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SAT Observations 97.08.03
WELCOME TO SAT-MIDEAST !
A news release from Cairo, Egypt, located at 30.3 North - 31.15 East,
sponsored by TELE-SATELLIT INTERNATIONAL, SATCO-DX and TBS Internet.
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WHAT YOU'LL FIND HERE:
- Satellite and Transponder Observations in C- and Ku-Band,
- Commented from the Middle Eastern perspective.
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THE HEADLINES IN THIS 97.08.03 REPORT:
- Launch Info's
- Thaicom 3
- Multichoice Africa
- Turksat Info's
- TDF-2 accuisition
- Telepiu Info
- Hot Bird news
- Digital updates
LAUNCH INFO, http://www.satcodx.com/launches.shtml
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The next Ariane launch V98 with Panamsat 6, is now scheduled to take
place on August 8th, with a launch window 08:46-09:46 CAT. The satellite
will be positioned later at 43 degrees West, for Latin American DTH
services. All available transponder have been leased for this purpose.
Here the latest SME Arianespace launch estimations:
08.08.97 V098 PAS 6
29.08.97 V099 Hot Bird 3 & Meteosat
18.09.97 V100 Intelsat 803
23.10.97 V101 Sirius 2 & Indostar
13.11.97 V102 JCSAT 5 & Nilesat
04.12.97 V103 Hot Bird 4 & BSAT 1B
23.12.97 V104 Intelsat 804
Seriously: I guess that either the Intelsat 804 launch or the Hot Bird 4
launch will take place after the '97 Xmas break. Whereby I still more
chances see for the Hot Bird 4 to go up in this year, while otherwise
slight complications with the coordination with the Atlas launch of the
Eutelsat III-f1 (W1) in January could be expected.
Very interesting, but quite technical, Ariane 5 Qualification
information can be retrieved from:
http://www.esrin.esa.it/ARIANE_NEWS/
ASIASAT 2, 100,5 East, http://www.satcodx.com/asia2.html
---------
Iranian opposition channel Sima-yeh Moghavmat - Vision of Resistance -
has ceased on transponder 2B, 3.680 GHz, H.
(Bevin Boden)
EXPRESS 6, 80 East, http://www.satcodx.com/e6.html
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MART has started on 3.675 GHz, Rc in PAL, sharing transponder time with
RTR. Begin of their session of broadcasting is at 23:00 CAT.
(SATCO DX)
THAICOM 3, 78.5 East, http://www.satcodx.com/thai78.html
---------
On frequency 3.555 GHz, V, with audio on the subcarriers 6.60 and 7.02
MHz, are still the IBERIA promo videos shown. The Englisch commentary
came however from the DStv trailer transmitted at the same time on 3.535
GHz, V, the other (lower) transponder half.
(Norbert Schlammer, Berlin)
Raj TV & Punjab TV have both started official broadcasts on 3.622 and
3.640 GHz, V, respectively, in PAL, using both an audio subcarrier of
6.60 MHz.
(SATCO DX)
SME Comment, there are confusing reports on who is broadcasting actually
on which frequency, but it shouldn't matter too much as the reception
quality (at least in Cairo) due to the half-transponder use, is far from
good.
Signal levels are just half of that of the Army Channel 5 on 3.760 GHz,
V, and on Sunday evening only the IBERIA promo movie could be seen on
3.622, while on 3.640 only an empty carrier was visible.
PANAMSAT 4, 68.4 East, http://www.satcodx.com/pas4.html
----------
BAZTAB seemed not to be too happy with the reception from the heavily
inclined Intelsat 510 at 33 East, therefore on several days feeds could
be observed from the 4.035 GHz, H, frequency on the PAS-4, during the
normal transmission hours from 19:45 CAT onwards for 75 minutes.
See also the entry from Intelsat 510 below...
(SME)
MTV India on transponder 15U on 4.182 GHz, H, changed, as of August
1st, the capital "M" in the MTV logo. It's is now coloured using the
main colours out of the Indian national flag, from the top: red - white
- green.
The Multichoice Africa package has been undergoing some surgery and
shows following facial and inertial corrections:
channel 01 through 17 no changes
channel 18 Futur 3.743 Future Channel (encrypted, empty)
channel 19 Soap 3.743 The Soap Channel *
channel 20 through 23 no changes
channel 24 Carl 4,113 Carlton Select (encrypted)
channel 25 Travl 4,113 Travel Channel (encrypted)
channel 26 Bloom 4,113 Bloomberg Information TV (encrypted, E)
channel 27 Rhem 4,113 Rhema Channel **
channel 28 MNC 4,113 M-Net Community Service (encrypted)
channel 29 Futur 4,113 Future Channel (encrypted, empty)
channel 30 Futur 4,113 Future Channel (encrypted, empty)
* The Soap Channel will start regularely on August 4th with a selection
of British, American and Australian soaps, from Monday through Friday.
** The Rhema Channel started on Sunday, August 3rd, with a rather large
selection of various preachers for the Christian Networks. Transmissions
will take place on a weekly basis, every Sunday from 05:00 - 13:00 CAT.
Presently soft-encrypted transmissions from Bloomberg TV and the Travel
Channel are displayed here (as promotion only). Bloomberg from 06:00 -
18:00 CAT, Travel from 18:00 - 06:00 CAT. This does NOT influence the
regular transmissions of Bloomberg Information TV on channel 26 nor the
Travel Channel on channel 25. It is not known for how long these
promotional transmissions will be continued.
The soft-encryption checks only for the availability of a Multichoice
Card, valid or not. Other smartcards such as 1st-Net, Showtime, Telepiu
DO NOT open the channel.
There is also a single "Test-Radio" added to the end of the radio list,
with at the time of check, an empty carrier.
INTELSAT 602, 63 East, http://www.satcodx.com/i602.html
------------
The IRIB 1 was switched through for a day on July 27th on it's old
transponder on 11.155 GHz, V. Reception was weak, but still better as on
the Intelsat 801, presently at 62 East.
(SME)
TURKSAT 1C, 42 East, http://www.satcodx.com/turk1c.html
----------
New turkish channel "Prima" on 10.986 Ghz, V, has the following data: SR
3333, FEC 3/4, VPID: 4200, APID: 428A.
Number One TV is on 11.023 GHz, V, SR 3054, FEC 7/8, VPID: 4021, APID:
4022 and has left transponder 46, 12.600 GHz, V on the Eutelsat II-f3 at
16 East.
Genc TV on 11.029 GHz, V, uses SR 5000, FEC 5/6, VPID: 4025, APID: 4026;
Nickelodeon Turkey is announced to appear also soon but could not be
found yet. All other above channels are receivable Free-To-Air.
(SATCO DX)
TURKSAT 2A , 42 East, http://www.satcodx.com/launches.shtml
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According to deputy director general of Turk Telekom, the first of the
country's second generation telecommunications satellites Turksat 2A
"will be launched towards the end of 1998". Speaking in the Turkish
press May 15th, Cengiz ANIK detailed the satellite, "a 20 million $
investment" which will have 32 transponders.
Ariane has launched Turksat 1A and 1C, both built by Aerospatiale which
had signed for in orbit deliveries. At the July 10th 1996 launch of
Turksat 1C Turkey's Vice-minister for Transport had announced that his
country was calling for bids for a second generation series. But since
then no news.
Especially from manufacturer Aerospatiale which on May 20th officially
said that "negociations were proceeding but no contract has been
signed".
Turk Telekom is reported (by Space News dated 23/6) to have formed a
joint venture Eurasiasat with Aerospatiale. This venture will provide
the Turksat follow-ons, notably EURASIASAT 1, now targetted to be
launched in "mid-1999". The Eurasiasat venture will take under its wing
the existing Turksat 1B and 1C satellites and provide DTH tv and vsat
services to central Asia, Turkey, Europe and other states in a wider
area around Turkey.
(SME, source: Turk Telekom)
TDF 2, soon 36 East from 18.8 West, http://www.satcodx.com/tdf2.html
-----
The, on July 24, 1990 with Ariane V37 launched, French satellite TDF 2
is transferred into the responsabilities of the Eutelsat Organization
and is currently being moved from its previous position at 18.8 West to
a new location at 36 East. An eventual re-naming is not yet published,
but could easily be expected.
The satellite will be co-located with the already present GALS 1 and
GALS 2 satellites and be used there by a Russian company (NTV ?) to
transmit programs in a frequency range between 11.700 and 12.100 GHz,
with a Right-Hand Circular Polarization (RHCP). The previous measured
EIRP for the single beam over France (now re-directed to western Russia)
was around 63 dBW, a real Direct-To-Home (DTH) powerhouse !
It must however be taken in calculation that the expected lifespan of
the TDF 2 was noted as 7 years, so the satellite is in its older ages.
It was orginally equipped with 5, 27 Mhz wide transponder (plus a single
back-up), and I can recall the mentioning of some failures ? (but I'm
not sure here ! Help !)
The last used transponder frequencies have been for transponder 5,
11.804 GHz, Rc and transponder 9, 11.881 GHz, Rc; so it would be wise to
check these frequencies first; however it is not said that these will be
the final transmission frequencies. Only Rc can be used ! (TDF 1 used
LHCP, remember)
After the launch and initial tests of the new Eutelsat W1 at 10 East, in
the beginning of 1998, the present Eutelsat II-f2 will be joining both
satellites on 36 East, with the well-known frequency spectrum of
10.950-11.200 GHz, 11.500-11.700 GHz, and 12.500-12.750 GHz with a
linear polarization.
Lately it is not clear where the announced Eutelsat/SESAT satellite will
be located in 1998. Earlier reports mention the 48 East slot, however it
seems that the 36 East location is favoured these days as the East
European Hot Spot.
Another Russian satellite is also announced for this position: the
GALS-R, a multi-transponder satellite for Ku-Band DTH purposes.
(SME, source: Eutelsat PR, TSE online)
INTELSAT 510, 33 East, http://www.satcodx.com/i510.html
------------
Due to the jamming on Arabsat, Asiasat and PAS, Iranian entertainment
channel BAZTAB has moved to the Intelsat Indian Ocean Region "IOR-33"
satellite for its transmissions on Wednesday through Sunday at
18:45-20:00 CAT. The new downlink frequency is 4.015 GHz, Rc on the
East-Hemi beam.
(Anonymous, USA)
SME Comment: The satellite is however in an inclined orbit and
transmissions could never be received in Cairo.
TURKSAT 1B, 31 East, http://www.satcodx.com/turk1b.html
----------
Glob TV has started on 10.987 GHz, H, MPEG-2, Free-To-Air, SR 5998, FEC
3/4, VPID: 4021, APID: 4022.
Super Kanal has started on 11.015 GHz, H, MPEG-2, Free-To-Air, SR 4687,
FEC 3/4, VPID: 4134, APID: 4100.
Both channels appear to be using the Turkish beam and can be very strong
received in Israel with an 150 cm dish.
(SATCO DX)
ARABSAT 2A, 26 East, http://www.satcodx.com/arab2a.html
----------
As the first Arab country, Oman TV is now broadcasting live in
RealVideo. Take a look at http://www.oman-tv.gov.om/oman-tv.ram
(SATCO DX)
EUTELSAT II-f1, 13 East, http://www.satcodx.com/e2f1.html
--------------
La Cinquieme has started on 12.542 GHz, V, in MPEG-2, Free-To-Air, using
VPID: 44C4 and APID: 44CE.
(SATCO DX)
HOT BIRD 1, 13 East, http://www.satcodx.com/hb1.html
----------
TV 5 Asie is still receivable from 11.338 GHz, V, in MPEG-2; there have
been no change in parameters, opposite to other, earlier reports.
(SATCO DX)
Arabic Radio Monte Carlo (RMC) is using an audio subcarrier on 7.92 MHz
of TV5 Europe 11.321 GHz, V, since CFI did not resume transmission on
the Arabsat 2A, and is btw not expected to do so, ever.
(Mamdouh Taher)
TELEPIU DStv on the widebeam transponder 4, 11.283 GHZ, V, has a new
channel line -up. The "soon-to-be-starting" channels will be encrypted
using the IRDETO system, and can be seen only with the proper CAM in
combination with a valid Telepiu smartcard. The presently shown
transmissions do not correspond to their Menu reading and can be seen
Free-To-Air only after entering the proper PID's.
(An exeption is the German Mediabox, which directly loads the correct
PID's).
Nbr . VPID APID Channel . . Presently Shown
-------------------------------------------------------
01 40A0 4050 Hallmark. . [Telepiu Promo]
02 40A1 4050 Discovery . [Telepiu Promo]
03 40A2 4050 Cartoon . . [Telepiu Promo]
04 40A3 4050 CNN . . [Telepiu Promo]
05 40A4 4050 Cinecinema1 . [Telepiu Promo]
06 40A5 4050 Cinecinema2 . [Telepiu Promo]
07 40A6 4050 Cineclassic . [Telepiu Promo]
08 40A7 406C Ippica . . [Movies]
09 40A8 40xx seasons . . [Sports, no sound]
(SME, Ghassan Tabet)
VIACOM changed their MPEG-2 data stream again on Friday evening on the
widebeam transponder 2, 11.242 GHz, V. New PID's could not be determined
yet.
The new data is again in conflict with the PID data of CNBC on Intelsat
703, 3.587 GHz, Lc, while actually NOT been over-written, when loading
the Viacom package; the CNBC SCPC feed just becomes invisible.
Unloading the VIACOM package and manual re-loading the CNBC channel
works but simple manual PID entries on CNBC does not make it visible. It
just alters the PID data in the VIACOM package, stored under complete
different programm numbers.
SME Comment: believe me: the Nokia software has still something very
magical ... Re-Connecting People ...
HOT BIRD 2, 13 East, http://www.satcodx.com/hb2.shtml
----------
Multichoice Hellas on transponder 55, 11.823 GHz, H, has added 3 test
channels, time wise encrypted in IRDETO, Test K, Test S & TestA, to the
end of their list of (now) 10 channels. Only CCTV-4, the Chinese
External Service, can be seen Free-To-Air in this package using SR
27.500, FEC 3/4.
Eurotica/Rendez Vous did not transmit on July 31st, due to "uplink
problems". They have been back again on the widebeam transponder 53,
11.785 GHz, H, from 02:00 - 06:00 CAT from August 1st. Transmission will
soon change from VideoCrypt 1/2 to D2-MAC coding as on-screen messages
announce.
(SME)
HOT BIRD 3, 13 East, http://www.satcodx.com/launches.shtml
----------
The Hot Bird 3 satellite der Eutelsat Organization, has left Toulouse on
July 25th for French Guyana, for final checks and mounting onto the
Ariane 4 launcher, for a scheduled lift-off on August 29th.
Hot Bird 4 is to follow on an Ariane flight in Dezember/January, and Hot
Bird 5 will be orbitted , probably with Ariane 503, after a succesful
second flight of Arianespace's work-horse, the Ariane 5. All Hot Birds
will be located on the 13 East slot.
(SME, source M.Ransom)
EUTELSAT II-f2, 10 East, http://www.satcodx.com/e2f2.html
--------------
Med TV returned on 10,972 GHz, V, but was not visible on July 28th and
29th. From August 1st it is officially broadcasting from this satellite.
Transmissions on Intelsat 705 at 18 West have ceased, a brief info dia
is being displayed since then daily. (see Intelsat 705 info's)
(SME)
EXPRESS 2, 14 West, http://www.satcodx.com/e2.html
---------
Iranian IRIB External service returned to the frequency 3.975 GHz, Rc,
in SECAM, earlier this week. Reception quality in Cairo has improved.
(SME)
INTELSAT 705, 18 West, http://www.satcodx.com/i705.html
------------
On transponder 72, 11.075 GHz, V, displays Med TV from August 1st a
standing dia with a message in the Turkisch & Kurdisch languages. It
informs the viewers on official movement to Eutelsat II-f2, located at
10 East. The over there used transponder 25L, 10.972 GHz, V, had been in
use by VTV until recently.
(SME)
INTELSAT Star, 21.5 West, http://www.satcodx.com/ik.html
-------------
Intelsat K has been officially renamed to Intelsat Star. A reason has
not been published, but it could be to avoid naming conflicts with
another Ku-Band satellite, scheduled for the Indian Ocean Region, the
Intelsat K-TV. Possibly this satellite will also change its initial
name. Any suggestions ???
(SATCO DX, source: Intelsat)
Best regards,
Henk C. Room / Sat-MidEast / Cairo - Egypt
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