels on several Eutelsats: TGRT and HBB are
on II)F3.
A)TV, Show)TV, and interStar are on II)F2. Kanal 6 and Kanal
Market are on
II)F4. The Turkish State Television's TRT International
broadcasts to Europe on
Eutelsat II)F1. There have been news bulletins
in English and German following
the Turkish news at 21:00 hrs European
time.
TRT began satellite broadcasting 4 channels to Central Asia on
April 1, 1992,
using Ku)band transponders on Intelsat 604 at 60 degrees
East (10.974, 11.138,
11.647, and 11.683 GHz). TRT hopes to reach as
many as 57 million Turkic
speakers in the 6 new Moslem states of the
former Soviet Union.
Turkey's first 16 transponder Turksat is due to be launched on
January 20,
1994, with a second satellite 6 to 12 months later. CNN has
applied to lease a
transponder on Turksat. According to reports, Turkey
has also reached agreement
to lease transponders to Kazakhstan,
Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia.
Presumeably, the 5 TRT channels\v\and the current 6 or more private Turkish
broadcasters will also find
homes on Turksat.
Israel broadcasts from Intelsat 512 on 11.015, 11.174, and 11.590
GHz. The
domestic Radio Israel uses 7.20 MHz and the international
service Kol Israel
uses 7.38 and 7.56 MHz on the 11.590 GHz
transponder. Israel's Amos DBS,
carrying 6 or 7 Ku-Band transponders,
is due to be launched, probably from
French Guyana, in 1994.
AA
\\ V. African Satellite Broadcasting
In Africa, satellite broadcasting is expanding, particularly to
South Africa.
European satellites can be monitored in southern Africa,
and there are even
reports of reception of Astra (with a 4 meter dish)!
An important satellite is
Intelsat 601 at 27.5 degrees West. While
European broadcasters use this
satellite for Ku)band transmissions, C*band is used to Africa. Broadcasters
include:
BBC World Service Television 3.650 GHz PAL
Deutsche Welle/WorldNet 3.743 PAL
Canal Horizons (French) 3.803 PAL
Canal France International 3.915 SECAM
Algerian TV 4.003 PAL
CNN International 4.048 PAL
The BBC is encrypted using the IRDETO system, requiring a decoder
from the
South African)based M)Net company, which shares the
transponder with BBC. (This
is in fact the same system used by the
Dutch RTL)4 on Astra, but known there as
Luxcrypt.)
Sky News was due to start 12 hours a day of broadcasts to South
Africa,
beginning October 3, 1993 , using a relay from Intelsat.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation's external services
have changed
their name to Channel Africa. This includes both Radio RSA
and a television
service on the Intelsat 605 satellite at 24.5 degrees
West, at 4.166 GHz. This
consists of African news, information, and
educational material in English and
French, weekdays at 12:00)13:00 hrs
for rebroadcast by stations in other parts
of Africa. The SABC intends
to move from the C)band to the Ku)band in 1994.
Intelsat 505 (66 degrees East) carries WorldNet/Deutsche Welle, as
well as
Zaire, South Africa's SAIS and Bop)TV, and France's Canal
France International.
Intelsat 602 (63 degrees) carries South Africa's
M)Net and SABC.
The international French)speaking channel TV5 Afrique is now
broadcasting to
Africa via the former Soviet Ghorizont 12 at 40 degrees
East (on 3.730 GHz).
Besides TV5, Portugal's RTP International (3.930
GHz) is on this satellite.
Unfortunately, Ghorizont 12 is in an
inclined orbit, which means that Earth
stations must be able to track
the satellite as it drifts in a "figure eight"
pattern.
M)Net and the South African Broadcasting Corporation have booked
transponders
on PAS)4, set to launch in March, 1995, for southern
Africa's first direct to
home broadcasting service.
The planned Afro)Caribbean Satellite Channel, which is to begin
operations
aimed at Europe, hopes to eventually reach the emerging
cable systems of Africa.
The American Black Entertainment Network also
plans to expand into the African
market.
\j\ VI. Asia and the Pacific
There are nearly 30 geostationary satellites in orbit above Asia
and the
Pacific. Five are former Soviet satellites, another five are
from Intelsat. The
Intelsat satellites provide a variety of C-Band
services. Intelsat 508 at 180
degrees relays in C)band Australia's Nine
Network and Network 10, as well as
Japan's NHK, and the American CNN,
ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, and WorldNet/Deutsche
Welle. There's an RFO-France
relay to Tahiti and WTN news feeds. In the Ku)band,
there are
transponders carrying Turner Broadcasting and Fuji TV.
Intelsat 505 (66 degrees East) carries WorldNet/Deutsche Welle,
and several
Chinese channels, as well as television from Malaysia.
Intelsat 602 (63 degrees)
carries two channels from Thailand.
Intelsat has relocated Intelsat 501 to 91.5 degrees East to
provide expanded
coverage to the Asia)Pacific countries.
On October 22, 1993 the first of the new 7th generation Intelsats,
Intelsat
701, was launched by an Ariane rocket. The satellite will be
used to provide
services in the Asia-Pacific region from 174 degrees
East. The satellite is the
first of nine Intelsat 7's scheduled for
launch before the end of 1995.
There are Ghorizonts at 80, 90, 96.5, and 103 degrees East. Each
has 6
C-Band transponders, and the first three have experimental
Ku-Band transponders
as well (presumably on 11.525 GHz).
The Soviet satellite Ekran at 99 degrees East carries a
transponder on UHF
714 MHz. This is between Japanese channels 53 and 54
and European channels 51
and 52, and is reported to be available all
over Asia. This carries the Orbita
service from Moscow. India's first
state)wide cable network, Asianet in Kerala,
has booked another Ekran
transponder on 751 MHz (European UHF channel 56) to
relay a program in
Malayalam to systems around the state.
Star)TV
Asiasat)1, the first commercial satellite designed for Asian
countries, was
launched in April, 1990 by a Chinese Long March rocket.
Located at 105.5 degrees
East, it carries 24 C-Band transponders, half
dedicated to a North Beam covering
northern Asia, the rest to a South
Beam covering southern Asia.
Here are the channels on Asiasat:
Mongolian TV 3.760 North beam SECAM
Pakistan TV 3.780 South PAL
Star TV Sport 3.800 North NTSC
MTV Asia 3.840 North NTSC
Star TV Sport 3.860 South PAL
BBC WS TV Asia 3.880 North NTSC
MTV Asia 3.900 South PAL
Star Mandarin TV 3.920 North NTSC
BBC WS TV Asia 3.940 South PAL
Star TV Plus 3.960 North NTSC
Zee TV 3.980 South PAL
Yunnan TV 4.040 North PAL
Star TV 4.060 South PAL
CCTV4 4.120 North NTSC
Myanmar TV (Burma) 4.140 South NTSC
The first pan-Asian satellite broadcaster, Star-TV, began
broadcasts on
Asiasat in August, 1991. It is owned by Hong Kong's
Hutchvision, which become
part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation
media empire in 1993. Star)TV now
reaches at least 1.8 million homes
from Asiasat 1. It includes 6 channels, 4 on
both beams (N/S):
1) Star-Sports (3.80 GHz/3.86 GHz)
2) MTV Asia (3.84 GHz/3.90 GHz)
3) BBC World Service Television (3.88 GHz/3.94 GHz)
4) Star TV (entertainment) (3.96 GHz/4.02 GHz)
5) Mandarin TV (3.92 GHz) NTSC
6) Zee TV (3.98 GHz) PAL
Zee TV is Star's Hindi language channel to South Asia. The Hong
Kong
authorities have also given permission for Star)TV to broadcast in
Cantonese.
This service will begin after the system's three year trial
ends.
News Corporation is expected to begin new Star)TV pay channels.
Star is
offering four subscription channels to Hong Kong's first cable
TV network: Star
Asian Movie Channel, Star Movie Channel, Star
Children's Channel, and the Asian
News and Business Channel. Japan's
Mitsui company, NBC in the United States and
Pearson plc, owner of the
"Financial Times", are behind the 24 hour Asian News
and Business
Channel. Presumeably these channels will also be carried on
Asiasat.
News Corporation has tried to terminate the BBC's 10 year contract
(after only
2 years) claiming that the BBC's planned Arabic service
from Arabsat would
overlap with Star. The BBC has blocked the attempt,
but it is possible News
Corporation would like to carry its own Sky
News instead.
At the annual meeting of News Corporation in October, 1993 Rupert
Murdoch
announced the splitting of Star)TV, into four divisions, one
each for China,
India, Indonesia and the Middle East.
Asiasat has signed a contract for an Asiasat)2, with an option for
a further
satellite. Asiasat)2 will have 40 C)band transponders, and 9
Ku)band
transponders at 100.5 degrees East. It would be launched in
March 1995, and
would have an unprecedented footprint reaching from
Tokyo to Berlin, and south
to Australia.
British Telecom has booked 5 transponders, Australia's Nine
Network another 10.
Deutsche Welle also plans to use Asiasat)2.
Palapa
The main competition to the Star)TV service is on Indonesia's
Palapa B2P
satellite at 113 degrees East. CNN, ESPN, Home Box Office,
the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation, and Hong Kong's TVB have
agreed to co)ordinate efforts
to broadcast their programs on one
satellite, initially B2P. CNN is on 3.840
GHz, ESPN on 4.042 GHz, both
in B)MAC.
\t\ The Australia Television International service to Asia began on
February
17, 1993 via Palapa B2P. The programs, which are hoped to
reach 30 Asian)Pacific
countries, include news reporting, special
international topics, Asian)Pacific
socio)cultural aspects, reports on
scientific and technical developments, and
education.
TVB, which has an enormous library of Chinese language films, has
not yet begun
transmissions on the satellite.
Asia's first business television channel began broadcasts on
November 1, 1993
on the same satellite. Among the owners of Asia
Business News are Dow Jones, the
American cable giant TCI, Television
New Zealand, and the Singapore Broadcasting
Corpation.
Canal France International is also broadcasting over Palapa B2P on
3860 MHz.
The network beams a variety of programs including news,
features, filmes,
debates, sports, and children's programs produced by
the main French channels
TF1, France 2 and France 3.
B2P also provides television for Thailand, Malaysia, and the
Philippines as
well as Indonesia.
Hughes Communications has signed an agreement to build a third
generation of
satellites for Indonesia, Palapa)C. The first two
satellites will be delivered
in July 1995 and January 1996, with an
option for a third, which expires in
1999. Each satellite will carry 30
C)band and 4 Ku)band transponders, providing
coverage through)out
southeast Asia and parts of China and Australia.
Arianespace has signed
a contract to launch Palapa C1 in October 1995. It will
replace Palapa
B2P at 113 degrees East, and will have an expected life of 14
years.
China's commercial satellite launch service has signed a contract
with Hong
Kong's APT Satellite to launch the 24 transponder Apstar)1
satellite in June,
1994. The satellite will be made by Hughes, which
will also make Apstar)2, due
to be launched a year later. The Star
rivals on Palapa B2P are to move to
Apstar)1 after its launch.
These services hope to move in to the lucrative Chinese market,
which may be
difficult following the Chinese government's recent
restrictions on satellite
television.
Another potential broadcaster to China is Australia's state-owned
multicultural
broadcasting network, the Special Broadcasting Service or
SBS. SBS is holding
talks with potential Asian and North American
partners to establish an
international satellite television service in
several languages with English
subtitles. SBS currently broadcasts
television and radio in 63 languages across
Australia.
India
India began using the American ATS)6 satellite for rural
education, the
SITE experiment, in 1975. The first Insat satellite was
launched in 1983. The
most recent, Insat 2)A, is at 74 degrees East,
and three regional Indian
television channels have moved to it from
Arabsat. Tamil Nadu programs are on
4.115, Karnataka on 4.135, and
Maharashtra on 4.175 GHz. Insat 2)B was launched
in July, 1993, and
placed at 93.5 degrees East. A new package of 5 channels, in
an effort
to compete with Star)TV, which has made tremendous inroads in
India,
was inaugurated on Indian Independence Day, August 15th.\v\
A survey in January indicated that 3.3 million Indian homes were
watching Star
and Zee TV. Another survey revealed that satellite TV has
reached 4 percent of
India's half a million villages, where English*language soap operas are the most
popular programming.
A group of non)resident Indian businessmen has started anther
Hindi)language
channel, Asian TV Network, from Ghorizont 19 (96.5
degrees East), on 3.800 GHz.
India's first state)wide cable network, Asianet in Kerala, has
booked a
transponder on the Russian Ekran satellite at 99 degrees East
on 751 MHz
(European UHF channel 56) to relay a program in Malayalam to
systems around the
state. Other transponders may be booked on the (now
dormant) Ekran satellites at
48, 64, 84, and 95 degrees East.
A new 9 channel satellite television service to India is to be
begin on January
1, 1994. The nine channels carried by the joint
American)India network are to
cover: religious and spiritual
programming; politics; children's programming,
entertainment, music and
movies; sports; medicine, health, fitness and sex
education; business
and economy; and development, environment, and women's
issues, science,
and technology. Broadcasts are to be over two satellites, the
Russian
Statsionar 21 at 103 degrees East, and Asiasat.
The Insat 2)C satellite, to be launched in 1995, will bring
Doordarshan
programs to viewers in the Middle East and Asia. It will
carry more than the
eight transponders on 2)B, including Ku)band
transponders.
Japan
Japan has been a pioneer in direct satellite broadcasting, as
might be expected from its consumer electronics industry. The world's
first direct broadcast satellite was Japan's BS-2. It's successors, BS-
3A and BS)3B, are positioned at 110 degrees East. They each carry three
12 GHz
transponders, and one wide-band data channel. Programs are
provided by the
Japanese public service broadcaster NHK and the
commercial JSB.
BS)3B also broadcasts High Definition Television using the
Japanese Hi)Vision
system on 11.880 GHz.
On February 26, 1992 an Ariane rocket put into orbit Japan's
Superbird B)1 at
162 degrees East. Superbird carries six new satellite
TV stations, including CNN
International and MTV. This satellite
carries 19 Ku)band transponders and 10
Ka)band transponders, and can be
received on 20)24 cm dish antennas.
Three television stations have started new satellite channels,
bringing the
number of Japanese satellite channels to 9. The three are
SVN Space Vision
(entertainment and sports), Let's Try Life Design
(hobby and cultural programs),
and Asahi Newstar (news and
documentaries). At present there are only 58,000
satellite
subscriptions in Japan, far short of the targeted 200,000. One
reason
for the sluggish demand is the high cost of equipment.
Currently,
antennas and receivers cost around 200,000 yen. New receivers,
cheaper
by tens of thousands of yen, will be marketed later this year.
\v\ BBC World Service Television also plans to broadcast its 24 hour
news and
information channel to Japan, together with Japanese partner
the Nissho Iwai
Corporation. While programs will be sold to terrestrial
broadcasters in Japan,
the service will also include direct to home
broadcasts, presumably via
Superbird, beginnning in early 1994. Viewers
will be able to choose between
English and Japanese sound.
Other Japanese satellites are JCSat 1 and 2 (at 150 and 154
degrees respectively) each with 32 Ku-Band transponders. CS-3a (132
degrees)
carries 2 C-Band and 10 Ka-Band (17.7-19.45 GHz) transponders.
Nihon Keizai Shimbum, Television Tokyo Channel 13 Limited and
five
sub-affiliates say that they will start broadcasting programs by
satellite from 1997 using the BS-4 satellite, which is set to be
launched in 1997. The satellite operator TXN will simulcast HDTV
broadcasts
alongside conventional broadcasts, and the service will be
split between pay-TV
services and advertising supported.
Other Asian Satellite Broadcasters
China's DFH2-A1 is at 87.5 degrees East and DFH2-A2 at 110.5
degrees. Each
carries 4 C)band transponders.
China's CCTV)3 service has begun relays from the Chinasat)5
satellite at 115.5
degrees East, on 3720 MHz.
The Portuguese Marconi company has signed an agreement with China
to deliver a
satellite TV service to all of China and South East Asia,
called Telesat. Based
in Macao, Telesat would start in late 1994, and
will offer what a Hong Kong
newspaper called "European TV channels".
Taiwan's DPP political party is reported to be leasing four
transponders on
the American NASA's TDRSS satellite at 174 degrees
West.
After reaching a compromise with Asiasat, Thailand's Thaicom 1 and
Thaicom 2
satellites will be co)located at 78.5 degrees east. Thaicom 1
was launched by
Ariane in December, 1993. The second satellite is to go
into orbit by June,
1994. The satellites will cover South East Asia,
eastern China, the Korean
peninsula, and Japan. The two Hughes)built
satellites will carry 12 transponders
each, 10 C)band and 2 Ku)band.
The Pacific
Australia's 3 Aussats are located at 156, 160, and 164 degrees
East. They provide television to the Australian Outback, New Zealand,
and the Pacific, using B-MAC. Each satellites has 15 Ku-Band
transponders in the 12.25-12.75 GHz range. They are being replaced by
the new
Optus B series.
Australia's Optus B1 satellite went into service on December 16,
1992. This
satellite carries 15 Ku)band transponders, is at 160 degrees
East. Australia is
to use B1 and its follow)up B2 to carry a 6 channel
subscription TV service, due
to begin operation in early 1994.
Unfortunately the B2 satellite was destroyed while being launched from
China on
December 14, 1992.
Moreover, the awarding of the pay)TV franchises has been called by\v\"Satnews":
"The biggest farce arguably in broadcasting history...Ever
since the Australian
government first announced that four channels
could be broadcast by satellite
aboard an Optus satellite, the whole
affair has been dogged by errors, omissions
and plain stupidity. This
time two private companies with the same owners, and
related to an
unsuccessful previous bidder, have been granted the licences
to
broadcast...Only a few weeks ago two companies failed to come up with
money
pledged for the licences. Ucom Pty Limited and Hi Vision Limited
paid
significantly over the odds against over 50 rivals including
seasoned veterans
such as News Corp. to secure the licences."
A third licence has been reserved for the state-owned broadcasting
company ABC.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has jointed forces with Australia's
largest
telephone company Telestra to form an alliance to exploit the
Asian media
market. The new venture will pursue interests and
investments in activities such
as pay television, home shopping and
interactive services. Telestra and News
Corp. have already taken a
stake in Australian terrestrial broadcaster Seven
Network Limited, and
the Australian Broadcasting Authority is examining the deal
for
evidence of unfair competition.
There are many new Pacific satellite services being planned:
Panamsat, the company behind the trans)Atlantic satellite PAS)1,
is preparing
to reach the Pacific. PAS)2, to be launched in May, 1994,
will cover the Pacific
region from China and Japan to Western Canada.
Tonga has run into problems on two sides with its Rimsat project.
Panamsat
claims Tonga has booked too many orbital slots for such a
small country, while
Tonga claims that one of the Indonesian Palapa
satellites is in the orbital slot
for the first Tongasat. In 1992
Indonesia moved its Palapa B)1 satellite, in
orbit since 1982, to 134
degrees East, a position claimed by Tonga, and
registered with the
International Frequency Registration Board.
Tongasat 1, a Russian Ghorizont satellite, was to be moved into
that position
on July 20, 1993. When diplomatic efforts to get
Indonesia to leave the slot
failed, Tonga threatened to move its
satellite to one of Indonesia's existing
orbital positions, switch it
on, and cause tremendous havoc to Indonesia's
satellite communications
service.
In December, 1993, Indonesia announced the two countries had
settled their
dispute, although this was supposed to involve both
sharing the orbital
position, a questionable option. Tongasat plans to
place Russian)launched
satellites at 134 and 130 degrees. Five more
Russian satellites are to be
launched for Rimsat over the next few
years.
When Tongasat 1 is in operation from its proper position, it is
expected to
provide coverage from Iran and India to Hawaii. Behind
Tongasat are two American
companies, Rimsat and Unicom, as well as
Asian investors.
The American company TRW has filed to launch Pacificom 1 in 1994,
to operate in
both the Ku and C bands from 172 degrees East. The
footprints would reach from
the American West coast into Asia and
Australasia. There would be 11
high)powered Ku band transponders for\v\DBS services, along with 8 C)band
transponders.
Pacific Satellite Company hopes to launch Pacstar 1 into an
orbital slot at
167.5 degrees East in late 1994. This will cover the US
West Coast, Pacific
islands, and East Asia.
New Zealand is also planning a satellite TV service across the
Western Pacific
and East Asia.
Asian and Pacific Satellite Radio
Japan launched the world's first nationwide digital radio
system, using BS-3A. The broadcasts use pulse code modulation, or
PCM, matching the quality of compact disks, and free from the usual
radio hissing noises.
A Japanese company currently provides 440 cable radio channels.
There are plans
to expand the system to 1000 channels within 5 years,
with the ultimate aim of
2000 channels. The offerings include the
sounds of steam trains, roosters, cows,
and ringing bells.
The American company Digital Music Express, DMX, planned to start
in Australia
during 1993. DMX services are be relayed from the United
States via satellite
and then transmitted to customers using a
microwave distribution system. A small
roof)mounted antenna would be
used to receive the signals. Twenty audio channels
would initially be
offered, in addition to a special Australian channel.
\<\ VII. Global Satellite Channels
The war in Vietnam was called the first television war, with the
pictures of violence and horror on American TV screens night after
night contributing to the feelings that fed the growing peace movement.
The conflict in the Gulf was the first live TV war, broadcast around
the world by satellite, and underlining the arrival of the first global
TV broadcaster, the Cable News Network, CNN.
Arthur C. Clarke, the English visionary who first proposed
communications satellites in 1945, watched what he called "the first's
first satellite war" from his home in Sri Lanka.
In an interview with Reuters, Clarke said communications is power,
and the forces unleased by satellites in the Gulf War have the
potential for making the world a safer place. The further development
of a satellite communications network with the wider availability of
telephone, fax, and television, Clarke says, will make us one global
family, whether we like it or not.
The conflict in the Gulf was also a boost for the BBC's long
discussed plans for World Service Television, which became a reality on
March 11th, 1991, taking over the existing BBC-TV Europe service on
Intelsat VI-F4 (now Intelsat 601). In October, 1991 the 24 hour a day
service to
Asia via Asiasat began. An African service, also on Intelsat
601, began in May,
1992.
Beginning November, 1992 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and
BBC World
Service Television began exchanging daily news video. Under
the terms of the
deal, the CBC has exclusive Canadian rights to
broadcast BBC WS TV's news,
business, and weather reports. These are
carried on the English and French
domestic networks as well as the 24
hour cable news channel CBC Newsworld (which
is carried scrambled on
Anik E2, transponder 16). The service is being relayed
uncoded to North
America on Intelsat 601 at 27.5 degrees West, using the
C)band
transponder 4.
World Service Television is going ahead with plans to start a
bilingual service
to Japan and a 24 hour service in Arabic to the
Middle East via Arabsat. Future
plans are to expand into the United
States, the Pacific and Latin America.
What seems to be becoming the third global broadcaster, and the
only
competition to CNN and BBC World Service, is Rupert Murdoch's News
Corporation,
which owns British Sky Broadcasting in Europe, Fox
Broadcasting in North
America, Star)TV in Asia, and is branching out
into Africa and South America. In
a speech to Sky advertisers in
London, Murdoch announced "Plans are well
advanced to take Sky News, or
a parallel service, to all continents of the
world, where we will be
seeking local partners, both national and regional."
Murdoch's News International has contracted NTL to join a group
developing a
multi)channel digital TV system for direct satellite
reception in the home. NTL
will develop the encoding, decoding and
multiplexing technology. The eventual
domestic receiver will be mass*produced under licence for the comsumer market in
Europe, Asia and
elsewhere.
\t\ Deutsche Welle has also become a global broadcaster, working with
the
United States Information Agency's World Net in sharing many
transponders.
Besides broadcasts to Europe on Eutelsat II)F1, Deutsche
Welle is using the
Intelsat)K satellite to reach North America. The
signal is then relayed on
Spacenet 2 transponder 3, and Satcom C4
transponder 5.
Deutsche Welle is also relayed to Africa on Intelsat 601 at 27.5
degrees West
at 3.745 GHz. Africa, Asia, and the Pacific are covered by
transmissions on
Intelsat 505 at 66 degrees East at 4.177 GHz. Finally,
Deutsche Welle is also
transmitting to the Far East and Pacific on
Intelsat 508 at 180 degrees East on
3.993 GHz.
Deutsche Welle's Waldemar Kraamer has told Radio Sweden: "In the
middle or end
of 1994 we'll begin broadcasting on Asiasat)2, and we'll
then cover the world
from Eastern Europe to East Asia. There are plans
to reach Africa as well.
Currently we can be seen for two hours a day
in North Africa, using transponders
leased by the American WorldNet."
It was announced at the Internationale Funkaustellung in Berlin on
August 30th
that Deutsche Welle TV will be expanding from 16 to 24 hour
a day service from
1994.
Another global broadcaster in the making is the French)language
TV5, which has
been broadcasting to Europe on Eutelsat I)F1 on 11.080
GHz, and to North America
on Anik E1 transponder 17. TV5 Afrique
launched on September 30, 1992 via
Ghorizont 12 at 40 degrees East. TV5
plans to expand to Latin America using
Panamsat)1.
TV5 carries programs from France (TF1, France 2 and 3), Belgium
(RTBF),
Switzerland (SSR), and Quebec (Radio Canada). France also
transmits its Canal
France International to Africa on Intelsats 601 and
505, to the Middle East on
Arabsat 1C, and to East Asia on Palapa B2P.
The Arab world's MBC, which owns the international news agency
UPI, broadcasts
to the Middle East and North Africa on Arabsat, to
Europe on Eutelsat, and is
working with the Arab Network of North
America.
International Radio Broadcasting By Satellite
While the BBC, Radio France, and Deutsche Welle can put out 24
hour services in their native languages by satellite, services which
can be relayed over cable networks, it's much harder for small
broadcasters. Both Radio Sweden and Swiss Radio International now have
satellite
channels. But what cable system would relay them, each with a
series of programs
in varying languages?
One possibility is for many international broadcasters to share
several
satellite radio channels, one for English, one for French,
one for German, etc. Cable operators in Britain, for example, could
offer one
channel with alternating English programs, say from Sweden,
the Netherlands,
Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and so on.
This is what is being pioneered by the World Radio Network with
its WRN1
service in English on Astra, which began in September, 1993.
If the effort is a
success, services in other languages will follow.
\v\ There are some other options farther into the future, such as
Digital
Audio Broadcasting (DAB) by satellite, also called BSS)Sound.
This would provide
high quality radio reception to portable receivers.
BSS)Sound was approved by
the World Administrative Radio Conference
held in Torremolinos, Spain during
February, 1992.
The conference agreed that 1.5 GHz was the most technically
suitable frequency
range, as it offers best reception for portable
receivers, without interference
from the terrain or buildings. Small
whip antennas can be used and the
satellites will be cheaper to build.
However, politically many countries could not agree, one of the
reasons being
that their existing users at 1.5 GHz in some cases
include the military. The
conference reached absolute deadlock on this
subject, and it was only in its
very last stages that a compromise was
drawn up. This provided the world with
three separate allocations for
BSS-Sound. One is at 1.5 GHz--with a small
portion of the band
available immediately, another allocation at 2.6 GHz, and a
separate
band for the US at 2.3 GHz. The result is that digital satellite
radio
is now just around the corner, Provided, of course, satellites are
built
and receivers brought on to the market.
Worldspace, based in Washington, DC, plans a service called
Afrispace,
which would broadcast 9 digital radio channels to Africa and
the Middle East.
The planned portable receivers are expected to cost
around USD 100 each.
Afristar 1 would be located at 12 degrees West,
and Afrispace hopes to be
operating by late 1994. Radio Netherlands has
already signed a contract with
Afrispace to broadcast 24 hours a day to
Africa and the Middle East.
An American company called the International Radio Satellite
Corporation, or
RadioSat, has announced plans to create a worldwide
direct broadcast satellite
service for international broadcasters.
RadioSat plans to launch three
high-powered satellites, each with
more than 200 channels to be leased to international broadcasting
organizations. RadioSat says the VOA, BBC World Service, Radio Moscow
and 5
other broadcasters have expressed interest. RadioSat hopes to
launch the first
of its three spacecraft in 1995.
\L\ PART II. WEATHER AND OTHER "UTILITY" SATELLITES
If TVRO is the satellite version of shortwave broadcast DXing,
then these
satellites provide the equivalent of utility monitoring and
scanning. The
equipment required can be much less elaborate and much
less expensive than for
TVRO. On the other hand, transmissions may be
less comprehensible, without the
necessary expensive or unobtainable
equipment for decoding.
I. Wefax
WEFAX or Weather Facsimile, is the method used to transmit
photographs and
weather satellite maps via radio and telephone lines.
The satellite version is known as APT. There are many low orbit
weather
satellites using this system in the 136)138 MHz band.
Some of the active satellites that can be monitored are the
American NOAA and
the former Soviet Meteors:
NOAA beacons..................136.770 MHz
Meteor 3)3, 3)4 and 3)5.......137.300 MHz APT
NOAA 10 and 12................137.500 MHz APT
NOAA 9 and 11..................BB137.620 MHz APT
NOAA beacons..................137.770 MHz
Meteor 2)21...................137.850 MHz APT
Meteor 2)21 is a new satellite, launched on August 31, 1993.
Meteors 3)4 and
3)5 are currently not transmitting. Meteor 3)6 is to be
launched soon. NOAA 13
was launched on August 9, 1993. Unfortunately,
contact with the satellite was
lost on August 21, 1993. The launch of
NOAA 14 has been moved up to early 1994.
China has orbited several
polar orbiting WEFAX satellites in its Fengyun)1
series. None are
currently operational, but the frequencies used are 137.06,
137.80, and
137.795 MHz.
The satellite APT provides a continuous strip of image as the
satellites circle
the globe in polar orbit. The NOAAs orbit at around
800 kilometers, while
Meteors are in a higher orbit at around 1200
kilomters. This means that NOAA
satellites pass overhead at the same
time every day (for example NOAA 11 passes
over Britain travelling
northbound at around 15:30 hrs UTC and southbound at
around 03:00 hrs).
Meteors, on the other hand, because of the higher altitude,
tend to
arrive earlier each day by 10 to 20 minutes. NOAAs provide both
visible
and infrared images (and can be monitored during darkness), while
the
Meteors are more irregular in providing infrared images.
The satellites are quite strong, and can be heard on simple
scanners and
antennas. However, since the bandwidth of the APT signal
is wider than the
narrowband FM bandwidth of ordinary scanners, which
is around 15 to 35 kHz. The
best images are received with receivers
having an IF bandwidth of 45 kHz.
Dedicated WEFAX receivers are sold by
a number of companies, including Vanguard
Labs and Hamtronics in the US
and Timestep in the UK. For those who find a
dedicated receiver too
expensive, Software Systems Consulting in the US sells a
specially
modified scanner for around USD 150.
It is possible to obtain images using an ordinary scanner or
receiver, such as
the ICOM R7000, although the detail will be less
clear.\v\
Small non)directional antennas, such as ground planes, discones,
or active
antennas are usually all that are required to receive
satellites in low orbit.
The satellites are so strong that even a
quarter length whip for the amateur 145
MHz band will result in clear
reception.
The best antenna to receive polar orbiting satellites, however, is
a crossed
dipole or turnstile cut specifically for 137 MHz. It's
important that the
antenna be omindirectional, but also have a high
angle of elevation, to receive
signals from satellites passing
overhead. Most scanner and amateur radio
antennas are designed to have
a low angle of elevation, to boost reception of
terrestrial signals.
Crossed dipoles can be built fairly easily (there are plans
in the
Weather Satellite Handbook and the PC GOES/WEFAX User's Reference
Manual,
for example). There are also a number of commercially available
antennas.
Other onmidirectional antennas that work well with polar orbiting
satellites
include the linblad, quadrifilar helix, and the vertical
helix. It's
advantageous to use low)loss cable, and a preamplfier,
usually mounted at the
antenna end of the cable. Tuned amplifiers, such
as those used for the amateur
radio 2 meter band, work much better than
broadband amplifiers, which do have
the advantage of being much less
expensive. Do not use a broadband amplifier
with a broadband scanner or
discone antenna.
To interpret the satellite signals and view the images, computers
and special
interfaces are necessary. These are available from the same
vendors who sell
receivers, as well as many others. Check out articles
and advertisements in such
magazines as "Monitoring Times" and "Popular
Communications" in the US and
"Shortwave Magazine" in Britain. Note
that many interfaces are solely for
reception of HF Wefax from
shortwave. These will NOT work with satellite APT.
We've tested the PC
GOES/WEFAX demodulator for MS)DOS computers from Software
Systems
Consulting. It seems to work very well.
Most of the available software is for MS)DOS computers, although
there are
interfaces and software for other machines, such as the BBC
Micro and Sinclair
Spectrum. In most cases the interface is connected
to an available serial port
on the computer, and to the headphone or
external speaker jack of the receiver.
Some receivers have separate
line output jacks, but the levels there are usually
too low.
It can be useful to plug a "Y" cable into the headphone jack, with
one end
connected to the interface and the other to a small speaker
(preferably with its
own volume control), so that the monitor can
listen to the channel at the same
time that it is permanently connected
to the interface. (Cable, small speakers,
and even cables with built)in
volume controls can be found at suppliers such as
Radio Shack/Tandy.)
Unlike geostationary satellites, the polar orbiting satellites
move. While it
can be interesting to tune in from time to time, or
remember when the daily
passes of the NOAA satellite occur, the easiest
way to know when to look for the
satellites is with a satellite
tracking program. Some interface software, such
as PC GOES/WEFAX, come
with tracking programs included. There are a number of
programs for
amateur radio satellite tracking available that work very well
with
WEFAX satellites. Some are public domain or shareware, and can be found
in
BBS's or in data libraries in online systems such as CompuServe.\v\Others are
available through AMSAT in various countries.
\\ II. Geostationary Weather Satellites
Geostationary satellites provide 24 hour WEFAX transmissions from
a single
position in the sky. No tracking or waiting for a satellite to
come in range is
required, but the greater distance and higher
frequencies require more expensive
equipment than that required to
monitor polar orbiting satellites.
The currently operational geostationary weather satellites are:
Meteosat)4 0 degrees
Meteosat)5 8 degrees West
Meteosat)3 75 degrees
GOES)6 75 degrees
GOES)7 112 degrees
GOES)2 135 degrees
GOES)3 176 degrees
GMS)4 140 degrees East
The American geostationary GOES satellites downlink on 1691 MHz,
while the
European Space Agency's Meteosats use 1694.5 MHz. Other
Meteosat frequencies
include 1695.73 and 1695.76 MHz. Meteosat)3 was
originally positioned at 50
degrees West longitude, but in early 1993
it was moved to 75 degrees West, to
cover for the failure of a GOES
satellite. When the system is fully operational,
there should be GOES
satellites at 59, 112, and 135 degrees West. Meteosat)4 is
at 0 degrees
longitude. Meteosat)5 is positioned nearby, and would have
replaced
Meteosat)4 but suffered from imaging faults. The satellite has now
been
reactivated and is scheduled to replace Meteosat)3 at 75 degrees West
in
early 1994. The Japanese GMS)4 is at 140 degrees East.
Meteosat)6 was launched from French Guiana on November 19, 1993.
It is to
replace Meteosat)4 at the end of January, 1994.
China is scheduled to launch its FENGYUN)2A satellite into
geostationary orbit
on February 23, 1994. This will be positioned at
105 degrees East.
To receive geostationary satellites, it is often easiest to build
upon a
receiving station for polar orbiting satellites. A sensitive
antenna for 1690
MHz is required, usually a dish of around 1 meter or
one or more stacked looped
yagis. To this is connected a block down
converter and preamplifier, which
converts the signal from 1690 MHz
down to 137 MHz. This is important because
cable absorbs more energy at
1690 MHz than at 137 MHz.
The GOES and Meteosat satellites use the same APT format as found
on the polar
orbiting satellites. They also supply higher quality PDUS
and HRPT images, which
require specialized receiving equipment, which
is also available. The GMS
satellites use a wide band FM format that is
incompatible with APT. They use a
frequency deviation of 150 kHz, which
requires receivers with that bandwidth.
The European Space Agency plans to launch a new Meteosat in late
1993 and NOAA
has scheduled launches of new GOES satellites in April,
1994 and in 1995.
AAAAMeteosat, operated by the European Space Agency on behalf of the
European
Meterological Office, will be undergoing in)flight tests
before it enters
service at 0 degrees longitude at the end of January
1994. Tests will be
conducted while the satellite drifts from its
current orbital position at 19
degrees west. \v\
The first on)board test images will be relayed back towards the end of
this
week.
Once operational Meteosat 6 will replace Meteosat 4, which will become
a back up
satellite. Meteosat 5 will then be drifted to cover the
Americas to replace
Meteosat 3, presently on loan to the US Weather
Service )) NOAA )) which has
suffered the loss of many of its
satellites (Satnews passim). Meteosat only has a lifespan of a few
months left.
Meteosat 7 and 8 are scheduled to be launched by the end of 1995, just
before
Eumetsat takes over all the operation off Meteosat satellites
from ESA.
III. Other "Utility" Satellites
There are many other satellites using the 136)138 MHz band. Many
use narrow
band FM to transmit their telemetry. Britain's Prospeso
satellite is on 137.56
MHz. Temisat transmits on 137.72 MHz. Japan's
Marine Observation Satellites MOS
1 and 1B can be heard on 136.11 MHz.
India's Bhaskara 1 (137.230 MHz) and 2
(137.380 MHz) also use narrow
band FM. A Transit navigational satellite can be
heard on 136.65 MHz.
Sweden's Freja)1 auroral research satellite uses 137.50
MHz, a
frequency generally used by the NOAA satellites.
Other satellites monitored in this band in the past include NASA's
ATS)3
(136.37), Transit (136.65), IUE (136.86), Marecs A/B (137.17),
Okean (137.4),
and Intercosmos (137.45). There have been, and will be,
many other satellites in
this band.
Other interesting satellites on nearby frequencies include the
American Hilat
(149.988 MHz narrow band FM) and Geosat (150.015 and 400
MHz CW).
The American Transit and former Soviet CosNav satellites provide
navigational
data to ships and submarines. They transmit simultaneously
on two frequencies:
Channel 1))149.910 and 399.762 MHz
Channel 2))149.940 and 399.842 MHz
Channel 3))149.970 and 399.922 MHz
Channel 4))150.000 and 400.200 MHz
Channel 5))150.030 and 400.082 MHz
The CosNavs may also use 148.91 and 388.84 MHz.
Scientific and research satellites use the following bands: 400*402 MHz,
1400)1429 MHz, and 2655)2700 MHz.
Sweden's Freja)1 research satellite, investigating the Northern
Lights, has a
beacon on 400.55 MHz. Other satellites monitored around
400 MHz include DOD
(401)401.5) and DCS (401.5)403). Various DOD
satellites are listed using the
band between 406 and 425 MHz.
Marisat are geo)stationary satellites carrying transponders for
maritime mobile
and aeronautical communications. Maritime Mobile use
1535)1543 MHz downlinks
while Aero Mobile uses 1458)1542 MHz for\v\downlinks.
The American Landsat operates around 2 GHz, as do the Franco*Swedish Spot photo
satellites.
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a new American system that
will
eventually include 24 Navstar satellites in a 55 degree inclined
orbit at 20 to
200 kilometers above the Earth. These provide accurate
longitude, latitude, and
altitude information to handheld units that
monitor 3 to 4 satellites. They use
spread spectrum transmissions
around 1575.42 MHz. Besides the commercial
version, which provides
accuracy to around 100 meters, there is a more accurate
military system
which was used by American Army Intelligence during the Gulf
War. This
uses an additional signal on around 1227.6 MHz to compensate
for
various delays between the satellites and the receiver.
Although GPS satellites don't transmit a signal that can be
listened to in a
traditional sense, the status of the entire system can
be monitored on a
shortwave receiver. WWV transmits an update the
system every 14 minutes on 2.5,
5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz.
The similar former Soviet GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite
Systems) system
uses 1250, 1597, 1603, and 1617 MHz. There are to be 24
GLONASS satellites in
orbit.
\6\ PART III. Amateur Radio in Space
Besides governments and corporations, radio amateurs have also
launched many
satellites. The first communications satellite was in
fact the Moon, which radio
amateurs bounced have bounced signals off
for years. In 1960 a group of radio
amateurs in the United States
formed the Project Oscar ("Orbiting Satellite
Carrying Amateur Radio")
Association to design and build satellites for use in
the amateur radio
bands.
Oscar was succeeded by the Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)
in 1969. There
are national AMSAT societies in many countries, and the
international
headquarters is in Washington, DC.
Amateur Radio Satellites:
Satellite BBOrbit Beacon or Downlink Modes/Comments
Oscar 10 elliptical 145.810/145.987 MHz
Oscar 11 circular 145.826/435.025
RS 10/11 circular 29.357/.408 RS)10 CW
145.857/.903 "
29.407/.453 RS)11 CW
145.907/.953 "
Oscar 13 elliptical 145.812/435.651
UO)14 circular 435.070
PO)16 circular 437.02625/437.0513
DO)17 circular 145.825 voice synth.
WO)18 circular 437.0751/437.102 slowscan TV
LO)19 circular 437.1258/437.15355 packet BBS
FO)20 circular 435.795/435.910 packet BBS
AO)21 145.987 FM/packet dnlink
145.800/.819/.838/.948 beacons
UO)22 circular 435.120 (see below) packet BBS
RS)12/13 circular 29.408/.454 RS)12 CW
145.912/.959 "
29.458/.504 RS)13 CW
145.862/.908 "
KO)23 circular 435.175 packet BBS
AO)24 elliptical 2446.47 2 meter failure
KO)25 circular 435.175/500 packet BBS
IO)26 circular 435.867/822 packet and voice
AO)27 circular 436.800 packet and FM
PO)28 circular 435.250/435.275 occasional
The easiest way to get started in amateur satellite monitoring is
to listen to
the RS satellites in the 10 and 15 meter bands on an
ordinary shortwave
receiver. Radio amateurs with a shortwave receiver
and a 2 meter transmitter
(even a handheld) can work the RS satellites.
An ordinary longwire antenna is
all that is needed for shortwave, and
simple quarter wavelength 2 meter whips
will do for transmitting.
Most users use more sophisticated equipment. Omnidirectional
antennas will work
the satellites in low earth orbit, although most
active users prefer directional
gain antennas, such as crossed yagis,
on a motorised rotor run from a satellite
tracking program.
\t\ Tracking programs are vital for finding amateur radio satellites.
Some are public domain or shareware, and can be found in BBS's or in
data
libraries in online systems such as CompuServe. Others are
available through
AMSAT in various countries. We've tested one of the
best programs for the MS)DOS
computers, RealTrak, which is highly
recommended. The more sophisticated
programs can interface with antenna
rotors.
Most amateur radio satellites use some kind of digital packet
radio mode.
Terrestrial packet radio operators can move up to satellite
operation fairly
easily, although a variety of packet modes are used,
and new modems to connect
to existing TNCs will be needed in most
cases. Conventional packet radio uses a
system known as AFSK (Audio
Frequency Phase Shift Keyed) modulation. This was
used by some earlier
satellites, such as UO)11, and is used by Dove. UO)11 uses
an older
ASCII system, AMSAT)TTY, similar to Bell 202, but at 1200 baud.
Because of the Doppler Effect (frequency shift from high speed),
satellite
packet generally uses a different system called PSK (Phase
Shift Keyed)
modulation. AO)13 and 21 use a system with 400 baud ASCII.
The first "microsats"
(AO)16, WO)18, LO)19, FO)20, and AO)21) use a
1200 baud system where the uplink
is Manchester coded AFSK (FM), while
the downlink is BPSK (SSB). UO)22, KO)23
and 25, and PO)28 use what may
be the amateur satellite of the future, FSK (FM)
at 9600 baud. Some of
the second generation "microsats", A0)27 and IO)26, are
more flexible,
with up and downlinks at varying speeds up to 9600 baud.
Oscar 10 and 13 have elliptical orbits, which mean that they tend
to "hover"
over the Northern Hemisphere, making for long periods for
contacts with little
adjustment needed in tracking antennas. However,
they require antennas with
higher gain than those used for the circular
orbit satellites.
The former Soviet RS)10/11 and RS)12/13 are each two separate
packages on the
same satellite.
UO)14 (UoSat)3), PO)16 (PacSat), DO)17 (Dove), WO)18 (WeberSat),
LO)19 (LuSat)
are known as "microsats" because of their small size.
They were launched
together with an Ariane rocket in January, 1990.
UO)14 was made by the University of Surrey in Britain. UO)15,
launched with
UO)14, stopped transmitting the day after launch. Owned
by Volunteers in
Technical Assistance, UO)14 carries a packet radio
BBS, which is used to
transmit free medical information to universities
in East Africa. The service,
known as HealthNet, is operated by an
organization called Satel)Life. Health)Net
transmissions use packet
radio at 9600 baud, with downlinks on 428.01 and
429.985 MHz.
PO)16 was built by AMSAT)North America, and LO)19 by AMSAT
Argentina. They
contain PSK packet radio BBS's. Dove is a Brazilian*made "peace satellite". It
has a voice synthesizer and also transmits
standard packet AFSK)FM on 145.825
MHz. WO)18 was built by Weber State
University in Utah. It contains an onboard
camera that downlinks its
pictures by packet radio. The Japanese JO)20 also
carries a packet BBS,
with similar up and downlink frequencies to PO)16 and
UO)19.
The French satellite SARA is an amateur astronomy satellite, with
a beacon on
145.955 MHz. It's use of an amateur radio frequency is
controversial, and
probably illegal.
\v\ South Korea's KO)23 downlinks ordinary packet radio at 9600 baud
on 435.175
MHz. The satellite can also photograph the Earth and measure
cosmic rays. It
carries an amateur radio electronic mail system, and
will conduct experiments in
voice broadcasting. It's described as a
near clone of UO)14 and UO)22. KITSAT)B
(KO)25), launched with the
second set of microsats on September 5, 1993, is
virtually identical,
as is the amateur radio part of Portugal's PoSat (PO)26),
launched at
the same time.
The Kitsats are in near circular orbit 1300 kilometers from the
Earth, with an
inclination of 66 degrees, which make them available to
users much farther to
the north and to the south than most amateur
radio satellites.
Arsene, launched with Astra 1C in May, 1993, orbits over the
equator. It's
farthest distance from the Earth is 37,000 kilometers,
just about the same
distance as geostationary satellites, but since it
gets as close as 17,500
kilometers, it appears to slowly drift from
west to east. The high orbit means
access time of nearly 20 hours a
day. ARSENE was supposed to function as a
packet radio repeater in the
sky, relaying AFSK packet down to Earth. However,
the 2 meter equipment
has failed, and the satellite can only be worked on voice
in S mode
with a downlink on 2446.54 MHz. There is also a beacon on 2446.47 MHz.
The Italian amateur radio satellite IO)28 (Itamsat) downlinks
voice FM as well
as ordinary AFSK packet at 1200 baud and PSK at 1200
and 9600 baud. Uplinks can
vary between 1200, 4800, and 9600 baud. The
American commercial satellite Amrad
(AO)27) will sometimes relay
digital (300)9600 baud) and FM voice amateur radio
signals.
There are plans for many more amateur radio satellites. UNAMSAT
from Mexico and
RS)15 from Russia are awaiting launch. UNAMSAT will
carry a packet PSK BBS, with
a downlink on 437.200 MHz. CEsat)1 from
Chile, SUNSAT from South Africa,
Finland's HUTSAT, the American Sedsat,
and Guerwin)1 from Israel are under
construction. Guerwin will probably
be a packet PSK BBS, with a downlink around
435.250 MHz.
Radio amateurs are particularly looking forward to the Phase 3)D
satellite, a
follow)up to the aging Oscars 10 and 13. Phase 3)D will
carry a matrix of
separate transmitters and receivers that can be
linked together, rather than
discrete transponders. The satellite will
carry equipment for 145 and 435 MHz,
as well as 1.2, 2.4, 5.6, and 10
GHz.
Phase 3)D will cost around USD 5 million, as much as a
geostationary satellite.
Many radio amateurs are looking forward to the
day when there will be
geostationary amateur radio satellites, what is
called Phase 4 But AMSAT has
decided to go ahead with Phase 3)D,
because a single geostationary satellite
would only benefit one third
of the world's amateur radio population. Three
would be needed to
provide communications for radio amateurs everywhere. But we
can look
forward to the day when radio amateurs will have access to 24
hour
communications, without the bother of tracking programs and rotors
to
complicate things.
Then there's Northern California's Project Oscar, which orbited
the first
amateur radio satellite, which has now proposed installing
the first repeater on
the Moon. The group hopes to get "Project
Moonray" off the ground by the turn of
the century.\r\ Part IV. MONITORING THE SPACE SHUTTLE, MIR, AND THE MILITARY
I. The Space Shuttle and MIR
Space shuttle communications have been relayed on shortwave from a
number of
amateur radio clubs at NASA bases. These are in single side
band (SSB), and the
frequencies to look for are 3862, 7185, 14295,
21395, and 28650 kHz from WA3NAN
at the Goddard Space Flight Center in
Maryland; 3840, 14280, 21350, and 28495
kHz from the Johnson Space
Center in Texas; and 3840 and 21280 kHz from the Jet
Propulsion
Laboratory in California.
Here are some reported frequencies connected with the shuttle
missions:
Shortwave (SSB):
Western Test Range.............................. 5700 kHz
13218
Eastern Test Range.............................. 5190
NASA Tracking Ships............................. 5180
5187
Launch Support Ships............................11104
19303
NASA Kennedy Operations......................... 7675
USAF Cape Radio................................. 6837
6896
11414
BB 11548
19640
23413
Shuttle)Mission Control.........................11201
NASA Ascension Island tracking..................20186
NASA CB Radios..................................27065
VHF/UHF (AM):
Military aircraft emergency frequency........... 243.0 MHz
Primary shuttle communications.................. 259.7
Shuttle space suits............................. 279.0
Primary UHF downlink............................ 296.0
Air)to)ground or orbiter)to)suit................ 296.8
S)Band (Wideband FM) via TDRS satellites:
NASA downlink................................... 2205.0 MHz
2217.5
2250.0
2287.5
Primary digital downlink........................ 2287.5
North American satellite TV monitors can watch live video from the
shuttle
missions via NASA Select on Satcom 2R transponder 13. A voice
TV schedule update
can be heard by calling American telephone number 1*202)755)1788. Missions with
German astronauts may be relayed on one of
the Kopernikus satellites to Europe.
Space launches may also be carried
on Intelsat 504 at 31.4 degrees West, on
11.133 GHz.
\v\
Amateur Radio on the Shuttle
There have been many amateur radio operations from the shuttles,
known as SAREX
(Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment). The first was Dr.
Owen Garriott, W5LFL, from
"Columbia" in 1985. He was heard by tens of
thousands of listeners and made two
way contact with some 350 stations
using FM with a downlink on 145.55 MHz.
With the resumption of shuttle missions after the "Challenger"
crash, amateur
radio operations have resumed as well, with both FM
voice and packet radio.
Unfortunately most shuttle flights maintain an
orbital inclination of 28
degrees, which restricts radio contacts to
stations within around 30 degrees of
the Equator. Occasional missions
use a greater inclination, up to 57 degrees,
which make it possible for
many more people to listen to and contact the
shuttle.
STS)37, on "Atlantis" in April, 1991, was particularly noteworthy,
as all five
crew members were licensed radio amateurs. There were
hundreds of contacts with
amateur radio operators on Earth. While a
problem curtailed packet radio and
slowscan television operation, the
first television picture ever received on
board a spacecraft was
carried out using fast scan television. The Atlantis crew
was also able
to hear the Soviet cosmonauts on MIR, but were unable to complete
two
way communications.
The entire crew of STS)45, in March, 1992, were also radio
amateurs. At least
nine of the current astronauts have amateur radio
licenses, which means that
virtually every launch will have an amateur
onboard. The usual downlink
frequency is 145.55 MHz.
MIR
The former Soviet MIR space station can easily be heard with its
powerful FM
signals on 143.625 MHz, but this channel is now only being
used over Europe,
when the station is in range of the ground station in
the Crimea. Funding cuts
dictated that the communications ships off
Sable Island, Madeira, etc., which
were relaying MIR by shortwave, are
no longer operational.
Voice communications have also been reported on 143.42 and 142.42
MHz, as well
as a beacon on 121.75 MHz. Data communications from MIR
have been heard on
166.130 (or possibly 165.875) MHz. Other frequencies
reported from the former
Soviet space program are:
Soyuz T)11 space vehicle telemetry.... 20008
Soyuz T)11 voice communications.......142.423 MHz
Soyuz TM)3 and TM)4...................121.750
Progress 7 supply ship................166.000
When out of range of the CIS ground stations, MIR communications
are now often
relayed through the "Luch" or "Altair" transponder
systems of CIS geostationary
satellites. The Soviet satellite tracking
network is called SDRN, the Satellite
Data Relay Network. Downlinks are
on 10.8, 11.3, and 13.7 GHz. The relay most
used over Europe is via the
satellite at 16 degrees West listed as ZSSRT)2 (an
abbreviation of the
Russian words "Zemlya S Sputnik Radio Translator", meaning
"Western
geostationary satellite transponder"). There is also an eastern
relay
at 167 degrees East. \v\
The SECAM color signals from MIR are listed at 10.835 GHz, but are
actually
carried at 10.829 GHz (unfortunately just below the range of
most satellite TVRO
receivers). Monitors can look for the satellite by
tuning in to the strong data
signals on 11.375 GHz, which can often be
seen as flashing lines on the screen.
Voice signals from MIR can be
heard near the TV frequency, on a 300 kHz SSB
subcarrier, but only when
no TV signals are being relayed.
MIR video has also been reported on the Ghorizont at 11 degrees
West, on 11.525
GHz.
The Molniya satellites are also used for relaying manned space
voice
communications.
Amateur Radio on MIR
Several MIR cosmonauts have been radio amateurs. In 1988 amateur
radio stations
U1MIR, U2MIR, and U3MIR operated on 145.550 and 145.400
MHz FM. Musa, U2MIR, was
on the air frequently in 1990 and 1991.
Britain's first astronaut, Helen Sharman, spent 8 days on MIR in
May, 1991. She
operated the amateur radio station there, under the call
sign GB1MIR. Contacts
on 145.55 MHz continued in 1992, and are expected
to continue in 1993, in both
FM as U6MIR and packet radio with the
callsign U6MIR)1. MIR reception reports
can be sent, along with a self*addressed envelope and USD 1 to 5 to:
RV3DR, Sergai Samburov, Space QSL Manager
P.O. Box 141070, Box 73
Kaliningrad)10 City
Moscow Area
Russia
\H\ II. Military Communications in Space
Military communications are usually coded, but occasionally some
transmissions
are in the clear. Most military satellites are in geo*stationary orbit. These
include FLEETSATCOM satellites at 72, 75, 77,
100, 105, 145, and 177 degrees
West. These use frequencies in the 240
to 399 MHz range, as well as around 7, 8,
19, 20, 30, and 44 GHz.
FLEETSATCOM are the most popular satellites for listeners as they
have some
unencrypted FM channels. The most active are between 261 and
263 and between 269
and 270 MHz.
During the Gulf War, monitors reported that American military
communications in
the Gulf could be heard from the FLEETSATCOM
satellite network between 240 and
270 MHz, with most of the voice
traffic in the 260 MHz range, and most coded.
One monitor reported to
"Popular Communications" American AWACS planes on
263.825 MHz and Saudi
forces on 249.325 MHz. Other active frequencies reported
were 261.825,
262.200, 262.150, 262.425, and 263.525 MHz. According to
another
report, traffic on Fleetsatcom 7 has been heard on 249.125,
250.350,
262.300, and 263.825 MHz.
Since the shooting down of an American U)2 surveillance plane over
the then
Soviet Union in 1960, the United States has developed a
network of spy
satellites, some of which monitor radio communications.
The most recent
generation known to the public is KH)11, first launched
in 1976, and the first
spy satellite to transmit images in real time. A
new type, called "Advanced
KH)11" was first put into orbit by the space
shuttle Discovery in 1989.
In order to communicate with ground stations the KH)11 satellites
use a system
of satellites in polar orbits. The 14 current satellites
in this Satellite Data
System (SDS) seem to use frequencies around 240
MHz and in the 1700)1900 MHz
range. As there have been no SDS launches
since 1988, there is a good
possibility that the American Tracking and
Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) are
taking over the task of relaying data
from the KH)11 satellites.
The next generation of American military satellites is called
Milstar. Funding
for 6 Milstars has been approved. They will be the
most sophisticated
communications satellites ever designed, putting all
military communications in
the same system, making possible
communications between the various services.
"Popular Communications"
says there are 10 assigned positions, but only 2 or 3
are known to be
in orbit at this time. Milstars use frequencies around 2, 20,
and 45
GHz.
The former Soviet satellite tracking network is called SDRN, the
Satellite Data
Relay Network. Downlinks are on 10.8, 11.3, and 13.7
GHz.
The Molniya satellites use a highly elliptical orbit that makes it
possible to
reach high latitudes out)of)reach of geo)stationary
satellites (which would be
too low on the horizon). Molniya 1 uses 800
MHz and 1 GHz, while Molniya 3
satellites use 4 and 6 GHz. These carry
satellite broadcast television as well
as military and manned space
voice communications.
\v\ PART V. HORIZONS
Space exploration can be expected to continue. The American space
station
Freedom is scheduled for launch in the late 1990's. AMSAT and
the ARRL have
submitted a formal proposal to NASA for a permanent
amateur radio station on
Freedom. The proposal includes downlinks in
the 145, 435, and 2401 MHz bands.
Three geostationary satellites would
be used to relay continuous communications
from Freedom. AMSAT hopes to
have its own geostationary satellites in orbit in
the near future.
Until then, the system would use the TDRS satellites used for
shuttle
communications.
Project Oscar has called for an amateur radio repeater on the
Moon.
Farther into the future, it may be possible to monitor
communications from
proposed Moon bases, expeditions to Mars, or future
space colonies in Earth
orbit.
Moving deeper into space, radio astronomy probes the limits of the
universe on
wavelengths other than those of light used by conventional
astronomy. To this
belongs SETI, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Life.
The first SETI project was
carried out by Dr. Frank Drake at the
National Radio Astronomy Observatory in
Greenback, West Virginia, in
1960. He listened to two relatively close stars for
two weeks on one
particular frequency.
Project META, a SETI project at Harvard University, funded by the
Planetary
Society and film director Steven Spielberg (the maker of
"E.T." and "Close
Encounters of the Third Kind") is monitoring sweeps
across the sky on 8.4
million discrete frequencies. After five years of
observations, there are 11
interesting "events" that satisfy all but
one of the critera for a genuine alien
signal. As astronomer Carl
Sagan, President of the Planetary Society, writes in
"Parade Magazine":
"We've never been able to find any of them again. We look back at
that part of
the sky three minutes later, there's nothing. We look the
following
day))nothing. Examine it a year later, or six years later,
and still there's
nothing."
NASA started its new SETI program on October 12, 1992, using a
radio telescope
in California's Mohave Desert, and another at the
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto
Rico. In the first year, 164 strong
"candidate" signals were found for closer
examination. Unfortunately,
in the Fall of 1993, the U.S. Congress, looking to
reduce the budget
deficit, cut the USD 10 million dollar a year funding for the
program.
Carl Sagan writes about the effect finding intelligent life on
other worlds
could have on us: "The knowledge that such other beings
exist and that, as the
evolutionary process requires, they must be very
different from us would have a
striking implication: Whatever
differences divide us down here on Earth are
trivial compared to the
differences between any of us and any of them. Maybe
it's a long shot,
but discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence might play a
role in
unifying our squabbling and divided planet. It would be a rite
of
passage for our species, a transforming event in the ancient quest
to
discover our place in the universe."
\t\ There may be a role in the SETI quest for amateurs. Speaking to
"Monitoring
Times", astronomer Kent Cullers of the NASA Ames Research
Center in California
says that amateurs could try searching the 1)1.4
GHz range, because
"interstellar noise is relatively low there."
"Monitoring Times" points out that
antennas are critically important,
and suggests dishes, quads, and helical
antennas. A computer can be
programmed to scan frequencies. If signals are
passed through a
digitizer, the computer can break the information into small
slices and
can reject certain kinds of local interference.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
One way to keep up with the amateur radio satellites is to listen
to one of the
AMSAT nets on shortwave. Here are some:
International Net))Sundays 19:00 hrs UTC on 14282 kHz
European Net)))))))Saturdays 10:00 hrs on 14280 kHz
Asian)Pacific Net))Sundays 11:00 hrs on 14305 kHz
AMSAT and its national societies publish newsletters and sell
computer hardware
and software for use in monitoring amateur radio
satellites. The main AMSAT
address is: Box 27, Washington, DC, 20044,
USA. AMSAT)UK is at 94 Herongate
Road, Wanstead Park, London E12 5EQ,
England. AMSAT)Sweden is at Box 1311, S)600
43 Norrkoeping, Sweden.
There are a number of computer bulletin boards for space
enthusiasts in the
United States:
1)205)895)0028 NASA BBS
1)512)852)8194 AMSAT Software Exchange BBS
1)214)394)7438 Downlink BBS (AMSAT)
1)214)340)5850 N5ITU BBS
1)513)427)0674 Celestial RCP/M BBS
1)904)786)8142 Starship Enterprise BBS
1)804)743)0559 Astro BBS (amateur astronomy)
There are also resourcess on the Internet of interest to space
enthusiasts,
such as: NASA News, NASA Spacelink, Shuttle and Satellite
Images, the NASA/IPAC
Extra Galactic Database, and news groups such as
alt.radio.amateur.packet,
alt.satellite.tv.*, and others.
The CompuServe HamNet Forum has a section devoted to amateur radio
satellites.
The Consumer Electronics Forum has a TVRO section. There
are a number of other
space forums on CompuServe, including a NASA
section with news from the American
space agency. CompuServe now has
local access nodes around the world, especially
in Western Europe and
Japan. For more information contact: CompuServe, 5000
Arlington Centre
Blvd,. Box 20212, Columbus, OH 43220, USA.
The FIDO network contains several conferences about satellite
television,
amateur radio satellites, and packet radio.
There are several BBS's for WEFAX enthusiasts in Britain. The
Dartcom BBS
(0822)88249) is located at a WEFAX equipment supplier. The
Remote Imaging Group
operates the RIG BBS (0945)85666) for members.
\r\ Two very interesting newsletters about satellite broadcasting are
available
over data networks. Both of which were used extensively in
compiling this
booklet, and we'd like to thank both for making
themselves available to us.
"SatNews" is huge, so big that the fortnightly uploads have to be
divided into
two or three files. There's probably more here about the
electronics and
satellite industries than any one person wants, but all
the important news is
included. Editor Darren Ingram does a great job,
but it caters to business
interests, at business prices. Fortunately
they offer a special rate to
non)commercial subscribers: GBP 50 or USD
100 for one year to an
Internet)compatible mailbox. If you need this
kind of information, it's well
worth it. You can contact SatNews at the
Internet mailbox
satnews@cix.compulink.co.uk for more information.
"Skyguide" is a short weekly newsletter covering satellite and
cable
broadcasting, concentrating on the UK. Fortunately, it's free,
although
distribution has been uneven recently. You can find Skyguide
every week on
London's CIX conferencing system, in the Skyguide
conference, the Fidonet
Satellite TV echo, and the packet radio
network. Skyguide is now available on
the Internet in the
alt.satellite.tv.europe newsgroup.
"Dial)a)Shuttle" is a telephone number available during shuttle
missions, with
news updates and live relays from the astronauts. The
number is 1)900)909)6272.
Europeans can access interesting, if uneven, rumors and news about
satellite
broadcasting from the "In Orbit" teletext pages, on Super
Channel beginning on
page 375 and on UK Gold, pages 333 and 334. The
content of the services vary
slightly ) Super Channel's version is
consistently more critical of Astra and
Sky, while the UK Gold version
appears (at the moment) to be more neutral.
There's a very good source of up-to-date satellite news, most of
it in German, from a fax polling number in Germany. If you have a fax
machine, you just dial up the number, and automatically receive pages
of news. The initial number is +49-89-418-608. Then there are two more
numbers
for the different services.
99 gets you a list of satellite channels in the S-band, C-band,
and Ku-band,
between 66 degrees East and 10 degrees East. 49 gets a
similar list between 7
degrees East and 53 degrees West. 97 is for
satellite programming news, and 98
for satellite industry news. 94 is
for satellite data communications news,
compiled by English by Darren
Ingram, editor of "Satnews".
The World Radio TV Handbook contains a section on World Satellite
Broadcasts,
which lists current and some planned geostationary
broadcast satellites, with
detailed lists of transponder usage. We made
extensive use of the WRTH in
compiling the section on Asian satellites.
Unfortunately, there are no satellite
listings in the ordinary section
of the handbook. If you look up Radio Sweden or
Swiss Radio
International, or the BBC in the WRTH, you'll find the
shortwave
schedules, but not a word about the satellite relays. The
only
indication is a tiny little dish symbol next to the
appropriate
broadcaster. These refer to the "World Satellite Broadcasts"
section.
\t\ Nevertheless, you still have to know what you're looking for, and
it would
make a lot of sense to include this information under the
regular listings as
well. This can get complicated, of course.....where
do you list information on
Deutsche Welle's broadcasts on satellites
over North America, under Germany,
Canada, or the USA? But there ought
to be a solution.
The World Satellite Annual, compiled by Mark Long, has just about
everything
you could possibly want to know about communications
satellites. It lists all
the current and many planned satellites in
geosynchronous orbit, with footprint
maps and channel tables. There are
chapters on satellite launch vehicles for the
1990s, the status of DBS
in America, updates on Intelsat and Eutelsat, European
Scrambling
Systems, and the Satellite News Gathering Revolution. The book
is
expensive, at USD 100 plus postage. But for the serious satellite DXer,
it's
well worth it. For more information contact MLE Inc., Box 159,
Winter Beach,
Florida, 32971, USA.
Together with Jeffrey Keating, Mark Long as also written The World
of Satellite
Television, a basic guide to installing, operating, and
maintaining a backyard
satellite dish antenna. Available for USD 13
from Quantam Publications, Box 310,
Mendocino, CA 95460, USA.
Communications Satellites, by Larry Van Horn, covers U.S. and
Soviet manned
space missions, military, weather, navigational, and
communications satellites.
It's available for USD 13. (*)
The Hidden Signals on Satellite Television, by Thomas Harrington
and Bob Cooper
Jr., goes into detail about SCPC, audio subcarriers,
teletext, and other
non)video signals on North American satellites. It
also covers the equipment
needed. Available for USD 20. (*)
The three books above are the best guides for satellite radio and
TV DXing.
Those interested in weather satellites should look into:
The New Weather Satellite Handbook by Dr. Ralph Taggart is the
most
comprehensive book around about monitoring weather satellites.
The new 4th
edition is available for USD 20 from the American Radio
Relay League, Newington,
CT, USA, or from Metsat Products, Box 142,
Mason, MI 48854, USA. (*)
AMSAT and the American Radio Relay League have published an
excellent guide to
amateur radio satellites called The Satellite
Experimenter's Handbook. (*) The
2nd edition is available for USD 20,
from: AMSAT, Box 27, Washington, DC 20044,
USA. The later Satellite
Anthology ought to update the handbook, but it doesn't.
Instead it
reprints articles from "QST" magazine, some of which are very
out)of*date. AMSAT also publishes "Satellite Journal" magazine and
"Amateur
Satellite Report".
Most of these books are available from a number of sources. Many
of the ones
marked (*) should be available from the following: "73
Magazine", Forest Road,
Hancock, NH 03449, USA; Grove Enterprises, 140
Dog Branch Road, Brasstown, NC
28902, USA; Universal Electronics, 4555
Groves Road, Suite 3, Columbus, Ohio
43232, USA); and EEB, 323 Mill St.
NE, Vienna, VA 22180, USA.
Some books of interest to Europeans may be ordered from PW
Publishing, Enefco
House, The Quay, Poole, Dorset BH15 1PP, Britain.
\v\ The best program listing for North American TVRO monitors is
"Satellite TV
Week", available for USD 48 a year from Satellite TV
Week, Box 308, Fortuna, CA
95540, USA.
There are a couple of British monthlies with channel listings and
satellite
news, "What Satellite" (57)59 Rochester Place, London NW1
9JU) and "Satellite TV
Europe" (5 Riverpark Estate, Berkhamsted HP4
1HD).
"Transponder" is a British newsletter, filled with information
about satellite
broadcasting. Published 24 times a year, it's available
in the UK for GBP 37, in
Europe for GBP 60, and outside Europe for GBP
75, from: Transponder, Box 112,
Crewe Cheshire, CW2 7DS, England.
"Satellite Watch Newsletter" is the magazine of the video pirate
satellite
underground, people who regard any kind of coding as a
violation of American
Constitutional rights. Lots of details on
descrambler hardware and software. But
12 issues are available for USD
35, from: Walker Media Group, 6599 Commerce Ct.
No. 103, Gainsville, VA
22065, USA.
Radio Netherlands publishes an interesting leaflet called "Weather
Satellite
Fact Sheet", as well as "Satellites for the Shortwave
Listener". Both are
available for free from: Radio Netherlands, Box
222, NL)1200 JG Hilversum, the
Netherlands.
The Fall, 1990 edition of "Whole Earth Review" has an excellent
article by
Robert Horvitz called "Tabletop Earth)Watch Stations" about
monitoring WEFAX,
with the WER's usual good guide to sources. Available
for USD 7 (more for
postage abroad) from: Whole Earth Review, Box 38,
Sausalito, CA 94966, USA.
The American magazines "Monitoring Times" and "Popular
Communications" have
columns with the latest on North American
satellite TVRO. "73 Magazine" has a
column on amateur radio satellites.
The British sister magazines "Short Wave
Magazine" and "Practical
Wireless" cover satellites very well from the European
perspective. The
emphasis in the former is on TVRO and WEFAX, in the latter on
amateur
radio satellites.
If you're into cyberpunk, "Wired" magazine from San Francisco
covers everything
from the Internet and Virtual Reality to satellite
television in Asia and
special effects on "Star Trek". When he was
being interviewed for the magazine,
Arthur C. Clarke took one look at
it and thought it should have been spelled
"Weird".
For the story of telecommunications, from the first Atlantic cable
to his own
original proposal of communications satellites, and up to
the present, science
and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke's How
the World Was One is a
fascinating read.
CNN: The Inside Story by Hank Whitmore is the story of Turner
Broadcasting's
early years, published in connection with CNN's 10th
anniversary in 1990. Since
it was released by CNN, it's not likely to
contain anything really negative or
overly)revealing, but it is a
fascinating behind)the)scenes look at how the
satellite TV industry got
started, and how CNN works. Our only complaint is that
there's too
little about CNN International and the network's expansion beyond
North
America (which has largely happened after 1990).
\v\ For information about amateur radio astronomy, you can contact the
British
Amateur Radio Astronomy Society, c/o Steven Newberry, 19
Oakway, Kingsley Park,
Birkenshaw, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD11 2PG,
Britain.
For more information about the Planetary Society, write to: The
Planetary
Society, 65 N. Catalina Ave., Pasadena, CA 91108, USA.
Reason not)withstanding, the universe continues unabated, terribly
huge and
terribly complicated. "The DXers Guide to the Galaxy", while
relatively short,
and undoubtedly filled with much that is wildly
wrong, out)of)date, or of
marginal interest, is nevertheless greatly
inspired by (some might say
plagiarized from) Douglas Adams and "The
Hitch)Hikers Guide to the Galaxy".
We hope he doesn't mind too much.
For more information on this engrossing subject, consult the books
and
magazines mentioned above. We did to write this. Repeatedly. Please
note that
things change rapidly in this field, numbers to computer
bulletin boards even
faster. This is as accurate as we could get it on
the day it went to the
printers, in November1993. There were
undoubtedly mistakes then, stuff left over
from earlier editions, and
many changes since. We disclaim all responsibility
for anything that
happens due to these mistakes or changes.
Should you have any information you would like to pass along, in
order to
rectify or update any of these unavoidable errors, you can
contact Radio
Sweden's DX Editor George Wood through any of the
following electronic means:
CompuServe Mail 70247,3516
MCI Mail to the CompuServe address
Internet 70247.3516@compuserve.com
Fidonet to George Wood at 2:201/697
Packet Radio to SM0IIN on the SM0ETV mailbox
Telefax +468)667)6283
In case of electrical failure the mail will also work:
Radio Sweden
S)105 10 Stockholm
Sweden