[Prev][Next][Index]

Sat-UK-Web Announcement

Dear Sat-UK-News and Sat-UK-Tab subscribers,

 I would like to inform you all of some important changes which have
recently gone on or are currently going on at Sat-UK-Web. These involve
various changes to the charts, some more notable than others, and the
re-introduction of an old service.

SATELLITE LAUNCH CHART
======================
 The HTML version of the satellite launches chart has been updated in
line with the new general format trend at Sat-UK-Web. A new
colour-coding scheme has been introduced. The colours used on the
frequency listings index page to indicate Ku-Low, Ku-High and C bands
have been used to show which bands the upcoming satellites will
broadcast in. Those for which the bands are unknown or uncertain have
been left white. In addition, the launch date box has also been colour
coded with one of three colours:- green (satellite launched), orange
(launch soon) or red (launch pending). It should now be much easier to
read!

CHANNEL START/END CHART
=======================
 The channel start/end chart, which details the upcoming closures and
starts of channels on the covered satellites, has been reintroduced. It
follows a similar pattern to the satellite launch charts, but with the
following colour coding scheme. The channels themselves follow the same
scheme as the frequecy listings:- red for analogue, green for MAC and
orange for digital. The date box is colour coded green for pending and
red for overdue (ie: the channel was supposed to start or leave but did
not).

UPDATED FOOTPRINTS
==================
 Most of the footprints for the covered satellites have been covered.
Footprints for all beams (except Türksat 1C eastern beam) are now
available at the Sat-UK-Web site itself instead of on other sites. In
addition, the charts themselves have been slightly changed. Whereas
before you could access the footprints by clicking on the transponder
number, which served as a hyperlink, now the actual name of the
footprint is printed by the tp number, allowing a quick reference for
dish size, beam strength, etc... All satellites have been updated with
this new format.

HEXADECIMAL PIDS
================
 As from today, hexadecimal PIDs will gradually be phased out of the
Sat-UK-Web frequency listings (and this includes the charts sent via
Sat-UK-Tab). The reasons are simple. Most digital receivers in the
United Kingdom, most notable the Nokia boxes, use a decimal PID
interface. It thus seems more sensible to follow their lead. In
addition, the removal of decimal PIDs will reduce the size of the charts
in both formats. On the HTML charts, the decimal PIDs have been moved
into the hexadecimal column, and the decimal column now houses the
broadcast hours box. On the text charts, the decimal PIDs have been
moved across and can be viewed together. This makes it easier to read
and much smaller. Sat-UK-Tab subscribers will see the effects of this on
Tuesday when the Astra satellites are sent out.

OTHER INFORMATION
=================
 As usual, the logotype scheme is going well. More logotypes are being
added all the time. As you are probably aware, the transponder layout
for Thor 3 has been added to the charts in preparation for the upcoming
launch. I haven't managed to get hold of Sirius 3's transponder layout
yet, but when I do I'll add it too. I have however, got the footprint
for Sirius 3's Nordic beam (available at
http://www.sat-uk.com/sats/footprints/sirius3.gif).

 As always, if you have any problems or enquiries about the Sat-UK
servies, don't hesitate to contact me at dominic@bigrp.demon.co.uk or
dsedghi@TELE-satellite.com. One thing I would like to say, however. A
few subscribers, who have the Sat-UK-News or Sat-UK-Tab reports
delivered to their work addresses, sometimes use "email answering
machines" when they go away or whatever. This send an email back saying
that such and such is not in the office, your email has been stored, or
something similar. Whilst these are clever, they do not help the lists.
They only serve to take up more bandwidth and slow down the process. I
also end up receiving mountains of huge emails, especially from the ones
which not only send the acknowledgement message, but also the body of
the message sent on the mailing list too (so I often receive three or
four copies of ASTRA ANALOGUE, for example, which is not nice). I would
just ask that anyone who uses this or is thinking of using this please
remove themselves from the list to avoid this hassle and difficulty. It
is perfectly acceptable to ask me to remove you for a certain while and
then add you again. I hate to be tough, but as from now, anyone who does
use an answering machine on their listed address(es) will be removed.
Sorry.  Dom.

-- 
Dominic Sedghi, Sat-UK
dominic@bigrp.demon.co.uk
dsedghi@TELE-satellite.com
http://www.sat-uk.com/
ICQ UIN: 6621372
[Other mailing lists]