uniden` - The Old CATV Equipment Museum

o CANADIANCANCOM/DescramblerReview
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o TVRO On TVI Boresight Video
DIGEST W
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MARCH 15. 1985
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Canyou-tpldyoui
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On March31,1985,at the
STTI/SPACE
Showin LasVegas,
Uniden'will unveilthe most
advanced,most completeline of
receiversin the historv of the
industry And thar'sfarTromall.
Ve'll alsobe introducinga
new line of antennapositioners
and state-of-the-art
antennas.
From everyperspective.
Features.Design.And value.
Uniden" hasa svstemto fit the
needsof evervcustomer.AII with
the serviceand reliabiliw of
Uniden'behindthem.
So trv and hold vour breatl-r
until vou get to LasVegas.Ther-r
stop bv booths 715and814,and
seethe 1985Uniden'line for
vourself
It will take vour breath av''ar:
For nrrlre inf,rlrnretitlnolt
Urriden' SatelliteTelevisionoroducts call l-u00-+2tl-53+0
or in
Carrada 1 8OO-663 -0296.
uniden'
Satellite TelevisiorrSystents
3/csD.2/3-Bs
SATELLITEDICEST pAGE
M A R C H 1 5 ,1
EDUCATING
The Consumer?
TheSPACEBoardof Directorswillsoon
bemeetingin LasVegasandtheywillconsider
a hard-dollar
proposalto
spendperhapsas muchas $500,000
in
the next12 monthsto 'educate'and 'tantalize'
Joe
Consumer
withthe 'word'aboutTVRO.
Creating
an aggressive
advertising
or consumer
awareness
campaign
is bothexpensive
anddangerous.Firstthereis the selection
process;
somebody
hasto be'elected'from
withinSPACEto headupthe
effort.Janeil'sBob Dushaneseemsto havethat
spotby defaultat the presenttime.Fewwoulddeny
that Dushaneknows'something'
aboutadvertising
and promotion.
Manywouldquestionwhetherhis
work,judgednot by hls advertisingbut ratherby
his products,warrantsour allowinghimto spearheada sizeableexpenditure
suchas this.
ThenthereistheREALselection
process;
decidingwhichsinglemanor company,
fromtheadvertising world,shouldbe entrustedwith our industry
budget.
promotion,
Advertising,
is nothing
but'ideas.'
It isinkonpaper,electrons
on
magnetic
tape
andlots
of 'hotair.'Someof it worksverywell("Where'sThe
Beet???"1but
mostof it worksverypoorlyif at all.
Wecan'tafforda campaign
thatworkspoorlyif at all.
professional
Any advertising
can put on a real
'show'for
uswhenhe is tryingto convince
usthathe
shouldbe entrusted
withour budgetto spend.And
mostof us wouldbe dazzledandrazzledby sucha
show. But is a good show what we are after?
Wouldn'twe be betteroff with an advertising
and
promotion
firmwitha good'show
record';theproven
abilityto take on a complexadvertising
campaign
such as this and produceresultsfor the clients?
CSD/2 CALENDAR -
Shouldn't
we be asking"Don'ttellus what you will
do for us;tellus what you havedonefor others"?
The 'firstpitch'we get as a Boardof Directorsat
SPACEshouldnotbe a 'show'trottingoutall of the
goodideasthe advertising
firmshavedreamtup;
thoseideas,in advanceof theirREALLYstudying
and understanding
our industryare virtuallyworthless.Rather,theyshouldbe showingus howthey
havetakensimilar,complexproblemsof reaching
andpersuading
thepublicanddonesomething
with
that problem.Trackrecord,in advertising,
means
everything.
Greatideasare a dime a dozenand
usuallywon'tstandthetestof time.
To datewe'veheardplansto spendupwardsof
just to createsomeTV commercials
$500,000
and
print-media
layouts.
Thisisa bunchof moneyto hand
to somebody
whowilluseour moneyto sitandthink
'videos.'
up cleverslogansor interesting
Thefirststepin this programshouldbeapprovinga budget.Thenwe shouldbe goingout for as
many 'proposals'as possiblefrom track-recoroprovenagenciesand promoterswho want us to
spendthatmoneywithorthrough
them.Tryingto find
anagency,
first,beforethe budgetis established,
is
gettingthe cart in frontof the horse.
lf we can'tsettleon a budget,andwe can'tsetile
on how we will fund that budget,any time spent
listening
proposals'
to'creative
is a totalwaste
of our
time,andthecreator's
time.Firstthingsfirst,please,
Mr. Dushane.This projectis far too importantto
createthe adsand then decide'howwe buildthe
product.'That
mayhaveworkedinthepast;it should
not be allowedto happenhere.
Through April 15th
Mar 311
Mar 19-21 C-CORCabletelevisionseminar,Chicago.ContactDeb Apr 1, 2
Cree, 8001233-2267.
Mar 26-28 Jerrold Technical Seminar, Calgary, Alberta; contact
Beth Schaefer,2151674-4800.
Mar26
Kaul-TronicsVideoNewsletter,l0PMeastern,F4,TR22.
Aor2
Mar 28
BORESIGHTTVRO Magazine,9PM eastern,F4,TR20. Apr 4
Extensiveoreview of what to exoect at Las Veoas
cooP's
SATELLITE
DIGEST
/z
SPACE/STTIShow.
SPACE/STTIannual spring show, Las Vegas, Nevada. Now anticipatingin excess of 625 booths, 12,000
registrants,300 operationalantennas. For information
contact STTI at 8001654-9276
or 405/396-2574within
Oklahoma.
Kaul-Tronics
VideoNewsletter,10PMeastern,F4,f R2Z.
BORESfGHTTVRO Magazine,9PM eastern,F4,TRlO.
Rush coverageof Las Vegas STTI/SPACEshow.
C S D 1 2- C o o p ' s S a t e l l i t eO i g e s t i s p u b l i s h e dt w i c e p e r m o n l h b y W e s t I n d i e s
Video, Ltd., a Turks and Caicos Corporationwith corporateoff ices at WIV-TV.Grace
B a y ,P r o v i d e n c i a l e T
s ,u r k s& C a i c o sl s l a n d s ,B W l . S a l e s ,e d i t o r i a ta n d s u b s c r i p t i o n
liason offices located at Fort Lauderdale,Ft. (P.O.Box 100858,Ft. Laudardate,Ft.
33310;305/771.0505between 9 AM and 4 PM east6m, waskdays).CSD/2 js issued
o n t h e 1 s l h o f e a c h m o n t h a s t h e m i d - m o n t hc o m p a n i o nt o C S D w h i c h h a s b e e n
i s s u e do n t h e l s l o f e a c h m o n t h s i n c e O c t o b e | 1 9 7 9 ;t h e ' b i r t h ' o f h o m e T V B O .
CSD/2 is combined with CSD, a total of 24 issues per y€ar, for all domestic (U.S.)
subscriptions and is also availableoptionally for CSD readersoutside ol the USA.
Additionally,CSD/2 is providedlree-of.chargeto all DealerMembers of SpACE, the
internationaltrade associalion of TVRO, upon request lrom such dealer members.
CSDi2 is also a part of the'TVRO DealerStarier Kit' providedfree to aspiring TVRO
dealers who learn about TVRO from Coop's monthly column in Radio.Electronics
magaine. CSD subscription rates are S75per year,24 issues, for all US subscribers
or where US zip-codesapply; t85 per year (US funds) for Canada/Mexico;SlOOper
y e a r( U S f u n d s )f o r o t h e r s .A l l c o p i e s s e n t v i a l s f c l a s s A l R m a i t .W e s t I n d i e sV i d e o ,
L t d . i s a ' D e a l e r - P i o n e e r ' c l a sm
s e m b e ro l S P A C E .C o p y r i g h t f c , t 9 Sb5y R o b e r t8 . ,
Susan T., Kevin P. and Tasha A. Coooer.
E TELEVISI0,II
STTELLIT
TEIYIS
STS
CALLTOLL.FR
COMPLETESYSTEMS,ANTENNAS,
RECEIVERS,
LNA'S& ACCESSORIES
"Nation'sLargestSatellite
Equipment
Distributor"
P:O.BOX3300o TERRE
HAUTE,
INDIANA
47803
5/csD-2/3-85
SATELLITEDICEST pAGE
WITH Distributors
Brooks Satellite,Inc. (Aberdeen,N.J.)has reachedan agreementwithPanasonicunderwhichtheJaoanesef irmwillmanufacture
'private
label'TVRO receiversystemsfor the Brookslineof 'Satellite
Store'franchisees.
packagesby
The receiverplusactuatorcontroller
Panasonicuse the Panasonicblockdownconversion
aooroachwith
an lF of 950 to l450 MHz. Brooksalso announcesthat Bruce M.
Jenningshas beenappointedto the positionof 'retailsalesmanager'
and he will be responsible
for salestrainingat the Brooks'Satellite
University'
facilitywherenew franchisees
are trainedin operatinga
Brooksstore.
Finger Lakes CommunicationCo. (lnc.;189 ClarkStreet,Auburn,N.Y. 13021:315t252-3151)
has been appointedas a 'master
distributor'for AulomationTechniquesreceivers.HoustonTracker
drives, Maxum receiversand the Newton line of TVRO test sets.
FLCCis alsocreatinga national'repprogram'toexpandthe marketing thrustof its 4.8 foot Houssendish 'SimplySatellite'program.
Popkey Electronics (P.O. Box 1431, Green Bay, Wisconsin
54305:4141437-5445)
has been appointedas a distributorfor the
Panasonic line of C band TVRO productsin NorthAmerica.popkey
will highlightthe PanasonicC-2000 home TVRO receiversystem
whichincludesa detachablewirelessremotecontrolthatalsocontrols
the antennaactuatorcontrolsystem.
Microdish, lnc. (225 East Main Street,Logan,Ohio 43138;800/
638-1864)reportsthatthe firm,established
in 1982,now employs17
peopleat the headquartersoffice. RecentlyMicrodishalso opened
facilitiesin Bend, Oregon and will be opening a facility in North
Carolina.Microdishhandlesproductsfrom Drake,Uniden,Houston
Tracker,Chaparral,VideoLink,SatelliteRelav.U.P. SuoeriorDish.
Orbitron,
Raydxand SouthernSpunAluminum.The hoursare8AMto
SPM six days per week.
SatelliteVideo Services,Inc. (RR #1, Box85-S,PaulSaxeRd.,
Catskill,New York 12414i518t678-9581)
has completedan expansionto theirheadquarterswarehousingwitha new 11,000squarefoot
addition.The previous10,000squarefootfacilityis beingremodeled
for additionaloffice space as well as new warehousingspace.
i[$H, crs/-{
S'ereo
ou"oM
SERVICES/
2'?
-,,1t o*or*soN
EVENTS
pairof tunableaudiodemodulators
tuneall audiosubcarrier
frequencies and thereis selectableL+ R and L- R audio.
DX Communications(10 SkylaneDrive,Hawthorne,New york
1O532:9141347-4040)
has recentlymoved to a new 12,000square
footfacilityfromPortChester(NY).As a partof theexpansion,
DX now
ollers'24 hourin-and-out'
turn aroundon repairsfor companyproducts returnedby distributorsor dealersfor serviceworx.
Electronic Rainbow, Inc. (6254 LaPas Trail, Indianapolis.
In.
46268:8OO1428-3500)
may end up beingone of the last US manufacturersof TVROreceiversleftin the business.RainbowmanuJactures
a'basicTVROreceiver'which
theyareproudto say is'All American'.
The firmcontinues
to olferindividual
receivermodules(powersupply,
video,70 MHzlF,audio)as stockingreplacement
itemsto dealersand
theirmodelERI-7500unit goes to dealersin 1-lotstor $399 and to
distributorsin 25 lots tor $224.
LUXOR NORTH AMERICA CORP. (P.O. Box 32, Bellevue,
Washington98009; 206/451-4414)has releaseddetailedelectrical
specifications
for theirLuxorMark2 and SkanticMarkOne receivers.
Mark ll usesan lF lrequencyof 950-1450MHz with a recommended
inputlevelof between - 75 and - 35 dBm. The lF bandwidthat the 3
dB point is 25 MHz and a Linkabit compatibleoutput terminal is
provided.The FMthresholdclaimedis 8 dB or better,and the polarizaWITH Receivers
tion controlis Chapanal compatible.The LNB poweringvoltage is
Anderson Scientific, Inc. (2693 CommerceRoad, Rapid City,
+ 18 VDC and audiobandwidthsprovidedare 380 kHz wide and 180
SouthDakota57702:6O5t341-3781)
has a breakthrough
in receiver
kHz narrow.RF outputis on channel3 or 4 at + 7 dBmV (75 ohms).
sensilivityaccordingto firm founderKeith Anderson. The firm is now
The Mark One has a70 MHz lF with recommendedinput levelof
routinelydoing system tests using a two foot (24 inch diameter)
- 45 to - 5 dBm. The tuningsystemuses a digitalvoltagesynthesizantennafor C bandsatellites.
The firmhasa new'ultra-low-threshold'
er with a nonvolatilememory.The tuningvoltage,canied on the RF
receiverwhichwill be announcedshortly,makingpossiblethe smaller
line,is between1 and 30 VDC and the LNC poweringis + 18 VDC.
dish reception.Andersoncautionsthat even with the new receiver
The lF bandwidthis 25 MHz and the narrow and wide audio banddesign,2 foothomesystemsare notyet a realityand pointsout thathis
firmnow routinelyusesthis smallerdish size for systemdevelopment widthsare identicalto the Mark Two.
andalignment
becausethe 'large'(!)4, 5 and6 footantennasproduce
'too
much signal'for optimizingthe new receivers.
AVCOM (500 SouthlakeBlvd.,Richmond,Va. 23236;BO4t7942500)has introduceda newlydesignedinternationalgradeof TVRO
receiver,the COM-23T.This new unitfeaturesdual lF bandwidths(for
Intelsat hall transponderand domsat full transponderreception),
'thresholdpeaking'
controlsfor optimizedieception,improvedoscillator stabilityand fullytunableaudioin a rack mountingpackage.
Anothernew productfrom AVCOM is their model SPM-3 stereo
processorunit. AVCOM describesthe unit as 'economical,high performance'decoding
of matrix,discreteand monauralaudiosignals.A
SKANTIChas built-in stereo, at a budget price
COM-23T
lnternationalby AVCOM
Lowrance Electronics,Inc. (12000E. SkellvDrive.Tulsa.Ok.
74128: 8001331-4105)
has found an enthusiastic.market
tor their
model 70XB block downconversionreceiverline in the SMATV and
cableTV areas.The product,originally
designedas a,highend'home
TVRO package,has recentlybeen offeredio the SMATV and CATV
SATELLITE
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OVERSTOCK
UNDERSTOCK
T H I S R E P O R TC
: S D / 2r o u t i n e l ys u r v e y sa p p r o x i m a t e l3y0 0T V R o d e a l e r se a c h m o n t h t o d e t e r m i n e( 1 )h o w b u s i n e s s
for the last complete (calendar)month compareswith the same month in 1984;(2)whether four primaryequipment
i t e m sw e r e i n d e a l e r ' o v e r s t o c k( i' . e .t o o m a n y i n - h o u s eo) r ' u n d e r s t o c k(' i . e .s u p p l i e sd a n g e r o u s l lyo w a t r e t a i ll e v e l ) .
This servesas TVRO's "industry barometer"of equipmenttrends at the retail/dealerlevLl.
tradeand accordingto Lowrance'sMikeRenderthe reactionhas been
excellent.The packagesavailableincludethe TOXBC band and the
70SB Ku band systemsand the Ku band systemsare beingexported
intoEuropefor'MusicBox'channelreception
at dancehalls.oubsand
clubs.
SATELLITETECHNOLOGYSERVICES,INC. (STS/2310-12
MillparkDrive, MarylandHeights,Mo. 63043; 314/423-5560)says
that in spite of the fact that their STS MBS-SR receiver'looks'the
same,it is an entirelynew receiver.They haveaddedthe singleword
'block'
to the front panel but inside lhe entire receiver has been
redesignedinto a block format unit using the 9SO-1450MHz BDC
'band'as
the first lF while the secondlF is at 134 MHz (center).The
featuresare very similarto the 1984model;three (selectable)stereo
formats,signal strengthmeter, direct compatibilityto the MBS-AA
antennaactuatorand the infraredremotecontrol.On the rear panel,
the AFC switch has been moved outside (allows switchinofor Tl
problems),and A/B switchhas been built-infor switchingto a-ndfrom
the terrestrialTV antenna,and 'pushlock'terminalsfor wiringrather
thanscrews.A (miniature)phonojack has beenaddedfor the optional
RCS-1 remote sensor unit. The BDC receiveruses now acceoted
DSO technologyfor thermaldrift compensation.
TOKI Satellite Systems (Woodland Hills, California)is in the
midstof a distributorsalesincentiveprogramwhichwill expireon April
30th. Under the program which was structuredby John Stover,
distributorsales people handlingToki receiversaie rewardedwith
'points'accumulated
with the sale (to dealers)of Toki units.Levelsof
pointsaccumulateso that the distributorsales personcan ,win'merchandiseprizes as a result of his selling eflorts on behalf ol Toki
products.
Wilson Microwave Systems, Inc. (OneSunsetWay, Henderson,
Nevada89015;800/634-6898)has begun a malor advertisingpush
for their'Lil Wil' five foot TVRO dish systemwhichthe firmclaimscan
be assembledand installedwith no toolsor priorsatellitetraining.The
system,in additionto the tive foot dish, consislsof a WilsonyM 4OO
receiver,85 degree LNA, feed assemblyplus all cablesand instructions for installation.
WITH Antennas
Aztech Antennas (P.O. Box 21, West Sand Lake, New york
12196; 518/674-2864)has announceda new 10.5 foot screenmesh
antennawith an interlockingrib systemsupportedby concentricrings
to maintainthe parabolicshape.The framingmembersare aluminum
*4'd
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"t\\
F I V EF O O TS P U N ' L i I W i l '
and the mesh attacheswith somethingcalled Mesh-Lok'.' which
allowsall 14 petalsto be installedwithoutclips,screwsor rivets.The
antennaemploysan all aluminummountand they are powdercoated
(black)and comewithstainlesssleel hardware.The firmsaysinstallation assemblytime is lessthan one hour for the 10.5loot surface.F/d
is 0.3 and the one-cartonshippingweight is 170 pounds.
Continental Satellite Systems (15450 S.E. Formour Court,
Clackamas,Oregon 97015; 503/656-27741has announceda 10.5
foot screen mesh anlenna created so that installingdealers can
completeassemblyin underone hour'stime.The new aitenna usesa
'compact
mount' fabricatedaround a heavy-gaugesteel plate.The
mesh is secured
!s!S a slide-incliplesssystem securedby a rigid
metal 'edgeguard'.The antenna hardware is all stainlessand the
antennais UPS shippable.
Danex Microwave, Inc. (275 Woodland Drive, Vancouver,BC
VsL 3S7, Canada; 6041251-2218)
will use the Las Vegas show to
introducea new product created for the urban dish market. CityDish 'r is availableas eithera six foot or sevenfoot antennasurfacein
either solid or pertoratedconfigurations.The antennapackagehas
PRODUCTNEWSicontinueson page24
TECHNICAL
SERVICE
AND
ADVICE
lsJUSTA
PHONE
CALL/I/\AY
At MICRODISHwe havebuiltourbusiness
on
service.
Ourservicestaffhasover20 yearscombinedexperience
in electronics
repairand
T.V.R.O.
service.
Our Dealers
knowthatwith
MICRODISH
astheirdistributor
theyhavean
experienced
serviceteambehindthem.
MICRODISH
isan
authorized
distributor
for
Drake,Uniden,Chaparral,
HoustonTracker,
Videolink,
Satellite
Relay
andAvan- tek. Dish
includeU.P.
Superior,
Orbitron,
Raydx
andSouthern
SpunAluminumin
a varietyof sizesandcolors.All orders
placedby noonE.S.T.
will usuallybe
shipped
thesameday.
MICRODISHhasthreeoffices
offeringservicefromcoasttocoast.Dealers
will findan
extensive
inventory
of qualityproducts,
fastshipment
and
service
prices.
atdiscount
Phone
formore
information.
l-800 -638-186+
RODISH
MICRODISH SOUTH
I milewesrof Rr.I
on StateRoute96
Raleiqh.
N.C.27596
MICRODISH WEST
1375N.E.Forbes
Rd.
Bend,OreqongTT1l
PAGE 8/CSD-2/3-85
TESTINGCANCOM
SCRAMBLED
CBD
SERVICE
SATELLITE
DICEST
SCRAMBLINGPREVIEW?
They'vehad scrambledsatelliteTV, availableto
the consumer, in Canadafor morethana year now.
How is it working?We assignedCanadianBureau
ChiefMark Lewis to thetaskof findingout.Hisreport
appearsin thisissueand thereare severalsurprises;
the serviceis good, the OAK boxeswork and even
with belowthresholdsignalsthe picturesdecode.ls
scrambling,therefore,workingwell in Canada? ls
goingto workwellin the USAas well?Not
scrambling
quiteso fast,as Lewisreportsin thisissue.We'llhave
an extendedupdatein CSDforApril01 as well;watch
for it.
CSD receivedone of the first Orion-P decodersin early Novem- second for the picture to go lrom scrambled to decoded.
ber. The unit is ratherattractivein appearancewith a sleek brushed
When you are not lookingat the encodedsignals,the decoderis
aluminumpackage.At first we could not find any controls,with the
virtuallytransparent.Audioand videoare led in, and are remodulated
exceptionof the audio level control.The decoderis foolproof.lt has
to channel3 or 4. (Thereis a wellhiddenswitch- the onlyswitchon
well-labelledinput and output connectorson the back. lt also came
the decoder).
with adeguatepatch cables,which seem to be a rarityin the TVRO
The video qualityof the decodedsignalswas excellent.We had
industry.
virtually"sparklie-free"signals to start with, nevertheless,there
It took lessthan 4 minutesto hookthe decoderuo to our receiver appeared to be no degradation whatsoever. We found the video
and our TV set. Upon hook-upit was obviousthat the decoderwasn't qualityof the DetroitTV stationsto be above averagein qualitywhen
authorized.
We placeda telephonecallto CANCOM'smajorup-link decoded.Duringour initialtests in Novemberwe used a prototype
and controlsite nearOka, Quebec.The gentlemanwho answeredthe ViewstarTVRO receiver.There was total compatibilitybetlveenretelephonehad a prominentFrenchaccent,but spoke excellentEng- ceiverand decoder.The decoderspecifiesa requirementfor unfillish.He had not beeninformedthatwe had beenauthorizedto usethe tered and unclamped video.
decoder.We read him the code numberswhich were on a stickeron
the sideof the decoder.The stickerresemblesthat UniversalProduct
In spite of this requirement, we connectedthe decoder to a
Codewhichyou find on most foodsand cannedgoods.His computer DEXEL
DXP-1002receiver.This was one of Dexel'sfirstLow Noise
databaseindicatedthat this was not an authorizeddecoder.Atter Downconvertermodels (LNC).
We had purchasedthe receiver in
droppinga few names, and convincinghim that we were doing a
March 1983.The specificationsclaim that the receiverhas filtered
productreview,and indeedit was the top brassat CANCOMwho had
video. We have had our doubts concerningthe degree of filtering
authorizedand senl out the unit,he agreed to programthe computer becausewe have
alwaysbeen able to coax the audiosubcarriersout
to authorizethe decoder(!).
of the video output,althoughthey are attenuated.We had been told
We wereinstructedto placethe decoderon the TCTVtransponder that up to
30% of the receiverson the marketwouldnot be compatible
Anik D-1 (TR14).Withinmoments,the decoder"crackled"and the
with the Orion-Pdecoder.Chanceswere good (or bad dependingon
piclurewent from scrambledto crystalclear.The audio poppedin at
your pointol view)thatthe decoderwouldnot work withthe Dexel.We
the sametime.We thenwentfromtransponderto transponderon Anik
were surprised when pictures began to decode.
D-1, and each scrambledpicture"popped" in. lt takes about half a
Lest we misleadanyone,there was a lot of fine-tuningwhich we
had to pertormin orderto convincethe Orion-Pdecoderthat it should
unscramble
thesignalscomingfromthe Dexelreceiver.
We didfinda
by
"quirk."
The Dexelis notoriouswith reds,greens,and othersaturated
MarkL. Lewis
colors. lt has beena sourceof disappointment
and annoyance.lt was
2 BraemoreGardens
not our imaginationwhen the Detroitsignalsdecodedand "looked"
Toronto,Ontario
better than the unencodedsignals processedby the Dexel on the
M6G2C8Canada
same satellite.The saturationproblemsthroughthe Orion decoder
were minimized.
However the audiodecodingwith the Dexelreceiverprovedto be
a problem.The encoded audio is digitized. lt seemsthatthe Orion-P
audiodecodingcircuitryis lessforgivingthan the videocircuitry.From
time to time, when connectedto the DEXEL receiver,the decoded
audio would crackle,sputter,and disappear (returningto encoded
mode). This was rather disconcerting,particularlyduring a steamy
scene on Hill Street Blues. A great deal of fine{uning and fiddling
with the AFC controlon the Dexelseemedto minimizethe problem.
We then tried the Orion-Pdecoderwith the new ElectrohomeE-1
receiver. This frequency-synthesized TVRO receiver was designed with decodersin mind. The performanceon the CANCOM
signalsdeliveredpicturesapproached"studio quality."We did encounlersome heavy microwaveinterferenceon two transpondersol
Anik D. Surprisingly, the video still de-coded.Thereis a surprising
marginin whichthis decoderwill function.Likewiseif we movedthe
antenna so that signals fell well-belowthreshold,the decoder still
performed.You lose the de-coding at a signal level which is well
below acceptable for unscrambled signals for most viewers.
e/csD-2/3-8s
SATELLITEDICEST pAGE
.l
I
I
i
Duringour testswe movedto other satellites.At that time,On-TV
was stilltransmittingon D-3.Whenwe wouldmoveto D-3,and tune in
On-TV, the decoder would sense the Oak Orion encoding,and
"squelch,"
justlikea policescannerradio.Notonlywouldthedistorted
scrambledvideo disappear,(it would not pass throughthe receiver)
but the picturewent to a shadeof grey,and the decoder fell silent. lf
you movedover to other (Non Orion)scrambledsignals,the decoder
wouldpassthesignals(stillscrambled)
transparently.
Apparently,
this
is one of the safety precautionsin the decoders,to keep you from
lookingat other Orion signals.
We were able to "trick" the decoder. On one of the channels
which transmitshorseracing,the decoder "unlocked"momentarily,
but aftera fractionof a second,it wentto a shadeof grey.Incidentally,
for those of us who are amateur electronicsexperts,the Orion-P
decoderis well-sealed.They'veuseda type of fastenerwhichcannot
be opened by conventionalscrewdrivers.
The originaldecoderwhich was shippedout in Novemberhad a
defectivevideocircuitand had to be returnedatter 1 week.CANCOM
confirmedthat this was not "typical," that the Orion-Pfailurerate is
very low. They replacedthe decoderin January,and the unit ran {or
over 4 weeks, 24 hours a day, withoutany decodingfailure,and we
lookedat all of the satellites(includingencodedtransponders)
without
"lock-out."
any
The seconddecoderwas "pre-authorized"beforewe
receivedit. That meant we did not have to telephoneand have it
unlocked.CANCOMconfirmedthat once "authorized,"the decoders
can be unplugged and shippedaroundlor up to 2 weeks withoutthe
need to re-authorize.
Our primarycomplaintconcernsthe documentation.lt was very
poorlywritten.'Forexample,we wereunableto lind the recessedlights
whichindicatedthe "status"of the decoder,or the recessedswitchto
change the modulatorfrom channel 3 to channel 4. The average
consumerwouldprobablyneverbe able to find the lightsor switch,
they are so well hidden.Why aren't they on the front panel?
In fact in the illustration,
in the original instructions,the lights
were elsewhereon the decoder.Was this a last minute oroduction
change?In any event,we voicedour concerns,and CANCOM'sown
instructionsare now clearly written and includeinformationconcerning authorizationof the decoder, and the transponderswhere the
signalscan be found.
We do havea dislikeconcerningthe Orion-Pdecoder.First,the
videoperformancewhen a non-scrambledsignalis "passedthrough"
the decoderand re-modulated,is not quiteup to the standardof some
newer TVRO receivers.We found the modulatedvideo from the
ElectrohomeE-1 receiverand the Viewstarreceiverto be suoeriorto
the modulatedvideo from the Orion. The major shortcomingol the
Oriondecoderwas itsvideoprocessingof non-encodedsignalswhich
were below-threshold.
The video level of these signals would be
overmodulated thorugh the decoder. The video level would become so "high" thatthe picturewouldgo into a "negativeeffect."This
made signalswhich were degradedby TerrestrialInterferencevery
difficultto view. The consumercould of course,inserta mechanical
switch between the P-decoderand the RF outout of his receiver.
Nevertheless,
this introducesyet anotherlevelof complicationintothe
picture.
The audio decoding systemsuflersfrom "snap,crackleahd pop"
whenthereweresparkliesin the encodedsignal.Forexample,when
we encounteredterrestrial microwave interference,the videodecoded,but the audiohad "clicks."We comparedthe audioto the 6.8
MHzaudiosubcarrierwhichwas transmittedon the sametransponder
(the radio subcanier).The 6.8 subcarrierwas "clean" through our
TVRO receiver.We found the "snap, crackleand pop" problemwith
PAGE 10/CSD-2/3-85
all the receiverswhich we tested,and both decoders.This is a
problem which Oak might address.
As for the prospectsof Orion becomethe industry"standard"
decoder,that is a very remolepossibility.
There is no provisionfor
scrambledstereoaudio.With so many premiumtelevisionservices
movingto stereoaudio.thismay leadto thedownfallof theOakOrion
in competitionwith Videocipher.Duringthe next few monthswe will
watchthe marketingclosely,to see whetherOriongrabsany more of
the marketshare.
As fortheCANCOMservice.the DetroitstationsandtheCanadian
independents
are firstrate.We questionhoweverthe pricinqand the
marketstrategyof CANCOM.
The terms ol the offer included:
A priceof $859.65for the firsl year,and.
This includedfees of:
1) $495.00"an initialone time decoderprovisioning
charge":
2) $299.40"for lhe first 12 monthsof service."
But, therewas additionalprovincialsalestax of 7% ($60.18)on
top of the $859.65in Ontario.lf lhe subscriberwished to pay in
quarterly
installments,
thepriceballoonedto $915.35(plus$64sales
tax in Ontario);the addilionalcost apparenllyattributed
to ,,inlerest"
chargesfor the decoder.
But, if a TVROownerwas not put off by the pricingstructure,
he
mightbe if he readthe fine print.
CANCOMstated:
"the decoder yours
THE CANCOMCBD Strategy
is
to use until such time as you disconThe pricingol the CBD package is $24.95 per month, plus
tinue the service. At that time you will returnthe decoder to
"provisioning
federalsalestax,and provincial
salestax.Butthereis a
CANCOM"and,
"the
charge"of $495.00plustaxforthedecoder.ManvTVROownershave
decoder shall remain the property of CANCOM," and
askedwhy theywouldwant to buy the CANCOMservicewhilethey
again,
"(but)
couldget ostensiblythe same service(PBS,CBS. ABC & NBC)on
the subscriber shall be responsiblefor all damages
theirTVRO'slor free?A valid question!
suffered or caused by the decoder while it is in the subscribOf courseCANCOMoffersthe 24-houtDetroitstationswhichare
er's possession."
full-network
affiliates.and severalpopularCanadianindependent
Nowwe wouldnot wishto quibblewithCANCOM'slawyers'legal
slations.Stilland all.CANCOMwon't say justhowmanysubscribers drafting.CANCOM pays a lot oi money for its legal services.But
lhey attractedduringthe firstsolicitation.
considerthe following.lf the cleaningwomanaccidentally
dropsthe
In lateDecember,
the CANCOMpeoplesentouta directmailingto
decoderand it is damaged,who pays for the repairs?
"the
CanadianTVBOowners.CANCOMobtaineda mailinglistfromOtbit
The contractstates:
subscribershallexerciseall reasonable
Magazine.This solicitation
provideda few surprises,and this time care to maintainthe decoder in good working order." What if your
"the
included
termsof the offer"in full legalese.Now we wouldnot
homeis burglarized,
and your insurerwill not reimburseyou foi the
crilicizethe draftsmanshipof CANCOM'slawyers,howeverany
decoder?Fromthe languageof the contract,you may owe CANCOM
TVBOownershouldreadthecontraclvery carefully
beforesigningon
more money. How much money?We don't know.
the dottedline.
Butlookcloserat thecontract.
The$495.00is merelya "provision-
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PAGE 12|CSD-2/3-85
ing fee." lt seems that this fee is non-refundable. In the event you
"provisionchooseto discontinuethe service,you not only forfeitthe
ing fee" but you are obligatedto returnone decoderin good working
oroer.
What il the decoder malfunctionsand shorts out your TVRO
receiver,or catchesfire? That is the subscriber's responsibility.
Thereis a one yearlimitedwarranty.Afterthattime,thesubscriber is responsible
for all repairs.The questionarises:Assumethatthe
decoderfailsto worka yearand a day afteryou paidthe "provisioning
charge,"who pays for repairs?Apparentlyyou do!
Whathappensif you decideto cancelthe servicewhenthedecoder malfunctions?
Fromthe wordingof the contract,you may be obligated to pay for repairs to the decoder which you must return to
CANCOM.and you also forfeit the provisioning
charge.
Charles Johnston, who is in chargeof the DBS marketinglor
CANCOMconfirmsthattheyarere-examining
thematterof thelimited
1 year warranly.He concededthat the warrantyis onerousgiventhe
"
"provisioning
fee, but at the presenltime,the termsof the contract
providea 1 year warranly.
What aboutthe serviceitself?CANCOMis not liableif serviceis
interrupted
lor a varietyol reasonsincludingfailureof transmisson
The subscription
equipment.
fee of $299.00is only for one year,and
CANCOMmay providenotification
of priceincreases.
Baseduponthe
wordingof the contract.the price increasesare not limitedlo the rate
of inflationor anyolherfactorwhichcan be calculated.
Rateincreases
are at the whimof CANCOM.In otherwords,caveatemptor; letthe
buyerbeware.
One other item whichwe foundcurious.The contractstates:
"ln cabled areas
CANCOMrequires the co-operationof the
local cable operator.CANCOMtherefore reserves the right to
refuse service until such arrangementsare made."
CANCOMconfirmedthatthis is a businessdecisionwhichtheyhave
made.to attemptto get the supportol the cable industrywherever
possible.
CharlesJohnsionexplained
thattheremaybe benefitsto havinga
nearbycableoperatoravailableto help.For example,you may be
able to pickup your decoderfrom the cableoperator.He may also be
able to help with serviceproblemsrelatedto the decoder,or with
gettingthe "unclamped
video"signalfromthe receiver.
Havingsomeone nearbymay be a virtuewith a relativelynew technology.
However, the contractas it is presentlywritten,legallymakesthe
subscriberliablefor everythingincludinginstallation.
Therefore,a
thirdparty(thecableoperator),is beingdrawnintothe deal,without
legalcontractual
benefitto the subscriber.
We confirmedthat CANCOMwill not require the subscriberto
work througha cablelicenseeif the subscriberlivesjust outsidethe
"wired"
area.Thats fair. But ChuckJohnstonconfirmedthat CANCOM was re-evaluating
its positionwherea cablecompanywas not
interested
in actingas the middleman
to providethe CBDservice.For
the presenttime.CANCOMwillput any TVROowner"on hold"if the
TVRO ownerlivesin a townwherethe cablecompanyhas notcometo
terms with CANCOM.In other words.they may deny service if the
cable operator is not co-operative.
We weren'tenthusedwith the prospectof havingto deal with the
cable company'sstaff. in view of the termsof the CANCOMcontract.
For example,we live in Torontoand havechosennot to deal with my
localcableoperator.One of his henchmenrecentlycame to the door
and suggestedthat we were "hookedup" to the cablewhich runs
behindour house (he also impliedthat we were receivingcable
servicewithoutpaying).lt is terriblyhardto engendermuchrespectfor
a cablecompanythat falselyaccusesyou of beinghookedup to their
service (one would think that they could check their own service
recordsas wellas theirwiringat the telephonepole).I certainlydon't
wantthe characterwho cameto my doorwithin100 yardsof my TVRO
system.I don't want to buy my CANCOM CBD service from this
fellow either.
To be blunt,I don't have much reasonto respectthe marketinoor
technicalabilitiesof this localcableoperatorwhenit comesto sateilite
signals,so why should I be requiredto have his involvementin the
acquisitionof the CANCOMservice?| would prefer to work with an
experienced TVRO dealer.
SATELLITE
DICEST
I don't want to "nit-pick,"but in my area, I am the only TVRO
owner.I'm not surethat anyoneat the localcableoutlethas ever seen
a home earth station,let alone a CANCOM decoder. I want CANCOM'sexpertise,I don'twantto be the "testguineapig" of the local
cable licensee,and besides,I would be paying CANCOM close to
$900.00in the first year, for that expertiseand that service.
CANCOM by virtueof its CRTC licenseis not obligated to deal
withthe cableindustryin offeringthis CBD service.CharlesJohnson
stressesthat this is their marketingdecisionand they will haveto live
by thatdecision.
OnewouldthinkthatCANCOMwouldusetheTVRO
industryas their first line of local distribution.Charles Johnson is
candid,since most of their revenuecomes from cable companies,
noting they have elected to give the cable companiesa new and
added sourceof revenue,instead of more competition.
On the other side of the coin, there are a number of comoetent
cableoperatorsin ruralareaswho have diversitied intoTVRO;s.We
know of at least two CanadianTVRO pioneerswho run cable companies,and makea lot of money lrom TVRO salesto peopleliving
outsideof their cabledareas.Sure,they should have a shot at this
new sourceof revenue.But if CANCOMhad a "TVRO dealerfirst"
policy,these individualswould provide the service to consumers,
regardlessof their cable interests.
We questionedthe pricing,at $299.00per year for the service,
plus the provisioningfee of $495.00.We suggestedthat this price is
excessive,particularlywhen CANCOM'spriceto its "cable affiliates"
forsamesignalsis $8 (or less)permonth(persubscriber).
Thisis $96
(or less) per year, per cable subscriber,versus $299 for TVRO
owners,and to add insultto injury,the TVRO owner must provide
his own equipment,and mustmaintainthe equipment,
including
the
decoder.Incidentally,
the $8 per monthper cablesubscriberis a price
whichis regulatedby the government.But CANCOMhas determined
thatthey are nol boundby the regulatedpricingscheme,and can sell
to consumersfor any price which they believethe market will bear.
Again,CharlesJohnsontold us that this was CANCOM'smarketing decisionafter undertakingextensiveresearch.They believethat
their pricingis correct. However in our view, if CANCOM were to
charge$8.00 per month plus a small administrativefee, the pricing
wouldbe more realistic.Of course,CANCOM'spricingis predicated
on a "cut" to the local TVRO or cable system.What is fair?
Let us assumethatCANCOMcollectsits regulatedtariffof 996 per
year for each CBD subscriber.That leaves$203 per year to be split
up. Duringthe firstyear,thereis a limitedwanantyon the decoder,so
one mightapportionpart of the $203 towardswarrantyrepairs.But in
year2, the CBD subscriberis responsiblefor all repairs,at his cost. ls
the premiumof $203fairin the 2nd and succeedingyears?You be the
judge.Remember,if the subscriberterminatesthe service,he returns
the Orion-Pdecoder,and CANCOMkeeps both the decoderand the
"provisioning
"
$495
charge.
BARS And Taverns
.lnearlyJanuary,CANCOMannouncedthatlhey wouldsellto bars
and taverns.This of courseis a lucrativemarketfor TVRO's and TV
sports.The price is $49.95per month. For a commercialestablishment,thispricingis probablymorerealisticthanthe consumerpricing.
THE Bottom Line
The CANCOMdecoderpertormedwell.Cleary CBD has arrived.
The packageof commercialstationsis first rate.Even the Canadian
independentstations broadcasl predominantlyfirst run American
programming
duringprimetime.
Would I buy the CANCOM packageunder the present,,termsof
the offef'?
. lwouldnot sign the contractas it is presentlydrafted.I hope that
they re-drafttheiroffer,and the contract,becauseas it standsnow,it is
too one-sidedand too onerous.
FINAL Words
In ourview,CANCOM'sbiggestproblemis pricingand its contract.
So long as the major U.S. networksand superstationsremainreadilv
availableon C-Ban4 very few consumerswill pay the $g0O(plusl
premium(firstyear).Further,so longas thereis the glimmerof hopein
13/csD-2/3'85
SATELLITEDICESJ eece
Canadathat HBO et al will sell a VideocipherCBD packageto
Ganadians, a lot of TVRO dealers may be reticentto "push" the
Orion-Psystemand the CANCOMpackage.Of course,it is unlikely
thatHBOwill sell in Canada,and Canadianconsumersmay haveno
"legal"
sourceof premiumprogrammingnext year, asidefrom the
CANCOMpackageof conventional
televisionstations.
We suggestedto CharlesJohnson that a low-costsystemusinga
smallTVRO may be partof the answer.Theremay be thousandsoJ
individualswho would pay for clear receptionfrom Anik-Dwith a
packageof 4 U.S.stations,all the Canadiannetworks,plus sports,
musicvideos,etc. lf the pricewere low enough,and the dish were
simpleenoughto install(i.e.4 foot),theymighttap intothe hundredsof
thousandsof ruralinhabitants
who don'twantto spenda lotof money
on a TVRO system.There is also a summercottaqepooulationof
severalmillionpeoplewhowantthe samequalityof iV servicewhich
they get in the city.lf they couldtransporta 4' dish to and from the
cottage,therecouldbe a tremendous
marketout there.Of courseall
of thisis speculative.
lt willbe interesting
to see whethera packageis
assembled.
TVROON TVI
THE BORESIGHT
STORY
TELEVISION/The Medium
There are many strangeand often bizarrestoriesrelatingto the
early use of satellite transmissiontime by rugged pioneers who
wantedlo 'beam a message'to some distantpoint.One such story,
told by RCA personnelin the 1978era, testifiesto the apparentpower
of satellitetransmission.
The time is the winter of 1976. RCA has been operatinqits first
domesticsatellitefor barely a year and satellite'time' is $tiSO per
hour for non-regular,occasionaluse. To that any user must add-in
uplinktime (to reachthe bird throughan uplinktransmitteOand 'tape
time,'to allow for the playbackof the client'stape on an RCA video
machine.
A man walks into the RCA office in downtown Manhattan.He
wantsto buy 60 minutesof time on Christmaseve. He asks the price
and wishesto know what formatthe tape must be in. He is giventhis
informationand he then asks about how far in advance he should
'book
time'for 11PMeastern,Christmaseve. With his answershe
reaves.
One week before Christmas he returns. He hands a 3/4 inch
tape to the sales person at RCA Americomand counts out nearly
$2500 for the satellitetime, the uplink time and the tape playback
charges.
Now RCAis new enoughto this businessat thattimethatthey had
seen very few customersof any type come in the door and'buy time'.
But they did have a form which was to be filled out with each such
'transponder
time buy'. The form started out with the name and
addressof the customer.lt wenl on.
"Now, you
say you want this program transmitted via satellite
at 11PM on December 24th?"
The man respondedyes.
"Alright,
may RCA selectthe satellite(they had two operatingat
the time) or do you wish to do that?"
The man said RCA could do that.
"OK, now,
where do you wish this taped program sent to?"
The man appeared flustered,as if he did not understandthe
question.The RCAcountersalesmanrepeatedthe question.Nowthe
man looked even more flustered.So the RCA salesman tried to
exDlain.
"Look,
hereis howthisworks.We takeyourtapeand we placeit on
a tape machine.The tape machine turns the tape into electronic
signalswhichthen go intoa transmitter.The transmitterbeamsthose
signalsto our satellite,22,300milesabove the equator.The satellite
calches the signals and turns them around;sending them back to
earth.That'swhy I needto knowwhere you wantthistlpe transmitted
to; do you have someonein Los Angelesor Dallasthat you want to
receivethis tape?"
The customernervouslyrubbedhis handstogether,staringintently at thediagramsketchedby the RCA man.He was obviouslyiryingto
framea questionin his mind;somethingwas botheringhim. finitty-ne
said it.
"You
mean that all of this uplink signal is caught by the
satelliteand it is turned around and sent back to earth; ALL ;f the
signal???"
The RCAman sensedthe conceptwas the problemso he fell back
on his engineeringbackgroundto respond.
"No,actually,
onlyaverysmallpartoftheuplinksignal
iscaughtby
..
the satellite;most of it goes right past the sateiliie and into ttre
heavens!"
PAGE 14/CSD-2/3-85
The man beameda wide smile.Now he understood.The RCA
man mistookthe beaming,toothysmilefor acceptanceof the system.
He re-askedhis missingquestion.
"SO, where
do we want the messagedeliveredto, then? How
aboutDallas?Thereare some nice peoplein Dallas. . ."
The man stoppedsmiling.
"l don't know
anyone in Daltas"he said."l want you to deliver
the taped message to GOD."
"God???"
repeatedthe RCA man. "As in G O D?"
"That GOD" responded
the customer."You just told me that
most of the uplink signal goes right by the sateilite, into the
heavens.That's what I hoped happened.lt will go to GOD.',
The RCAmantooka deepbreathandslidhispencildowntheform
to a linewhichstartedoff with:
'lntended
recipient:
He wrotein g o d.
"Oh no"
urged the customer"that is G O D; capital letters,
please!!!" And so RCA transmitteda one hour videotaoemessage'toGOD'lrom a lonelyman who wanderedin off of 42ndStreet,
on Christmaseve in the winterof 1976.And pocketed$2500 or so in
the process.And the dawningof satellitenarrowcastinghad begun.
RCA officials,for the record,swear this is a true story.lt is almost
too much of a story to be a creationof somebody'simagination.
Sincethat firstsatellitenarrowcast,the world of ndrrowcasting
via
satelritehas explodedover and over again.Everyone,or so it seems,
wantsto be on satellitetelevision.
Shaun Kenny is one of thesepeople.Shaunhas beena TVRO
equipmentdealerin NewJerseyfor almostas longas therehasbeen
a TVRO industry.His specialtyhas been commercialand semi-
SATELLITE
DICES
commercial
systems,usinghighgradeequipment(suchas ScientificAtlantaand BlonderTongue).Shaunhad a dream.
An astute studentof the TVRO industry,and a very concerneo
dealer,Kennywasdismayedwiththereadilyavailable
junkequipment
which.dealerswere beingsold. Attendingtrade shows,his experiencedeye found 'morejunk than class'and he was doublylrustrated
when those who made the 'junk' seemed not-to-careabout whether
the equipmentworkedproperlyor not.
Kennywas also an astutestudentof the mediain the industrv:he
foundmuchof it 'shorton integrity'and too eagerto attractadvertisers
to publishwhat he characterizes
as 'honestreportson equipment
failings'.He toyedwith the idea of startinga magazine,,by a dealer'
and 'fordealers'.Wisely,perhaps,he alsosaw thattherewereplenty
of magazinesalreadythere and many more promised.perhaps he
wouldhaveto lind somedifferentway to createa magazine:one that
'told-it
like-it-is'.
A product ot the television generation, ShaunKennyhad been
broughtup on'thetube'.He couldnot remembera dav in his lifewhen
therewas no tube displayingthe worldin his livingroom.And so he
createdthe c,onceptof a televisionprogramfor dealers,by a dealer;
him. And'BORESIGHT'was conceived.
Fortunatelyfor ShaunKennyand the hundredsol othersnow into
creatingtheirown television(narrowcasting)
programming,
one hour
of occasional
usetimeno longersellsfor $1850(plus).Infict, it is now
possibleto buy an hour's time (each week, lor 52 weeks, under
contract)for as littleas $200per hour.lt is, likeall television,time,,time
of day and day of week conscious;transmittingin the middleof the
night(eastern)on a Sundaynight/Monday
moiningis the cheapest
way to go.Transmittingon a Fridayor Saturdayeveningin ,primetime'
is the most expensiveway to go.
(l
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o Wirelessremotecontrol
o Select63 satellitesby theirstandardletter-digit
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o Autoskew'"eliminatespeakingantennapolarity.
r Plugin controlof the Drakeand Unidenreceivers.
o Parentallock-out.
r OptionalremoteTV and antenna/descrambler
controlbox.
o Digitalnoisetiltering
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counterresetting.
o Induced
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PAGE 16/CSD-2/3-85
SATELLITE
DICES
dust.One memorablemomentairedafterthe Dallasshow had Kenny
thrustinga microphoneunderthe noseof Janeil'sBob Dushane and
quizzing Dushane about alleged failures of Janeil antenna backplates.The surprisedDushaneconvincedfew viewersthat he had, or
was willingto share, the 'properanswer'with the viewers.
Kennymost recentlyhas launchedsomethingcalled'The Butcher Block Award'; a smallsegmenteach week devotedto identifying,
on camera,productsnow availableor once availablein TVRO which
for one reasonor anotherproved'inadequate'in routineuse.The very
firstweek of the 'awardseries'Kenny nominatedthe IntersatlQ-160
receiverpower supply as a candidate and issued a terse warning to
Intersat'sDavid (McClaskey)over the air. "We are watching this
problem, David" he said looking straight into the camera lens.
McOlaskeywas watchingtoo; from his bedroom."l felt like Kenny
Invaded the privacy of my bedroom and reached out of the
\
l
Shaun'sconceptis to createand bringto TVRO dealersbetween
40 and 50 brandnew one-hourprograms52 weeksa year.He'ddo 52
new shows a year but admits after the first ten or so that everyone
needsa restnowand again;evenTVROdealerswhospendallof their
'spare
time'tryingto createinteresting60 minutetelevisionprograms.
Kenny launched BORESIGHTwith a minimalamountof fanfare.
It startedoff being scheduledexactlyoppositethe CSD'TVRO Flfth
Blrthday Telecast' on Thursdayevening,October18th; an unforlunate schedulingoversightwhich Shaun correctedbut not until after
much of his advancedpress materialhad gone into the mails.The
program has slayed at the gPM/Thursday spot on SATCOM F4,
transponder20, prettymuch routinelysincethat time althoughKenny
is evaluatinga differenttransponderon a ditferentbirdand perhapsa
time slot change as well.
BORESIGHTstartedout as a compilationof video clips. With a
four person crew, led by the every-week-more-capableKaren J.P.
Howes, BORESIGHThas turned from a randomcollectionol video
clips in the earlydays to a neatlypackaged,almost-slick60 minutes
that seats Howes as the chiel commentatorand pits variousKenny
and creu,peopleagainsther, feedingback to the show live (on tape)
interviewsand visitswith TVRO dignitariesand tree-shakerscoast-tocoast.
ln a relatlvely short tlme span, BORESIGHThas lookeddeeply
into a wide range of subjects; lrom computer store interfacingto the
satelliteto the practicalproblemsof being a distributor.And from trade
show coverage(DallasSTTI show)to visitswith RCA uplinkfacilities
and manufacturinghousessuch as BlonderTongue.
Becentlythe BORESIGHTprogramhas laken on an identityof its
own; an evolutionarykind of identitywhich allows Howes lo be the
chief moderatorfor the variousspecialleatures and taped reportsand
allowsKennyto do what he does best;go into the fieldand stir up the
I
plcture tube and shook me by my neck" rememberedMcClaskey.
Kenny is a scrapper who grew up fighting for everything.On
screenhe seems 'laid back' and sincere,often fumblingfor just the
rightwordsto conveyhis convictions.Hls lack of professlonalgab ls
an ass€t because dealers identity with a man who is obviously frustrated and who shows, on camera, that he does not always believe
everythinghe is hearing. His voice raises a half octave and goes up
severaldecibelswhen he is'insulted'by a directresponseto a direct
question.The personfieldinghisquestionsfeelsthe tensionrisingand
thatcomesthroughto the vieweras well. Kennymay well becomethe
first'televisionhero' of the TVRO industryif he can keep it up.
'Keeping
it up' is an importantconsiderationto Shaun Kenny.To
date, he estimates more than $30,000 out of his dealer pockets has
goneintothe productionof BORESIGHT.Therehas beenvirtuallyno
trade advertisingto support the effort to date. In other words, BORE-
I
17lcsD.2/3.85
SATELLITEDICESI eace
.: : ::: ::::.:.:...1:.:.i:.ii:i:.:,:,:,r,:,,1
SIGHT is losingmoney all the while it is buildinga largerand more if he could somehow get the video ads created. So he came up with a
apprecialiveaudience.
plan whereby an advertisergets FREE, no-chargeadvertisementKennyfiguresthat the show'sdollarfortunesshouldbeginto turn creationin returnfor agreeing to use a package ol advertisementson
aroundat and duringthe forthcomingLas Vegas SPACEiSTTItrade BORESIGHTover a plannedperiod of time. And that is a start.
show. During the NovemberDallas trade show, BORESIGHTwas
What is also missing is the use of video as a mediumby OEMs
everywherevideotapingthe DealerBoardmeeting,the MasterBoard and distributors
who havea 'news'or'productmessage'to tell.OEMs
meeting,interviewsthroughoutthe show and pressconferencesheld routinely create and issue prlnted 'press releases' oflen accompaby both SPACEand HBO. The weeks followingDallaswere 'rich' in
nied by glossyphotosof new products.Has anyoneever thoughtto
show covergeand filledwith valuableinsightto the workingsol our
roundup a local guy with a semi-procamera and tape deck to also
new,stillyoungindustry.Fromthe foundationof experiencegainedin
create a 30 or 60 second PR-oriented'press release' for use on
DallasBORESIGHTwillfielda far moreextensiveetfortin Las Vegas. BORESIGHT?Apparentlynot, althoughKennysays he is more
than
And afterLas Vegas,returningto theirhomebasein NewJersey,tney willingto considersuch contributionsfor no-chargeairingon BOREshouldhaveenoughgood materialcapturedon videotapeto keepthe SIGHTif theyfit the legitimatecriteriaof beinggenuinepressreleases
programexcitingand up to date for monthsto come.
for a product or service.
Karen J.P. Howes does an excellent iob of 'moderating'the
Distributorsholding sales and educationalseminarsshould be
program.She is also largelyresponsiblefor the final,editedproduct doingthe same thing;bringingin a localfellow
with enoughsmartsto
'hostess',
you see on the air eachThursday.Positioningherselfas
she get his lightingand audio'right'and creating,evenif on 1/2inchtape,a
leadsyou into and betweenindividualreportsas well as providingthe short report on a recenl sales meeting or educational
seminar on
TVRO industry'sonly'live TV newscast';a segmenteachweek Com- actuators.Those types of tapes, fed to BORESIGHT,have ,news
a
prisedof the latestnewsfrom the industry.In additionto this, Karen's value'whichdealersall over the countrywouldappreciatesharingin.
own on-airposturehas maturedalong with the show at a rapid rate;
Others have tried what Shaun Kenny and crew are dolng; ind
she has advancedfrom a quiet,meek hostessto a semi-sultrykitten lalled. Kenny'sapproach,from the'wounded dealer'perspective,is
whose purr is as misleadingas a rafllesnake'srecoiljust beforethe
uniqueand refreshingand it should catch on with dealerswho are,
strike.BetweenKenny'sindignationand Howes'innocence,the show afterall, his main audienceplay.And in fact everyonein the industry
has all of the essentialingredientsfor being a long-termand perma- shouldbe 'tuningin' each week as Shaun takes his two hands and
nent part of the TVRO industry.
smooths out the surface on his 'butcher block' and prepares to
announcea new nomination,or a new 'loser', in the controversial
ry!"! is missingthroughall of this evolutionis industrysupportat
'Butcher
the OEM and distributorlevel.Kennyhas reducedadvertisingratesto
Elock Award'. lt's good televlslon because lt ls relevant
the pointwhereyou can acquiretwo advertisements
on BORESIGHT televislon and the industry is better off for the etfort.
for less than you can purchasea full page color ad in ANy of the
indr'.stry's
print media. But price appears not to be the problem.
'/ BOBESIGHT,
PiscatawayCorporate Center, Piscataway,NJ
Air time, for somebody who has a videotapedadvertisement
08854; 201/562-0087.Program presentlyairs Thursday evenings,
alreadymade up, is incidental.What costs big bucksand createsbig
headachesis the advertisementitself.Peoplewhobarelyunderstand 9PM (eastern),Satcom F4, transponder20.
"/ KAUL-TRONICS,
how to properlylayouta print media ad are certainlvnot able to deal
Inc. (Box 637, Richland Center, Wisconsin
with the intricaciesof 30 or 60 secondsof smoothrunningvideo and
53581; 608/746-8902is also airingthe only OEM televisiontraining
audio. Kenny wisely realizedthat he could be raking in substantial series on satellite. The 'Video Newsletter' airs Tuesdays at 9pM
advertisingbucksto helpoffsetthe drainon his own not-deeppockets
eastern, also on TR22, Satcom F4; weekly.
I
ADVANCEREVIEW:
LUXOR'SNEW
DOWNCONVERTER
I
rri
NOW We'll Report
Back in mld-1984the CSD Lab receivedone of the Luxor Model
9550 TVRO receivers and actuators for Lab test. We were not very
pleasedwith its performanceand told Hans Giner of our reaction.you
will note that we have not publisheda reviewof the.unit to date.
Luxorreceiversare a legendwithina legend.Fromtheirfirstformal
showingin Atlanta,Georgiaat the industrytradeshow heldthere late
in 1982,to the presenttime,they havebeenone of the 'heavyweights,
in the TVRO receiverworld chasingpeoplelike KLM rightout oi the
top-fivereceiverrating class in the process.Luxor broketheir receiver
with featureswhich nobodyelse had at the time,just as the industry
was starting to think about consumer-friendlycontrols and userfriendlyeaseof operation.Theirinfraredremotecontrolwas a firstand
their many user featureswere excitingto dealerswho wantedsomething'sexy'to sell.
We played with a Luxor at the time and didn't care for it. The
receiverhad serious'stability'problemswhich we eventuallyfigured
out stemmedfrom the outdoormountingdownconverler.Sinceother
receivers,equallycomplexat leastin the downconversionarea,were
not havingthis degree of problem,we had to feel that Luxor could
improvetheir performanceif they tried.
Luxor'sapproachto the receiversystemwas detailedquiteexten-
SATELLITE
DICEST
PAGE 18/CSD-2/3-85
sivelyin CSD on December1 and January1 just past.We paida tripto
Swedenand visited with Luxor at their plant in Motala last fall and
wroteaboutwhat we saw, learned,and our impressionsof the facility
and the personnelwho work there.Our impressionswere very positive although,as we discussedat length with Luxor engineersin
Sweden at the time, we had a hard time balancingour favorable
impressionswith a downconverterwhich reJusedto stay on one
transponderlongenoughto allowthe userto enjoya full lengthfeature
film.
"Wait" we were told, "and you will be pleased with what we
do".
Well,Luxorhas done'it'and we are pleasedto be ableto tellyou
what they have done and how we measurethe perlormanceoJtheir
'fix'.
GOOD BYE USA/ Hello Japan
The LuxorC24-3 'SatelliteDownconverter'wasmanufacturedfor
the Swedish firm by a US microwavehigh-techhouse; Magnum
Microwave.The Magnumcreateddownconverterwas an attempton
Luxor'spart to correct a problemthat had developedearly in 1984
'broke
when Luxor and their exclusivedistributor(STS of Missouri)
up'. Actually,Magnum had built the original downconvertersfor
Luxorreceiversbut in betweenMagnumand Magnum,STS haddone
a downconverterof their own.
"high
fhe C24-3 downconverterwas touted by Magnum as a
performance,lightweight,dual conversiondownconverterwith military grade,environmentallyscreenedmicrowavecomponents".We
pointedthisout to a downconverterengineerworkingfor a competitive
firm and he responded"l hope they are building microwave front
ends tor the Russianmilitaryand not the US military becauseI'd
hate to think our ICBMs were being guided by those microwave
'on
target'.
lront ends". Magnumunits,to be blunt,were not always
'specs'
job
for the
operational
Magnumdid an excellent of publishing
C24-3 but those specs omitted one very importantcharacteristic;
frequencystabilityversustime or temperature.A stateof the art unit
mightretaina frequencystabilityof t 2MHz for a temperatureexcursion at the downconverterot -2OF to + 120F or so; the kind of
temperatureswhichcan reasonablybe expectedat a dish installedat
variousunlriendlylocationsin North America.Magnumtold you the
'operational
range'( 31 to + 149F) buttheydidn't tell
temperature
you (or specify)what happenedto the outputfrequencyin the double
conversionunit(70 MHzto the receiver)whenthe temperaturemoved
aroundin sucha'window'.Theyalsodidn'ttell you how'time'alone
(assuminga stableor near stableenvironmentaltemperature)would
affectthe stabilityof the 70 MHz output.
are unusualdevices.Not very
Doubleconversiondownconverters
many engineershave the talentsrequiredto designsuch a unit and
thosethat are designedmay not be suitablefor long term operation.
f he 3.7to 4.2 GHz bandis 'inoutted'
f romthe LNAandonceinsideof
the unit the front end selectsa particular(desired)transponderfrequency becauseit receives'tuning instructions'from the TVRO re'voltage'which
is a tuning
originatesat
ceiver.Thistuninginstruction
the receiverand is transmittedto the downconverterthrougha pair of
wiresor a lengthof coaxialcable.
This single transponderchannel,locatedsomeplacebetween
to a newf requencysuch
3,700and4,200MHz,is thendownconverted
as 600 MHz. Then a new tuningvoltage,fixed within the down'mixer
converter,changesthe irequencyone moretime in a second
circuit'and now what was perhaps3,720 MHz is finally70 MHz. All of
this magic takes place inside of a containerthat weighs around 1
A N A T O M YO F D U A L O O W N C O N V E R S I O N
lI
------,
L
N
A
!
to i
!| r ' 2(s.z
G H z t trul
N \ |i
!t a.e'cnz
l
MIXER
(CONVERTS
DOWN
T O L O W E RI F
S U C HA S 6 0 0 M H z )
i d-lL
l !
l Bf
V A RI A B L E
FREQUENCY
OSCILLATOR
( l N 4 . 8t o
5 . 3G H z R A N G E )
ItsI
L O W E RI F F I L T E R
ANDAMPLIFIER
I blt
iEFt
2nd MIXER
(CONVERTS
D O W NT O
L A S T l F / 7 0M H z )
l:L
l ;
t=|.
ijL
-lTUNTNG
70 MHz
AMPLIFIER
FIXED
.TUNING
VOLTAGE'
2nd LOCAL
oscrLLAToR)
I
I
I
_l
70 MHzlF
u?hf"o'E8"S"J-:
RECETVERvoii-n-ce
I ' O O P E R A T EL N A
AND
DOWNCONVERTER
"n
'r,
TOP OF THE HEAP/ Japanese replacement for Magnum downconverter for Luxor looks like a winner.
poundand measureslessthan3 incheswideby 6 incheslongand 1.5
'thick'.
inches
And allol thismagicmusthappenjustexactlythe same
way whetherthe casetemperature(andthereforethe circuittemperais 30 or +130 (F).
ture of the downconverter)
we havevariouscomponent
Insideof a microwavedownconverter
partswhich are, essentially,'thermatic';that is, they respondor perform with differentresultswhen the temperaturechanges.Some of
these parts are discrete(you can hold them, alone, in your hand or
'etched'
or found on the microbetweentwo fingers)and some are
'metallic' in
wave circuit board. They are all partially or totally
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PAGE20/CSD-2/3-85
content and you can reason with accuracy that various metals
change shape and size and characteristicswhen the temperature
changes.A pieceof copper,for example,is longer(by measurement)
at +120F than it is at -20 F. And each such change resultsin a
revised operating characteristicsfor the circuit they are installed
within.
Engineerstry to design around this sort of problem in several
ways:
'temperaturecompensatingparts';if
1) They buildinto the circuit
'getslonger'at + 120F,then someotherpart
a pieceof copper
'gets
shorter'(electrically)so that the net change is close to
zerc lot the full circuit.
'frequency'changes
2) Whensome particularand much-needed
into the
becauseof partschangewith temperature,they build
'frequency
lastunitin the line (theindoorreceiverin our case)a
'center'movesfrom 70 MHz to
trackingcircuit'sothat if the lF
'pull'the wandering70 (60) MHz
60 MHz, they hope they can
signalbackto 70 MHz with say an automaticfrequencycontrol
(AFC) system.
All of this is prettytrickyand as anyonewho has installeda receiver
such as the Luxor9550 knows,what may be OK'today' may be the
'tomorrow'.
subjectof a servicecall
So Luxor finallytook their problemto Japan.
NSTABILITY
A N A T O M YO F D O W N C O N V E R T EIR
AT 5000 MHz:
1 % C H A N G E=
50 MHz
. 1 % C H A N G E=
5 MHz
. 0 1 %C H A N G E=
.5MHz
AT 600 MHz:
1 % C H A N G E=
6 MHz
. ' l % C H A N G E=
.6 MHz
.01%CHANGE =
.06MHz
MIXER
1)TEMP
CHANGE
DICEST
SATELLITE
f,uxoR
4 GHz DOWNCONVERTER
2209734-11
MADE IN JAPAN
appropriatewrittencommentsin a log book.At the end of two weeks
downconverterout of service
we took lhe new (model 2209734-111
and stuckthe C24-3backintooperation.And we begana cyclingtest
where each ran tor 24 hours and we recordedand measuredthe
frequencystabilityof each unit as a tunctionof time. We show the
resullshere in tabularform.
These observationswhile we are waitingfor the results.
HIGHLO
1 )V O L T A G E
CHANGE
2)TEMP
CHANGE
IF AMP
1 )T E M P
CHANGE
2nd MIXER
1)TEMP
CHANGE
LOWLO
1 )V O L T A G E
CHANGE
2)TEMP
CHANGE
70 MHz lF
1)TEMP
CHANGE
A 5 MHzCHANGEWILLSTILLBE
lN SYSTEM,
. R E C O V E R A B L E ' WTI THHER E C E I V EARF C( T I
ASIDE)WHILEANYTHING
CONSIDERATIONS
GREATERTHAN 5 MHZ MAY CAUSERECEIVER
D R I F TP R O B L E M S .
JAPANESE Built Downconverter
CSD receivedserialnumberI of the new Luxordownconverterin
January.We promptlyinstalledit, withthe 9550receiver,on a testdish
and afler settingup the 9550 (one moretime)walkedaway from it for
two weeks. lt just sat there and played.We figuredthe best test we
couldgive it was to let time pass. lf this downconverterwas not going
to be any more stablethan the MagnumbuiltC24-3we had received
six monthsprior,we'd know in just a matterof days (perhapshours).
We checkedon the stabilityof the signaleveryday or so and made
MAGNUM 4 GHz input fitting (top) and Japanese 4 GHz input
fitting (below)differ in design philosophy. Would moisture ingress through either? Only time will tell.
ffiff
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DICEST
SATELLITE
PAGE 22tCSD-2t3-85
Magnum'sspec sheet claimed an 11 dB noise ligure for their
1) The Magnumunit is largerby about 15"/o.
go: most claim
2) The coaxialfittingsusedon the Magnumunitare slightlymore C24-3.That's a good numberas downconverters
'leak
Thereexceptional.
likely to
moistair' (therebyallowingmoistureto ingress numbersin the 15dB regionand 12 is considered
whichis heatedand
fore 11 wouldbe consideredbetterthan exceptional.
and collectinsideof the downconverter
'made
'draws'
in
cooler air inside)than the new
therefore
noiseligureat the CSD Lab
theactualdownconverter
Measuring
the3.7t4.2GHz inputfittingusedon
Japan'unit.In particular,
is stilla bit beyondour capabilityand wilh the pressof publishing
the Japaneseunit is ol a designwhich self-sealswhile the
deadlinestherewas not adequatetimeto cycleboth (plusthe 9550)
We publishtwo
fittingon the C24-3Magnumunitwe receivedlor testcan'leak'
backintothestatesfora compelentlabmeasurement.
aroundthe edges.
photoshere,takencloselytogetherin time.which showsthat yes
(We cannotspeak to whelherit did in fact ever leak,only that
indeed'belweenserialnumberD 007825from Magnumand serial
giventhe designof the fittingand the way it is mounted,the opportunity to leak moislureinsidewouldbe greater.)
wouldbe a shortcut
Moisturecollecting
insideof a downconverter
Any moisture,even a thin film or a
to deathfor the downconverter.
singleeye-dropperdrop, collectingin the wrong place insideol a
downconverler,
will shut it down or at best degradeperformance.
3) The Japaneseversionweighs2 ouncesless.
'blue'whilethe Magnumversionis
4) The Japaneseversionis
betweenbronzeand aluminum,dependingupon how long it
has beenoul-of-doors.
inside,il in
Wilhlhe possibleexceplionof the moisturecollecting
'changes'
seem
fact such a thing could happen, none of these
What aboutthe specsinternally?
significant.
Like Magnum,the Japaneseversionwe received(remember,it
Perhaps
wasserialnumber8) had lessthancompletespecifications.
'advanceunit'brought
thatwas becausethe unitwe receivedwas an
of the newunitlor dealers(in
to the USApriorto the actualavailability
'measure'and
quantity).However,it is decidedlymore difficultlo
'compare'
(any
they
don'ttellyou
unit)
when
for
unit
specificalions a
what the specsare supposedto be in the firstplace(!).
we did receive,we foundvirtuallyidentical
Of thosespecifications
information
for the two units.Magnumsaidgainshouldbe 27 dB (we
measured28) whilethe Japaneseversionsaid between27 and 32
(we measured29 mid-band).
The Magnumclaimedit wouldoperate
BELOWTHRESHOLDpicture quality with Magnum C24-3is not
between 35 C and r 65CwhiletheJapanesesaid 40Cto | 60 C.
as good as below threshold picture quality with Japaneseunil
Nothingsignificant
therebut thenthe Japaneseunitdidn'ttellus how
(shownbelow).
much lrequencydrift we might find when the temperaturemoved
'see'
an
aboutin this window(either).The Magnumsaid it had lo
.lB
operating
voltageof 1 volts(DC)whichbecausethespecsheetdid
notelaborate
on we alwaysassumedmeantthatanythinglowerthan
The
wouldcauseproblems.
r 18volts(arriving
at thedownconverter)
Japaneseunit asksfor between I 15 to I 18.9voltsDC whichcer'voltagewindow'to us.The 9550,by lhe way,puts
tainlysoundslikea
out | 18voltsDC so you haveto be mindlulof thevoltagedropon the
w
);
il
(and LNA) sinceyou have both the
linegoingto the downconverter
T
plusLNA,and,the
ot the downconverter
currentload(consumption)
'lR Iosses'(resistance
the two
of the wire)alongthecableconnecting
to consider.
And that's it.
forany
TheJapaneseunitshouldbe a totaldrop-indownconverter
9550receiverout there(well,the currentonesanyhow).You should
be ableto do thesamethingwe havedone;swaponefortheotherand
noticeno ill effectsfor the exercise.But, will you noticebetter per7j
formance???
vt'
MEASUREments
In ourtwoweeksof steadyburn-infollowedby 24 hourcycling,we
uncoveredthe following:
1) The C24-3did not likebeingturnedolf for 24 hoursand lhen
turnedbackon againfor another24 hours.Abouteverysecond
timewe had to do receiverset up all over again.Nothingnew
here;that'sthe problemLuxoris tryingto solvel
2) The Japanese2209734-11 went off and then came back 24
That'sthe improvehourslaterwithoutany re-tuningrequired.
mentwe were lookingfor.
signal(usingabovethresholdsignals
3) Usinga below-threshold
provesverylittleln thedownconverter
thatdon'thavesparklies
performance
we wereinlriguedby whatappearedto
business),
be a bettercarrierto noiseratiowiththe Japaneseunit.So we
measuredit and foundthat mid-band(TR12on Galaxy1) did'
indeed,havejust under 1.0 dB bettercarrierto noise(CNR)
wilh the Jaoaneseunit.
;;
(again,just under
number4251008fromJapan.thereis a perceptible
in carrierto noiseratioon TR12.We did not
1 dB apparent)
drfference
1 and24 and it may be that
repeatthismeasurement
on transponders
theMagnumunitwouldhavebeentheequalof or evenbetterthanthe
Japaneseunit(mayhave beenmeansexactlylhat;no measurement
so no data here).Or, it couldhave been even worse.
A FIX?
It is our opinion,after the lests recordedhere, that Luxor has
problemwiththeirdownconverler.
The
found a 'fix' fortheirinstability
performsbetterthanthe MagnewJapanesecreateddownconverter
(carrierto noiseas explained)
and it certainlyhas a
num in sensitivity
2stcsD.2ts-ss
SATELLITEDICESJ ence
RECEIVER
S I c N A L A T 7 0 M H z :A P P A R E N T
S T A B I L I T YI S A F U N C T T O N
OF TIME
WANTTO
TO BE ON
BORE
SIGHT???
12
o
E _
* u.l
F
L
F
Z
-l
E I u
o()
i i
> z
H >
ilz
t
I
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I
4
S T A R TP O I N T
1 OM I N U T E S
A F T E RT U R N . O N
6
8 ' t 0 1 21 4 1 6 1 8 2 0
TIME+lN
HOURS
H
= J A P A N E S ED O W N C O N V E R T E R
G-----{
= M A G N U MC 2 4 - 3
considerable
edge for stability.
None of this is to say nor suggestthat Magnumcannotbuild
downconverters
as good as Japan.What it does say is simplythat
giventheunusualdesignrequiremenls
of the Luxorg550receiver,
the
Japanesedownconverter
which you see here does performbelter
previously
than the
suppliedMagnumunit.The Luxorhas plentyof
trickcircuitsinsideand it may well be that it requiresmore out of a
downconverter
than otherreceiverswith less'tuninqsophistication,.
Forthedealerwhohas handledLuxorin thepastiandstopped).
or
for the dealerwho has been loyal to Luxor in spite of occasional
(frequent,or persistentdependingupon how you installthe units)
stabilityproblems,or, for the dealerwho has 'shiedawayfromLuxor'
in the past becauseof reportedstabilityproblems.that all would
seem to be a thing of the past now. lf the downconverlers
which
Luxorwillbe showingin publicfor the firsttimein Las Vegasstarting
March31stare identicalto (or betterthan)the unitCSD receivedfoi
test,Luxoris backin the top ranksonceagainwitha productthatwill
have userssaying'l REALLYDO love my Luxor!'
.2r*1 . ,'
's:,,
, fuxo4
4GHzDOWNcoNvERTER
fYt-(=
r::.-,
ALL DURINGthe Las Vegas Show, Coop and
Shaunwillbe conducting'Boresight Dealer Dialogues'at the Boresight
ShowStudioswithinthe
CSD booths.We are lookingfor dealersto becomea partof the 3 or 4 persondialoguesand be
videotapeddiscussingsome importantissue bef o r e t h e i n d u s t r yt o d a y ! A l l s u c h s e s s i o n s
videotapedin the CSD boothswill be considered
for use on BORESIGHT(Thursdays,9 pM eastern, F4, TR20).Share your thoughts with
thousands of other dealers in our industryby
participating!
S C H E D U L E :( S u b j e c t o c h a n g e ,c h e c k C S D
boothsSundayMarch31 for confirmation of exacttimeson oosted
schedule)
MONDAY/April1st:
1) 11 AM/ "Who ShouldPay For Consumer
Awareness???"
2) 3 PM/ "ls WholesaleAdvertisingHurting
Dealers???"
TUESDAY/April2nd:
1) 10AM/ "Can DealersRepair Equipment
That Breaks???"
2 ) 1 P M I " H o w l m p o r t a n tl s C o n s u m e r
Financino???"
ONLY AT CSD BOOTHS 12411261128
and 130
IN LAS VEGAS!
Four dealersmaximumper session;want to
S|GNUP in advance?CallCSD'sCarolGraba
at 3051771-0505
now!
PAGE24lCSD-2/3-8s
DICEST
COOP'SSATELLITE
NEW PRODUCTS/continued from page 6
o
a
vehicleuse, an Az-El
eithera trackingmount,or, for recreational
mount.The antennawill be packagedfor'cash and carry'retailoutlets
guideto installing
a homeTVRO
andincludesa completehomeowner
system.
EchosphereCorporation(1925W. DartmouthAvenue,Englewood, Co. 80110; 303/761-4782)
has introducedtheir new GEO'
TRAC antenna,a horizonto horizon mount system capable of lull
ClarkeOrbitBeltcoverage.The new mountand driveis availablewith
either a I foot or 10.5 foot reflectivesurface and an optionaldrive
svstemfor linearactuatorsis also available.
BORESIGHT
!
O NT H ET U B E . .
HOWdo you attenda TVRO'show'andget the
bestvaluefor your money?What new products
canyouexpectto seeandwhatwillthe headlines
read'after'LasVegas?Tunein BoresightMarch
28thto findout!
RUGGED,encased horizon to horizon from Echosphere
Pico Products, Inc. (103 CommerceBlvd.,Liverpool,New York
13088;315/451-7700)plansto blowthe socksoff the antennamarkel
in Las Vegas by demonstratingtheir newly developedoffset teed 4
Weekly
YourIndustry's
VideoShowcase!
WOULDPico'Kid'You In Vegas?
ONE
NUMBER
FOR
il
tr
UJ
I
o
a
stx
o
tr
YEARS
IIJ
o
tr
o
STILL
number
il
tr
ONE!
ul
I
o
a
o
tr
IIJ
o
tr
o
I ' - I T
thatwas 'there'whenthis industrybegan,
CSD/COOP'S
SATELLITEDIGEST.The ONLYindustrypublication
helping
laythefoundation
forwhathastodaybecome
a billion-dollar
consumer
business
functioning
worldwide!
CSD/
EVERYimportant
twocomplete
issuespermonth(CSD/2issuedonthe15thofeachmonth)
covering
aspectofTVRO
fromhands-on
reports
todetailed
learning
courses
designed
to helpyouownandoperate
equipment
a moreprofitable
glutof meaningless
pressreleases,
mamby-pamby
TVRObusiness.
CSD/strongopinionsin an oftenconfusing
whichsay nothingand do nothing.CSD/a virtual
claimsand counterclaims,
and, 'softshoeroutine'editorials
'correspondence
course'in TVROcommunications
designedissueafterissueto makeyou smarterand better
paidforby advertiser
technology
equipped
to dealwitha run-away
base.CSD/nota'giveaway'publication
support
and'advertiser
favorable'
supported
BYdealers
anddistributors
because
it istheONLYpublication
editorials;
willing
to standbehindandsupport
dealers
anddistributors.
CSD/"Coop's"Satellite
Digestfromthe manwhostartedit all;
andTHATsaysit all!
I I I I I ' I I ' I I I I
I I . . ' I I ' I - I ' I ' I I I I I I I ' I I I I
I I I I T ' I I I I I I
SIGNME UP!
-
(whereUSzipcodesapply)for
24issuesofCSDviaAlRmail;
ENTERMYU.S.subscription
$75(US
funds)enclosed.
- Entermy 24 issuesubscription
to CSD,via AlRmail;$85 (US funds)
CANADA/MEXICO
enclosed.
- Entermy24 issuesubscription
(USfunds)enclosed.
to CSD,viaAlRmail;$100
ELSEWHERE
tJl
-
IIJ
NAME
tr
E
o
a
o
tr
UJ
o
tr
o
Company(if applicable)
Address
Town/City
MAIL order with payment
ENCLOSED,or, use VISA,/
Masterchargeby caliing
305-771-0505weekdaysbetween I AM and 4 PM eastern.
State
zip
Country
CSDMagazine
P.O.Box 100858
Fl. 33310
Ft. Lauderdale,
PAGE 26/CSD-2/3-85
*Qualtty
COOP'S
by Design"
& Prcolclon
GtIlTYtr Scout:
.
.
Microproccssor lJascd.
East/\{'est manual scan Nith
3 digil LED.
. Limit indicat()rs for absolute
limir$.
. \rLSI A to f) conlertor.
. Solid srate mol()r sNitching
crrcurtry.
. 36 \bh D.C. pon'er supply
built-in.
. Optbnal hand hekl rcmotc
(extra).
llanncrBlow
lllesa:
. I)epcndable acmc scrcw & bronzc
alloy at 8000 lbs. copacirl-.
o 18" strr>ke.
. Arailablc wirh Unilersal R(xl cnd
and mourting brackcl.
. 36 \t,lt I).C. notor f()r olcr
635 in. /lbs. of torquc.
. Adjustablc intcrnal limil s$itche$
o (lorroskm-frcc zinc (lic castirgs,
conrlxrsc (icamrotor.
t*rA
EJru-'shroud:
. ARS Pla$lic
. Ultra-\'i()lc1 srabilizcri.
. Itrotccts cxpcnsc clcetrrnics.
r Oall for
Quantitl l'riccs.
ddvco
availrble:
Othcr
r GcDtcL
Urldcn
POPI(DY
Dlectronics
I'.O. Box 1431 . GreenBay,WI 54305-1431
Call TOLL fR.DE ftrr Prices
l-aoo-554-7863
Narlnrul
l-aoo-34P'-78'44
l{i$crnrslr'li,ll l'rrc
li)ll l"rcc
"Scniilg
-
-
- l)Iitt.liRs oNl.\' lhc clcclrrnrirs
trrdc sir(!
l{}i12"
WANTEDDEALERS
AFC -
6'10'12'
A D I V I S I OONFM I C R O D Y N
CEO.R P ,
-ODOffi- 8'10'13'
FIBERGLASS
A N T EN A S
foot by 7 foot 'rectangularparabolicsection'antenna.The antenna,
similarin conceptto the BirdviewSpoon,"introducedin Dallasthis
pastNovember,
lowersthe feedhornto a point15 degreesbelowthe
lowerlipof the reflectivesurface,thus eliminatingany reflectorsurface
blockageby the feed.The offsetdesignclaims27 dB downfirst-side
lobe performance
(locationof firstsidelobenot specified),
37 dB of
gain (mid-bandor 4.0 GHz) and a noisetemperature
of 38 degrees
Kelvinwith a look angleof 5 degrees.
Hastings Antenna, lnc. (847 West First, Hastings, Nebraska
68901)has openeda west coast warehousingfacilityat Madera,
California;justnorthof Fresnoand in thecenterof the state.The new
warehouseallowsloweredfreightpricesfor Hastingssolidand mesh
antennaproductson the west coast; additionalwarehousesare
plannedfor Texas,Oklahomaand Georoia.
ANTENNA Related News
Burr EngineeringCompany (730 E. MichiganAvenue,Battle
Creek,Michigan49016;616/965-2371)
has a new antennacontrol
andactuatorsystem;the
SAT-TROL10.Usingmicroprocessor
oased
controlcircuits,the systemhas batterybackupfor memoryretention,a
dynamicbrakingsystem with 0.030" accuracy,an optionalinfrared
remotecontroland uses a 36 volt power line to the acuator.Stroke
lengthsfrom 18 to 52 inchesare available.
CZ LABS (P.O. Box 95-55 RailroadAvenue,Garnerville,New
York 10923;9141947-1
554)nowoffersfourtypesof directburialcable
to theTVROinstaller.
Cablesavailableincludesinqleanddualrunsof
RG-59/Uor RG-6/Uplus60 mit polyjacketprotect-ed
controlwiresfor
actuator,sensor,polarizationrotationand downconverterooeration.
.CZalsooffersa new type of crimp-ontype N f ittingfor LNAjumper
to downconverter
cableswhichmateswithbothRG-2i3 and AG-2t+
typecables.Newfittingsat CZ includea type N to type F adapterand a
double-male
type N right angle connectorfor mountingof downconvertersat the LNA.
Philer Wire Products, Inc. (p.O. Box 1700,Tuscaloosa,Alabama 35403; 900/633-595s)is now offeringTVRO mesh antenna
manufacturers
as well as fiberglass antennamanufacturersa witle
lineof reflective
aluminummaterial.New to the line is a lightweight
aluminummeshwith reflectivecharacteristics
tor either4 oi4 and-12
GHz.The new materialis rust resistant,and flexibleto use.
F IB E R G L A S S
ANTENNAS
WIREMESH
- INTERSAT
tii'\
./
BABY Q
lQ-170... MICRO'Q.....
r.//stntrE
_ _.q!qa
- KEYTRON
ICS-#rii"k
r., FttrF
-
Fr A
M .S. E.
I
I I tr
r.r
SATELLITE
M l c R o w ASVYES T EEMNSG .
L ,N . A .
b$
PHIFER'Meshes' with both 4 and 12 GHz
SAT-PAKCorporation(1837N. CanalBlvd.,Redmond,Oregon
97756;5031923-0467)
has announcedan unconditionalone year
SATELLfTE DICESI eace27rcsD-2rc.Bs
guarantee on all of their LNA cable assemblies.Any cablethat fails,
for any reason,will be replacedfrom one year of the date of sale.
Sentari Communications, Inc. (P.O.Box g94, Parsons,Kansas
67357; 800/858-5577)has announceda new line of three antenna
actuators;modelsAP 1200,2000 and 2800.The 1200 modelhas east
and west movement plus stall shut down prolectionand antenna
movementdirectionindication.Model2000addsdigitalantennalocation readout and unauthorizeduse lock out. Model 28OOhas 56
programmablesatellitepositionswith an alpha-numericdisplayreadout througha hand held infraredremotecontrol.All three controllers
are matedwith a 36 volt DC driveequippedwitha waterproolbootand
shaftwiping.To roundout the package,all three unitscarrya fulltwo
year warranty and shouldany unit fail for any reasonthe manufacturer will replaceit with a new unit for the two year coveredperiod.
INDUSTRY'Programs'
Video Newsletter,the weekly one hour programproducedas a
promotionaltool by Kaul-tronicsof RichlandCenter,Wisconsinhas
changedthe timeof theirweeklyTuesdaytelecast;the programis now
seen at 1OPM(eastern)on transponder22 ot RCA Satcom F4. The
programhasbeen largelyusedin the recentpastto promolecompany
productsand providetechnicaltips to dealers but is now being expandedto includegreaterall-industryparticipationincludinginierts
producc.d
by mediastsChrisSchultheiss(SatelliteTV Magazine)and
Doctor Ed Meeks (Satellite TV Opportunities Magazin!).
EARTHSTATIONASSOCTATES
(19 MainStreet,St. perer,Missouri 63376; 3141278-2272)
has announceda ,Memory Securlty
Module'which was createdto eliminate,memoryloss'withthe Intei_
sat lQ-160receiver.In a singlequantitypriceranbeof g75 dealernet,
theunitjnsuresthatmemorylosscausedby poweioutageor improper
connectionand disconnectionof the le-160 receiveiunit wiil be a
thing of the past. The unit also expandsthe periodof time that the
lQ-160will retainfull programmedmemoryshouldthere oe a power
outage.
Homeon the Roof!
With over5,000installationsthroughoutthe
country,the lightweightXL10Ttripod roof
mountby Microsatis quietlybecomingan in.
dustrystandard.
We haveprovenhow easya 3 meterantenna
can be roof mounted.In fact, becauseof its
light weight- only 80 lbs.,it may be easier
than groundmounting.
We haveshownthe versatilityof the tripod
roof mount, by mounting dishes on roof
peaksor on practicallyany surface.
We have proventhe XL1OT'sreliabilityand
performance,with over 3 years of field
testing.
We think it is time you try a Microsatroof
mount and proveit to yourself.
illicro$rt
Route47,WashingtonDepot,Connecticut06794
32-10 137thStreet,Flushing,NewYork11354
2j3l868-OOO3
718/939-9826
GILLASPIE
COMMUNTCATTONS,
tNC.(365SanAtesoAvenue,
Sunnyvale,
California
94086;408/730-2500)
reportstheyhavecompletedmorethan1,000hoursof environmental
testingon thefirm's
modelGCI-8200
antennacontroller,
and the modet-g3OO
satellite
receiver.
Asa resultofthesetests,GCIwillnowextendtheirwarranty
coverageto a full 12 months.The firm packagesthe two unit6
togetherwith a suggested
retailpriceof $250(plusantennaand
installation).
PROBRANDINTERNATIONAL,
lNC.(1629Newberry
Avenue,
Columbia,SC 29210;803/732-0027)
is introducinga new stereo
NON-STEREO'stereo'
from Astro-Pro
2olcsD-2/3-85
SATELLITEDICESf ence
,TTCN
S A T E L L I T ED I S H
MANUFACTURERS
We can supplyyou with reflectivealuminum meshfor fiberglasssprayup, several
moldingtechniquesand skeletondishes.
Phiferaluminummeshis . . .
r Flexible,easyto use.
r Rust resistant.
r Availablein meshesengineeredfor both
4 and 12 Ghz signals.
r Designedto improveresultsand cut costs.
Writeor callfor a computerizedcomparison
of your materialor a sample.
Call toll free, 1/800-633-5955
PRODUCTS
WIRE
PHIFER
P.O. BOX 1700,TUSCALOOSA,ALABAMA 35403
" Phrl€rWrre Products.Inc.. 1984
processor; model Astro Pro S-1000. The unit will accept a video
output from a receiver(ratherthan just a subcarrieroutput) which
makes it compatiblewith any TVRO receiverwith basebandvideo
outputjack(s).lt has a trio of stereoformats;multiplex,discreteand
matrixwith a 130 KHz narrowor 350 KHz wide bandwidth.Thereare
presetsfor 6.2 and 6.8 MHz subcarriersand an unusual 'stereo
simulator'circuitwhich takes mono fed signalsand turns them into
'stereo
sounding'signalsfor audio displayon a stereosystem.The
unitis designedto drivean externalaudiosystem(500millivoltoutput
at 600 ohms);priceis $169.
BUSINESSNEWS
AdVenturesis the new enterpriseof Nancy Turpin-Sherwood,
veteranadvertisingand publicrelalionsexecutivein the TVRO industry. Settingup shop in southernFlorida(AdVentures,10281E. Bay
HarborDrive,Suite 3C, Bay Harbor lslands,Florida33154;305/
868-3203),Nancy will continueto handle the advertisingand PR
accountsfor Odom Antennasand CertifiedIndustriesbut will also
branchout to handleother industryaccountsas well.
ATECH Corporation (Suite 1525, Shelard plaza, 600 South
CountyRoad18,St. LouisPark,Mn. 55426;6j2/593-0005)is moving
into the marketingof TVRO systems throughtarm groups with its
recentacquisitionof FarmersGroupPurchasing(FGP).FGp's i 5,000
squarefootwarehousewill becomethe new headquartersfor Atech's
SatelliteSystemsDivisionand the farmerswho belongto FGp (some
50,000through2,500 dealershipsnationwide)will be offeredTVRO
systems.Atechis a national(overthe counter)tradedcompanyunder
the NASDAQsymbolof FSlc.
Donald Berg of Channel Master has issuedhis annual'forecast'
of retailsalesactivitylor the newyear.Berg'sforecastshaveprovento
be extremelyaccuratein recentyearsand for 1985he suggestsretail
sales activityof 500,000home TVRO units (see CSD/2 for January
15, 1985for anotherset of forecasts).Bergnotes"With (fewerthan a)
milliondishesin use,lfeel the industryhas a longwaysto go belore
A cap
doesn't
have to
be ugly!
Or expensive.At just $29.00,the SR 2900 protectivecap
will more than pay for itself by doing just what it's
designedto do: protectexpensiveelectronicsfrom the
elements- snow,ice or sunlight.
The SR 2900 is constructedof sturdy ABS plastic,and
unlike most other caps, is U/V (ultra-violet)stabilizedso il
doesn't break down under sunlight.lt fits almostany
system,and comes individuallyboxed with mounting
hardwareincluded.
$29.0O/unit.
Ask for informationon quantitysales.Dealerinquiries
welcome.
Eastern U,S. customers order
Irom Satellite Receivers, Ltd.
ol Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Call toll tree 1-800-556-8876
or call 1-41+432-5777
$tbsiem U.S. customeis order
liom $raren Supply Company
ol Siour Falls, South Dakota.
Call toll free 1-800-843-9924
or call l-605-336-1830
MYSTICBergsees500,000in 1985
PAGE 29/CSD-2/3-85
the marketbecomessaturated."ChannelMaster is now offerino
completesystempackagesfor as low as $.1,329(dealernet)and
ai
berg porntsout thereare manytwo or threechanneloff_airVHF
and
UHFantennainstallations
whichcostthatmuchand morefor ,some_
trmesreception'in ruralareas.
Birdview Communications,Inc. (8500W. 11Oth
Street,Over
land Park, Kansas 662j0: 913/4512636) has announced
record
breakingthirdquarterearningson recordOr"utinq qross
revenues.
The firm,whichtostmorethan$1,000,00in tfresirie'period
in 1983,
had earningsof $4,108,000
for the quarterendingDecember31ston
sales of $17,934.000.Birdviewhas also annoJnced
that the suggesledretailpricingon their ,basic'home TVRO
systemis bein-g
reducedto $1995throughtheir 1100 memberdealei
nerworfin 45
slates.
X-rated'The FUN Channel'has madea changein itsdistribution
systemfor 'FUN ChannelDescramblers,,
appointing,SpaceAge of
Texas'as the new national,masterdistributorfor the hlrdware pidces.
The FortWorthfirmis 'inheriting'the
presenl300-dealer_network
from
the channelwhichreportsit supplied4,000homedescrambter
units
during1984.The Fun Channelis placingconsiderable
faithon the
anli-theft
provisions
of publicLawTOS:FCC:4T
and intendsto prosecutedealersanduserswhoattemptto receivetheWestar5, transpon_
without acquiringa properdescrambler
during1985.
9:1,?0.",Sn3]
Futtlntormation
from Bob Stienmanat 817 332_7294.
LUXORNORTHAMERTCA
has set itssightson capturing.15%of
the homeTVROreceivermarketin 1985acc6rding
to firmCEO Hans
Giner.Thefirmhascompletedrestructuring
itsma"rketing
operattons,
handselectingdistributors
who are committedto serviceand dealer
backup.Ginersaysthefirmreorganized
so as to be ,,moreaggressrve
and.morecompetitive
(and)it has helpedus to strenghlen
distributor
relatrons
and to planmovementintoadditional
produitsectors".The
firmhasalsoannounced
plansto importhighresolution
colormonitors
and other high-ressyslemsas well as introducing
the
:::9oTputgr
rtrms Swedishbuilthigh_end
automobile
speakers.Ginersees ,,low
SATELLITE
DICEST
uniden'
UST111
POPI(DY
Dlectr:onics
ill
EEE-.u.Hg
UniderfSatel
l iteTelevision
Sysrems
We Featrrre
UNIIDDN
These errality
WTNDGARD
CHANNDLMASTDR
RDGDNCY
cDNTErr
Lincs
CHAPARRAL
nLncrnoubprp
ANDDISbN--'
NEUUNNNLOW
pANAsoNrC-
COII.SAT
SYSTDMS.
I]TD.
EAGLD SATDLLITD
SYSTDITS
r 5 Locations
to Serve you .
p.O. Box 1{gl
_ {AZ N. Cla;r Street.
Gr.een Bay, Wf 5{BOl
o 414-4g7-5'445
Sent ing lhe Elcelnonies
TnadeSince
tgAZ
1-800-558-7868
:
''\r,,
'JAPAN
l:':li
,'t'a..0..
not a threat'/Luxor's Giner
NATIONAL
TOLL FR'ED
1-800,212-7A1A
WISCONSIN TOLL Fn.DD
CST 8:OO TO i:OO
- DDALDRS ONLY -
PAGE30/CSD-2/3-85
IN STOCKIN TAMPA
Paraclipse
16 Foot Antenna
12 Foot Antenna
12 Foot Dark GreenAntenna
9 Foot Antenna
ActuatorRib MountingBracket
GHAPARRAL
PolarotorI and Polarotorll
Tune FeedPolarotorI for Paraclipse
HOUSTON
TRACKER
SYSTEMS
All Models
--
--
=: =-=-=-=- =:{ : REcEtvERS
;;SP
R-7000
STAR
SOUTHERN
ANTENNAS
SATELLITE
(ModelSSA-7.8)
r
52 dB Gain LNAs
SPACEVISIONLNAs
MESHANTENNAS
SEABREEZE
STS/MBS
SYSTEMS
CALL TOLL FREE
FOR PRICES
813t876-7677
TELEX:52-825
1-800-237-2903
1-800-282-7713
PROMAR,INC.
4912 W. LaSalleSt.
Tampa, Fl. 33607
SATELLITE
DICEST
"the Jar
so
end competitionincreasinggreatly"during 1985because
unsuccessful12 GHz market in Japan will force Japanesefirms to
competein the USA" (with4 GHz equipment).Peter Gray, ManagingDirectorfor Satellite TV Antenna Systems, Ltd. (10 MarketSquare,Staines,Middlesex,
UnitedKingdom;
0784/61234)reports successful demonstrationsof the firm's 1.2
meterdish in receptiontests held at the Thorn EMI headquartersin
London.Gray'sfirm manufacturesa complete12 GHz receivingterminal includingproprietaryelectronicsdesigned by Steven Birkill.
Usingsignalsfrom ECS-1and IntelsatV, the firm demonstratedthe
'home'
or
differencesbetweena fixed 3.2 meter dish and their
'SMATV'
style 1.2 meterantennaand system.Gray looksfor significantmarketinginroads,in the UK and throughoutEurope,during1985
in the 12 GHz SMATVarea.
The firm is also now the licenseddistributorfor the Frenchpro'TV
duced
5' Discret Decoders in the UnitedKingdom.Thesedecoders,whichare to be distributedto cablefirms,researchorganizations,
and universities'free of charge'are necessaryto recoverthe primarily-Frenchlanguageprogrammingof the TVS service on ECS-1.
Otherfirmswill haveaccessto the servicefor an annualchargeequal
to approximately1200 FrenchFrancs.
URSSA/ United Retail SatelliteSystems Associates,Inc. (P.O.
did announcea
Box 1931,Oakdale,California95361;2O91847-5996)
seriesof dealerseminarsbeginningthis month. The two-day seminars are designedto provide intensivedealertraining to relatively
smallgroupsof dealers(150 to 400 people)along with a small trade
exhibitlimitedto 25 booth spaces. URSSA has six co-sponsoring
firmshelpingwith the tradeseminarsand the next severaldates are:
March 15 (Memphis,Tn.); April 26127(Cincinnati,Oh.),and May 3/4
(Austin,Texas).Otherlocationsplannedin 1985/86includeCharlotte,
NC (June),Albany,NY (July),Greenbay,Wi. (August),Portland,Or.
(September),Colorado Springs, Co. (October), Davenport,lowa
(October),Tulsa, Oklahoma (November),Ventura, California(December),Santa Cruz, California(January 1986) and Tallahassee,
Florida(February1986).Full detailsfrom URSSA.
UNIDENSatellite Technology, Inc. (6345CastlewayCourt, Indianapolis,Indiana46250;800/428-6345)is well into operationwith
theirdealersalesincentiveprogramsfor the firstportionof 1985.The
firmis awardingall-expensepaidtripsto dealerswho install25 Uniden
TVRO systems(Acapulco),50 UnidenTVRO systems(Hawaii)and
75 Uniden TVRO systems (Japan and Far East). This particular
programterminatedon February25th. Uniden also recently completed a 2,000 home survey of TVRO customersand learnedthat
86.6%of all customersmadetheir purchasingdecisionsbasedupon
the recommendation
of the salespersonsellingthe system.
And a new Unidencommissionedbook entitled'Down To Earth
Guide To Satellite Television', prepared by industry writer and
researcherMark Long, will soon be availablethroughUnidendealers.The 128 pagebook is designedto acquaintpotentialconsumers
ol homeTVROwiththe systemand how it providesvirtuallyunlimited
programmingchoices,and will be prominentlyfeatured at Uniden
affiliateddealershipsfrom coast to coast.
PERSONNELNews
Donald W. Fuller has been electedas Chairmanof the Boardof
Directorsfor California Amplifier. Fuller served for 12 years as
Chairmanol the Boardfor Microdatawhichis presentlya subsidiaryof
McDonaldDouglasCorporation.
Robert G. Timmer has been promotedto Sales and Marketing
Managerfor Draco Laboratories, Inc. Timmerwas previouslya part
of the 'insidesales leam' for Draco. In his new position,he will
implementa trainingprogramfor the firm's40 distributorsnationwide.
Michael V. Balas has been appointedas GeneralManagerfor
S.T.S.South, Inc., a majordistributorheadquarteredin Gainesville,
Florida.Balas comes to S.T.S. South from anothermajor (Ohio)
distributorol TVRO equipment.
Shirley Ware,the administratorfor NASEM(NationalAssociation
of SatelliteEquipmentManutacturers)
and executivesecretaryfor the
SPACE/NASEMindustrystandardscommitteeprojecthas been engagedas a satellitespecialistwith IndustrialCable, Inc., a Tulsa,
Oklahomabased firm supplyingcable equipmentto the industry.
INC.
DRACO TABORATORIES,
1005Woshington
Street
53024U,S,A,
Grofton,Wisconsin
Phone:4ti4-377-0770
Telex:26886
Dello Sotellite Colporolion, Cedorburg, Wl4'14.375-'1000,
Not'l 800-558.5.582,
Wisc.
DISIRIEUTORS:
Solellil€ Video Seryices. Polenville, NY 518{78-9306.
Von's lolol Televi800-242-2290.
Solco U.S.A.,New Philodelphio, OH, Nol'l 800-362-8619,
Ohio
sion Cenler, Eugene, OR 503-342-16{8.
Uniled Communicolions Supply,Tompo, F! 8{3-97'1-'1648.
Video [ink, Soll Loke
800-362{781.
Cox Enl€rprises,Rockwood, TN 615-354-3471.
Ground Conlrol,
Cliy, UT 80i-278-267E.
Concorde, Onlorio 4'16-669{366. Sotellit€ Syslems Lld., Burnoby, B.C. 604.430.4040.Videosol Conodo ITEE,
Morgon Sotellite Sysl€ms, l-lughes Spring, TX 214439-75'17
Chornev. Quebec 4'l 8-832.462'l