April 3, 2013
C-Band Antennas Almost
Here!
The above headline hasn't changed -- it is just taking longer for it
to happen. A little over a year ago, we put our trust in a longtime
friend, who promised to make mesh antennas for us. His past
performance and years of friendship colored our judgment, and we gave him
the benefit of the doubt that he would get his act together, in a new
building. We are still waiting, and he still is not in that new
building. Perhaps he will eventually be in a position to manufacture
satellite antennas, but we can wait no longer for something to sell.
If things work out later, great, but it is now time to create a Plan B.
Somehow, some way...we will have to create a series of knockdown type mesh
antennas on our own. Details are being sorted, alternate suppliers
and old friends are being contacted. Since we have now made it our
responsibility to pull this together, I would hope that we are now talking
weeks or a few short months to get this going. Surveys have
indicated that we have a primary demand for 10-foot antennas, closely
followed by the 8.5 foot model. After cutting myself more than once
assembling a cheap flimsy Chinese-made multi-panel solid antenna, it is my
humble opinion that there is also a need for a slightly smaller
antenna. If we can produce a smaller diameter that ships in small
pieces, there is little difference in costs between a 6 and a 7 foot
model. Given the slightly larger dish requirements for MPEG-4
DVB-S2 digital signals, we're leaning towards slightly larger than 6
feet. It is also my opinion that the size of the original Orbitron
SX-7 was just under 7 feet (80 inches to be precise), compared to
the SX-8.5, which came in at 100 inches, and would be an ideal diameter
for a starter system. There is also some need for a 12-foot dish,
comparable to Orbitron's SX-12.
My opinions on mount
design: The
ease of assembly from Orbitron's SPINCLINATION declination system makes it
an attractive method for a 7, 8.5, and 10 foot antenna mounting. I
would like to also consider a heavy duty "conventional" polar
mount for the 12 foot model, and make it optional for the 10-foot version,
in wind prone locations. We would appreciate some input from our
readers as well as listeners to the Sat Talk Radio Show on Access America,
as to what size antenna you would consider when buying a C-band or
C/Ku-band system of mesh type construction. 35 years in the consumer
market have given me some idea about what people want, but I humbly ask
your opinions, so that we can have a more successful rollout of a new
antenna product line. At these early planning stages, concepts and
ideas are very open to change, given input of good ideas that can be
considered. We appreciate any logical input.
The past several weeks have seen very positive improvements in the
distribution of our weekly radio show. Sat Talk is now available
worldwide on the ROKU system via the Internet. We look forward to a
larger and more diverse; geographically spread audience. Plans
are also taking shape to have video enhancements available that will
supplement our radio show, creating a new video channel. More in
coming weeks and months as we grow!
The MADISON, Wisconsin TV market is now even more blessed with Classic TV
options. ANTENNA TV now fills our airwaves, after being introduced
to our local viewers in the midst of a 3 Stooges marathon on April Fool's
Day. We already have THIS TV and ME TV from Weigel Broadcasting.
Once winter has set in, I have found time to do some badly needed updates
to our website. Go to the Off-Air antenna section and look at the
new state-by-state TV station listings. We have done the entire
country, now adding low power TV and translator stations to the existing
full power TV channel listings, and shown what channels can be received in
each community. Months of work went into this project, and there is
still a bit of reformatting left on a few states, but you should now have
a much better idea about what local signals are available in your
location.
Our ace software programmer has delivered a new firmware update (version
4.4) for the Manhattan RS1933 receiver. It can be downloaded at www.manhattan-digital.net
in basic form (satellites and transponders with embedded version 4.4
firmware). The major update is that C and Ku-band switching is
finally possible during motorized operation. Many lines of computer
code needed to be searched to find a solution, and we sincerely thank our
software guru. The receiver is also now capable of tuning symbol
rates as low as 500 (previous lower limit was 1000), allowing a few exotic
radio feeds to now be available. Please be warned that these
channels must be entered with a channel editor and then the entire file
(Preload) put into the receiver with a USB memory stick. The
receiver itself will not complete a scan on something this narrow, but if
the information is already in memory, it will play those channels.
Another caution is that one needs to get a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) C-band
LNB for such channels to stay locked, and it should have a local
oscillator stability of 25 KHz or better. Global Communications has
a new Preload that includes all of this, and can customize with some
sample audio channels upon request. Price is 25.00 by itself, or
20.00 when purchasing a receiver (or to my existing receiver customers),
and free with the purchase of a preloaded receiver and Ku-band antenna
system (still 199.00 plus shipping, but hurry while these antennas are
still available).
Shaw Direct
enthusiasts: if you are getting ready for an MPEG-4 receiver such as
the DSR-600, you will need to think about the Anik G1 satellite (assuming
that you are within its coverage area). We now have a separate
special Ku-band LNBF that will work on an existing single satellite
Ku-band antenna now parked on 107.3 West. Uses the same conventional
40 mm neck as previous LNBFs from Pansat and DMS, but has an unusual
Ku-band conversion that gets both Anik G1 and Anik F1R from the 107.3
satellite position, when the receiver is mapped with the configuration for
the new Xtended Quad Ku-band LNBF. Add a second dish for 111.1,
connect a 22 KHz switch and you are ready for HD from all of their
satellites. Please contact us if you are in the market for an
upgrade, or considering getting into the Shaw Direct community.
Have a Happy Valentine's Day, and stay warm!
Until next time,
MIKE
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