{"id":9241,"date":"2016-11-19T16:53:38","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T20:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/?p=9241"},"modified":"2023-03-19T11:51:32","modified_gmt":"2023-03-19T15:51:32","slug":"commercial-radio-networks-changing-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/2016\/11\/commercial-radio-networks-changing-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Commercial Radio Networks changing Satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_9250\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9250\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/GPS_Block_IIIA.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-9250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/GPS_Block_IIIA-600x600.jpg\" alt=\"Lockheed Martin A2100 series satellite\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/GPS_Block_IIIA-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/GPS_Block_IIIA-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/GPS_Block_IIIA-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/GPS_Block_IIIA-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/GPS_Block_IIIA-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/GPS_Block_IIIA-144x144.jpg 144w, https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/GPS_Block_IIIA.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9250\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lockheed_Martin_A2100\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lockheed Martin A2100<\/a> series satellite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Westwood One, Premiere, Skyview Networks, et al. will be changing their satellite from AMC-8 at 139\u00b0 W to AMC-18\/SES-11 at 105\u00b0 W longitude.\u00a0 More from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amc8migration.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AMC8transition.com<\/a>. There are several considerations for this move:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dish design and two-degree compliance<\/li>\n<li>Obstacle clearance<\/li>\n<li>Transponder frequencies<\/li>\n<li>Timing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Two degree compliance is going to be an issue for many stations.\u00a0 Those old 2.4 and 2.8 meter mesh dishes are going to have issues with 105\u00ba West because that is a very crowed part of the sky.\u00a0 From New York, it looks something like this:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"auto%\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"2\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">Satellite<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">Longitude<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">Inclination<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">Azimuth<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">Elevation<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">Distance<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">TELSTAR 12 (ORION 2)<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">109.21\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.491\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">227.46\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">31.09\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38596.91 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">TELSTAR 12 (ORION 2)<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">109.21\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.491\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">227.46\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">31.09\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38596.91 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">MSAT M1<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">107.72\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"incl\">7.430\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">231.14\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">38.16\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38011.55 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">ANIK G1<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">107.33\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.013\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">225.25\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">31.96\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38518.62 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">ANIK F1<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">107.31\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.020\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">225.22\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">31.95\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38513.76 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">ANIK F1R<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">107.28\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.052\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">225.22\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">32.02\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38510.37 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">ECHOSTAR 17<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">107.11\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.019\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">225.01\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">32.08\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38503.29 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">AMC-15<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">105.07\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.025\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">222.76\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">33.28\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38400.67 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\"><strong>AMC-18<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\"><strong>104.96\u00b0 W<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\"><strong>0.027\u00b0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"az\"><strong>222.64\u00b0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"el\"><strong>33.34\u00b0<\/strong><\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\"><strong>38400.16 km<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">GOES 14<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">104.66\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.198\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">222.21\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">33.38\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38394.57 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">AMSC 1<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">103.44\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"incl\">9.810\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">228.37\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">43.31\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">37616.42 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">SES-3<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">103.01\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.041\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">220.41\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">34.42\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38307.12 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">SPACEWAY 1<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">102.90\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.032\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">220.25\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">34.43\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38299.87 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">DIRECTV 10<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">102.82\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.017\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">220.17\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">34.51\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38292.86 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">DIRECTV 12<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">102.78\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.035\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">220.12\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">34.50\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38292.93 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">DIRECTV 15<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">102.71\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.009\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">220.05\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">34.56\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38290.50 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">SKYTERRA 1<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">101.30\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"incl\">3.488\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">219.07\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">36.33\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38131.32 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">DIRECTV 4S<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">101.19\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.011\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">218.24\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">35.35\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38228.26 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">DIRECTV 9S<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">101.15\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.014\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">218.18\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">35.36\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38228.57 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">SES-1<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">101.00\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.016\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">218.02\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">35.45\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38217.56 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"sat\">DIRECTV 8<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">100.87\u00b0 W<\/td>\n<td class=\"lon\">0.036\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"az\">217.88\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"el\">35.54\u00b0<\/td>\n<td class=\"ran\">38211.02 km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Generally speaking, dishes need to be 3.7 meters (12.14 feet) or larger to meet the two-degree compliance specification.\u00a0 For many, this means replacing the current dish.\u00a0 This is especially true for those old 10-foot aluminum mesh dishes that were very popular in the 90s because of the TVRO satellite craze.<\/p>\n<p>If the existing dish is acceptable, then the next issue may be obstacle clearance.\u00a0 Generally speaking, the 105-degree west slot (south of Denver) will be easier to see that the 139-degree west slot (south of Honolulu) for much of the United States.\u00a0 Still, there may be trees, buildings, hills, etc in the way.\u00a0 Site surveys can be made using online tools (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dishpointer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dishpointer.com<\/a>) or smartphone apps (<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/dish-align\/id520249397?mt=8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dishalign<\/a> (iOS) or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.smartconcept.dishaligner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dishaligner<\/a> (Android)).\u00a0 I have found that I need to stand in front of the dish to get the best idea of any obstacles.\u00a0 While you are there, spray all the dish-holding hardware with penetrating oil like WD-40, Rostoff, or something similar.\u00a0 Most of these dishes have not moved since they were installed, many years or decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>Transponder frequencies will not be the same, so when the dish is aligned to the new satellite, those frequencies will need to be changed.\u00a0 The network satellite provider will furnish this information when it becomes available.\u00a0 This generally requires navigating around various menu trees in the satellite receiver.\u00a0 Most are fairly intuitive, but it never hurts to be prepared.<\/p>\n<p>The window of opportunity is from February 1, 2017 (first day of AMC-18) until June 30, 2017 (last day of AMC-8).\u00a0 Of course, in the northern parts of the country, it may not be possible to install a new dish in the middle of winter.\u00a0 It may also be very difficult to align an existing dish depending on how bad the winter is.\u00a0 Therefore, the planning process should begin now.\u00a0\u00a0 A quick site evaluation should include the following:<\/p>\n<h3>Network Satellite Receive Location Evaluation<\/h3>\n<table width=\"665\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"4\" align=\"center\">\n<colgroup>\n<col width=\"105\" \/>\n<col width=\"210\" \/>\n<col width=\"98\" \/>\n<col width=\"218\" \/> <\/colgroup>\n<tbody>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td width=\"105\">\n<p class=\"western\">Satellite:<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"98\">\n<p class=\"western\">Satellite Location:<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"218\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td width=\"105\">\n<p class=\"western\">Dish is 2\u00b0compliant? (Y\/N)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"98\">\n<p class=\"western\">Distance to receiver location:<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"218\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td width=\"105\">\n<p class=\"western\">Dish Latitude:<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"98\">\n<p class=\"western\">Dish Longitude:<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"218\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td width=\"105\">\n<p class=\"western\">Dish Azimuth (T):<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"98\">\n<p class=\"western\">Dish Azimuth (M)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"218\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td width=\"105\">\n<p class=\"western\">Dish Height AGL:<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"98\">\n<p class=\"western\">Dish Elevation:<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"218\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr valign=\"top\">\n<td width=\"105\">\n<p class=\"western\">Observed Obstacles:<\/p>\n<p class=\"western\">(permanent or removable? Owned or not owned?)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"210\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"98\">\n<p class=\"western\">Comments:<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"218\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>A .pdf version is available <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/dish-location-evaluation.pdf\">here<\/a>. Based on that information, a decision can be made on whether or not to keep the old dish or install a new one.\u00a0 We service about 25 studio locations and I am already aware of three in need of dish replacement and two that have obstructive trees which will need to be cut.\u00a0 This work cannot start too soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Westwood One, Premiere, Skyview Networks, et al. will be changing their satellite from AMC-8 at 139\u00b0 W to AMC-18\/SES-11 at 105\u00b0 W longitude.\u00a0 More from AMC8transition.com. There are several considerations for this move: Dish design and two-degree compliance Obstacle clearance Transponder frequencies Timing Two degree compliance is going to be an issue for many stations.\u00a0 &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/2016\/11\/commercial-radio-networks-changing-satellites\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Commercial Radio Networks changing Satellites<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,4],"tags":[131],"class_list":["post-9241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-programming","category-tech-stuff","tag-satellite"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9241"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11109,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9241\/revisions\/11109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}