ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 goes live on October 23rd.

Carrier transfers from ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4A to ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 will be held on the night of Saturday 22nd to Sunday October 23rd.

Eutelsat Company has announced change in frequencies on Atlantic bird 7 satellite.

Below is the frequency table, where the frequencies in blue color remain the same while the frequencies listed in white color, denote the new frequency change.


List of frequencies that will not change:
11,219
11,257
11,295
11,334
11,372
11,411
11,449
11,487
10,719
10,720
10,757
10,795
10,834
10,872
10,891
10,930

List of Frequencies that will change

----11,227 vertical vertical
--- 11 276 to 11 278 vertical vertical
--- 11 315 to 11 316 vertical vertical
--- 11 353 to 11 355 vertical vertical
--- 11 391 to 11 393 vertical vertical
11,431 vertical (not used) --- 11,430 vertical
--- 10 776 to 10 775 Horizontal Horizontal
10,910 to 10,921 vertical vertical
10 949 to 11 526 --- Horizontal Vertical
10 992 to 10 815 --- Horizontal Vertical
11,075 vertical unused -- 11,564 horizontal
11,116 vertical (not used) --- 11,602 horizontal
11,158 vertical (not used) --- 11,641 horizontal
11,199 vertical (not used) --- 11,679 horizontal
--- 12 360 to 12 341 vertical vertical
--- 12 341 to 12 360 Horizontal Horizontal
--- 12 389 to 12 379 vertical vertical
--- 12 379 to 12 398 Horizontal Horizontal
--- 12 437 to 12 417 vertical vertical
--- 12 417 to 12 437 Horizontal Horizontal
--- 12 475 to 12 456 vertical vertical
--- 12 467 to 12 275 Horizontal Horizontal

odilibe:

Atlantic-bird 7 has left 13.2degrees west it's orbital test position and now moving slowly towards 7degrees west.according to eutelsat, atlantic-bird 7 will be moved to 7degrees west in the 2nd half of october.i assume from the speed of  the satellite it will arrive @7west probably before 21st of october .until then

Atlantic bird 7 was today morning @ 11.62 degrees west where it has been for the past 3 days.
The satellite is currently @ 9.6 degrees west and moving,

Orbital and frequency tests are over, now all that remains is the official handing over of the satellite  to Nilesat org once the satellite arrives @ 7 degrees West.

So the wait will soon be over ----------- as the first  transponders fire up

A pub landlady has won the latest stage of her fight to air Premier League games using a foreign TV decoder.

Yesterday evening i was watching Quest Means Business hosted by Richard Quest on CNN.

Featured on the program was news of a pub landlady who won the latest stage of her fight to air Premier League games using a foreign TV decoder.



Karen Murphy had to pay nearly £8,000 in fines and costs for using a cheaper Greek decoder in her Portsmouth pub to bypass controls over match screening.

But she took her case to the European Court of Justice.

The ECJ now says national laws which prohibit the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards are contrary to the freedom to provide services.

‘Relief’

It said national legislation, which banned the use of overseas decoders, could not “be justified either in light of the objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums”.

“She’s overwhelmed with relief at the moment,” Mrs Murphy’s lawyer, Paul Dixon, told.

“It’s been a long road for her but she's delighted to be getting the case back to the High Court now in London where it will be finalized, before very long we hope.

“It will mean increased competition in the broadcast market thats for sure.”

The ECJ findings will now go to the High Court in London, which had sent the matter to the ECJ for guidance, for a final ruling.

‘Contingency plans’

The decision could trigger a major shake-up for the Premier League and its current exclusive agreements with Sky Sports and ESPN.

“In practical terms, the Premier League will now have to decide how it wishes to re-tender its rights,” said sports media lawyer Daniel Geey of Field Fisher Waterhouse solicitors.

“There can be little doubt it will have contingency plans ready to go and has various options available.

“Be it a pan-EU tender, selling in only certain EU member states or devising a plan to start its own channel, they will be deciding how best to maximize the value of their product to ensure any revenue shortfall is minimized.”

The judges said the Premier League could not claim copyright over Premier League matches as they could not considered to be an authors own “intellectual creation” and, therefore, to be “works” for the purposes of EU copyright law.

However, the ECJ did add that while live matches were not protected by copyright, any surrounding media, such as any opening video sequence, the Premier League anthem, pre-recorded films showing highlights of recent Premier League matches and various graphics, were “works” protected by copyright.

To use any of these parts of a broadcast, a pub would need the permission of the Premier League.

‘Major blow’

Sky has pumped billions into top flight English football since the league was founded in 1992, with the money given to clubs allowing them to buy some of the top names in the world.

Our correspondent said that would not necessarily change, given the huge value of other deals.

The Premier League’s television income from mainland Europe is about £130m, less than 10% of their total £1.4bn overseas rights deal.

But he warned that it could have significant repercussions for other rights holders outside of sport, with life potentially getting more difficult for the film industry, which also sells its product on an country-by-country basis.


FOOD FOR THOUGHT,

casin:

hi kungu, thanx i tried readjusting my lnb and tuning my dish again and got a signal of 100% n quality of 65%, can the quality also be 100? nway  both the abu dhabi sports and national geographic are present throughout with no signal loss, wat signal n quality % do u get in limuru?   
i also realized there are alot of test channels emergin on my receiver, mayb due to atlanticbird 7, thanx

Good Morning  Casin,

I am using a 1.5 meter offset dish and signal quality is @ 76% for Abu Dhabi sports pack.
Frequency 12169 V 27500 with 12 channels on test mode is on Nilesat 201.
Atlantic bird 7 is undergoing orbital test runs before official  handing over to Nilesat org.
Atlantic bird 7 will most likely take over Atlantic bird 4A broadcasts come end of Oct.

Have you heard of Yahsat 1A satellite, which is set to commence broadcasts come mid Oct?
Yahsat 1A will soon be offering most of the UAE channes which include the likes of MBC2,4,action Max Persian ) Dubai One, City 7, Infinity 1 & 2, Fox Movies, Fox Series, FX, Star Movies, Star word, Dubai sports HD just to list a few,
You can follow more on yahsat 1A satellite on the following link, http://forum.paytv.ro/showthread.php?t=36090&page=409

George_D:

@Adex,
Nilesat preliminary tracking reveals that CNN is now back and better here in the south-south!

On my 3m fibre I'm getting up to 66% quality - higher than BBC World (for the first time ever!)

However work is still on-going and I'll post comprehensive results in due time.

Pictures coming sooooooon!!!!!

Good Afternoon Sir George,

If you are getting CNN on Nilesat 201 frequency 11977 V 27500, it shows that Nilesat 201 reception has improved in your region. Also try tracking frequency 11785 V 27500 hosting Dubai one plus other channels,
The above 2 frequencies migrated from Nilesat 101 to Nilesat 201 in July.
http://www.lyngsat.com/nile201.html
Looking forward on Atlantic bird 7 ( NILEBIRD ) take over from Atalntic bird 4A mid Octomber,
Keep us posted,

casin:

Good afternoon Kungu
I have a 6 feet (1.8metres) dish with a stargold fuji sg-900 HD lnb, i receive other channels well but nat geo and fox channels loose signal at night (but are ok during the daytime), the signal loss for the national geographic and fox movies channels is normally from around 7pm in the evening to around midnight afterwhich the channels resume showing again, thanks for your help.

Good Afternoon Casin,

Try and skew your Lnb to the opposite direction.
By this i mean if Frequency 12111 H 27500 hosting the Nat Geo, Fox Movies, Lnb is set at the position shown below,

Skew your lnb with ports facing downwards,

Change frequency 12111 polarity from H to V and see if the will be any improvement on signal quality.
I would also recommend you try out a Eurostar Quad LNB. You get one from either spikes or swan satellite shop along Luthuri Avenue in Nairobi.
Happy Hunting,

casin:

Hi Kungu,am in nairobi kenya receiving the abu dhabi sports package clearly but am having difficulties with the national geographic and fox movies and series channels.pliz advice.thanks

Good Morning Casin,

What dish size are you using plus Lnb?

sathob:

Paris, 24 September 2011


Following early orbit operations which are managed by Eutelsat and Astrium engineers, and
which include circularising the satellite’s orbit and deploying the antennas, ATLANTIC BIRD™
7 will undergo a full series of in-orbit tests. It will be moved to 7 degrees West in the second
half of October to assume broadcasting of the 370 digital and High-Definition channels already
delivered from this position by Eutelsat’s ATLANTIC BIRD™4A satellite.

Good Morning sathob,

From the above statement, seems that Atlantic bird 7 will take over from Atlantic bird 4A mid October,

Pictures of the Launch of Atlantic bird 7,







Have a blessed Sunday

casin:

Hi Kungu,are you getting the MBC HD channels as free to air? Or is there a subscription of some sort? thanks

Hi Casin,

The MBC HD channels are free to air once you buy the MBC Technosat receiver. No monthly charges. The main reason for them encrypting the MBC HD channels is because of copyright issues with the movie providers.
The Movies are very clear which would open up piracy for sale of bootleg Dvds recorded form the MBC HD Channels.

Atlantic bird 7 Update,

Tomorrow is the official launch of Atlantic bird 7 which will replace Atlantic bird 4a most likely early November.
Atlantic bird 7 will be launched from sea.

Current web cam photos of launch preparations,





BERN, Switzerland, September 20, 2011 – The Sea Launch vessels have departed Sea Launch Home Port for the Equator, in preparation for the launch of the ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 satellite owned by Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris:ETL), on September 23rd. Liftoff is planned for 13:18 pm Pacific Daylight Time (20:18 GMT/UTC), at the opening of a 74-minute launch window.

Upon arrival at the launch site later today, at 154 degrees West Longitude, the Sea Launch team will initiate a 72-hour countdown. After ballasting the Odyssey Launch Platform to launch depth, the team will roll out and erect a Zenit-3SL rocket on the launch pad, execute final tests and then proceed with fueling operations and launch. Prior to fueling, all personnel on the Launch Platform will transfer to the Sea Launch Commander for the duration of the mission. The team monitors both marine and launch operations remotely from the ship, positioned about four miles uprange of the platform.

On launch day, the Zenit-3SL vehicle will lift the 4,600 kilograms (10,141 lbs.) ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 spacecraft into a defined high-perigee geosynchronous transfer orbit. Built by Astrium, an EADS company, its scheduled in-orbit lifetime exceeds 15 years. Its final geostationary orbit will be located at 7 degrees West Longitude, a key neighbourhood for Eutelsat’s digital broadcasting markets in the Middle East and North Africa.

ATLANTIC BIRD 7 satellite coverage/footprint maps.

MENA (Wide) Beam


North-West Africa Beam

Atlantic bird 7 (Nilebird, Atlantic Bird 4R) @7° WEST :: DOWNLINK COVERAGES

provisional coverages posted on, http://www.eutelsat.com/satellites/7w-ab7_popd.html

Details:
56 active Ku-band transponders to provide services to Middle East, Gulf states, North Africa and North-West Africa

ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 :: 7° WEST :: DOWNLINK COVERAGES
Provisional Target MENA Coverage



Provisional Target NWA coverage


Astrium will launch Atlantic Bird 7 satellite (Nilebird, Atlantic Bird 4R) on 22nd Septmber.
If launch is successful, Atlantic Bird 7 will than replace Atlantic bird 4A @ 7 degrees West end of October 2011.
Eutelsat will then redeploy the Atlantic Bird 4A satellite currently @ 7 degrees West to the Group's premium broadcasting neighbourhood at 13 degrees East, where it will revert to its original name of Hot Bird 10. Eutelsat has been operating Atlantic Bird 4A at 7 degrees West since March 2009 as part of the first phase of boosting broadcasting capacity at this neighborhood.

List of Channels to soon migrate from Atlantic bird 4A to Atlantic bird 7 (Nilebird, Atlantic Bird 4R), http://www.lyngsat.com/ab4a.html
More FTA,

Atlantic bird 7 (Nilebird, Atlantic Bird 4R) @7° WEST :: DOWNLINK COVERAGES

provisional coverages posted on, http://www.eutelsat.com/satellites/7w-ab7_popd.html

Details:
56 active Ku-band transponders to provide services to Middle East, Gulf states, North Africa and North-West Africa

ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 :: 7° WEST :: DOWNLINK COVERAGES
Provisional Target MENA Coverage



Provisional Target NWA coverage


Astrium will launch Atlantic Bird 7 satellite (Nilebird, Atlantic Bird 4R) on 22nd Septmber.
If launch is successful, Atlantic Bird 7 will than replace Atlantic bird 4A @ 7 degrees West end of October 2011.
Eutelsat will then redeploy the Atlantic Bird 4A satellite currently @ 7 degrees West to the Group's premium broadcasting neighbourhood at 13 degrees East, where it will revert to its original name of Hot Bird 10. Eutelsat has been operating Atlantic Bird 4A at 7 degrees West since March 2009 as part of the first phase of boosting broadcasting capacity at this neighborhood.

List of Channels to soon migrate from Atlantic bird 4A to Atlantic bird 7 (Nilebird, Atlantic Bird 4R), http://www.lyngsat.com/ab4a.html
More FTA,

Ilish:

Those channels have been there for 2 years now.Its an Angolan mux.It isnt Intelsat New Dawn guyz

Good morning all,

Gadotor is right that frequency 10976 H 29998  has migrated from Galaxy 11 to Intelsat New dawn. As you are aware, Intelsat New Dawn was scheduled to replace Galaxy 11 satellite at orbital position 32.9°E 
Currently Galaxy 11 has moved out of orbital position 32.9°E going west as per real time satellite  tracking.
Galaxy 11 is currently @ 4.35°E moving west,  http://www.n2yo.com/?s=26038
As per sat info, Intelsat new dawn  Ku-band antenna are operational but the C-band reflector antenna have remained stuck in folded position since the satellite’s April 22  launch.
The Angolan Mux Channels have been on Galaxy 11 for over 2 years as Ilish has informed us.
Galaxy 11 also hosted the South Africa Mux channels that migrated to Intelsat 17 early this year.

Damma:

Egypt State TV channels on NileSat will be shut down
officially next Monday July
11 according 2 report frm twitter.

Good Moring All,

Its Gaddafi State owned TV channels on NileSat that will be shut down officially tomorrow July 11th.
, What next,

petoldman:

This is none sense don't be lied to.For you to brows you need an up-link and a down link.If anything your dish can just be a downlink.This can never work

Good afternoon Petoldman,

It can work if you use a usb Modem where the usb modem is used for uplink while the dongle is used for down link
This has been the case when using Skystar2 pci card. This technology is know as One way Satellite Internet.

One way Satellite Internet. The Hardware part using SkyStar2 PCI.

[img]http://www.lamit.ro/images/skystar_pci.jpg[/img]

Unidirectional system for internet access through satellite, which requires hardware components (Skystar2 PCI card or USB device, satellite antenna, Dongles etc.) and software components. The hardware part is :

- A computer, preferably with a minimum configuration of : 500-700 Mhz processor, 8MB video card, 128 MB of RAM. Any configuration that's more powerful than the previously mentioned, greatly increases the quality of the entire system.
- The DVB SkyStar 2 PCI card (or SkyStar 2 USB), being a TV-tuner with an internet accelerator included, permits, together with the purchase and installation of a satellite antenna, the viewing off all free-to-air radio stations and TV stations from all the available satellites, without no extra monthly subscription.
- There is also the possibility to connect several computers to the same satellite antenna, which is installed custom, depending on each consumer needs: fixed, mobile, different dimensions etc.

One way Satellite Internet. The Software part.

[img]http://www.lamit.ro/images/soft.jpg[/img]

The software part is represented by a collection of latest generation software, which offers the following services :

- Ultra-fast Internet. 500 MB of FAST SURF at speeds of over 512 Kbps, each month.
- 1 GB of monthly internet downloads from any other websites, or unlimited from agreed websites.
- 1000 updated software packages, MP3. video clips and games, at 2 Mbps guaranteed speed, offered free through the virtual software library.
- 1000 TV stations and radio stations (with mobile antenna)
- Music, sports and movies TV channels, including coded channels at 1 Mbps, with unlimited traffic.
- Unlimited access to the interactive online library, offered through the satellite, containing : music, movies, pay-per-view channels, games, software, adult channels, online betting etc.
- Permanent e-mail service, with an e-mail client and an e-mail account
- A free new movie, each week.

odilibe:

why  flysat report of aljazeera frequency 11985H/27500 back on nilesat 101, on 27-06-2011? 201 is to replace 101, while 101 is still active @7west untill then. i mean don't expect any serious migration untill 101 is switched off,cheers.

Good afternoon from this part of africa.
Al jazeera frequency 11985 H is still there on Nilesat 201. I have notified Flysat about the change. May be both Nilesat 101 and Nilesat 201 are running the same frequency but i highly doubt as this would cause interference.
Lets wait and see as most Migrations on different satellites begin from July 1st which is the beginning of the financial year for different business.

gadotor:

@all sat-mates l want to carryout a small survey,what is best HD DECODER AND LOW COST at the moment now.thank you

Good evening Gadotor,

For me Open BOX S9 HD PVR Digital Satellite Receiver  which operates under  Linux  System.

The receiver comes with a Ethernet port for card sharing, Other beauty, has firmware updates from numerous websites with channel patches.
The HD receiver goes for  $78.00.
Point to note, when importing goods always request the seller to send you your item labeled as a sample. This helps in avoiding the tax man duty fees.
Link to Openbox s9 Hd seller in China, http://www.crown-sat.com/openbox-s9-hd-pvr.html

1ST TP Migration from Nilesat 101 to 201


Good Morning,

Aljazeera sports channels; +5,+6,+7,+8,+9,+10 & aljazeera world cup on frequency 11958H Symbol rate 27000 dvb-s has migrated from Nilesat 101 to Nilesat 201

1ST TP Migration from Nilesat 101 to 201

Aljazeera sports channels; +5,+6,+7,+8,+9,+10 & aljazeera world cup on frequency 11958H Symbol rate 27000 dvb-s has migrated from Nilesat 101 to Nilesat 201

MBC 2 HD now clear on nilesat 201 frequency 12188 H 27500 fec 5/6 DVB-S2/QPSK

The image is awesome and sound superb,




Please note,  Watching HD channels is addictive, 

MBC HD package clear on Nilesat 201
MBC 2 HD screening KingKong Movie on HD.
Image awesome,




Please Note, Watching HD channels is addictive,

For my lnb modification, I used the Inverto sliver tech quad lnb which has proved to be a high gain lnb in fringe satellite reception.

I purchased the the Lnb form Pulsat website. Pulsat satellite shop is based in the UK


I first removed the cap cover the LNB,


Then removed the black cover and cut-of the feed-horn on the lnb,


I them attached the bigger feed-horn which i got from a former vsat satellite dish used for Internet access via satellite.
Below bigger Feed-horn on left and Inverto sliver tech feedhorn on the left,


On attaching the bigger the Feed horn to the Inverto lnb, i noted an increase of about 3% in signal strength,


I went further and attached the original Feed-horn in side the Larger feed horn, and to my Surprise the signal strength increased by 8%.


On thing that i have noted with lnb's, is that different lnb's have different gains on the different frequencies in a satellite. Some Lnb's have a higher gain on lower frequencies while other on higher gain upper frequencies. From my Lnb modification i have noted that when i increase the length of the lnb barrel am able to get better signal strength from  higher frequencies and when i reduce the length of the lnb barrel, i get higher signal strength on the lower frequencies.
Still more tests are under way.

You all have a blessed evening form this part of Africa

George_D:

the signal strenght prior to the refoiling job was dropping practically to zero but now it has improved tremendously. i get bbc world up to 64% on a good day and cnn shows up at times up to 48% or 50%
in good weather. overall, it was a good thing i decided to refoil the dish.

Good evening George,

Thanks for your reply. What type of glue did you use to stick the foil paper on the dish?
I pasted  the foil on my 2.4 meter offset using conta glue which is commonly used in Kenya for sticking Formica on pile-wood and repair of shoes.
It took me 35 minutes to cover the whole dish. As i had no one to assist me to hold the foil paper in place, part of the foil paper became greased in the processes.   
Below are snap shots of the foil paper on dish,




On Sunday after the church service, i came home and re foiled the offset dish again with a second layer of foil and afterwards painted it with Matt black paint as shown below,



The signal levels increased by 4% with the plain foil and also after applying paint on the foil paper.
The second layer of foil increased the signal strength by 2%.
Afterwards i gave Nilesat 104 also known as Atlantic bird 4a a test run.
Below is a snap shot of Nilesat 104 foot print with the RED  Balloon indicating my location in Kenya,


From my setup, i can receive all Nilesat 104 the lower frequencies 24/7 even when its raining. No rain fade at all.
Snap shots of movie channels on Nilesat 104,
Time movies Frequency 10720 H 27500,

,


Claquette TV Frequency 10775 H 27500


Top Movies Frequency 10873 V @7500


++++ more.

For my setup, i modified my lnb with an inclusion of a bigger feed horn as as to facility full  illumination of the whole dish.
By this i mean If an LNB feed is not a perfect match, like a standard 40mm clamp LNB, it may illuminate (say) 2.5m
of a 2.2m dish. (less signal) OR, It may (try to) illuminate 2.6m of dish. This will cause infrared
(noise) to be picked up round the edges. The result is a poor signal to noise ratio. (poor picture)
With this in mind, i tested a couple of lnb's and the winner was Inverto sliver tech quad lnd followed by Eurostar quad and last but not lest Inverto ultra black quad lnb.
My modified lnb,

life707:

Very true bro, even here in the north.

@KUNGU,
What's the % of your 11727H & 12188H on Nilesat 201. I only have 11727H @ 47% on 1.8M pan

Good morning,

On  my 1.5 meter offset dish the signal strength is @ 72% on my 2.4 meter offset dish the signal strength  is @ 90%.
One point to note is that part of the Nilesat 201 beam covers part of kenya and most people in the country are using 1.8 meter prime focus dish to access the satellite for both AbuDhabi HD Channels and Aljazeera HD Channels.
This week i noted that the changed the Fec on frequency 11727H from 3/4 to 5/6. The change in Fec is meant to restrict the signal side loops outside the official foot print. Have you noticed a decrease in the signal strength of frequency 11727H in the past week?

ayibatonye:

Thank you, what kind of receiver is that that you used, we were told it only technosat HD that can open those channel. Thanks

At the Moment the MBC HD frequency is still there but the channels are not. Still no news about the Technosat MBC HD Receiver yet but once i hear of any new developments i will let you know. The MBC 2 HD channel was on air on the 30th and 31st of May when the test begun and was not encrypted.

Thursday 02 June 2011

Egypt's Satellites completes contracting on 50 % of new satellite 201

A Senior Engineer in Egyptian Satellites (NileSat) Salah Hamza said that the company has signed a contract with MBC group in order to broadcast a number of its channels on the new satellite NileSat 201.


He added that, such move comes in the framework of a plan to transfer channels from NileSat 101 to the new satellite, which its occupancy reached 50%.


He asserted that, NileSat 201 new contracts would contribute significantly on enhancing company's performance by year end.


It is worth noting that, company's financial results showed a net profit of $ 30.8 million, compared to a net profit of $ 36.980 million in 2009 representing a decline of 16.7 %.

From the above statement from Nilesat org, it seems some channels will soon be migrating from nilesat 101 to nilesat 201,

Blessed weekend all

MBC launch HD channels on Nilesat 201

MBC Media Group started broadcasting a test of seven of its existing programs in high definition televisions (HDTVs). Among them there are also a popular movie channel MBC2 and MBC Action in HD.

MBC to launch HD programmes began using a new transponder on the satellite Nilesat 201 at the orbital position 7 degrees west.

Snap shots below,

George_D:

finishing touch:

Good afternoon George,

You have just inspired me to try the same on my 2.4 meter fiber offset dish. What is the signal strength difference between now and before?
I will first try out foil paper before i apply the oil paint.
My 2.4 meter fiber offset dish shown below



Have an inspired evening and Thanks

Good morning,

Atlantic bird 7 to be launched at the end of this year will most likely have the same foot print as Niesat 201.
Atlantic Bird 7 is the satellite that will replace Atlantic bird 4A also know as Nilesat 104 at the end of the year as Atlantic bird 4a will be redeployed to its original orbital position where it will revet to its old name Hotbird 4

C-band Reflector on Intelsat New Dawn Fails to Deploy




PARIS — Satellite fleet operator Intelsat said May 3 one of the two principal reflector antennas on its just-launched New Dawn telecommunications satellite has failed to deploy in orbit and that release of the other antenna will await attempts to force the first one to spring loose.

The Intelsat New Dawn satellite was placed into geostationary transfer orbit April 22 by a European Ariane 5 ECA rocket. Since then, the satellite’s manufacturer, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., has been overseeing the transfer of the satellite from the point where it was released by the rocket to its test location, at 23.1 degrees east longitude in geostationary orbit. The satellite’s final operating location is 32.8 degrees east, where it is scheduled to serve mainly an African audience.

Orbital has told Intelsat that the C-band reflector’s ejection-release mechanism has functioned, releasing a series of pins that hold the antenna close to the satellite’s body for launch, Intelsat said.

But other data, including temperature readings from the satellite, have confirmed that the reflector remains stuck in place.

Intelsat spokeswoman Dianne J. VanBeber said in a May 3 interview that ground teams have begun a series of maneuvers to remedy the situation. One, nicknamed “rock n’ roll,” consists of shaking the satellite. Another will include exposing the stuck antenna to heat from the sun, alternating with exposure to cold, in an attempt to force deployment.

Intelsat said it would delay releasing the Ku-band reflector while the unblocking attempts on the C-band reflector are continued. The satellite has 28 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders when measured in 36-megahertz equivalents. Aside from the blocked C-band reflector, the satellite is functioning normally, Intelsat said.

Intelsat New Dawn is owned by a joint venture of Luxembourg- and Washington-based Intelsat and Convergence Partners of South Africa. Valued at $250 million including construction, launch and insurance, Intelsat New Dawn is intended to replace Intelsat’s Galaxy 11 satellite at 32.8 degrees east. Intelsat estimates that Galaxy 11 will remain operational until April 2015.

MBC inks deal to offer free HD TV for customers



Monday, 18 April 2011

MBC Group, the first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab world, said on Monday it has inked a deal to provide free high definition TV to its customers.

The agreement with Technosat will bring free HD television for up to seven of 10 channels from July 1, the broadcaster said in a statement.

Sam Barnett, COO, MBC Group, said viewers will need to have a HD TV and a Technosat HD set top box to receive the new HD channels.

Barnett added that only the Technosat HD set top box would enable viewers to see the MBC HD channels.

Irshad Contractor, chairman of Technosat, said: "We are pleased to be working closely with MBC Group on this milestone deal."

MBC Group launched in London in 1991 and later moved to its headquarters in Dubai in 2002.

Its output consists 10 television channels including MBC1, a general family entertainment option, MBC2 and MBC MAX, a movie channel.

ayibatonye:

RDI-BOARD is hard to open I mean it does not open properly for weeks now

Good afternoon Ayibatonye,

The only Web Browser that can open Rdi-Board is Opera. On the Opera browser one needs to to TOOLS TAB and select Quick Preference Tab. From the[b] quick preference tab[/b] click and select Enable Opera Turbo
illustration below,



Another option would be to use a Network Tunnel A tunnel is just a special type of connection across a network. It is very much like the connections your browser makes to web servers, except tunnel connections are long term and are done in a way to make the tunnel resemble a direct wire connecting two computers.
Many organizations these days block access to sites like myspace, gmail, even google search! I find that claiming that filters are there to keep schoolkids learning rather than goofing off, and then going ahead and blocking a primary means of research such as google search, is hypocritical and even dangerous. Thanks to sites like vtunnel.com you can fight back and access the web the way it was meant to be accessed.
I mainly use vtunnel.com on any web browser.